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WSU’s task doesn’t get easier this week

Posted by Vince

Sept. 28, 2009 7:23 a.m. • 6 comments

COUGARS

The sunlight is starting to spread across the sky, which means it’s time to start the day, right? Well, we’ll help. We’ve got links and notes for you. Just click the link and read on.

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• Washington State: We have our story from this morning’s S-R, which touches on three main areas: Those strength gains we talked about early in camp are showing up in games, the quarterback position and the injuries. It’s possible sometime today we’ll have more on who will be the starting quarterback this weekend, but we know for sure we have more on the injury front. Reserve tight end Zach Tatman is lost for a while after suffering a concussion against USC. Whether it’s a few days of practice or a week, it all depends on how he responds to testing each day. We’ll let you know. … We also have out look back at the USC game. One thing that stood out is that the true freshmen that played: quarterback Jeff Tuel, receiver Gino Simone and defensive end Travis Long are athletic enough to compete in the Pac-10 right now. Physically, they’ll all benefit from the next couple years in the weight room. Long, though, is finding a way to succeed, being named the Cougars defensive player of the game for the second consecutive week. … Finally, WSU faced the No. 12 team in the nation Saturday (the win was so impressive for USC, it moved up to seventh this week – right). Next up is No. 16 Oregon (ranked 24th in the coaches’ poll). In Autzen, one of the loudest places to play in America. WSU coach Paul Wulff said the Cougars are working on ways to deal with the noise and atmosphere. But don’t be surprised if the young guys on this team have a bit of culture shock to start the game. The Autzen experience is something that takes some time to get used to. … Back to the links. Freelancer Howie Stalwick has this follow on the USC loss. … Want to watch a short video of Tuel’s performance? You can here at WSU football blog. … Finally, can’t send you there because it’s a pay link at Cougfan, but the Cougars picked up their 13th commitment this weekend, Tracy Clark, a defensive back from the Bay Area. This is one of a couple guys from the same area WSU really has gone after hard. The recruiting class is filling up.

• Around the Pac-10: Oregon has ascended into the top spot in Ted Miller’s power rankings over at ESPN.com. … Buster Sports’ Nick Daschel grades the weekend performances. … Washington: After giving up 341 yards rushing to Stanford – by way of comparison, the Cougars yielded 288 to the Cardinal – the Huskies know they have to shore up their run defense. … Oregon State: The Beavers rank ninth in the Pac-10 in pass defense and 110 in the nation – by way of comparison, WSU is 10th in the conference and 120 (last) in the nation. It’s an area of concern for Mike Riley. … Oregon: The polls? Chip Kelly has no use for them. … Cal: The Bears’ serves as the punching bag in this column. Who out there wouldn’t want Cal’s talent? … Stanford: An in-depth look at where Stanford stands now. … USC: Pete Carroll has enough trouble understanding his team. Now he’s trying to figure out Cal. …UCLA: The Bruins get back at it this week. Who would have thought this week’s game at Stanford would start a run for the Rose Bowl? … Arizona State: The Sun Devils learned a lot from their close loss at Georgia. … Arizona: With a 3-1 overall mark and 1-0 in the Pac-10, the Wildcats feel they are headed in the right directions.

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• That’s it for this morning. We’ll be looking forward to Oregon this afternoon, and we’ll share that feature with you this evening. Until then …

Six comments on this post so far. Add yours!

rufus on September 28 at 8:11 a.m.
vince… dan wagner … is he on a scholarship ? great story,,. wsu always pulls him out of the “closet” when all else-fails !
VoxCougs on September 28 at 8:16 a.m.
It’s been a strange last few days on the west side of the state. Last Monday, nature observers reported a rare sighting of the elusive Montlake frontrunner (Huskus bandwagonus), which can usually best be detected by its shrill cries of “Beenthereallthetime!” and a brief sighting of yellow and violet plumage. The animal tends to immediately vanish at the slightest sign of stress.
Sure enough, it’s Monday morning once again…and there’s absolutely no sign of this rare animal.
Scientists are hopeful this will remain the case for weeks to come : )
vinceg on September 28 at 9:57 a.m.
Rufus:

Dan is a walk-on from Portland. He’s a scout team quarterback that makes every trip as the backup punter. So, if there’s an emergency at QB, he could fill in.
kaddy on September 28 at 10:16 a.m.
I believe Wagner played at Jesuit High in Portland, a private school that usually has a very good football team.
ECoug01 on September 28 at 12:10 p.m.
Start Tuel no question!!!
Beiron on September 28 at 12:43 p.m.
I’d say start Tuel but with 2 broken backs(more or less) and an injured leg last year without good protection we may be doing more harm than good.

At the very least we need to switch up where the pocket is and get people outside where they can at least be reasonably confident they are going to get blindsided instead of having it happen randomly and unexpectedly.