One more week for WSU before time off
COUGARS
The Apple Cup must be near because the trees in the neighborhood have lost almost all their leaves. The two have always seemed to be connected in my mind from the time my kids were young (they're not anymore). But this year, the leaves will be all sacked up, the snow might be covering the dead spots in the lawn and the Christmas decorations will be plugged in before the Apple Cup comes around. Read on for more on Washington State football.
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• Washington State: As Monday morning posts go, this one will have more than usual, that's for sure. ... We have our follow story on Saturday's loss to Cal, which comes mainly from Paul Wulff's Sunday night press conference. We covered that on our blog post last night. ... The WSU Football Blog posts an open letter to athletic director Bill Moos, aimed more at Cougar fans of course. ... One basketball note. Another high school senior has committed to WSU, according to Scout.com. That makes two who should be signing when the week-long early period begins Wednesday. There are, of course, no seniors on this year's team, and Mike Ladd, the transfer from Fresno State, is redshirting as a walk-on, so where the scholarships will come from is an interesting question we'll have to ask.
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• Around the Pac-10: Where does the conference race stand? ESPN.com's Ted Miller tells you. He also has his power rankings for the week. ... The Times' Bud Withers examines the evidence and rules in Oregon's favor. Win out and the Ducks are assured a place in the national title game. ... Nothing to do with the Pac-10 – well, sort of – but I just like this Michael Wilbon column. ... And this Chris Dufresne column. ... Washington: The Huskies just finished the Pac-10's three-game slog through hell. Bob Condotta's story gives all the gory details. For comparison, WSU was outscored 105-58 by the trio (though two were in Pullman) and the yardage numbers were 1,347-1,021. ... Oregon State: The Beavers loss is bad enough that coach Mike Riley doesn't want to complain about another Rose Bowl replay call that helped the home team. Sound familiar? ... Oregon: The Ducks stayed atop the BCS standings, but the possible loss of backup quarterback Nate Costa might be their biggest problem. ... Cal and Stanford: Taking a look at the Bay Area bowl possibilities. ... USC: The only reason the Trojans defeated ASU was their special teams were extra-special. ... UCLA: The offense slowed down and gave the defense more rest. ... Arizona State: Really, the reason the Devils lost to the Trojans is because punter Trevor Hankins violated team rules and was left in Tempe. ... Arizona: Grading the Wildcats' loss to Stanford.
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• That's all for this morning. We'll be back after practice late tonight. Until then ...
