Despite better numbers, WSU’s run game still lacks consistency

COUGARS

The wind is blowing, the leaves are whipping around like a frozen strawberry in a blender and we have a short Sunday night post for you. Read on.
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• Looking back at the Stanford game, we noticed Washington State actually had a couple productive runs, giving the Cougars decent numbers in that part of their game. But they are still looking for a consistent rushing attack. That was one of the aspects of the game coach Paul Wulff addressed this evening in his weekly conference call. He also graded the performance of freshman left tackle John Fullington – mostly positive – and the offensive line – ditto – and the positives, like size, the young linebackers bring – some of which are negated by the negatives of not being in the right place all the time. He also talked about the start giving to Anthony Laurenzi at defensive tackle, saying he was given more time because he practiced well and that Brandon Rankin needs to gain consistency. I asked two other questions – the running game inquiries were mine – the first of which concerned Deone Bucannon’s place in the lineup if and when Chima Nwachukwu returns. Wulff said the best players have to play and Bucannon has proven he deserves the spot. I followed up with a question about the possibility of Nwachukwu playing another spot and Wulff did say he was intelligent enough to step in and help at a linebacker spot if needed. Finally, I asked if the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty WSU’s sideline was assessed – a 2-yard penalty because Stanford had the ball at the WSU 4 – was his. It was not. … If you want to watch some highlights from the 38-28 defeat, you can here , courtesy the WSU Football Blog.

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• That’s all for tonight. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow which may preclude me from my usual morning post, depending on how I feel. We’ll see. Until later …