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WSU loses Apple Cup and Wulff may be out

Posted by Vince Grippi

Nov. 26, 2011 10:50 p.m. • 19 comments

COUGARS

The Apple Cup is over and so is Washington State's football season. Is Paul Wulff's tenure as football coach at his alma mater done as well? There is a report of that being a done deal by Bud Withers of the Seattle Times, but I can't get confirmation – or denial – of that. Read on.

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• After Withers' story was posted, we texted athletic director Bill Moos asking if the report was accurate. His answer didn't address that question, just saying he wasn't the source of the information, which I would interpret as a confirmation. We'll see. Earlier, Moos had said he would meet with Wulff on the plane ride back and set a time for a meeting to discuss the future. Whether that would be Sunday, Monday or whenever, he didn't say. We'll be in Pullman for whatever, and we'll pass along whatever information we can find. … As for the game Saturday night, I'm sure a majority of you folks saw the Huskies' 38-21 win, their third consecutive in the series. The slow start was a killer, as it put WSU back on its heels and allowed the Huskies to let loose the dogs up front. “When you are playing from behind, they can mix things up and you have to play more run defense,” UW coach Steve Sarkisian said. “When you get ahead and force some things, (making them) throw the ball down the field, you can create some pressure and we were able to do that tonight.” The pressure resulted in seven sacks, including two for Alameda Ta'amu, who played more of a three technique, getting upfield from his tackle spot. But that pressure also manifested itself down the stretch. WSU was able to hit some big plays late, but not scoring ones. And they were too few to get into the end zone. The one trick play it tried – a play WSU practices a lot but has never, to my knowledge used this season – didn't work and it almost looked as if the Huskies were waiting for it. With intended receiver Kristoff Williams on the ground, Marshall Lobbestael probably shouldn't have tried to hit Marquess Wilson there, but he was obviously trying to make a play. He shoulder the blame for the Cougars early troubles as well, telling me “I feel like at the start of the game I was maybe overthinking stuff a little too much. (Coach Todd) Sturdy got on me on the sideline a little bit, really doing a great job of coaching me up and calming me down. After we talked on the sideline and got stuff straightened out, that's when we started playing better.” … Here is our game story, our notebook and John Blanchette's column.

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• That's it for tonight. I have to be up pretty early tomorrow to see what I can run down on the Wulff situation. Until later …

19 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

SWPullmanCoug on November 26 at 11:01 p.m.
After watching the game and reading Withers news I just want to curl up and cry.
This is the lowest. We can’t even beat the Huskies.
Go Cougs!
RobE on November 26 at 11:01 p.m.
Been lot’s of “what could have been” talk over the last few years, but on the trick play, had Lobster ran to the left, with lead blocker in tow…oh, nevermind.

Go Cougs!
MikeSequim on November 26 at 11:02 p.m.
I think your right Vince. “I’m not the source”? That’s the confirmation! Still would rather hear it officially from someone at Pullman rather than Bud Withers. I guess he could’ve said NO! Still gonna wait for someone tied to WSU to speak!
notthefacts on November 26 at 11:15 p.m.
Moos gonna be busy. men’s basketball a mess too……..
keithj on November 26 at 11:24 p.m.
The $80 million stadium renovation probably created a lot of pressure to get a big name coach.
Alex_in_Washtucna on November 27 at 1:16 a.m.
After reading Withers’ article all I can say is, jeez not pirate boy. He’ll be done in Pullman in one (or two) years and heading out in the middle of the night on a jet meeting with a big $$ A.D. all the time denying anything is happening and that he’s perfectly happy staying at WSU. And we all know how that turns out.
And the carousel of coaches, along with a downward spiral in recruiting will start. Sigh…
Alex_in_Washtucna on November 27 at 1:47 a.m.
And another thing comes to mind as I sit here at 20 minutes ‘til 2 in the morning (sheesh), is that everything I have read about Leach is that he is pretty much an untouchable at this point, due to all of the legal issues surrounding him and that if he were hirable he would have been coaching by now. Makes me wonder about the veracity of the Withers article. We shall see.
Pandown10 on November 27 at 2:49 a.m.
This whole mess is killing me…
blotto on November 27 at 7:00 a.m.
If nothing else, Leach would make great press–—
rufus on November 27 at 7:18 a.m.
Paul W once again said ( during his radio interview w Bud N) “WSU was ready to Play ” He said that about the OSU games… the Cal Game…
We have been losing QB’s to injury since day one… due to poor protection.
The team does not play w/ confidence…
I bet Paul W wished he would have gone for the win against Utah … and not have played Jeff T durng that meaningless game against I State.
rufus on November 27 at 7:56 a.m.
If Paul W is fired : he will have been paid $3 million ( 4 years plus final year> 5 years )… that is $333,000 for each win.
ECoug01 on November 27 at 9:40 a.m.
Rufus does he get credit for next years wins too? I am betting this team is a 8 win team next season.
keithj on November 27 at 9:46 a.m.
Good job defending the run last night. Seems the Cougars can’t defend both the run and the pass at the same time this year, though.

Huskies have a good offense, but poor defense. The Cougars’ 21 points was the second fewest given up by the Huskies this year—even EWU scored more than the Cougs. The blocking was unacceptable. Perhaps the “twelfth man” had something to do with the poor blocking.
UWhuskytskeet on November 27 at 10:45 a.m.
Not a WSU fan in the least, but some of these comments a comical.

If Leach is hired, and is courted by other schools a few years later — that means he has been winning. WSU is going to be earning an extra $20 million a year from the new TV contract, there is no reason they can’t pay the head coach enough to keep him around.

Unless you want to announce to the CFB world that you do not care about winning, you must fire a coach that has gone 4-32 in conference, and 9-40 overall. Donations have dried up, and the team is playing in front of 20,000 fans a game. However, the talent is in place to win a decent amount of games next year with the right leadership. Give the fans a reason to be optimistic with an exciting hire, and everything will fall in place.

All that said, give Wulff a lifetime contract. I love dominating the series and stealing recruits.
TommyCoug on November 27 at 11:48 a.m.
The “whisperers” and the “I won’t tell a secret crowd” are alive and well today…it is apparent…including some Husky bloggers that know all the answers!!

Thanks for not being in the business of “rumors” only, Vince…and I wish you well in your retirement…maybe you can take over from John Blanchette?

Wow…a recent article from him was supportive and possitive on Wulff…and this one “he sticks a butcher knife in his back”!! How would like JB as your friend or comrade in a fox hole??!!

Not this COWBOY!! Save some more money S-R…”FIRE” John Blanchette!!

GO COUGS!!
Bretterson on November 27 at 12:45 p.m.
That’s the whole point - Blanchette isn’t paid to be Wulff’s friend.

I wish more people would realize that the Spokesman is a newspaper, not Wulff’s personal PR firm. Hopefully the arrival of Christian Caple will return us to the days of Glenn Kasses, when that concept was never in question.
SpectreCoug on November 27 at 2:12 p.m.
The Husky fan is on the right track. If we somehow brought in Leach, which I doubt will happen, there is far more upside than downside. If he jumps to another job in three years, that means we are having success. It also means Moos has leverage to go out and get another quality coach. Another thing about Leach…he graduates players, runs a clean program, and his guys were rarely if ever in trouble with the law. Don’t forget that. In Moss I trust.

Vince, I’m sorry for what I’m about to do, as I know you don’t like name-calling. Here goes:

Bretterson: You are nothing more than a piece of horse (bleep). As any good reporter knows, it’s more important to be right than to be first. Apparently you subscribe to tabloid journalism more than actual journalism. Vince didn’t get “scooped” by anyone. He is simply doing his research before he reports a story. You know, what any good reporter would do. It doesn’t mean Withers is wrong, it just means Vince is doing his homework. If you don’t like the product here, take your idiotic/uninformed views and go the hell away. If you think Vince is in the program’s back pocket, find another news source. As a matter of fact, just go away, period. Loser.
Bretterson on November 27 at 2:36 p.m.
Vince did in fact get scooped, as he typically does. You’re right - “good reporters” perform research and get sources, but Vince still hasn’t been able to do that. Bud Withers did. That’s the definition of a scoop. ESPN reports stories based on unnamed sources - as I write this post, 2 of the top 11 stories on their website are prefaced with “Source:”

Is it “tabloid journalism” when ESPN does it, or only when you don’t like the story? Vince has oftentimes reported news based on unnamed sources. Was it a problem then?

The fact of the matter remains, Wulff will be fired, as I’ve been saying, and it will have been reported by a “good reporter,” as it should be.
Bretterson on November 27 at 4:21 p.m.
The Associated Press checks in with a great piece of “tabloid journalism” regarding Dennis Erickson’s departure from Arizona State: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/arizona-state-official-dennis-erickson-out-as-coach-after-5-seasons-in-the-desert/2011/11/27/gIQAFsTs2N_story.html

Bush league…