October 17, 2004 in Sports

Cougs need to give Brink a chance

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Well, there’s the well-known Cougar Gold cheese, but maybe now there’s also Cougar Swiss cheese to describe the defensive secondary against Oregon (Oct. 10), greatly helping Kellen Clemens have a Heisman kind of day.

Clemens was the big advantage Oregon had because he’s a versatile option quarterback who can run, pass, make smart decisions in key situations and keep defenses guessing. I’ll take a QB like that any day over a one-dimensional Josh Swogger, and the Cougs have one in Alex Brink, who again didn’t play last week. Yes, Brink’s a freshman who needs experience, but the only experience he’ll get is by playing. And please don’t tell me Swogger had a great passing day. Yes, he threw three touchdown passes, but he was a dismal 13 of 36. With a total of 231 yards, four of his 13 completions went for 156 yards, meaning the remaining nine went for 75 yards.

And yes, Jerome Harrison, as John Blanchette accurately notes, should be the No. 1 back, but without a QB who presents anything but a pass option, defenses will key on our running game. Brink almost beat out Swogger at the start of the season and deserves to see what he can do and gain experience.

Remember when Jason Gesser went down against the Huskies? What happened by having an inexperienced Swogger suddenly come in?

Jeff Clausen

Spokane

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