Washington St. vs. Grambling
Time: 4 p.m. Saturday at Qwest Field, Seattle
The records: Grambling (1-0, 1-0 SWAC), WSU (2-0, 0-0 Pac-10)
Last week: Grambling beat Alabama A&M 44-0, WSU beat Nevada 55-21
Last time: This will be the first meeting of the two schools
What it means for WSU: This is pretty much the definition of a must-win. It’d be hard to find anyone outside of north central Louisiana – and maybe even in that area – who thinks Grambling has a chance to defeat the Cougars. Ideally for WSU, what this game represents is a chance to get some backups playing time late in the game, make some West Side alumni happy by winning in their back yard, and raise some bucks for the athletic department in the process. It’ll be a big part of WSU’s goal for this game to show it can come out of the gate hot and get ahead early.
What it means for Grambling: This will be the Tigers’ opportunity to play with the big boys this season. It’s only Grambling’s second game of the season because the opener against Alcorn State was postponed due to Hurricane Katrina, so the Tigers will be looking for a similar improvement from game one to game two, as WSU experienced last week. That could be difficult to judge, however, since the Tigers are coming off of a blowout win and will be unlikely to find themselves on top of the scoreboard Saturday. Hanging tough against the Cougars will be a big positive for Grambling, perhaps vaulting them to a season that will include a trip to the I-AA playoffs.
Grambling’s best: Head coach Melvin Spears is in his second year as Grambling’s head coach and led the Tigers to a 6-5 record in 2004 after taking over for Doug Williams.
“Bruce Eugene is the Tigers quarterback, a senior returning starter under center. Eugene may draw some comparisons to former Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen at 6-foot-1, 260 pounds, but Eugene is small compared to some of his offensive linemen. Grambling’s starting five up front on offense average 337 pounds – and the center, Tavarus Cockrell, checks in at just 290.
“Grambling will run the same 4-3 defense it featured last season, and it’s a unit that’s capable of big plays. Last week the Tigers forced three turnovers against Alabama A&M, and turned one of them into a touchdown. Eight seniors start on defense, including all four linemen. So while the Tigers may not be as athletic or big as their Division I-A counterparts, they won’t come to Seattle lacking in experience.
The numbers: Eugene completed just 8 of 21 passes last week, but what did land in the hands of his receivers went for a lot of yards – 275, to be exact. Eugene completed two scoring passes of 39 and 70 yards.
“The Tigers received 276 votes in the I-AA poll this week, just two spots away from making the Top 25.
“Through two games, WSU running back Jerome Harrison is averaging 157.5 all-purpose yards.