COUGARS

FROM THE BIG OL' RENOVATED PRESS BOX -- It's even nicer in here with the furniture set up. Though Bud Withers would probably like it more if he'd been allowed to bring his iced coffee inside. We have thoughts and notes after the jump, so read on.

...

Was walking up to the stadium today when I happened upon Withers, The Seattle Times' whiz columnist who covers the Cougars. Turns out you can't bring iced coffee into the new seating and press structure, so he was downing it quickly before entering. From what I can tell, he hasn't developed any jitters yet. ...The students have begun filing in. By the time the game kicks off, they'll have filled their entire section, as a sellout has been announced. As noted on the blog last night, it'll be the first time Martin has sold out since Oct. 6, 2007, against Arizona State. ... If you saw our projected depth chart in the paper today or read our practice reports throughout the week, you already know there are a couple of changes to WSU's starting lineups this week. Cyrus Coen is the new starter at SAM linebacker, and it appears as if Wade Jacobson will start at right tackle, with Dan Spitz moving to right guard and Jake Rodgers sliding to left guard. ... There are a couple of EWU players with WSU ties. There's punter Jake Miller, who joined the Cougars as a walk-on in 2010 before leaving the team, and offensive lineman Zack Johnson, a sophomore who went through spring practices with the Cougars before transferring to Eastern at the end of the school year. He saw plenty of reps with the offensive line during the spring, but sought more playing time by leaving for EWU. He's since been moved to defensive line.

In case you missed any of our gameday coverage, here's today's advance, as well as our two-minute drill with keys to the game for WSU. Our prediction, which was published Thursday, is that WSU will win, 37-17. There's no excuse for the Cougars to come out with the same malaise that plagued them in their opener. And I don't think they will.

With the caveat that comparing statistics this early in the season is, well, pretty dumb, we're going to pass along a by-the-numbers look at each team before each game. So here you go.

WASHINGTON STATE

Points per game -- 6.0

Yards per game -- 224

Passing -- 229

Rushing -- (-)5

Yards allowed per game -- 426

Passing -- 303

Rushing -- 123

Points allowed -- 30.0

EASTERN WASHINGTON

Points per game -- 20.0

Yards per game -- 412

Passing -- 260

Rushing -- 152

Yards allowed per game -- 237

Passing -- 164

Rushing -- 73

Points allowed -- 3.0

Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple

---

---