Fast start paramount
PULLMAN – Not good enough? Unlucky? Lack of poise?
Whatever your explanation for the maladies that befell Washington State football in 2005, the Cougars enter this season with the understanding and the expectation that things have to change.
Five of last season’s losses were by four points or less, most of those games having been lost in ways too bizarre to imagine. A flat effort. A failed fake punt. A foiled 4th-and-1 after taking points off the scoreboard.
The memories sting WSU players, coaches and fans alike, and starting this weekend the 2006 Cougars must attempt to begin to erase the habits and patterns that led to such disastrous results.
“I believe we learned from last year and coming into this year it’s a new mindset, a new mentality,” senior safety Eric Frampton said. “But at the same time, we have to keep in mind that we have to take last year and bury it down deep inside and remember that as well.”
Even with a number of starters back on both sides of the ball, the Cougars enter this season a different team than they were a year ago. Instead of relying on senior leadership that had played in January bowl games, WSU finds itself without a single player who has ever been a full-time starter on a winning team. This roster is experienced, but it has been hardened by losses, not victories.
As a result, head coach Bill Doba was in full agreement when it was suggested that a fast start would be important for this group.
“It’s everything,” Doba said. “I think it’s real, real important. Last year, the seven losses in a row, I think that kids lost some confidence.”
Getting off to that winning start won’t be easy, however. This year’s schedule appears full of potholes, none bigger than the one just days away, a road game at No. 4 Auburn to start the season on Saturday.
Last year the Cougars were criticized for playing a pillow-soft schedule that didn’t reveal the team’s stripes until well into October. This year, WSU will face a pair of top-10 teams by September’s end, and will also have two conference games in rearview mirror, thanks to the Pac-10’s new nine-game schedule.
The Cougars are banking on a high-powered offense to keep them buoyant, especially since it is paired with a defense still trying to find its way.
Alex Brink returns at quarterback, this time without having to look over his shoulder at Josh Swogger, and he has at his disposal a corps of receivers that would be the envy of most any college program in America.
“We can be good,” said wideout Jason Hill, a preseason All-American. “I don’t think we want to carry a bigger part of the load, but we want to go out and perform and do well for ourselves and each other.”
Finding individuals to perform hasn’t been the biggest problem for the Cougars in the last two years, however. It’s been getting those players to perform cohesively and consistently.
If those elements fail to materialize this season, the Cougars will be looking at another long year. And all those memories stuffed into the back of their minds could become all too real once again.
“It’s tough,” Hill said. “Sometimes our defense would get in a hole and our offense can’t get them out of it. And sometimes our offense got in a hole and our defense couldn’t get us out of it.
“We’ve got to get on the same page. The offense has to work with the defense, the defense has to work with the offense, special teams included. When we can truly work as a team in all three phases of the game, I definitely think we can gain the confidence to have a lot of success.”