Another WSU Friday

COUGARS

Another Friday morning, another day before a football game. There is something really Groundhog Day-like to the football season. So we hit the alarm, get out of bed, look out the window and put together our morning post. Read on.
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• Washington State: We took a look at the inexperienced members of the Cougar defense today, the six or seven players who have earned the most minutes in their first year. Some – Deone Bucannon – have been a revelation. Others – Brandon Rankin – haven’t lived up to the hype (much of it supplied by me I must admit). But all have played a role this year, paving the way for a bigger impact next season. … We summarized Paul Wulff’s press conference comments on the blog as well as passing along the new Pac-12 basketball schedule. On the schedule the conference sent to the media, the post-season tournament was labeled “Pac-10 Tournament.” I wonder if that was a hint of how many teams will be playing? Not really. I realize it was just another in a long line of little mistakes coming from Walnut Creek. … CougCenter has its weekly guide to Saturday’s game.

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• Around the Pac-10: ESPN.com’s Ted Miller carries the load today with his weekly mailbag and things you may not have known. … Bud Withers covers the national scene and the conference scene as well. … Washington: With the bye, nothing here. … Oregon State: Keith Pankey has emerged as a true gamebreaker at linebacker. … Oregon: So has safety John Boyett for the Ducks. … Cal: Jeff Tedford once coached at Oregon. That was about six generations of offense ago. … Stanford: The Cardinal running game is set for a few years . … USC: Freshman receiver Robert Woods has fallen off the map a bit. … UCLA: Richard Brehaut is learning how to improvise. … Arizona State: Even the best kickers go through slumps. … The Sun Devils are honoring their best team. … Arizona: One Wildcat honors his grandmother with his hair.

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• That’s all for this morning. We’ll be back after we get to Corvallis and will post our basketball and football previews. Until then …