Letters

2011 not forgettable

For Christian Caple to write that the 2011 WSU football season was “otherwise forgettable” is presumptuous.

It was a year in which they turned the corner from getting blown out, to blowing out a couple opponents, to being in contention in every game but three (one of those against Stanford, one of the best teams in the country). Not to mention, they found a folk hero in Marshal Loebbestal and the future in Marquess Wilson and Connor Halliday.

I know we’re supposed to think 2011 was just another season for the hapless Cougs in the pre-Mike Leach era but it wasn’t.

WSU’s progress was not unlike Oregon State’s in Mike Riley’s first tenure. First the Beavers went from getting blown out, to being in games, to getting a significant conference win, to going 5-6 in a season. Riley’s reward was a head coaching job in the NFL.

I’m not saying Paul Wulff was necessarily on the path of Mike Riley, but WSU was on the path of Riley’s team.

All things considered, coaches aside, most fans would prefer last year’s solid first three games of the season to this year’s underwhelming first three.

Garth Meyer

Colfax