What is a ‘Bear Raid’ anyway?

This week the Cougars will prepare to face California, which is coached by one of Mike Leach’s former assistants Sonny Dykes.  As the former co-offensive coordinator at Texas Tech under Leach, Dykes is a member of the same offensive school and runs a variation of the Air Raid called that is now known as the ‘Bear Raid’ for obvious reasons.

But just how similar are the two offenses? Well, not as similar as you’d think. For one, the Golden Bears have actually attempted more rushes than passes this year, not a bit of statistical trivia you’ll ever find in a Mike Leach offense. That’s not to say they don’t chuck the football around as well – quarterback Jared Goff has 17 passing touchdowns in four games and is averaging 10.54 yards per attempt.

Today we’ll speak to Leach and a few WSU athletes at the weekly Monday press conference so we’ll have some more on the Golden Bears this afternoon.

For now, the links are after the jump.

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— Perhaps the most impressive thing about WSU’s recent improvement is that young players are making the difference .

— Ivan McLennan is an older player who’s making a bigger impact lately. Our practice report looks at why, and why he should have had a sack on Saturday .

— Arizona’s quarterback is hoping for faster starts .

— Arizona State may very well have to face another LA school without Taylor Kelly .

— Oregon’s offensive line situation still isn’t settled heading into week six.

— Victor Bolden likely won’t be back in time for the Colorado game.

— UCLA’s coach doesn’t care how many yards the Bruins give up as long as the opponent’s score stays low.

— USC is looking to avenge a brutal loss to ASU last season.

— Not even returning kicks for touchdowns at a historic rate can put Utah’s Kaelin Clay in a good mood after Saturday’s loss.