The college football season gets started on the Palouse on Saturday as Washington State opens with a conference showdown against Stanford (it's the first time the Cougs have opened with a Pac-10 foe in nine years).

In years past, a game against the Cardinal meant a pretty good chance for a win (Wazzu has taken five of the last eight meetings), but that's just not the case anymore. Stanford crushed the Cougars last year 58-0 down in Palo Alto, and there's a good chance WSU could struggle again this season (obviously I'm hoping that's not the case).

The Cougars will have to stop the run if they want to be successful this weekend. The biggest threat is Cardinal running back Toby Gerhart. The big fella (6'1" 235 lbs.) ran the ball 22 times against WSU last year for 132 yards. He also scored four first half touchdowns. Like I mentioned in my previous blog, Paul Wulff admitted that there is no way to stop him...he just wants to shut him down on third-and-short situations and he hopes to prevent him from any "big gainers."

Stanford will likely be running the ball a lot because they are using a true freshman at quarterback. Andrew Luck will take the snaps for the Cardinal...not Tavita Pritchard (he started 19 games for Stanford over the last two seasons). Luck was a highly touted recruit from Texas (where high school football is king), but this could be a good wakeup call for the rookie. Obviously, Cardinal head coach Jim Harbaugh (a former NFL quarterback) knows what he is doing. Here's my advice to the WSU coaching staff...let Andy Mattingly run loose on the kid (blitz, blitz, blitz).

Stanford also returns their top three receivers from last year. Ryan Whalen (who caught 41 passes for 508 yards last year), Doug Baldwin (23 catches for 332 yards last season), and tight end Austin Gunder (17 receptions for 208 yards in '08) will be the top targets. Sophomore Chris Owusu (five catches for 80 yards in just five games last season) is also expected to play a much bigger role in the Cardinal offense this year. As you can tell from their numbers, Stanford has a run first mentality (they averaged nearly 200 yards per game on the ground last year, compared to 152 yards through the air).

Stanford returns eight starters on defense. Their strength (unlike Wazzu) is their defensive line. Keep your eyes on defensive ends Erik Lorig and Tom Keiser (the two combined for nine sacks last year). Defensive tackles Sione Fua, Brian Bulcke and Ekom Udofia are also back (they tallied seven sacks as a unit in '08).

The star of the defense is safety Bo McNally. He led the Cardinal with 76 tackles and four interceptions last year. Kevin Lopina and Marshall Lobbestael (depending on how much he plays) will have to keep tabs on him.

As for the Cougars...I'm not expecting a win, but I am expecting improvement. I want them to go out and compete on Saturday. The odds makers predict a much closer finish as well, pegging WSU as a 16.5 point underdog.

I'm wavering on my prediction, but I'm sticking with what I've said (to my friends and fellow Cougar fans) all week. I think Washington State will lose 42-14 (please don't hate me). Wazzu's defensive front is not strong enough to shut down Gerhart and the running game. Again...I hope they prove me wrong.

I posted uncut interviews Kevin Lopina and Paul Wulff from practice on Wednesday on KREM.com (click on their names to watch the interviews). They can give you perspective on what the team is thinking as they head into the opener.

I also wanted to remind you that I will be tweeting from the sideline on Saturday, so be sure to follow me on Twitter @TLKREM2. Hopefully I can add to your Cougar football Saturday!

Be sure to watch KREM 2 News at 10pm and 11pm for full highlights and postgame reaction. We'll also have all the goods on the Cougar page on KREM.com.

Go Cougs!

1 Comments

Chief said:

Great preview Tim! I would love to see the Cougs come out with a W, but I too pick the Cougs to lose by 14. I predict that true frosh Travis Long and Gino Simone will both have a great performance against the Cardinal. Go Cougs!!!

September 4, 2009 10:50 AM

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