There is no quicker way to crush the excitement of your first win than this. Washington State downed SMU in overtime last week...this week they get 12th ranked USC. I'm not saying the Cougars don't stand a chance (Washington proved they were beatable last week), but WSU knows it's a daunting task.

In the meantime, WSU is having fun at practice. They seem loose on the field, laughing and joking around. It seems like the upbeat attitude makes them better as well (maybe they finally shook all of the pressure and nerves out). The Cougs looked sharp yesterday (according to our sports reporter Chris Bach). They'll need to be even better on Saturday.

Injuries are starting to stack up for Washington State. Obviously, James Montgomery won't see the field for the rest of the season. That's a huge blow to this team. Offensive linemen B.J. Guerra (out for four-to-six weeks with a knee injury) and Zach Williams (out for a few weeks with a high ankle sprain) are other big losses. The offensive front is now a mish-mash of players, so we'll see how that effects the Cougs this weekend.

There is some good injury news to report. Wide receiver Gino Simone is back practicing after he was held out of last week's game with a concussion. He is wearing a "no contact" jersey, but he will play this weekend against USC. The freshman has made four catches for 24 yards so far this year.

As far as the Trojans go, it sounds like freshman quarterback Matt Barkley will start against WSU on Saturday. Barkley led the Trojans to their first two wins of the season (including a thriller at Ohio State), but was held out last week against Washington with a shoulder injury. All-American safety Taylor Mays isn't looking so promising. He also missed last week's game against UW. USC head coach Pete Carroll said after practice yesterday that "it's going to be a struggle for him to make it for the game." Keep in mind, Carroll is the same guy who sat out running back Joe McKnight last year against the Cougars even though McKnight was healthy enough to play (who can forget when McKnight told reporters that "if we were playing somebody else I'd probably go.").

I quickly became a fan of Jeff Tuel burning his redshirt as the SMU game wore on last weekend. I didn't see what I wanted to see from Marshall Lobbestael, so I figured why not put the kid in. Obviously, the coaches know better than I do. Tuel never stepped foot on the field and Lobbestael marched the Cougars 80 yards in 1:35 to score the game tying touchdown. It sounds like Wazzu is still planning on burning Tuel's redshirt. Wulff said yesterday that Tuel will likely play against the Trojans (that will be a HUGE wake up call).

I hate to bring up bad memories, but I have to. USC trounced the Cougars 69-0 last year. It was easily the ugliest football game I've ever seen in person. It looked like a Pop Warner team taking on the Seattle Seahawks. I will say this right now...there is no way that happens again this season. Odds makers (and just about everyone else in the US) still expects a blowout. The Trojans are 45 point favorites against the Cougs this weekend.

We talked to Paul Wulff, Andy Mattingly, and Marshall Lobbestael at practice yesterday. Click on their names to hear their uncut interviews. You can also find a live practice report from Pullman on the Cougar page on KREM.com as well.

That's all I have for now...GO COUGS!!!

UPDATE 5:25pm: Joe Nickell, one of the assistant SIDs, wrote in his blog that James Montgomery is out of the hospital and was at practice tonight. In honor of Montgomery, Dwight Tardy wore his #21 at practice today. That just shows how much James meant to this team and how much he'll be missed.

P.S. Here is just another reminder that you can follow me on Twitter @TLKREM2. Check out the widget below to see what you are missing out on (if you aren't already on the bandwagon).

2 Comments

Daniel Kenny said:

One of the biggest lessons that I have learned in life is that if you can instill self-confidence in a team, you can do most anything. If Washington State puts hard work with self confidence, they can conquer the college football world. After all, Washington State took on the Texas Longhorns and silenced them before. Well Cougars, I believe you can do it again.

September 26, 2009 2:05 AM

Daniel Kenny said:

OK, what am I doing wrong that you do not want to publish my comments? Daniel Kenny

September 26, 2009 2:17 AM

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