WSU Cougar Football 2004
From the
Beginning to the end
The 2004 WSU Cougar football team had youthful
promise, but few people had high hopes for success in the spring, because we'd
lost some good players from 2003 (Devard darling, Jason David,
Jonathan Smith, Eric Coleman), and because of the questions about
Josh Swogger. On defense linebacker Will Derting was coming
off of a stellar season, but was injured early. The rest of
this page is a compilation of what I wrote during that season, my
current comments will be highlighted in Blue. I hope you enjoy
reading it and get a feel for that season. Its funny how
quickly we forget.
WSU Spring Football 2004
Swogger was just good enough to maintain his position as
the number 1 quarterback coming out of spring training. From
the emails I've received from campus it wasn't that he was so great,
but no one else stepped up and took the job. This might be the
year that Rick Neuheisel's quarterback theft costs us some games.
From the sounds of it we've got
three good running backs. That usually means you have three
average running backs and no one has proven they are really good.
It also may point to the lack of experience they have on defense
(they only return two starters from last year). Having a great
running back with an experienced offensive line will be key this
year with an unproven quarterback (no matter which one gets the job)
.
2004 Cougar Clam Bake
Thank you Mrs. Clift (the
director of alumni programs for people living on the Olympic
peninsula) for making the 2004 Cougar clam bake a huge success!
Most of the current and a couple former coaches were there,
along with hundreds of
alumni and current students. Along with celebrating 10 wins 3 years in a row
we all wanted to know what Coach Doba thinks about this year.
He was very positive, especially about backup
quarter back Alex Brink, who is giving Josh Swogger a run for
his money. Don't be surprised if Alex ends up the starting
quarterback in September. Is that a good thing?
Probably not. Experience (even a little) really helps at
the helm of the offense. Even the really great
quarterbacks are much better after they have played a couple
years at the college level.
Hey, want to see the Cougar clam bake in all of its glory?
Check out the Cougar Clam Bake
Photo Gallery
And by the
way, everyone loved the special "Doba Dip Ice Cream"
desert!
ABC loves the Cougs
WSU to face Colorado, Arizona, USC, and
Washington on ABC.
PULLMAN, Wash. --- ABC Sports announced Friday it will
televise at least four Washington State football games during
the 2004 season, including the Cougars' Sept. 11 match up with
Colorado in Seattle and the Nov. 20 Apple Cup against Washington
in Pullman.
"That's fantastic. Being on ABC means great exposure for our
kids and for recruiting," WSU Head Coach
Bill Doba said. "I believe we have a good product and people
like to watch us. Having four selections by ABC reflects our
popularity."
In addition to the Colorado and Washington games, ABC will
broadcast WSU's road game at Arizona Sept. 25 and a Dads' Day
clash with defending national champion USC at Martin Stadium
Oct. 30. ABC picked up four games featuring Washington State and USC,
while no other Pac-10 team was scheduled for more than two. An
additional five conference games will be selected 12 or six days
prior to the contest.
"It's a credit to what the football program has accomplished
and where we think we are headed in the future," WSU Director of
Athletics Jim Sterk said.
WSU Cougars 21 New Mexico 17
Has winning become a habit?
This is
supposed to be on of THOSE years. Young
quarterback, almost no returning starters on defense, and 3 good
running backs (which usually means NO good running backs), and a
4-7 season. What more could you expect?
It
certainly looked like that
was the case in the first half. But in the 4th quarter
something changed. All of a sudden Josh Swogger was
connecting and the defense seemed to figure out New Mexico's
offense - Ok their star running Dontrell Moor back got hurt -
the cougar's Omawale Dada blocked a punt and we pulled out a
close 21 - 17 win. You have to be happy about that.
Thank you Alex Teems!
If it weren't for 2 late interceptions by Star of the game Alex
Teems we might be talking about how the cougars couldn't move
the ball - WSU had 1 running 1st down and 28 net rushing yards.
The offensive line didn't live up to its reputation or maybe New
Mexico's D line is that good, but it didn't look like the
running backs had much room. Why not give someone else
besides Bruhn a chance to run the ball, to see if that makes a
difference.
That's why you play teams like New Mexico early in the season,
to get the bugs out. If the 4th quarter team shows up
against Colorado we stand a good chance of going 2 - 0.
How bout them Cougs! Finally I'm starting to feel like the
cougars have developed a winning tradition, after all of those
years of less, this team stood up and created the outcome they
expected in the 4th quarter.
WSU Linebacker Will Derting out for?....
He
dislocated his left wrist. I wonder what Coach
Doba considered SECOND worst thing that could happen this season?
Derting is in a cast for the next couple weeks, but he is out
indefinitely. Lets hope he takes good care of it and is back
after the by week at the end of September, when things start getting
tough.
Lowly University of Washington
Huskies
Embarrassed
by Fresno State Bulldogs UW 16 -
Fresno State 35
It was another one of those great weekends,
the Cougars won and the Huskies looked like the lackluster team
they have become. Its almost painful---ly fun isn't it?
To watch the Husky players struggle through interviews when they
know that all of the fair weather UW fans stopped watching long
ago? UW players from the Don James Era must be shoving
their heads into the fry grease at work over losses like this.
You could tell that even the Husky fans were not surprised.
Where were the choruses of boos we've come to know and love?
They just got up and left like the latte drinking leftists they
are. First John Kerry, now this!
By the way, if anyone wants a tape of that game to send to their
Seattle friends at Christmas let me know - I TIVO-ed it just in
case!
On the Brink of winning?
WSU Cougars lose to Colorado 20 -
12
My daughter asked me why wasn't I depressed
about this loss. Normally when the Cougars lose my kids
run to their friends house and my wife hides the dog (reminds me
of other pain). So why wasn't this loss as painful as normal?
We played maybe the worst game in the last 5 years offensively,
Swogger was mediocre, and his receivers seemed worse. The
national announcers were trashing the offense and I had to sit
there and agree with them. I should be searching for a
tall building to jump off of. But I'm not.
Four reasons:
1. Our defense is too young to have played as well
as it did, which bodes well for the future. Colorado's
offense couldn't get anything done all day, and most of the
points scored were not scored on the defense, but on an
interception run back and a blocked punt. That stiffness should
at least keep the score close this year while the offense finds
its stride.
2.
Alex Brink looked pretty good once he settled
down. If it weren't for that "almost a hero" dive for the
end zone at the end of the game we could have tied the game up,
even after playing pitifully for most of the game.
And by the way,
the left side of the line needs to learn how to yell "Look out!"
when their guy gets by them.
3. It wasn't a Pac Ten game. We are still in
the running for the Rose Bowl. Or at least the 2nd place
position behind USC.
4. Our off week is coming up in a couple weeks. Sometimes you dread
them because you are doing well, this year the off week will
allow Derting on defense and the guys on the offensive line to
get healthy. Injuries to the offensive line made them
often ineffective today.
Whew, got through that, can I forget about it now and think
about next week? Good, because my wife just gave me a map
and directions to a tall building near our home.
Swogger Starts Against Idaho
Coach Doba is giving Swogger the ball Saturday
against Idaho. There certainly were enough problems to go
around with the offense, and Swogger has more experience than
Brink. I'm glad I don't have to make that call (I just get
to complain if it doesn't work!). Either quarterback
should look good against Idaho, even though they improved after
being smashed by BSU two weeks ago they should not be able to
mount much offense against the cougars. Kind of strange to
say that this year. How bad would this team be if the
defense played their age?
Swogger Starts Against Idaho,
WSU wins 49-8
Pretty much as expected, I was too bored to
even write about it. Great win, meant nothing because
Idaho is so bad this year (sorry guys). Swogger and Brinks
both got practice, I still think Brinks should be the Cougar QB,
not my call.
Where is "Ept" anyway? (WSU 20
Arizona 19)
Because the cougars were
in "ept" most of the day.
6 Turnovers, 4 lost, and you still win?
Arizona is a very poor team and yet the Cougars barely escaped a
victory. Thank God for another great defensive effort
which allowed the Cougars to come through in the fourth quarter
when it counted.
Swogger looked pretty good (18/38 274 yards, 2 td), and his
receivers caught the ball, though they coughed it up after the
catch. The offensive line doesn't even resemble the world
beaters of a year ago, even though its basically the same guys.
Part of the reason may be that our poor receivers are being
covered 1 on 1 successfully, allowing the defense to throw many
more blitzes at this years line and quarterbacks, no matter who
is standing behind center. The Injury to Bienemenn hurt
too.
Bright spots? Jason Hill is emerging as a leader of the
receiving core, with a 31.4 yard average and 4 touchdowns on the
season. I like Allen Thompson, he seems to want the end
zone more than Chris Bruhn does, and he finds it more often,
too. Defensively Husain Abdullah had a great day today, it
seemed like he was all over the place.
So the soft part of the schedule is over, next up Arizona State.
The Cougar offense needs to get on track quick, or we will get
blown out by a good ASU team that was 3-0 when this was written.
Bonnell to start for the UW
Huskies
Irritating, isn't it? The final insult to
WSU from the Rick Neuheisel era will be this guy
starting for the Huskies on Saturday. After all the work
Mike Price did to bring Bonnell to the cougars, Bonnell being
snatched by the Neuheisel using a recruiting loophole was a
cruel twist of the blade, only re-emphasizing the Huskies
attitude that no matter how many games the cougars win, we can't
beat them, even in recruiting. Our only solace is
the fact that Bonnell is playing because the Huskies offensive
production has resembled the University of Idaho's this year
(with apologies to our Vandal friends)
The question remains:
"How well can Huskies play with no Paus?"
It's a bloody visual. . . .kind a like it.
By the way, Bonnell
Sucked that Saturday, and the Huskies woes continued, ending with
the firing of the head coach and hiring of coach Willingham.
John Kerry in charge of Cougar
Scheduling!
WSU - Oregon Start time
flip flops back to 2:00 PM
The start time for the game with
Oregon in Pullman on October 9th has been moved back to 2PM
Pacific and will not be televised. Apparently "Not all
affected parties had a chance to provide input into the
decision". Fans who planned on driving back from the game
to Western Washington or Western Oregon will be happy about
that, as will local fraternities who had been afraid their
parents might stay in town and crash the victory parties - "We
were scared to death, my girl friends dad wanted us to serve Sea
Breezes" said one concerned student.
John Kerry was the
communist party - excuse me, democratic party candidate for
President that year, notorious for saying one thing in the morning
and another in the afternoon, particularly a comment on a key
appropriations bill for the war in Iraq where he said "I actually
voted FOR the bill, before I voted against it". That one
comment probably doomed his presidential chances (but it was more
erudite than "Hyaaaaaah!").
WSU Coughs one up in Pullman
WSU 38 OU 41
Just about the time we started trusting our
defense to defy the truth of their youthful inexperience,
they reminded us rudely Saturday that they still have a
ways to go. Against a here-to-fore lackluster Oregon offense
the cougars turned in a performance similar to the one the
Seahawks turned in the next day. That's a bad thing. The offense
looked pretty good most of the day, but, as has been
the Achilles heal of WSU offenses for years, their inability to
run the ball in the fourth quarter cost the game.
Suddenly you get the feeling that the cougars could just as
easily be 1 and 4.
The Pac-10 teams out of the
way. Next get to take on a feisty Stanford team that ALMOST toppled
mighty USC earlier this year. Since the day John Elway
graduated I've always figured we could beat Stanford every time
we played them, but after
the last two weeks, fingers will be crossed.
We need a running back to step up and force the defense to play
closer to the line of scrimmage, or this year could get ugly in
a hurry. Jerome Harrison is the latest guy to try to fit
the bill. After 15 games without a touchdown, Chris Bruhn
is not.
WSU loses to Stanford 23 - 17
As Josh Swogger single
handedly makes WSU a running team.
Three 10 win seasons two Rose bowls, and all
of a sudden we're trying to implement a two back system?
Here is a quick clue - even though it is new for us, the other
teams have already seen it. Now that they know what we are
doing they will prepare for it next week along with everything
else. The system we had has been working REALLY well for
the past few years. Maybe coach Doba has just given up on
this group of running backs, and decided they need some help.
Bruhn didn't play much Saturday, and his two replacements both
racked up much better numbers than Chris has this year.
Swogger will probably get his job back when he is healthy, for
the teams sake lets hope Bruhn does not.
This year is quickly becoming one of those forgettable ones.
Its got that rhythm us old timers remember: One half of
the game they look great, the other half you scratch your head.
One minute they look like world beaters, then they do something
that drives you nuts. Unlike last weeks last second loss
at Oregon, this week you kind of felt from the beginning that it
was going to be a long day. Early scores by Stanford made
it even more apparent that they had a much more talented and
poised quarterback at the helm. The weird things was that
even though Josh had a bad leg he was jittery in the pocket
right from the start, rolling out several times well before the
defensive pressure required such a move. Maybe they were
rolling him out on purpose, but it didn't feel that way.
WSU QB
Josh Swogger out for the year
Josh Swogger's recent leg and foot injuries (the list is REALLY long) will
place him on the bench for the rest of the season. During
the game I was so frustrated with Josh I couldn't see straight.
knowing the amount of injuries he was playing through certainly
sheds a different light on the performance. Even with all
of the protection rules, being a quarterback is a painful job. He should be
healthy by spring practice.
So Alex Brink will finally get a full week with the starters.
While all of our signal callers are young this year, Mr. Brink
seems like a guy who can get the job done. With his great
numbers as a high school player (over 9,000 total yards passing,
etc), I for one am excited to see
what he can do. Like Josh, he is going to make mistakes,
but this kind of on the job training pays off in future years,
and you have to get experience some time. Starting him in a
year when WSU already feels like it's dancing on peanut butter is
not the worst thing that could happen.
This week it will
be up to the offensive line to pick up the blitzes that OSU will
throw at Brink to try to get him off of his game. It
will be interesting to see if the receivers drop his passes like
they did Swoggers. Sometimes just the way one quarterback
throws the ball compared to another fits a receivers hands
better. And what about those slant patterns when they
blitz? I know that is a standard tactic, but it sure
seemed to work well for us in past years.
WSU Cougar collapse complete -WSU
19 OSU 38
Cougs 1 for 14 on third
down conversions. ouch.
I'm still a Brinks fan. He got
happy feet as the game went on, but I he showed good
composure for a guy starting his first game. I watched the
whole thing again on TV on Sunday - glutton for punishment that
I am - and even knowing the final score it felt like we were in
the game until after half time.
Part of the blame for
Saturdays lack of production should be placed squarly at the feet of the
offensive coordinators, two backs again? For WSU 2 backs
is a gimmick play. What 4 receiver sets have we dropped
from the playbook (already truncated for young quarterbacks) so
that we can look more like everyone else? Unless we sell
out completely to a two back offense, the defenses will be more
familiar with defending it that we are with running it.
One positive change
was at running back, Jerome Harrison has emerged as a decent
back and punched in another running touchdown. It would be
interesting to know how many of those third downs were shorter
yardage runs with the ball in his hands. Once we lose to USC we will
have to win the rest of our games to become bowl eligible.
The glimmer of hope is that all of these guys are young,
and should become better as the season goes on. We have to
hope to win the "November cougars against everyone else can we
get shirts?" trophy. November has not been kind to the
cougars in the past. It will be fun to see if Coach Doba
and the boys can pull this one out.
If Coach Doba is set on two back
sets maybe he should take a look in my back yard at BSU.
Their coach has the kind of offensive creativeness and
excitement that is lacking in Pullman this year. Watch it
in Boise quick, before the Huskies come snatch their coach in
the off-season. He's too good to stay in Boise, and the
Husky faithless certainly won't keep the first coach to give
them a losing record in a billion years. Here's to sending
him off with one final loss right around Thanksgiving.
The
Huskies went with Notre Dame coach Ty Willingham, Jury
is out on how good of a pick that was.
Okay Okay, I get the message!
If Boston can break the curse of
the Bambino the Cougs can Beat USC
Your Emails were 100% against me this week
(surprise). Even my own father emailed me wondering if any
real cougar would assume that we were going to lose this
weekend. Yes, I am rooting for us to break the
"Curse" of recent poor performance that the Cougars have
suffered recently. Hey, I still expect us to beat the
Huskies EVERY SINGLE YEAR, even though history tells me we won't
win every game we play against them. I hope I can
still be considered a Coug after expecting us to not cover this
particular 24 point spread.
If you want a true
cougar optimists viewpoint check out this great article by
Jim Moore at the Seattle PI. That's why he does this
for a living, pulling victory out of the jaws of defeat before
the game even starts. Way to go Jim!
Coach Doba
Blinks, WSU 12, USC 42
But
did you see how we crushed the backups?
I said we were
going to lose, but I didn't show as much lack of confidence in
the defense as Coach Doba did Saturday. Maybe he saw
something on tape, maybe USC has a habit of rushing back early
to protect the returner on opening kick offs, it doesn't matter. The opening on-side attempt (Prophetically) only
managed a two yard gain, and USC got the ball at mid field
without even having to touch the ball. Nothing says desperation
like a game opening on-side kick. I hated our trick plays
even when Mike Price made them work. They telegraph to both
teams that you don't believe that you can play the other team straight up.
Coach Doba is supposed to be tougher than that. USC immediately scored and it took most of the 1st half for
the defense recover. Even though the two
touchdowns in the second half were more than the two last teams
to play USC scored combined, it only made the things look a
little less lopsided. The outcome was never in doubt.
Sometimes I hate
being right.
If there is a bright
side it was that no one really got hurt, and that both Chris Bruhn
and Cody Boyd will be back in the lineup for the game against
UCLA. Fresh legs can
make a difference. Chris Bruhn is not the best running
back on the team, but he has the opportunity to come in and give
the team a lift if he starts off well. Prove me wrong
Chris, score a touchdown!
UCLA, the other white meat.
In an attempt to
understand the psychology of a "UCLA" I decided to look at their
legal system, as the laws of a culture are the result of that
societies brightest minds. Several Los Angeles laws that I
found (these are all REAL laws in the city of Los Angeles):
-
It
is illegal for a man to beat his wife with a strap wider
than 2 inches without her consent. (Yeah, fine, but how
long can it be?)
-
You
may not hunt moths under a street light
("I swear officer, the moth was ABOVE the light!
And picture that gun.)
-
It
is illegal to cry on the witness stand (Bailiff, whack his....!)
-
Toads may not be licked.
(Legal system or on-campus dating etiquette? You
decide.)
And
now, on to the game
UCLA and ASU are a
combined 11-5. Both of them are better than us on paper,
and the Huskies are terrible, but all three games are winnable
if our defense can toughen up. The defense needs to keep us in the
game so that opposing defenses can't pin their ears back.
UCLA has a lousy pass rush, which means that Brinks should have time to
throw the ball, essential for a young quarterback.
Having Cody Boyd back at tight end will add an additional weapon
to our arsenal - he has been sorely missed on third down.
Its tougher to win at
UCLA, but watch for this Saturday to be Mr. Brinks coming out
party, a return to a wide open passing game, less two backs
offense, and a win. You heard it here first! I'm
counting on the breaks to go our way instead of theirs, but its
about time they did, don't you think?
What a
difference a play makes -WSU 31 UCLA 29
The Cougars - breaking from recent
tradition - actually kicked off to UCLA on Saturday to start the
game. One big hit and one offensive play later it was 6
nothing Cougars. Alex Brink had more time this week, and
continued to improve, making several nice plays and avoiding costly
turn-overs. The game ball, though had to go to the WSU
offensive line and Jerome Harrison for a rushing performance that
had us all wondering what could have been if he had been named the
starter sooner. There is no question who will be starting next
week against ASU. 42 rushes for 247 yards? Wow.
With the turn-overs and
huge rushing yards the game still came down to one final play at the
end of the game, after a furious UCLA come back and touchdown with
seconds left on the clock, a two point conversion would have tied
the game. Up stepped the WSU defense as they blew UCLA off of
the line and chased Drew Olsen to the sideline. His
desperation pass back to the middle of the field fell incomplete.
It is notable that WSU
went back to the one back offense for this game. If they used
any two back sets I must have out of the room laughing at a Husky.
With Cody Boyd back at tight end and Jason Hill having a good day,
the offensive line was able to easily handle the UCLA D-line and
blew large holes for the fleet footed Harrison. Jerome is kind of a
little guy, but it seemed like every time they gave him an inch of
room he shot through it for a big gain. And that was the best
part of this game. Those yards were based upon a record number
of carries, not a couple huge lucky plays.
Husain Abdullah can HIT,
can't he? He is a joy to watch. But the question of the week
is whose hit was better: Sam Lightbody's abuse of Matt Clark
that sprang Jason Hill for a touchdown? or the hit kicker (new field
goal kicker?) Graham Siderius put on Tab Perry that stopped a
promising return dead in its tracks. Where was this toughness
last week?
This game combined with
ASU's win Saturday over Stanford makes this weeks match up exciting,
watch for both teams to let it all hang out. This game means
the season for WSU, if they lose they will miss going to a bowl game
for the first time in for ever. Can our defense get to Andrew
Walter? My ASU neighbor says no, but then he was the only guy
in Idaho to vote for John Kerry - so what the hell does HE know?
(Hi Steve!). My UCLA neighbor just put a for sale sign in his
front yard. I think I'll roll on over and remind him of our
bet before he skips town.
WSU - UW Apple Cup
start time moved to 4 PM on ABC
There is no truth to
the rumor that the start time was moved by Husky coaches in an
attempt to avoid actually playing the Cougars. There is
speculation however that the Huskies will stay in Colfax on the
night before the Apple Cup. Their plan is to play Colfax High School
in an attempt to win the mythical "Colfax Championship" trophy.
ASU Game moved
to 4 PM on TBS
TBS has picked up the
WSU vs ASU game on Saturday. Ted Turner was originally going
to air John Kerry's "Ich bin ein Vietnamer" Speech in front of
the Vietnam War memorial in Washington DC during that time slot.
The speech was cancelled - along with the Kerry presidency - by the
recent election.
(Didn't get that?
Click here for the text of
President Kennedy's 1963 speech in front of the Berlin wall)
So,
uh... What are you doing for Christmas? WSU 28 ASU 45
"It was one of the hardest games of my career to
just stay focused," ASU QB Andrew Walter said after the game.
Funny - seemed focused to me. Throwing for 5 touchdowns, ASU
slaughtered the cougars, finishing the WSU bowl hopes, and adding
this years team to the long list of cougar teams in the "no bowl
game" list. ASU has proved that really is that good, with it's
only losses being to USC and Moped U.
The cougars? When you look back at Colorado and
Oregon, two games we really should have won, you know that this team
will be very good next year. I'll feel better if we can take
out our frustrations on the lowly Huskies this weekend. Winning
won't wipe out our earlier losses, but it will sure make a
difference in how the success of this team and this season is
perceived.
I'm Betting yes with (my fingers
crossed)
The cougars can still
say they had an decent year for a young and rebuilding team,
if they
beat the Huskies this weekend. It's irritating to
look at the Apple Cup as the game of the year, since we tend to
choke like grandpa on a chicken bone every time we play it.
Happily this is the worst Huskies team (almost) ever, in Pullman,
against a young and learning Cougar squad. The Huskies have
won larger mismatches in the past.
When you think about big games like this and all of
the Apple Cups in the past, its the turnovers that kill you.
The Huskies have been much better at that (helps when you run the
ball a lot), so we have generally ended up holding the short end of
the stick even when we were the better team. Since turnovers
have been pivotal all season for the current cougars as well, it
increases the pressure on Alex to make the right reads and know when
to just chuck it into the stands. "Hey Alex, the Husky defense
sucks. Instead of forcing the ball into coverage, tuck it and
run for the goal line. With this years dogs you will
probably make it!" Like last week at ASU, the Dawgs will
be watching for those short dump off passes early. Beating the
Huskies could cement you as the starter next year, even with Swogger
coming back. Lose big to the Huskies, and Josh Swogger takes over
the job when he is healthy.
I am in favor of anything that will keep us from being
the only team to lose the the Husky low lifes this year. It
really would add insult to injury, wouldn't it?
UW "Husks" It
WSU COUGARS WIN 28-25!
"Husks it" I like that, has kind of a ring to it,
don't you think? Capitalizing on 4 Casey Paus turnovers, WSU pulled
out a 3 point victory, 28-25. They tried to give it away in
the 4th quarter, but this year the Huskies were just too lousy to
take advantage of persistent Cougar penalties in the final minutes.
You get the feeling that Hill and Bumpus were Hurt, because after
their return to the game neither were big factors. I can hop
in the car a happy guy. George Bush won re-election, now this.
My son asked my wife why I was so happy. She
said "because his team hasn't won this game in 5 - 6 - I mean
7 years". Wives say the darnedest things, don't they? But
tonight it doesn't matter, the Huskies are 1-10 because of us.
We can now say with authority that this Husky team is the suckiest
sucking team that ever sucked!
By the way "Husks It"? Remember that you heard
it here first!
So ended an average season for the cougars, one that
started with promise, got derailed at Oregon, and then crashed when
Swogger was injured and out for the year. Beating the Huskies
is always sweet revenge, but this year it was a battle of an average
team against really a horrible team. For the future, the
cougars need to find a way to keep the quarterback safe. How
many seasons have we had great seasons become less than they could
have been because the quarterback gets beat all to hell and can't
finish the season. Either that or get even bigger guys.
Ryan Leaf was a good quarterback, not brilliant, but he was a
monster in the pocket that could take the pounding. Bledsoe
was in the same mold. Go Cougs!
2004 Results:
WSU Players in
the 2004 NFL draft
Defensive back
Jason David be one of the steals of this years draft?
Sure, he's not as good as Marcus Trufant, and draft pros
thought he wouldn't get picked at all, but he's going to
surprise some people. He ended up being picked by
the Indianapolis Colts in the 4th round. With the
WSU recent history at that position at least they know
that he's been taught right. I wonder what other
traditions Rick Neuheisel brought with him from
Colorado?
Where Cougars were
picked:
| Name |
Position |
Round |
Team |
| Devard Darling |
WR |
3rd
- 82nd |
Baltimore Ravens |
| Jason David
|
DB |
4th
- 125th |
Indianapolis Colts |
| Eric Coleman |
DB |
5th
- 143rd |
New
York Jets |
| Jonathan Smith |
RB |
7th
- 214th |
Buffalo Bills |
WSU
Cougars Actually Chosen in the 2004 NFL Draft:
Karl Paymah has the privilege of being this years
first WSU Cougar picked in the NFL draft after only starting for
2 years (He would have started 4 in most programs). We all
know how good he is - 129 tackles, three interceptions and a
great day against the Huskies (did I mention we beat the Huskies
this year? Thought so). He got picked by Denver in the
third round as the 76th pick over all, will he make it? We
hope so. He didn't have much problem covering taller guys
in College. That may be tougher in the pros, since the
guys he had problems with all probably got drafted and the guys
he beat up are getting ready for the rude awakening of the real
world (Denny's, mostly). We all wanted him to go on the
first day, but once you are out of those top money spots, the
important thing is to get picked by a good team that can use
you. Denver is good, can they use him? Denver fans
email me, because I don't know the answer to that question after
Champ Bailey, who is a very good corner.
For those of you with family, here is the
complete list of draftees in the 2005 NFL draft. Its a
short list:
Third Round - pick 76 - Karl Paymah - Denver
Broncos
Sixth Round - pick 211 - Calvin Armstrong - Philadelphia Eagles
Seventh Round - pick 231 - Hamza Abdullah - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
WSU 2005
FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 1 Idaho –
Thursday
Sept. 9 at Nevada – Friday
Sept. 17 Grambling State at
Seattle (Future Cougar/Band Day)
Sept. 24 – BYE –
Oct. 1 at Oregon State
Oct. 8 Stanford
Oct. 15 UCLA (Homecoming)
Oct. 22 at California
Oct. 29 at USC
Nov. 5 Arizona State (Dad's
Day)
Nov. 12 Oregon (Armed Forces Day
Nov. 19 at Washington
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