What Cougar Fans Should be Clamoring For...

If I was a Washington State Cougar fan ( I thank god every night that I am not) I would be harassing my athletic department to make the smartest move possible for the football program.

That move is out there, it just needs to be made.

Fire head coach Paul Wulff, which seems inevitable, and go hire Mike Leach before someone like Arizona gets to him.

You want to make at least one Husky envious, that is the way to do it. Mike Leach is an unemployed mad man,eager to get back into coaching and make Texas Tech realize they screwed up. This guy created one of the most dangerous spread attacks football fans have ever seen, and he drew it all up on a napkin late one night.

As a Husky alum with a team that ranks near the bottom in most defensive statistics, the idea of having Leach coaching our in-state rival is frightening. Year in and year out the Cougs have NFL caliber receivers. Put those guys with a spread-style QB, and a line that understands the scheme (Leach's offense requires much more space than usual in between each linemen) and they already have a potent attack.

Did I mention, the guy has a vast knowledge of the recruiting landscape in the South, most notably in Oklahoma and Texas. Those states are what they like to call "gold-mines" in the high school gridiron world.

Sure, Leach has been known to be a little coo coo at times. After all, any grown man with a deep fascination with pirates has to be a little nutty. And yes, he was accused of locking former Red Raider receiver Adam James in a closet after suffering a concussion. That whole story doesn't seem too accurate though. But, a guy like Leach could fit in perfectly in a place like Pullman. It is a small community, far away from a lot of other places. The type of place where he could get away with all that quirkiness. A lot of high school Football players in the South come from tight-knit communities that have a lot of passion for their local teams. One thing Pullman has is passion, and that small town feel. Leach bringing talented recruits in from the south might actually prove not too difficult for him and his staff.

All this guy did at Texas Tech was win. And score a lot of points while doing so. all while at a school that in the grand scheme of things out there, is just a little fish swimming in a big pond.  In Pullman, he would only have to compete locally with Washington. Yes, they appear to be making their way back to prominence, but they are not Oklahoma, Texas, or Texas A&M.

If I am Bill Moos, I am making this move now rather than waiting. Arizona has already fired their head coach and have begun the search for the next guy. The wildcats have gotten deep into Texas recruiting in recent years, and quite possibly will be going hard after Leach in order to keep that going.

When Washington fired Tyrone Willingham in 2008, Leach was my guy. Don't get me wrong, I love Steve Sarkisian, but the thought of Mike Leach coaching the Cougars is a scary one. A Harrell to Crabtree like connection on the Palouse, No thank you. WSU fans getting caught up in their head coaches pirate obsessions, wearing Jack Sparrow outfits into the student section for a night game on ESPN, that would make me a little jealous. It sounds awesome.

So, as a Husky alum, please do not make the move. But for those Cougs, I would be begging for Mike Leach's pirate ship to set sail for Pullman.

Ahoy.

ATTN: WSU Cougars, Stay on Your Side of The State...

It is that time of year again. The time when the Washington State Cougar football program rolls into the city of Seattle with their passion high, and their win total low. And this year, rather than hosting a non-conference opponent that is much worse than them, they are playing a Pac-12 foe, much worse than them. My point, no matter who they play or how good or bad they are, you guys stay in Pullman, and the Huskies will hold down Seattle.

Now, before you go arguing about all of the alums who live in the greater Seattle area, and all of the passion they have, let me tell you this; I understand that, and I don't care. I am sorry everyone graduates from WSU and gets the hell out of town as soon as they can. I also apologize on behalf of everyone responsible that Seattle is a much cooler place, and that the Washington legislator did not choose to put your campus here in 1890, but rather Pullman.

There are satellite campuses in Spokane (beautiful place), the Tri-Cities, and Vancouver. Why don't you guy's play a football game in one of those gems?

The idea of schools playing games in the largest city in the state should be reserved for rivalry games. I.e. Oklahoma and Texas playing in Dallas. That idea was brought up a couple of years ago for the Apple Cup, and WSU was scared away. Yet, they still want to come back and play a game each year. If the fan base has so many people in Seattle, and so much passion, why not play the Huskies in a 67,000 seat stadium every season?

The people in Seattle, and the Husky fans more importantly, did not make Martin Stadium the smallest in the Pac-12. The WSU administration did. Blame them. We understand you want our town, our town's facilities, and our amenities. But, with all that passion for the Palouse and "God's Country", why don't you just keep the "home" games over there?

Leave the West Side to the Best Side. UW.

Oh, and by the way, Martin Stadium is named after a Dawg. Nice work.

PAC-12 WEEKLY VIDEO PREVIEW

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WEEKLY 12-PAC(K)...WEEK SIX EDITION

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A Look Back At The Week That Was...

• Washington Strolls Into Rice-Eccles, Handles Utah: The Washington Huskies came into Salt-Lake 10 point underdogs. This was Utah's first Pac-12 home game, it was a chance for their famed "MUSS" student section to show that they could hang with the big boys. It was also a chance for their football team to show that they too belonged. They did anything but that. Utah fumbled the opening kickoff, which was scooped up by Husky linebacker Jamal Kearse and taken into the end-zone for six. And that would be the story for the day, as the Washington defense forced five turnovers, struggled offensively in the first half, and then erupted in the second. Running back Chris Polk ran for 189 yards, QB Keith Price threw for three more, and the Dawgs offense continued to click. Utah's defense is nothing extraordinary, but this Washington unit appears to be able to handle anything. Pac-12 teams better take notice, because they are tough to defend.

• Washington State Stuns Colorado on Late TD Toss: If you don't know who Marquees Wilson is now, you soon will. The Cougar wide receiver had 121 yards on six receptions, including a decisive 63-yard touchdown catch with 1:10 left in the game to win it for the Cougs. Colorado's secondary, which came into the game bruised and damaged, was able to keep Washington States passing game relatively quiet, until the last 2 1/2 minutes. The Cougars scored with 2:35 left, down a field goal, and elected to kick it deep and trust their defense. That paid off, as they forced a punt immediately. Then stepped in Wilson, who appears to be the next of a long line of star wide outs that have come out of Pullman. He simply sped past the corner and safety and went deep into the secondary, untouched, for the game winning touchdown. 

•  Luck Powers #6 Stanford to Another Victory: I might need to just begin a separate section for this topic, as it is becoming routine to write about Andrew Luck and him leading his team to victory. The guy is just ridiculous. He went 23-27 for 227 yards and three scores. Oh, and did I mention the one handed catch he hauled in on a trick play? If you know of a better player in the country than this guy, please let me know. I do not think it exists. By the way, Stanford beat UCLA 45-19.

The Winners...

• Washington State Wide Receiver Marquees Wilson: Could Washington State be recognized as Wideout U.? Every year, no matter who their coach is, or who is in charge of getting the rock to them, they produce NFL caliber wide receivers. Marquees Wilson is the next great one. He is currently ranked ninth in the country with 550 yards, and is averaging 26.2 yards a pop. After being bottled up most of the game in Boulder, he showed he can show up when his team needs him most, scoring the game winning touchdown with 1:10 left. This guy is becoming a star.

• Washington Husky Defense: The unit, and their coordinator Nick Holt, have been feeling the heat since the season began. They may have quieted the critics, for now at least, after their performance against Utah. The Utes are a know power running team, who grinds the ball until they can open up some play action. Well, not this game. The Huskies held Utah's ground game to 36 yards on 15 carries, and forced 5 turnovers. We will see if this showing can carry on throughout the year. 

The Losers...

• Oregon State: Things are not looking good in Corvallis this season. The Beavers were not able to capitalize on a number of Arizona State mistakes, and lost to the Sun Devils 35-20. They are now 0-4 to start the year, and 0-2 in league play. Looking ahead, they better hope to get past Arizona, or a struggling BYU team, or they could go without a victory for 2011. 

A Look Ahead...

• #9 Oregon Takes on The Golden Bears:  Last year, using what some would call a sketchy defensive tactic, Cal held Oregon to a season low 15 points, eventually losing 15-13. Multiple times through out the game, it appeared Cal defensive players would look over to the sidelines, then fall to the ground with various types of injuries. It did work however, as it slowed down the Ducks attack, and kept them out of a rhythm for much of the game. After breaking the schools single game rushing record two weekends ago, we will see if LaMichael James can pick up where he left off. Cal has some outstanding receivers, and a good quarterback in transfer Brock Maynard, so this should be an interesting Thursday night match up. At least until Oregon blows the cover off the thing.

• Washington State VS. UCLA: A quick glance, and this contest will not catch anybodies eye. The reason I find it intriguing is this; Both head coaches were on the hot seat to start the year, and now both seem headed in opposite places. This is a real turning point game for both schools. A win for WSU and they are at 4-1, 2-0 in the Pac, and only two wins shy of being bowl eligible. Whereas a loss for the Bruins would drop them to 2-4, 1-2 in the Pac, and Rick Neuheisels job would be hard to save. A win for UCLA and a loss for WSU would simply bring the two back to where they were at the beginning, with their respective jobs still up in the air for 2012.

•  Battle of The Beatens: Goes to show you not too many exciting games on slate for the weekend. Both Arizona and Oregon State are searching for their first Pac-12 victories. In Oregon States case, their first victory. I really do think that the Beavers are just that bad, and that will come to light when the 1-4 Wildcats manhandle them down in Corvallis.

My Random Sports Thoughts of The Week...

• How about these baseball playoffs? It all started with that wild finish to the last day of the regular season. Now, we have 3 out of 4 divisional series going to game 5. I have the Phil's winning at home, the D-Backs taking the series in Milwaukee, and as much as it pains me to say, the damn Yanks will be playing the Rangers in the next round. 

• Keep canceling everything David Stern. You are getting what you deserve. You don't know how to run a business, you try and force peoples hands, and that is finally catching up to you. I enjoy the NBA, and watching the playoffs in June, but no season is what this league needs to realize they don't operate in a functional manner. It is time to oust the commish. 

• Hank Williams Jr., you are a country singer. You have no business being on a news station discussing politics. What he said was wrong, and because of that I am now going to miss that song to open up MNF.

• The dream team? Once again, Vince Young does something stupid. 

• Another plug for this great new website, NWSportsBeat, I am doing some work for them. It is an awesome place to go for anyone who loves our Northwest teams. Canucks, Sounders, Mariners, Seahawks, colleges, Oregon teams, and much much more! Check it out.

My Fantasy Team Update That You Probably Don't Give a Crap About...     

• "Worst2First" are currently 3-1. After a tough loss in week three, we bounced back with a blowout rout. You know it is a crazy year in the NFL when I am debating who to start at quarterback; Phillip Rivers, or Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.  

I Will Leave You With This...

Sure sounds like this lovely sportscaster wants to "F*ckin kick all the haters off"...