Hey Cougars’ fans today we have a link from the Cougar Football Blog. In this article coach Paul Wulff talks about his expectations for the upcoming season and how he feels about the depth and different positions on his team. Coach Wulff seems to really be enjoying sophomore quarterback Jeff Tuel as he said, “Jeff is bigger and stronger this year, now after a full year in the program, and we really like what he can do for us.” Wulff is also very happy with the progress of running back James Montgomery (whose story we posted a while back about almost having to have his leg amputated last season) and it seems like Montgomery is going to have a productive year. To read coach Wulff’s complete take on the upcoming season check out this link:

http://wsufootballblog.com/2010-articles/september/paul-wulff-radio-show-recap-week-1-of-2010.html

Cougar fans, we have an update for you out of the Spokesman-Review for today. It looks like the Cougs have just finished up two-a-day practices and there is some unfortunate injury news to report. Defensive lineman Jordan Pu’u Robinson has torn his ACL and will now be out for the season after he has surgery to repair it. That is a hit to this defense that is trying to improve on last year’s performance as they will now be a bit thinner at the defensive line position. There is good news coming from the Cougars camp as well however, it seems as if the defensive secondary will be much improved this year. They have much more depth and talent at the defensive back positions and they should be able to challenge all of the great quarterbacks in the Pac-10 a lot more this year. To read the full update on the Cougars camp so far check out this link:

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sportslink/2010/aug/15/sunday-finally-done-wsu/

The WSU Cougars have completed their first practice of the season and it sounds like there is some optimism surrounding the team. The Cougars, who were a dominant force in the Pac-10 in the early 2000’s, have fallen on some hard times in the past couple of seasons. They didn’t win any Pac-10 games last year and only won one Pac-10 game the year before, but a lot of it had to do with the Cougs not having a legitimate option at QB. That could change this year however because QB Jeff Tuel is starting to take the role as QB and is making it his own. If Tuel is able to produce this year the Cougars have a good chance of stealing a couple Pac-10 games and get back on the right track to where they were in the early 2000’s. To read the full article about the Cougars first practice check out this link:

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sportslink/2010/aug/08/first-day-books-wsu/

Recently ESPN started counting down what they feel are the most painful college football losses of all time from #50 all the way to #1. There have been many Pac-10 teams involved in the games revealed so far but ESPN Pac-10 blogger Ted Miller did one step better and compiled his own list of the most painful losses for every Pac-10 team. Obviously there could be some disagreement but after reading through the list I tend to agree with most of his picks. Some game included involve the Oregon vs. Arizona game when QB Dennis Dixon tore his ACL as well as the Oregon State vs. Washington game from 2000 when the Beavers were one missed field goal from playing for the national championship. There are many other good (painful) match-ups to read through so if you would like to read the whole article check out this link:

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/11484/building-a-pac-10-house-of-pain

Cougar fans we have a great article today on running back James Montgomery. Montgomery transferred from Cal to Washington State a couple of seasons ago and last year was named the starting running back. Against Hawaii he rushed for 118 yards (WSU’s only 100 yard rusher for the season) and had a TD and everything was looking good for Montgomery. However, the next week against SMU he had to be pulled out of the game for what seemed to be a calf bruise. The injury got much worse overnight and it was determined that Montgomery was suffering from acute compartment syndrome. Needless to say he had to go into surgery right away. The doctor had to take a foot long chunk of muscle from his left leg and while this procedure was able to avoid Montgomery losing his whole leg, his football career seemed to be over. Montgomery would not let that happen though and he has worked extremely hard to get back on the field and is now being talked about as the likely starting running back for the Cougars this year. To read the whole article about his amazing comeback check out this link:

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/aug/03/backfield-in-motion/?print-friendly

Hey Cougar fans, are you interested in some in depth coverage on the incoming WSU freshmen on the football team? You’re in luck because today we found a great rundown of the recruits on www.cougcenter.com. This article gives a complete list of all the incoming freshmen, including their positions, hometowns, and rankings. There are also links provided on the website where you can check out videos and photos of the Cougars’ incoming freshmen. To check out the website go to this link:

http://www.cougcenter.com/2010/7/26/1589308/wsu-football-recruiting-central

Enjoy!

As you may remember a couple of weeks ago we posted an article about the different scenarios for how the new “Pac-12″ would be divided and also about how they would schedule games. It looks like for now at least, the Pac-12 will still play a 9 game conference schedule as it is currently in the Pac-10. Commissioner Larry Scott also talks a little bit in this article so it is not completely speculation as the previous article about the same subject was. If you want to read more about it check out this link: http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2010/07/14/pac-10-expansion-updates-on-the-division-and-schedule-issues/

ESPN blogger Ted Miller has started his annual “Best Case-Worst Case” season scenarios. He does an overview of the upcoming football season for every Pac-10 team and discusses what he feels are their best possible and worst possible outcomes of the season will be. Obviously Miller is just another blogger and whatever he says is just a matter of his own opinion and a team can have a very different season than any scenario he talks about. In his defense though he covers the Pac-10 specifically and knows a large amount about all of the schools that he is covering. Here is a quick rundown of Miller’s best and worst case scenarios for the Cougars upcoming season-

Best case: 5-7 and beat the Huskies in the Apple Cup
Worst case: 1-11 and coach Paul Wulff is let go.

To read the whole article in detail check out this link: http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/10947/best-case-worst-case-washington-state-3

Today we found a couple of nice articles about tailgating experiences at an OSU football game as well as a WSU football game. While both have their own unique aspects there is one thing that should be a constant at all tailgaters. The travel edition of UP-2-U!!! It makes a great game for tailgaters as it comes in a small bag that can be carried and stored anywhere very easily. It is also a great way to pass the time leading up to the game in-between eating great food, conversing with friends, and enjoying some beverages. If you have never experienced a tailgater before a college football game before it is something that you MUST do sometime. To read more about some fans personal experiences at OSU tailgaters check here:
http://www.buildingthedam.com/2010/7/7/1557732/where-i-come-from-your-tailgating

To read more about fans personal experiences at WSU tailgaters check here:
http://www.cougcenter.com/2010/7/7/1557211/where-i-come-from-tailgating

There have been rumors circulating recently that WSU athletic director Bill Moos is trying to arrange a WSU vs. UO match-up at Qwest Field, home of the Seahawks. While the details are far from finalized it would definitely be a great venue to showcase a Pac-10 conference game and also gives the Cougs something to look forward to as well as some national exposure. However, as I said this deal is far from finalized and if Oregon doesn’t end up accepting the deal there is a plan B. That plan B is the Oregon State Beavers. Oregon State is notorious for traveling to big stadiums to play games in order to gain national exposure as well as the monetary benefits that come along with playing in a big stadium (see OSU vs. TCU in the new Cowboys stadium scheduled for Sep. 4). For the sake of the Pac-10 as a whole I hope that one of these deals will follow through as a conference game at Qwest Field would draw a lot of fans as well as be very exciting for both teams involved.