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Game
8- Washington State Cougars
Hello
Beaver Fans,
Well
this week I am still recovering from the twilight
zone experience that was last Saturday night and
I am heading into the Outer Limits this weekend.
Last
Saturday I sat in shock most of the game in disbelief
of what my eyes were seeing. How could my Beavers
have been so immature and unprepared for what the
Huskies brought to Corvallis. But as the gloom of
Saturday night faded away into the light of Sunday
I came to realize that young people sometimes just
don't want to listen to the adults of the world.
From my own coaching experience I know that sometimes,
no matter what you say to a player or a team, it
just does not sink into their stubborn heads. Young
people think they know it all and it is not until
they are older that they realize that their parents
and coaches were correct in what they were trying
to teach them. So I let it go.
This
week I travel to Pullman Washington to hopefully
witness the rebirth of the Beavers season and watch
them reclaim a chance at the PAC-10 title. I call
it the Outer Limits because I will be going to the
game, not with a car load of crazed Beaver fans,
but with my wife, my niece and her boyfriend. All
of which happen to be Cougars. So there I will be,
seated in the middle of the Beaver section with
three Cougars. God must be sitting in heaven with
a little smirk on his face as he waits to watch
what he already knows will happen. I can only hope
that my experience will be entertaining.
THE
GAME
This
is a huge game for both schools. The Beavers must
win this game to have a shot at the PAC-10 title.
If they lose they are all but out of the title race.
Win and they are right back in the race. The Cougars
control their own destiny. Keep winning and they
go to the Rose Bowl for the second straight year.
Lose and they fall back into a tie with the Beavers.
This could very well be the biggest game of the
season for both schools. If the Cougars lose this
game they still have to win at USC next week and
beat UCLA in Pullman the week after.
For
the Beavers, a win Saturday gets then back into
the hunt with back to back home games coming up
with Arizona and Stanford. A win puts them in first
place.
BY
THE NUMBERS
Statistically,
both of these teams are conference leaders in many
categories. In many cases they are right next to
each other for many of the conference stats. The
Cougars lead the conference in seven of my statistical
categories and are second or third in 6 more. The
Beavers lead the conference in 5 categories and
are second or third in 6 more.
Last
week, the categories that I predicted would be the
keys to the Beavers victory were the keys to the
Beavers defeat as they were sacked more and turned
the ball over more then the Huskies. This was in
contrast to what the pregame stats had predicted.
So
this week I am hoping for the same kind of luck
that the Huskies got. The Cougars lead the conference
in turnover margin at +14 while the Beavers are
-4. They also have 24 sacks to the Beavers 13. That
is where the game will be won of lost, at the line
of scrimmage.
THE
SERIES
Washington
State leads the overall series 45-39-3. The Cougars
are currently on a one-game winning streak in the
series as a result of downing the Beavers 34-27
at Pullman in 2001. The two teams did not face each
other in 2002. WSU is on a one-game winning streak
at Pullman. OSU won at Pullman n 1999 by 27-13.
Over the years, WSU has a 22-15-2 edge over the
Beavers at Pullman. OSU leads 19-18-0 at Corvallis.
THE
BOTTOM LINE
In
my preseason predictions, this is a game that I
had the Beavers losing. I had them losing three
road games and running the table at home. Well the
home thing is broken so how about breaking my road
prediction to balance it out. As much as my heart
wants to have the Beavers winning this game, I am
not sure they have the offensive line to get the
job done. All season we have watch Derek Anderson
being hurried, sacked and knocked down. Washington
States defense is quicker then the Huskies and similar
to what the Beavers had in 2000. With the help of
watching the tape from last weeks game on how Washington
stopped Steven Jackson it is probably to much to
hope for a Beaver victory.
If
the Beavers can control their tempers enough to
not get all the truly stupid penalties that they
did last week they will have a chance of winning
the game. If the offensive line can give Anderson
enough time to find the open receiver, they might
have a chance. If the line can open holes for Steven
Jackson to run through they might have a chance.
That's
a lot of ifs. So, for what I think is the first
time since I started writing this newsletter, I
am going have two predictions. One from the analytical
side of my brain and one from the emotional Beaver
fan side of my brain. (I know, it is a cheap way
out
FINAL
SCORE (Analytical Side)
Beavers
20
Cougars 31
FINAL
SCORE (Emotional Beaver Fan Side)
Beavers
24
Cougars 21
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