Well, the emotional devastation tour of 2010 (aka Cal football season) continues! This week, we find out how low we can go. Coming off of a rough loss in Corvalis, Cal faces the lowly Washington State Cougars. Last time Cal was in Pullman, they won 66-3 and Jahvid Best scored a TD on pretty much every play, including Cougars offensive ones.
However, this is a much improved Cougars team. They have been showing signs of life in some of their losses this year. And you know somebody is getting Coug'd up north this year. Is it Cal? We sure hope not! To find out more, we contacted WSU SBN site CougCenter to get a closer look. I've always had a lot of respect for CougCenter, because no matter how bad the Cougars have been these last few (slash 8) years, they have really been putting out great and passionate content. After the jump, the answers to our burning questions. GO BEARS!
If you give him a line, I still don't think he becomes Andrew Luck. Luck is just that good. I do, however, think you'd see his numbers improve even more. He has a tendency to throw flat footed or off his back foot in the face of pressure. It's a rare occasion when he has time to set and throw. Given an offensive line, he has the potential to be a top-3 QB in the league in the future, just not right now.
2. How is James Montgomery looking after making it all the way back from a life-threatening condition?
Good and bad, I guess. He got knocked around last weekend and you won't be seeing him this weekend. It's taking him time, but he's starting to regain some of the form we knew and loved. Still, the Cougar running game is atrocious and the offensive line isn't helping. He's a great story, but it's tough for him to make any headway right now.
3. What can the Bears team expect from the Cougars student section to destroy its spirits on the road?
Apathy, perhaps. The student section, and stadium in general, has been disappointing, to say the least. It's understandable -- with three terrible seasons in a row now -- but it still is sad to see. The crowd probably won't be any kind of a factor on Saturday, but I hope I'm wrong.
4. What do you think Paul Wulff's advice is for Jeff Tedford to get his team to play up to the challenge every Saturday?
We can gladly loan Wulff to you for a pre-game speech this Saturday. Maybe it'll work (for us, not you).
5. Just how warm is Wulff's seat?
Somewhere between heated seat in a BMW that's gone haywire and sitting on top of a campfire. The team is improving -- though the wins still aren't there -- but the natives are restless in the fanbase. If WSU loses out, it could get interesting after the season is over.
6. If not this weekend, when will the Cougars win its next Pac-10 game?
The only other real shot I see is the Apple Cup. Anything can happen in that game, especially when Nick Holt is coaching a defense.
Better than you think. We haven't seen many backups this year, at least against the better teams we've played. Oregon, Arizona and, for the most part, Stanford has had to keep the starters in for the entire game, a victory in itself. Tuel caught the Cardinal with a bomb, and did the same against Oklahoma State, but outside of that games have been competitive. The kid can play.
8. What happened against ASU? I was thinking that was one of Wazzu's best chances to win this season (until OSU blew up Riley's knee).
The Cougs shot their wad over the last three games and had nothing left in the tank. They came out and threw blows with Oregon, Arizona and Stanford but just couldn't get up for ASU. I don't think they had it -- mentally or physically -- for that game. I didn't expect a blowout like that, but it seemed like this was bound to happen.
9. Wulff's team is definitely better this year, and it seems to improve as the year goes on. Despite the 1-8 record, has his hot seat cooled off this year?
If you asked a week ago, I would have said yes. After Arizona State, a game the fans thought could be a win, there was some serious backlash. The fans have been patient for two years, but many want to see the team turn the corner.
10. Jeff Tedford has never lost in Pullman. What do Wulff, Tuel, and company have to do to snap that winning streak?
Not make Brock Mansion look like a Heisman contender, figure out a way to not get torched by Shane Vereen and pray for some turnovers. WSU is going to have to play their best game and hope Cal shoots themselves in the foot a few times. If you let us stick around, at some point we're going to make a team pay. Hopefully it's Cal.
11. Any score predictions in this game?
I'm terrible at score predictions so I don't even bother. I feel like it's going to be close, so it'll probably be a blowout.
