What Sark looked like the last time this game was relevant.

It will be nice to watch an Apple Cup that is actually worth a damn for the first time in quite a few years.

In this years installment of the Apple Cup, both teams come in with some momentum. In the case of the Cougs, they have become bowl eligible for the first time in what seems a very long time from the successful squads of the early 2000′s. For the Dawgs, this is a chance to get over the 7-win hump (albeit by one game) and continue to show progress for the program that Sark has built.

All too often this game has meant literally nothing for either one or both teams involved. If anything, it has become a battle for who won’t be living in the cellar at the end of the season.

The tradition from the game has been sapped a little just due to the fact the game is being played on the day after Thanksgiving, and at noon to boot. However, if it wasn’t for the TV money that is helping schools like Washington State hire Mike Leach and allowing the assistants at Washington to be some of the highest paid in the land, you have to give and take some things.

For Washington State, getting to 7 wins should assure them a bowl birth. While bowl eligble now, 6 wins doesn’t guarantee a bowl game, it just guarantees that they could be selected for one. If I was in their shoes, this is a must-win game to get to that point. Getting to 6 wins and not getting picked would be heartbreaking.

For Washington, the “Fire Sark” crowd grows with each loss in the column that piles up. Despite getting to bowl eligibiity, many Washington fans are expecting more from the program and seeing progress that goes beyond qualifiying for the Humanitarian Bowl. Unfair or not, this is an expectation that he can put to rest with a victory over the Cougars at home to get to eight wins.

I will be in enemy territory this Thanksgiving, unable to make it back from the east side of the state to be able to attend the game. I will be sitting in a probably lopsided pro-Coug bar with my Washington flag flying. It will be nice for the majority of the crowd to have a little bit more on the line than getting to anything less than six wins. It will also be nice for the Dawgs to get a victory over a team with some more momentum going for it than Oregon State.

It’s that week kids, get your colors out. Warm up the Apple Cup jokes and get ready for a game that both teams are going to be revved up to win.

I love college football.

Now before you get all hot and bothered by the title of this article, keep in mind that I want nothing more than a Bowl appearance by the Cougs.  But the more my hopes are lifted, the harder and further they can fall.  Some might call me a negative Nancy, or “not a real Coug fan.”  I like to consider myself cautiously optimistic…with a side of skepticism.

The WSU Cougars are sitting on a 3-1 record after a pair of romps against Southern Utah and Idaho.  Their defense is 13^th in the nation for points against and their air-raid offense certainly looks like it’s coming together. But in all honesty, I would expect these stats to be as such after two cupcakes.

The Cougs now face a Pac-12 schedule that has never looked more challenging.  Against other FBS schools, the Pac-12 has a blistering 21-3 non-conference record through week 4.  This week, WSU will face a very well-rounded Stanford team that averages 200+ yards on the ground.  Against Auburn and USC, the Cougs gave up a combined 434 yards rushing…let’s just say defending the run is not a forte of this Cougar D.

A few weeks down the road, Mike Leach’s squad travels to Autzen Stadium…enough said.

Essentially, what I’m saying to Cougar fans everywhere is “don’t get your hopes up just yet.” Remember 2006?  The Cougs were ranked #23 and had a 6-3 record going into Dad’s weekend against a mediocre Arizona team.  After a loss there, and two more losses including the Apple Cup, the Cougs were left out of a bowl bid.

Here are three reasons why the Cougars may NOT make it to a bowl game this year:

1.   An Inconsistent Offense

Look – any Pac-12 team can hang 40+ on Southern Utah and Idaho. I’m not impressed by those.  I am worried, however, about Halliday’s performance in the other two games.  The Cougs failed to score an offensive TD against USC.  Also, in the games against Auburn and USC, Halliday threw FIVE interceptions.  Those are Eli Manning-type stats.  Not good.  All defenses have to do is stop WSU’s passing game.  At 63 yards per game, the Cougs are dead LAST in rushing among FBS schools.

2.   A Ground-And-Pound Pac-12 Schedule

Of the remaining Cougar opponents, five teams average more than 200+ yards rushing per game.  Against “formidable opponents,” the Cougs give up 200+ yards rushing per game.  You can see where I’m going with this.  Don’t get me wrong, I think Deone Bucannon is a beast when it comes to stuffing folks for short yardage or less.  He’ll be on highlight reels for his hit against Auburn’s Corey Grant, among others.  But there aren’t 11 Bucannons out there.  And if there were, the Cougs would probably lead the NCAA in penalty yardage…

3.   My Faith in Mike Leach and the Cougs

Now before all the true Coug fans get their panties in a bunch, let me elaborate.  Last year, the Cougs were 2-1 after a couple sleepers, much like this year.  Then, they lost to a bad Colorado team by giving up 21 points in the 4^th quarter…AT HOME.  I know WSU has come a long way since then (to be as cliché as I can).  They gave a spirited effort in an Apple Cup win against a bowl-bound UW, and they just won a defensive battle against USC in the Coliseum.  And while those two wins are steps in the right direction, I’m still not convinced Leach can shake the “Coug It” legacy that still lingers in the basement of some grungy frat house on NE Colorado Street (Phi Delt reference).  Am I hopeful?  Absolutely.  But every Cougar fan knows in their brain (not their heart), nothing is a given.

Let’s face it; the Cougs have a good chance to make it to a bowl game this year.  But I’m not going to be the one scheduling my flight to the Fight Hunger Bowl quite yet.  I am the one, however, to fully accept multiple helpings of crow if the Cougs DO find their way to the post season…  And boy, will it be tasty.

The Locker Room – on Fox Sports 1380

On this week’s segment on The Locker Room (be sure to give that a like on the Facebook) Ben and Brad discussed the Atlanta vs. Seattle game.  Now, we both know the result of that game – but hey!  Listen to this optimism!

We also recorded some sweet calls from 92.9 The Game in Atlanta and played them for everyone to hear.  They ended up being kinda right, but still funny none the less.

Give it a listen here, and hey – next week, try us live.  You can do that by clicking here at 11:00a this coming Saturday, or tune into KRKO 1380 AM here in Seattle.  Also, be sure to check us out on the iTunes.  On the iTunes, you can get these sent straight to your phone.  AMAZEBALLS.

Until next year – GO HAWKS.

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The Locker Room – on Fox Sports 1380

We were live on KRKO this last weekend on The Locker Room (LIKE THE SHOW, FACEBOOK STYLE), with our segment aptly titled, No Fair Weather Fans.

The subjects tackled were -

• M’s Winter Meetings (or lack therof)
• Mike Leach gets exonerated

It’s nice to get more perspective on these subjects, as I realize we podcasted on this subject too.  But this was on live radio!  That’s worth something, right?

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or

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Hmmmmmm

Two podcast within basically 8 days?  Is this some kind of crazy work ethic that nobody saw coming?  Can you answer these questions?  Here’s what we come at you with this week:

• The NCAA bowl games to watch for this year (half joke, half serious)
• Mike Leach and the trial – it’s over, thank GOSH
• Seattle Seahawks vs 49ers this week, looking back at Sunday Night Football

As always, big ups to The Soundmen (@scottdsoundmen on the Twitter, facebook.com/TheSoundmen ) for playing us in, and playing us out.

As usual, click to subscribe to the podcast with that fancy logo in the top right hand corner, find us on iTunes – and as always…

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Here is a breakdown of why your favorite of the two schools will lose:

BRAD:

“We’ve only been playing with niiiiine…” – Mike Leach

Let’s face it – the COOGS (as my phone auto corrects it) are on the ropes. The final scores have been speaking for themselves, and outside of a spirited comeback against UCLA, the COOGS have been anything but competitive since they found a way to lose to Colorado.

This game on paper should have trouble written all over it for Washington State.

Travis Long is out.

Tuel is “probably” going to start.

Marquess Wilson (while he was whiner and probably a cancer on the team, was talented) is no longer on the team. Allegations of abuse, whether true or not, loom over a program that hasn’t gotten off to the start that Mike Leach and most WSU fans would have imagined if asked at the beginning of the year.

The terrible losses have been mounting. A game on the day after Thanksgiving, in Pullman at noon doesn’t necessarily let me believe that the Cougar faithful are going to make it out after Black Friday shopping in Moscow. 75% of the students are going to be back in their eastside homes enjoying turkey dinner, far, far away from the confines of Martin Stadium.

Leach is clearly moving guys he doesn’t want out and putting in his system. As a football fan, I believe that Leach is going to get the guys in he needs, and given the time in Pullman he can make it work. He made it work in Lubbock, TX, he can make it work in Pullman, WA.

The talent cupboard wasn’t necessarily bare, as is most of the time when coaching changes happen and one staff is swapped for another. Trust me, as a Husky fan, I can speak to it first hand with the transitions from Gilby (who coincidentally, his son is backing up Tuel at WSU this week) to Tyrone and so forth. This is an attitude thing, and right now – outside of a few seniors, they clearly are empty corpses on the field.

I am actually finding it kinda hard to bash on the Cougs for this game. Not that I was setting out to bash them, but there are so many negatives going into this game, I can’t imagine any coaching staff would be able to get a team out a funk like they are in right now.

The Huskies are getting hot at the right time. It just doesn’t bode well for the Cougs this week. There is always next year.

In other news, Mike Price retired from UTEP today. Maybe give him a call for a pep-talk?

BEN:

Bishop Sankey would be having more fun in Pullman.

The only way I can feel strong about a Coug win is to find holes in the Huskies’ armor. There are a couple for sure. Although, looking at the past four games they are hard to find.

An offensive line that figured to be terrible, the season, has been opening holes for Bishop Sankey, aka The Traitor. Sankey has averaged well over 100 yards per game the last four games. Shutting him down leads to one of the holes in that Husky armor.

The wide receivers are a bunch of no names that haven’t really showed a lot this season. Outside of Kasen Williams and Cody Bruns, I haven’t heard of a single receiver on the team.

I am purposely not mentioning Austin Seferian-Jenkins, it just makes me feel better when I don’t talk about him. Let’s face it, he is one of the best tight ends in the conference and the nation. The Cougs’ linebackers won’t be able to shut him down. Don’t worry though, with the lack of talent UW has at wide receiver, the Cougs can put one of their good safeties on ASJ. Deone Buchanan and Casey Locker have played well all year, this a time for them to play great. What better time than the Apple Cup?

As for attacking the Husky defense, the short passing game has been effective against them. If you look at the last four teams UW has played, none of them were good passing teams. The last team the Huskies played with a decent passing attack was Arizona and they hung 52 points on the Dawgs. This a game where Gabe Marks, the Williams boys (Dominique and Kristoff) and Brett Bartolone need to step up. Three of them are freshman, but are 60 minutes of football away from being sophomores. They have made big plays all year, they just need to find that consistency.

The last factor is you, Cougar Nation. Time to bring the passion you have always shown. Focus that Cougar pride which has flags flying every Saturday behind the dudes from College Game Day and the flags you hold in places all over the world in your Facebook pictures. This is what you wanted, the game to stay in Pullman every other year, not at The Clink. This is your moment, to make that little difference that pushes the Cougs to the win.