A good weekend for Cougars football?

Yes, we lost to tenth-ranked Cal. We didn't manage to get into the endzone and Doba still is clueless about what to do inside the redzone. However, this weekend was a still a great weekend for the future of Cougars football.

Huskies Woes

A week after losing to WSU at home, the Beavers of Oregon State defeated the Huskies in Seattle. And they injured Isaiah Stanback. Beautiful. Oregon State also picked apart the Huskies, showing their two weaknesses: pass defense and the ineffectiveness of Stanback's offense when they are under pressure. Beavers receiver Sammie Stroughter caught 7 passes for 223 yards against the Huskies defense and Stanback only threw for 162 yards, rushed for 11 and was sacked three times. This is good news for the Cougars. With a receiving corps of Hill, Bumpus, Gibson and tight end Cody Boyd as well as the best pass rushing defense in the country, the Huskies will be in trouble come Apple Cup time.


Brandon Gibson

I've been loving this kid from day one and he finally broke out at Cal. The sophomore wide receiver caught eight Alex Brink passes for 130 yards. What does this mean? It means that while teams are double coveraging Jason Hill and paying special attention to Michael Bumpus, then Alex Brink will have a reliable target at third receiver. He's also filling the void left by the injury of Chris Jordan. In addition to contributing greatly this year, Gibson is also gaining valuable experience; experience he will need next year when Jason Hill leaves the Cougars offense.

Ben Olson

The first part of the great weekend came with the news about UCLA starting quarterback, Ben Olson. The Cougars will need all the help they can get when they take on the Bruins at the Rose Bowl on October 28th. They got a lot of help when Olson came down with an injury that will likely sideline him for 4-6 weeks. What this means for the Cougars is that the backup Pat Cowan will have to start against against the top pass rushing defense in the nation in one of UCLA's biggest games of the year. The Cougars front seven will put pressure on the inexperienced Cowan forcing him to make mistakes.

With the good news that the Cougars football program gathered this weekend, how will the rest of the season pan out? Well, The Crimson Column is here to predict how the rest of the season will go and what the Cougars will have to do to win.

Oregon Ducks @ Washington State Cougars

What the Cougars have to do:

Contain Jonathan Stewart The defense did a good job stopping the Cal passing game, which is similar to Oregon's. However, Marshawn Lynch ran all over the Cougars. If the defense can defend the pass like they did against Cal and contain Jonathan Stewart, then they have a chance at winning this game.

Prediction: It will be a close one. The Cougars will get some help from the crowd, but I don't think that they will be able to pull it off. 24-21 Ducks win.

Washington State Cougars @ UCLA Bruins

What the Cougars have to do:

Get in the endzone The Cougars have had trouble scoring this season, but will need to get rid of this trouble if they have hopes of a bowl game. This game will prove to be pivotal for the Cougars. As long as they get in the endzone and score early and often, the defense will be able to stop UCLA's struggling defense and backup quarterback.

Prediction: The Cougars will come through with the big victory on the road. 38-24.

Arizona Wildcats @ Washington State Cougars

What the Cougars have to do:

Score early and often As shown against USC, the Arizona defense is a very good bunch. So to get on the board, the Cougars will have to score early and often in front of a sold out Martin Stadium.

Prediction: The Wildcats are still rebuilding under Stoops and are in the bottom half of the Pac-10 this season. Expect the Cougars to win by a good margin. 31-13 WSU.

Washington State Cougars @ Arizona State Sun Devils

What the Cougars have to do:

Contain the ASU offense The Arizona State offense is their obvious strength this season. When the two Rudy's are on top of their game they are tough to beat as shown in their game at USC. If the Cougars can hold the Sun Devils offense, then they have a shot at winning this important game.

Prediction: It will be tough to come out of Sun Devils Stadium with a victory, but the Cougars will have the momentum to do it. 38-31 WSU.

If my predictions turn out to be correct, then the Cougars will be 7-4 heading into the Apple Cup, putting the team in great contention to stop their bowl drought. The Cougars appear to have what it takes. Now only time can tell how effectively this team can live up to expectations.