2008 Washington State Cougars
June 8, 2008
The summer is a great time to get geared up for another football season right around the corner, and today we are going to take a look at Jason Lowry’s 2008 Washington State Cougars football predictions. The Cougars are putting there trust in Paul Wulff at head coach, as he looks to bring this team back to its 2002 days where they shared a Pac 10 title. They haven’t been to a bowl game since they went to the Holiday Bowl back in 2003, and are coming off a season where they finished 5-7 overall and just 3-6 in the Pac 10. Wulff will have his hands full early in his tenure at Washington State, as they have had a couple bad recruiting years, and many players just didn’t turn out like they were suppose to. Before we give you our predictions on where they will finish in 2008, lets take a look at what they have on each side of the ball.
Offense:
Wulff could cause some problems early with his no-huddle scheme, but a lot will count on the arm of Gary Rodgers who has spent most of his career watching Alex Brink, who ended up setting numerous school passing records. Rodgers will have a solid target to throw to in Brandon Gibson who has All-Pac 10 talent. On top of that there are two youngsters in sophomores Daniel Blackledge and Jeshua Anderson who should be ready to step in and share the spotlight at receiver. Last year starter at running back Dwight Tardy and backup Chris Ivory both missed spring ball, but it looks like Tardy should be ready to go by the start of the season. The team has a trio of solid tight ends on this team, and it looks like senior Devin Frischknecht will be the opening day starter. The line should improve as they return 4 starters and they only spot left to fill is left guard, where they believe sophomore Andrew Roxas will be ready to go.
Defense:
A year after sticking only to a 3-4 defense, Wulff is bringing back the 4-3. With 4 returning starters at linebacker from a year ago, junior Andy Mattingly will move to defensive end to help the process go a little smoother. Up front it looks like the team will be set at ends with Mattingly and junior Kevin Kooyman who has the talent, but was held back last year due to injury. Senior A’I Ahmu will return to hold down one of the tackle spots, along fellow seniors Matt Eichelberger and Andy Roof. The linebacking group of Cory Evans, Greg Trent, and Kendrick Dunn are all talented they aren’t the best in pass coverage. That’s a bad thing when you really don’t know what to expect from your secondary. It looks like safety Alfonso Jackson and cornerback Chima Nwachukwu will swap positions in 2008, and its unclear if junior Devin Giles will be able to return after missing most of spring due to academics. Look for senior Markus Dawes to be opposite Jackson at corner, and junior Xavier Hicks to team up with Nwachukwu at the other safety spot.
Prediction: 10th in the Pac 10
There are just too many questions surrounding this team, and with all the changes head coach Paul Wulff is putting into play, we don’t see this team being any kind of threat in the Pac 10. Don’t expect this team to have anywhere near the 8th ranked passing unit as it did a year ago. We are thinking 4 wins top for this team that will likely need a couple more years to return back to winning football.
Professional handicapper Jason Lowry will continue to bring you a team-by-team look at the upcoming NCAA football season. Now is also a great time to get an account at Bodoglife.com up and going to ensure your ready for the season. As always feel free to leave any comments in our comment box.
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