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Print thisOn the football front, UCLA comes to Pullman Saturday, marking the first time in 400 weekends that the Cougs play in front of a home crowd. The Cougs, as usual, will be severely depleted on both ends of the ball due to injuries. Jeff Tuel will practice this week and may play if he can recover in time. If he can’t play at 100%, I’m sure you’ll see Marshall Lobbestael out there on Saturday. On the O-line, Tyson Pencer will be out this week as well, and will be replaced by Steven Ayers.
On the defense, Wulff is hoping that Chima Nwachukwu will return to the lineup after an ankle sprain against Cal, and that Jay Matthews will make it back from a shoulder injury sustained in the first half against Arizona. If neither are available, LB Myron Beck will make the move back again, as he did in the 2nd half of the Arizona game.
The injuries have even crossed over to the Special Teams unit, where kicker Nico Grasu is ailing from a thigh injury. Patrick Rooney is filling in for him.
And what setbacks are UCLA suffering from? Well, aside from Rick Neuheisel (ahahahahahaha), it looks like QB Kevin Prince will make it back for the game Saturday, overcoming the concussion sustained in the UW game. It’s hard to say if it’s a good thing or bad thing, as backup Kevin Craft has performed almost exactly as Prince has. They are both completing 57% of their passes and both have equal TDs-to-INTs (5-5 for Prince, 2-2 for Craft).
Overall, UCLA has been pretty unimpressive this season, ranking 2nd to last in the Pac-10 in yards per game, points per game and rushing yards per game (we won’t mention who’s last). On D things have gone a little better, with the Bruins sitting at #5 in the conference in both yards per game and points per game.
Many Coug fans have been looking forward to this game as a possible upset, both due to the fact that UCLA isn't very good and because WSU has done very well against them of late. The Cougs have won 5 of the past 6 in Pullman and 6 of the past 8 overall.
Finally, just when you think the Ducks did something smart, they go and blow it. LeGarrette “Le Sucker Puncher” Blount was reinstated at Oregon, making for the world’s shortest season-long suspension. Way to go Chip Kelly! You’ve certainly taught everyone a lesson. Unfortunately, that lesson is that winning comes before sportsmanship.
Go Cougs!
Bert graduated from WSU in 1999 with a Bachelor's degree from the Murrow School of Communication. A die-hard Cougar fan while in Pullman, Bert's infatuation for all things Crimson and Gray turned in to an all-out obsession in the years since he's left. Bert is an unapologetic Cougar fanatic, and promises to provide crimson-skewed and completely subjective commentary about WSU teams and the world of sports as it relates to them.- Huskers join Huskies in basketball elite 2/9, 11:04 am
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