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On this day, Cougar Nation pauses to reflect on those brave and honorable Americans who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor. Nearly 2,500 Americans lost their lives when the Japanese military forces initiated a surprise attack that would forever change the trajectory of our nation. This needless slaughter by Japan brought the US into WWII. Though the war effort spawned the greatest generation of Americans, it was brought on by a level of evil the world had never seen. To those who gave all, and their families, I extend a heartfelt "Thank you for your sacrifice and service."
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Moving on to much lighter stuff, there has been more change afoot in the Pac-12. Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal has accepted an offer to return to his alma mater as the new Miami head coach. No question this move leaves the Oregon football program in limbo. Heck, it wasn't flying very high after their devastating loss to Utah in the Pac-12 championship game. It should be interesting to see who the Ducks will turn to. Will it be a big name that will revitalize their base or some young gun on the rise? Another question would be whether Cristobal will be on the sideline when Miami faces Washington State in the Sun Bowl at the end of this month. There's less mystery shrowding the answer to that question. It's likely the Hurricanes will be led by an interim coach who knows the system, staff, and players well. That's about the best I can do for a little intrigue on a Tuesday morning.
https://www.khq.com/sports/washington_state_university/three-weeks-before-sun-bowl-matchup-with-washington-state-miami-makes-splash-hire-brings-in/article_e19ac1ce-0b09-5369-8010-f882960f8e90.html -
Staying with the topic of the Sun Bowl, there are a number of benefits to a football program by participating in a bowl game. The largest benefit would be extra practice which typically features a lot of young players who didn't see much of the field this season but will be counted on in 2022. Colton Clark checks in with a detailed description of the bowl process:
https://www.nbcrightnow.com/sports/washington_state_university/sun-bowl-notebook-winter-camp-begins-for-washington-state/article_96c27c1b-eaad-5960-b80c-82720c9dbd48.html -
Wazzu men's hoops have two challenging non-conference games this week. First up will be Weber State who comes to Pullman with a perfect 8-0 record. Tipoff for this one is slated for 7pm Wednesday night and telecast on the Pac-12 Network. Be sure to set your DVR. The other game this week will be played up in Spokane where the Cougs will host South Dakota State at 12noon and televised on the Pac-12 Network. SDSU has the shooters to keep this game close. They are shooting a sizzling 42.7% from behind the arc. When it comes to athletic talent, WSU holds the advantage over SDSU. That observation and about $3 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. The Cougs held an athleticism advantage over Eastern Washington and came away with a loss after blowing a one-time 19-point lead. With so many new faces on the WSU roster, it's clear up to this point that Coach Kyle Smith is still looking for the right combination of players to send out on the hardwood.
https://www.si.com/tv/college-basketball/weber-state-vs-washington-state-ncaa-how-to-watch-online-live-stream-free-12-8-2021
Go Cougs!!!
- It seems fitting to put together a list of coaches who branch off of the Mike Leach coaching tree. Perspective on his football genius can easily be determined by a cursory glance:
Dave Aranda/Baylor head coach – Graduate assistant coach under Leach from 2000-02 at Texas Tech
Neal Brown/West Virginia head coach – Played under Leach in 1998 when Leach was offensive coordinator at Kentucky
Sonny Cumbie/Louisiana Tech head coach – Played under Leach at Texas Tech from 2000-03 and later served as a graduate assistant coach under Leach
Sonny Dykes/TCU head coach – Coached wide receivers and later was the co-offensive coordinator at Texas Tech under Leach from 2000-06
Josh Heupel/Tennessee head coach – Played under Leach at Oklahoma in 1999 when Leach was the offensive coordinator for the Sooners
Dana Holgorsen/Houston head coach – Coached alongside Leach as assistants at Valdosta State from 1993-95, then served as a wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator under Leach from ...
- The news of former WSU Coach Mike Leach passing at the young age of 61 is very, very sad. I had the pleasure of writing about the Cougs when Leach was at the helm. To say that he was a unique person doesn't begin to describe the multi-faceted dimension of the man.
In terms of coaching football, Leach led his teams in a way that had most other coaches scratching their heads. His offensive creativity gave a multitude of defensive coordinators ulcers. To say that his techniques for molding student-athletes into football players were unusual would be accurate. Making guys run sprints in a sand pit named "Leach Beach" is a prime example. Crazy as that sounds, his players had fewer ankle injuries over the course of the season than any team in football. Only Mike Leach could get players to hit the beach. And if you look at the coaching tree that branches out from Leach, you'd find a myriad of men who owe him for their start in the profession.
When you examine the way Leach represented the schools ...
- Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, so Wazzu's loss yesterday to UNLV by a score of 74-70 was just that, a loss. However, there were plenty of reasons to applaud both the performance and the progress the Cougs are making over the past few games. Let's get the bad observation out of the way. WSU turned the ball over a ridiculous 22 times. No one is going to beat many teams with such wreckless play, especially against a team that posted a 9-0 record going into the contest. Some of those errors might be attributed to Coach Kyle Smith going with a different lineup almost every game because of player injuries. Facts are facts and when there isn't a steady lineup, players struggle to play team ball. On the bright side, Wazzu shot a respectable 54.2% from the field, coupled with a very nice 56.5% from behind the arc. On defense, WSU held UNLV to just 30.4% from behind the arc and 50.9% overall. The Cougs outrebounded the Rebels by a margin of 33-20. Despite being down by ...
