In Walden Bowl, plenty of parallels and contrasts
Among other similarities, both Washington State and Iowa
State reside in agrarian surroundings
By DALE GRUMMERT OF THE Lewiston TRIBUNE Dec 25, 2018
SAN ANTONIO - Jim Walden hadn't coached a down of football
at Ames, Iowa, before he realized, in a sense, he had never left Pullman, Wash.
It was the same friendly vibe, the same leisurely tempo, the
same lack of pretense.
This was 1987, and Walden's impressions hardly changed as he
spent the next eight years trying to build a consistently successful program at
Iowa State. It was a challenging task, but so was the one he'd been grappling
with the previous nine seasons at Washington State.
Walden, now retired at age 80, will have a unique
understanding of these schools' similarities and differences (not to mention
their contrasting X's and O's) when the Cougars and Cyclones clash for the
first time ever Friday (6 p.m., ESPN), in the Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome in
San Antonio.
In short, both programs are forever striving, often against
the odds. But one of them is more closely watched than the other.
If Walden's memories hold true, in any case, the two schools
aren't taking their recent success for granted. The No. 12 Cougars (10-2), making
their fourth straight bowl appearance under seventh-year coach Mike Leach, are
aiming for a school-record 11th win, while No. 25 Iowa State (8-4) is bowling
for the second straight season under third-year boss Matt Campbell.
Walden sensed a bit of cultural deja vu three decades ago
when he traveled the 1,500 miles from Pullman to Ames.
"The first five, six months I was at Iowa State, I was
almost taken aback by how similar they were," he said by phone. "It
was a sincerity. I just thought, 'My God, they're just the same.' They were
very genuine.
"One thing you learn about the Iowa States and the
Washington States of this world. They're not spoiled. They understand the downs
and the ups. They don't have many airs about who they are."
The most obvious parallel between Pullman and Ames is their
rural surroundings, implicit in their schools' origins as agricultural
colleges. For Walden, another common trait is their endless quests to measure
up to their more prominent arch-rivals, the universities of Iowa and
Washington, respectively.
For whatever reason, the schools have produced the same
number of winning seasons this century: six.
The state of Iowa, relatively small, produces perhaps five
blue-chip prep football prospects a year, Walden estimated. Iowa State feels
lucky if it can snag one of them, he said. That should sound familiar to Cougar
fans.
"If Iowa wants them, it's just like trying to beat
Washington out for a kid in western Washington," Walden said. "You
can do all you want, you can sing your praises, but the reality is, if the
University of Washington wants a kid in Everett, they're going to get him. I
mean, it's just as simple as that. And that's exactly what I found with
Iowa."
Walden never quite solved the recruiting puzzle while
posting a 28-57-3 record at Iowa State. It didn't help that he was docked four
scholarships for each of his first two seasons because of NCAA violations by
the previous coaching staff.
The puzzle at Washington State, where he went 44-52-4 during
a near-decade starting in 1978, was more complicated. Walden brought
immeasurable stability to the program, recorded three winning seasons and, in
1981, led the Cougars to their first bowl berth in five decades. But he
struggled with what he saw as a lack of financial support and finally bid a
tearful farewell after going 3-7-1 in 1986, saying he had accepted an offer
from Iowa State. He clearly wasn't leaving for the money - in the personal
sense.
In his 2013 memoir, "Tales from the Washington State
Cougars Sideline," Walden wrote about Pullman, "I loved the place and
I still do, that hasn't diminished a bit. But in my heart, I felt it was time
for them have a new coach."
A big part of his financial issues at WSU could be
attributed to the geographical remoteness of Pullman, which translated into
empty seats on game day. That's a much smaller problem at Ames, which sits in
the middle of the state and is only 35 miles south of Des Moines, the most
populous city in Iowa.
"In the long run, they are both very loyal,"
Walden said of Cougars and Cyclones. "Iowa State does a better job of
participating in that loyalty. There's a reason for that. They are centrally
located."
Walden has spent his retirement in Cougar country, living
near Coeur d'Alene and formerly serving as color commentator for WSU radio
broadcasts. But he retains ties to Iowa State, and he said his torn loyalties
have dissuaded him from attending this Alamo Bowl. He'll watch on TV. He did
attend the Cyclones' 40-31 home win over Texas Tech this season, and was
impressed with their football facilities.
Four years ago, the school added several thousand seats to
its Jack Trice Stadium, bringing its capacity to 61,500. Washington State, too,
has spent lavishly on its football infrastructure this decade, but the capacity
of its Martin Stadium remains 32,952 and the size of its athletic-department
debt discourages further spending.
The contrast is carrying over into this bowl game. Iowa
State quickly sold its allotment of 12,000 tickets and scored an extra 2,000.
As of last Friday, the Cougars had sold only 5,200.
Walden isn't surprised.
"Iowa Staters came to the games, even when we were
bad," he said. "They might get up and leave and not come back at the
half. But they bought their tickets. They just love to go to games, more so than
Cougars. I don't want to be too harsh on the Cougars. Geography plays a part in
that."
:::::::::::::::
Cougs' defense hogs attention after first practice in Texas
By DALE GRUMMERT OF THE Lewiston Trib
Alamo Bowl NOTES
SAN ANTONIO - In this state, people know Mike Leach piles up
plenty of passing yards.
Maybe that's why the first six questions he fielded during a
post-practice interview session Monday were about his defense.
Logan Tago, Peyton Pelluer, new defensive coordinator Tracy
Claeys - these were some of the subjects broached after the Cougars staged
their first San Antonio practice in preparation for their game against Iowa
State on Friday night in the Alamo Bowl.
It was a relatively brief (two-hour) workout in overcast,
60-degree conditions at trim Benson Stadium at the University of Incarnate Word
in San Antonio, where Wazzu will be practicing all week. The campus lies in a
quiet neighborhood near the affluent town of Alamo Heights in the center of San
Antonio.
With Claeys running the show on defense this year, the
Cougars (10-2) looked strikingly similar to how they looked the final two years
of Alex Grinch's three-year tenure: fast, active and takeaway-minded. They're
tied for first in the Pac-12 with 35 sacks and rank third in pass defense.
"Tracy's been at it a long time," Leach said.
"He's got his package that he's done for years. He's been successful
everywhere he's been and so he pretty well took off running. In his mind I
think he's answered a lot of the questions that people ask themselves, because
he's worked through it over the years."
Leach is well-known in Texas, where he spent a decade
heading the program at Texas Tech and turning heads with his Air Raid offense.
The Cougars unsurprisingly lead the nation in passing yards this season, but
their improvement on defense in recent years is a prime reason for their streak
of four straight bowl invitations.
The seventh-year WSU coach spoke glowingly of Tago, the
senior defensive end who leads the team with 10 tackles for loss.
"He's explosive, he's got long arms, he's strong, he's
aggressive," the coach said. "And he's getting better all the time.
It's a shame we don't have him another year, because he's improving right now
as we speak."
He'll also be sorry to bid farewell to Pelluer, the middle
linebacker who leads the Cougars with 86 tackles after landing a sixth year of
eligibility last January.
SIGHTSEEING - Cougar players seemed to be relishing their
visit to San Antonio, not least because of its contrast to San Diego, where
they played in the Holiday Bowl the past two years. But one thing was the same:
After practice they went to San Antonio's version of SeaWorld, a year after
visiting the one in San Diego.
As for Leach, he visited the Alamo Mission, commonly called
The Alamo, something he'd failed to accomplish on previous visits to San
Antonio. A history buff with a particular interest in the Southwest, he already
knew quite a bit about it.
BULLETIN BOARD FODDER? - Well, not really. But several weeks
before he knew he'd be playing Iowa State in the postseason, Leach expressed
his indifference to the school's nickname, the Cyclones.
It was five days before the Cougars' visit to Colorado, and
Leach's relish for the Buffaloes' live mascot led to a discussion of nicknames
in general.
"I'm not big into the insects," the coach said.
"Oh, I'll tell you what I like the least. The natural disasters. I went to
Pepperdine (law school) and I love Pepperdine, but we were the Waves. I'm more
into tangible things. I'm more into objects that are alive and that move and
that you can use your imagination well enough to attach a personality to it a
bit.
"Like a cyclone - I don't know how to make that a
tangible thing. Or a hurricane or a wave, with all due respect to those teams.
I mean, I like all three of those teams."
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WSU football
Big 12 contacts helping Washington State get to know Iowa
State, prepare for Alamo Bowl
Tue., Dec. 25, 2018, 5:39 p.m.
By Theo Lawson of the S-R of Spokane
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – In between the dozens of phone calls
they’ve made to recruits over the last three weeks in preparation for the early
signing period, Washington State coaches have found time to sprinkle in a few
other calls.
Some of those to Morgantown, West Virginia, others to
Norman, Oklahoma, and presumably a few more to Lubbock, Texas.
Washington State’s connections to the Big 12 Conference have
finally come in handy.
“It’s funny, a few of us have got our buddies in the Big 12
who are trying to help us out with Iowa State, who’s really good on defense,”
inside receivers coach Dave Nichol told Cougars broadcaster Matt Chazanow last
week.
The Cougars can gather most of what they need to know about
Iowa State, their opponent in Friday’s Alamo Bowl (6 p.m. PT, ESPN), by
watching film on the Cyclones, who earned the second straight postseason bid
under coach Matt Campbell after going 8-4 overall and 6-3 in conference play.
But if the Cougars need any additional intel, they have more
than a few friends around the Big 12 willing to help out.
“Shoot, you look at the Big 12, there’s just connections all
over the conference with people that have coached for coach (Mike) Leach,”
Nichol said Tuesday after the Cougars wrapped up their second practice at Gayle
and Benson Stadium on the campus of Incarnate Word.
Nichol estimate that “about half those guys” have given WSU
information on the Cyclones, or answered a question based on a tendency the
Cougars noticed while studying film.
Three of ISU’s nine Big 12 games were played against schools
coached by somebody who was employed by Leach during his 10-year run at Texas
Tech.
Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, a former Texas Tech quarterback,
held a variety of positions on Leach’s staff in Lubbock between 2003-09. West
Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen played for the WSU coach at Iowa Wesleyan in 1991,
then reunited with Leach at Valdosta State in 1993 and eventually joined him at
Tech for eight seasons from 2000-07. Leach still has a strong relationship with
Kliff Kingsbury, who played quarterback for the WSU coach at Tech and was at
the helm of the Red Raiders program until he got fired on Nov. 25.
Nichol, a former Texas Tech wide receiver, was an assistant
offensive line coach for Leach from 2003-05 while Holgorsen and Riley were in
Lubbock.
Most of Leach’s pupils still some variation of the Air Raid
offense the coach designed with Hal Mumme 30 years ago. Oklahoma, West Virginia
and Texas Tech all had top-20 scoring offenses this season, but each
encountered some degree of difficulty putting points on the board in their game
against ISU.
The Sooners, who had the top offense in the nation at 49.7
points per game, were limited to 37 points – their second-lowest output of the
season. The Mountaineers scored at least 35 points against 11 of their 12
opponents, but managed only 14 against ISU. The Red Raiders were good for 37
ppg this season, but fell short of that mark with 34 against the Cyclones.
“They play this three-safety look and it’s funny, I’ve
gotten all these calls from my Big 12 buddies, ‘Here’s what you’ve got to do,’”
Nichol told Chazanow. “But it still comes down to, they tackle really well,
they get off blocks really well and they play team defense. But they’re all
kind of looking at the QB, a lot of zone stuff, but I think they have a good
idea of what they’re going to do.”
Buzzing a few old acquaintances can help, Leach believes,
but the WSU coach isn’t relying on it.
“Somewhat I guess, but I’d say the 12 films are more
beneficial,” Leach said. “Sometimes, if you’ve got questions or stuff like
that. I’ve got to say as clever as that sounds, that probably the film is more
compelling and more beneficial. Quite a bit.”
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