More
delays for bridge work may force thousands of WSU students to deal with major
detour heading home for Christmas
From Pullman
Radio News 12/3/2018
More
delays for bridge work may force thousands of WSU students to deal with major
detour heading home for Christmas
The
bridge project that is causing a lengthy detour for cross state traffic on the
main route for Pullman is hitting more delays. The Washington Department of
Transportation is replacing the deck on a State Route 26 bridge near US Highway
395.
The
work was initially supposed to have started in August, then officials were
shooting for September. The work finally began in mid-October and was initially
scheduled to be complete the day before Thanksgiving. Officials then announced
that delays had forced the work to continue into December and now the new
timeline for completion is still a few weeks away. The latest construction slow
down is being caused by the newly poured bridge rails which are still curing.
Thousands
of Washington State University students will be heading home from Pullman to
the west side for Christmas break when the semester ends on the 14th. Jeff
Adamson, the spokesman for WSDOT in Central Washington, says engineers don't
know yet if the work will be done by the time the WSU students head home. The
project is causing a lengthy 14 mile detour through Connell.
The
project was initially set for next year but agency engineers recommended that
the span shouldn't endure another Winter. In July WSDOT quietly revealed that
the work would be conducted this year.
::::
FOOTBALL
Cougars stay No. 13, so settle for Alamo
Missing
the New Year's Six cutoff by one spot, WSU shunted to Dec. 28 tilt against Iowa
State
By Dale
Grummert
Lewiston
Trib
Dec 3,
2018
Remember
the Alamo Bowl? Washington State fans no doubt will, as soon as they forget the
College Football Playoff rankings.
The
Cougars failed to climb a spot in the final CFP tally Sunday, meaning they're
headed for the Alamo Bowl at San Antonio, Texas, instead of one of the coveted
New Year's Six bowls.
Iowa
State will be WSU's opponent at the Alamodome at 6 p.m. PST on Dec. 28.
School
athletic director Pat Chun said Wazzu was "ecstatic" to be selected
for the Alamo, which gets the No. 2 choice among bowl games affiliated with the
Pac-12. It will be the second appearance at that bowl for the Cougars, who beat
Baylor 10-3 in the 1994 edition.
But
Chun also insisted the Cougs had deserved a spot in the top 12 of the CFP
rankings, which is what a Power Five school needs in order to land an
invitation from a New Year's Day game.
Instead,
the Cougars remained No. 13 despite a 10-2 record, trailing three teams with
9-3 marks: No. 10 Florida, No. 11 Louisiana State and No. 12 Penn State. The
Associated Press poll Sunday placed the Cougs No. 12, though the coaches'
rankings had them 13th.
"I'll
be clear," Chun said. "We were very disappointed with where we ended
up being ranked, as a 10-win team, in a Power Five league, (with) the manner in
which our two losses came (and) statistically how we match up against the teams
in the same cluster as us."
Chun
played down the relative weakness of the Cougars' nonconference schedule,
implying it should have been offset in the CFP metrics by the team's
consistency throughout the season. Their only losses were by three points at
USC and by 13 to Washington in a Pullman snowstorm.
But he
acknowledged that the CFP snub may be related to the declining national profile
of the Pac-12, which suffered seven losses in eight bowls last season, the most
lopsised of which was Washington State's 42-17 belly-flop against Michigan
State in the Holiday Bowl.
"This
is an important bowl season for all of us," Chun said of Pac-12 schools.
"We can easily infer that where we're ranked is maybe a perception of the
league. The good thing for us is that we've got an opportunity as a conference
to make a national statement."
Part of
what impresses Chun about the Cougars this season is how they've responded to
the death of quarterback Tyler Hilinski, who committed suicide in January,
shortly before the AD was hired.
"I
just look at this football team and I know what's in that locker room,"
Chun said. "I know what they've gone through from the start of the year,
having to go through a tragedy that really no team should ever have to go
through, to how that team came together and what they did and how they
performed on the field.
“From
where I sat, definitely they deserved to be ranked higher. But, like I said, we
accept it and our focus shifts now. We've got a chance to prove everyone wrong
and get to Win 11 against a great opponent. Let's see where we end up."
An 11th
win would be a school record for the Cougars, who will make their fourth
straight bowl appearance and their fifth in the seven-year Mike Leach coaching
tenure.
"We
are excited to be a part of the Alamo Bowl against a great opponent in Iowa
State," Leach said in a WSU news release. "The Alamo Bowl does a fantastic
job with tremendous people hosting and running the events. We look forward to a
great week."
For one
thing, the Alamo's indoor venue won't pose the same obstacles that thwarted the
Cougars and their pass-first offense in the snowy Apple Cup.
"Obviously,
being in a temperature-controlled environment is very good for the Air Raid
offense," Chun said.
Even
after that 28-15 loss to Washington had dashed the Cougars' hopes for a league
championship, they seemingly stood a good chance of a berth in one of the New
Year's Six games, the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. But they unexpectedly plummeted
five spots to No. 13 in the CFP.
At that
point, most handicappers correctly shunted the Cougars to the Alamo Bowl while
getting their opponent wrong, saying it would be West Virginia. The Alamo,
which gets the No. 1 choice among available Big 12 Conference teams, instead
chose Iowa State (8-4).
The
Cyclones of Ames, Iowa, led by third-year coach Matt Campbell, lost three of
their first four games this season but wound up matching West Virginia's 6-3
conference mark and landing their second straight bowl bid. Their selling
points include a defense allowing just 22 points a game and a running back,
David Montgomery, with 1,092 rushing yards.
This
will be the first game ever between Washington State and Iowa State.
::::::::
WSU
FOOTBALL
Blanchette:
Cougars can still have it all at Alamo Bowl
Sun.,
Dec. 2, 2018, 8:49 p.m. Spokane S-R
Look,
the Washington State Cougars will still spend their Christmas in a hotel, get
the traditional goody bags and sample talent shows, boat rides and other
bowl-week amusements.
Mike
Leach will still get his precious December practices.
Fans
can party it up every bit as much – and maybe better – on the Riverwalk as they
can in Buckhead or Old Town Scottsdale.
And
better still? They can feel insulted by it all.
That’s
almost as good as cash in Wazzuworld.
College
football’s playoff and bowl destinations were parceled out Sunday, and to no
one’s surprise the Cougars’ entreaties to have their visas restamped were
ignored. Having dropped Wazzu to 13th in last week’s rankings, the playoff
committee eschewed further review, as that would suggest fallibility on its
part and give credit to anything football related in the Pac-12 Conference.
Some
lines just can’t be crossed.
If
you’ve been keeping up with your homework, you’ll know that the Cougs needed to
be in the top 12 of the final CFP rankings to be included in one of the
so-called New Year’s 6 bowls – specifically, the Fiesta or Peach, the ones not
already designated as playoff semifinals or pledged to conference champions.
At No.
13, they may as well have been holding a C boarding number on Southwest, bound
for middle-seat hell.
OK, not
quite.
Their
consolation prize is actually the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, a perfectly
respectable game in a fun city in that sweet spot between Christmas and New
Year’s. Washington State was in the second Alamo ever played, a 10-3 win over
Baylor in 1994, although Riverwalk nightspots jammed with Coug travelers were
even bigger winners.
And not
wanting to be an ingrate tourist, WSU athletic director Pat Chun on Sunday
declared the Cougs to be “pleased” and “honored” with their assignment to San
Antonio.
Then
came the “but” moment. Sir Mix-A-Lot has never rapped about a bigger but.
“We’re
very disappointed with where we ended up being ranked,” Chun allowed.
This is
all very nuanced. It has to be, since it borders on the inexplicable.
Wherever
the Cougs were going, it wasn’t to be part of the national championship
conversation. Were they ranked 12th, they wouldn’t be disappointed that they
weren’t ranked 11th – because all they needed for NY6 status is 12th. But the
only thing the rankings are good for is settling bowl destinations – plus some
change for expenses which, in the end, get divvied up like the revenue.
And
it’s not just bad form to dis your hosts, it’s bad strategy to suggest to your
players that they shouldn’t be enthused about their lot. Bowl teams can be
seeing grudgingly going through the motions every December.
So it
becomes all about respect, and the 10-2 Cougs getting none relative to a few
three-loss teams.
A chip
on the shoulder won’t hurt come kickoff. But Chun – to his credit – made it
clear he understands where respect comes from.
“For
Washington State and the rest of the Pac-12, this is an important bowl season
for all of us,” he said. “We can easily infer that where we’re ranked is maybe
a reflection of the perception of the league and the good thing for us is that
we have an opportunity as a conference to make a national statement. “
You
remember last year’s statement: 1-8 in bowl games.
“And
Washington State was part of that equation,” Chun said, noting that,
“Performance matters.”
Pac-12
commissioner Larry Scott went to bat for the Cougs with the CFP committee while
toweling off from the dungstorm he’s been weathering, and Chun was cool with
his advocacy. But apparently it was as credible as Champagne Larry’s public
posturing, so maybe the league’s dismal football profile and all the issues –
officiating, replay, TV strategy, extravagance – raised this season will give
the league’s presidents the courage to question their guy’s leadership.
In the
meantime, however, there’s a more urgent mission.
“We
have an opportunity to get our 11th win and our team is real focused on that,”
Chun said. “And it’ll be fun for us to be able to take our football coach …
back to a state where he built a great rep.”
Well,
OK. Just remember, the last time a Leach team got an Alamo invitation, he was
fired before he could get to the game. No doubt he’ll be prodded into another
rant about how Texas Tech still hasn’t paid him what he’s owed, but maybe this
would be a good time for him to talk about his 10-2 and undersold football team
instead, unlikely as that is.
“We
don’t want another school to go through what we just went through,” said Chun,
“and having to justify where you’re at.”
Hey,
you’re in San Antonio, Cougs. You can have a fiesta there, too.
:::::::::::::::
Washington
State fact file: Plenty more to like about the Cougars than just Mike Leach
By Danny
Lawhon, Des Moines Register 6:30 p.m. CT Dec. 2, 2018 | Updated 2:01 p.m. CT
Dec. 3, 2018
The
Pirate will be trying to pillage the Alamo.
Mike
Leach, perhaps the most interesting (or eccentric, depending on your lens)
coach in college football, will be bringing his 13th-ranked Washington State
football team into San Antonio after Christmas to take on Iowa State in the
Valero Alamo Bowl (8 p.m. Dec. 28, ESPN).
Here's
a little about the Cougars, who were whiskers away from reaching the Pac-12
Conference championship game this season.
Mike
Leach through the years
WASHINGTON
STATE COUGARS
Location:
Pullman, Washington
Mascot:
Butch T. Cougar
Coach:
Mike Leach (7th season, 48-40; career: 132-83, 17 seasons)
2018
Record: 10-2 overall, 7-2 Pac-12 (T-1st, Pac-12 North)
Best
win: 34-20 over then-No. 12 Oregon, which moved the Cougars to 6-1 on the year
on Oct. 20.
Worst
loss: 39-36 at USC, Sept. 21. The Trojans ended up missing a bowl altogether.
That defeat in the conference opener ultimately cost Washington State a
division crown.
Offensive
team stats: Rushing, 82.1 yards per game (128th out of 129 FBS teams); passing,
379.8 ypg (1st); total, 461.8 ypg (22nd); scoring, 38.3 points per game (15th).
Defensive
team stats: Rushing, 136.6 ypg allowed (37th); passing 210.0 ypg (T-48th);
total 346.6 ypg (30th); scoring 23.1 ppg (39th).
Mike
Leach is a national treasure.
If
you've been a college football fan with a pulse since the turn of the century,
you've probably noticed a Leach quip at some point. He certainly doesn't hold
his tongue or hold back his quirky attitude, and the sports landscape is better
for it.
Some
examples:
On
rooting against the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 World Series:
There’s
some teams — the Cubs are one of them — where there’s just too many fans.
They’re one of those teams that, for whatever reason — I guess it’s cause
people like the way their uniforms look or something — every yuppie with a BMW
or some special attachment to its computer or some designer set of jeans or
something like that is a Cubs fan and refers to it as ‘my Cubbies.’
If you
say ‘my’ in front of your team, well, then that’s dubious, OK? You know, ‘my
this, my that.’ Come on, now. And so you get ‘my Cubbies.’ You don’t get ‘my
Indians.’ You get ‘my Cubbies,’ OK?
And I
think there’s just too many out-of-the-woodwork people that like ‘em, that just
like ‘em cause they like the uniforms, don’t know the first thing about
baseball, probably have never even attended a Cubs game, but that’s just gonna
be their team since they have something to talk about over the copy machine and
the cooler.
So as a
result, you know, going against the whole wave of probably seven-eighths of
America, I want the Indians. Me and the city of Cleveland.
On
dancing:
All
Scandinavians feel a tiny bit self-conscious, of which I’m one. I’m supposed to
be outgoing and interesting; no, I’ve always been insecure about dancing. I was
when I was in high school.
They
used to have a segment of P.E. when I was in grade school. I used to get kicked
out when they’d have square dancing.
I have
always felt insecure about dancing. My wife is a great dancer. But I don’t
dance. I walk in place, if I’m forced out there. I don’t have any religious
reservation about it, and I respect people who can dance great. I don’t look
like Elaine from Seinfeld, but all I’m going to do is tread water in place and
make it go away.
It’s
like in junior high. You want social interaction. Long story short, if you’re a
guy, you want to meet girls and vice versa. What a horrible social event. So
I’m going to burst into dance? No, I’m not.
I was
good at dodgeball. I bordered on great at dodgeball.
On
goths:
There’s
all these goths, there’s like six goth people. Well, they’re more like between
I’m gonna say 20 and 30-year-old goths. You know, they didn’t have school it’s
not like they were skipping school. And who knows, I don’t know what they’re
going to do — ‘Hey how you guys doing, great cemetery up here!’ — and they just
kind of gave me a frowney goth look, and just sort of nodded.
Because
goths aren’t in good moods anyway, I mean everything’s about spider webs and
black hair, black this — really white faces.
So
anyway, hopefully I made about six new friends, but they didn’t speak much, so.
Oh, and
because there needs to be an Iowa State reference somewhere, on the wind in
Ames:
I know
that in Ames, Iowa, they fancy themselves being experts on the wind, but in
Lubbock, Texas, we'll put our wind up against your wind in Iowa.
You
could listen to that guy talk for days. That press conference will be
can't-miss. I want a full transcript.
And
Leach also has a significant Iowa connection.
The Air
Raid offensive concept has its origins to Iowa Wesleyan in Mount Pleasant,
under head coach Hal Mumme and offensive coordinator ... you guessed it.
There's
a ton more we could say on the subject, but our Mike Kilen did a pretty
fantastic job outlining it all. So take a read.
Does
Iowa State have Washington State to thank for Brock Purdy?
Work
with me here.
Washington
State is led under center by quarterback Gardner Minshew, who transferred from
East Carolina this offseason.
But
there was a lot of talk about Minshew potentially heading to Alabama, which was
potentially worried about finding a backup for Tua Tagovailoa when Jalen Hurts
was considering a transfer of his own.
Given
that dance, was Alabama too late in offering Brock Purdy before Iowa State
secured the Arizonan's commitment? That's a fair question, and at least
something worth wondering.
There
are worry spots when considering the Cougars' defense.
Leach's
modus operandi is almost all about the offensive side of the ball, but
Washington State actually has some playmakers who can cause some disruption.
The
Cougars are in a share of 16th in the NCAA with 35 sacks, or 2.92 per game. The
interesting part of that stat is that the wealth is spread around.
Fifteen
players have at least a half-sack on the season, and no one has more than 4.5
(linebacker Dominick Silvels). There are three others (linebacker Willie
Taylor, defensive end Will Rodgers and linebacker Peyton Pelluer) who have at
least 3.5.
That's
part of the reason Washington State ranks no worse than a respectable 48th in
any major defensive statistical category.
::::::::::::
‘We’re
very disappointed with where we ended up’
Cougars
selected to Alamo Bowl, Pat Chun voices his displeasure
By JOHN
SPELLMAN and KATIE ARCHER
December
3, 2018, Evergreen
No. 13
WSU football learned Sunday that it will face No. 24 Iowa State on Dec. 28 in
the Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
The
Cougars (10-2, 7-2) were hoping to receive a bid to a New Year’s Six bowl game,
but fell short of being ranked inside the top-12 in the final College Football
Playoff rankings of the season.
This
past week, Head Coach Mike Leach and Director of Athletics Pat Chun voiced
their displeasure with where the CFP selection committee ranked the Cougars
after their 28-15 loss to Washington in the Apple Cup. During a conference call
Sunday, Chun continued to express his frustration after WSU received its bowl
selection.
“I’ll
be clear, we’re very disappointed with where we ended up being ranked,” Chun
said. “We believe as a 10-win team in a Power Five league, the manner in which
our two losses came, statistically how we match up against other teams kind of
in the same cluster as us, we believe our resume ranked perhaps higher than
where the committee thought it was.”
Despite
a ranking from the CFP selection committee that put them behind four teams with
one more loss than WSU, Chun said he was pleased with the invitation to the
Alamo Bowl.
“They
are empowered to make those decisions,” he said. “We will respect those
decisions, we are not happy with where we are ranked but we are ecstatic to be
in the Alamo Bowl.”
WSU
ended the regular season with a loss to UW for the sixth-straight year which
ended the Cougars’ hopes of claiming the Pac-12 Championship and making a
possible trip to the Rose Bowl.
After
the defeat, WSU still looked to be in a position to make a New Year’s Six bowl.
However, the Cougars were No. 13 in the CFP rankings released Tuesday, drawing
criticism from Cougar fans, Chun and the football team.
Despite
pleas to the selection committee throughout the past week, the Cougars stayed
in the same spot in the final rankings released Sunday and instead drew Iowa
State (8-4) in the Alamo Bowl.
“We’re
pleased to be there and we’re honored to represent our league,” Chun said.
“We’ve got a tough opponent in Iowa State so there’s a lot of work to be done
to get ready for that game.”
The
Cyclones are coming off a season highlighted by victories over Oklahoma State
and No. 16 West Virginia. This will be the first matchup between these two
football programs.
WSU
will appear in a bowl game for the fourth consecutive season, the first time it
has done so in school history. The Cougars are 1-3 under Leach in bowl games
and this is the second time they will play in the Alamo Bowl, which they won
10-3 over Baylor in 1994.
Kickoff
for the game is set for 6 p.m. Dec. 28 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
The game will also be televised on ESPN.
Chun
said playing indoors will help the Cougars.
“We
play an exciting brand of football,” he said. “Obviously, being in a
temperature-controlled environment is very good for the Air Raid offense.”
:::::::::::
Gardner Minshew, II Wins 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
Source: Cision PR Web
Washington State University quarterback Gardner Minshew, II has won the
2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award® Presented by A. O. Smith. The prestigious
award is given annually to the nation’s top quarterback who best exemplifies
character, scholastic and athletic achievement.
Minshew has completed 364 of 523 passes for a total of 3,852 yards (70%
completion rate), throwing for 32 touchdowns with just seven interceptions and
a QB rating of 147.1. Minshew has endeared himself to Cougar fans across the
country, not only because of the “Minshew Mustache”, but his penchant for
late-game heroics. He has led WSU on game-winning, fourth-quarter drives
against Utah, Stanford and California. In the fourth quarter this season,
Minshew has completed 92 of 127 passes (72% completion rate) for 1,169 yards,
13 touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Presented by A. O. Smith has been
presented at the end of each college football season since 1987. Candidates
must be college seniors or fourth-year juniors on schedule to graduate with
their class. In addition to accomplishments on the field, candidates are judged
on their character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, teamwork and
leadership qualities.
Minshew’s achievements will be honored on Friday, December 7, in Baltimore,
MD. For the 2018 award ceremony, The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation,
Inc. and A. O. Smith is happy to be returning to The Embassy Suites Baltimore
Inner Harbor Hotel and Grand Historic Venue. Former NFL quarterback and 2010
Golden Arm Award recipient, Scott Tolzien, will deliver the keynote remarks at
this year’s event.
Past standout winners of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award® Presented by
A. O. Smith include: Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997); Carson Palmer (USC,
2002); Eli Manning (Ole Miss, 2003); Brady Quinn (Notre Dame, 2006); Matt Ryan
(Boston College, 2007); Colt McCoy (Texas, 2009), Andrew Luck (Stanford, 2011),
Marcus Mariota (Oregon, 2014) Connor Cook (Michigan State, 2015) Deshaun Watson
(Clemson, 2016) and last year’s winner Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State 2017)
::::
Coug Volleyball
advances to Sweet Sixteen
Last
time WSU made it this far in tournament was 2002
By COLIN
CONNOLLY, Evergreen r
December
2, 2018
For the
first time since 2002, WSU volleyball will be playing in the Sweet Sixteen of
the NCAA Tournament after defeating Tennessee in four sets Saturday in Bohler
Gym.
This
year marks the third consecutive season the Cougars (23-9, 12-8) made it to the
second round of the tournament and their first time hosting two rounds of
tourney action since 2001.
Senior
outside hitter McKenna Woodford said she is honored to be a part of this group
of seniors who have made such a mark on the program.
“This
has never happened to us,” Woodford said. “For two years in the past this was
where we ended.”
For the
second night in a row, the Cougars won a match in four sets in front of a
packed home crowd that brought the energy the entire night.
The
Lady Vols (26-6, 16-2) used their size to build small leads of 5-3 and 9-7
early in the first set to try and silence the home crowd.
Down
11-9, WSU got Bohler Gym back into it with a big point and handed the service
to senior outside hitter Taylor Mims.
Mims
served back-to-back aces as part of a 5-0 run to give the Cougs a 14-11 lead.
WSU
Head Coach Jen Greeny said that Tennessee came out swinging, but the Cougs were
able to fight back.
WSU
seemed to have all of the momentum but couldn’t get out of its own way with
poor passing and miscommunication leading to a timeout by Greeny.
A 6-0
run by UT gave the Lady Vols a 21-18 lead, but the Cougars came back again to
tie the score at 22 apiece.
Out of
a Tennessee timeout, the Lady Vols scored twice to get to set point at 24-22.
WSU clawed back again and tied it at 24.
After
back-and-forth play, the Cougars prevailed with a huge 30-28 first set win.
Redshirt junior middle blocker Jocelyn Urias led the Cougs with eight kills
followed closely by Woodford with six.
Greeny
said that getting the first set was absolutely huge.
“Anytime
you can get the first set it puts pressure on the other team,” she said.
WSU got
out to an early lead in the second set. Junior libero Alexis Dirige served an
ace to give the Cougs an 8-3 lead over the Lady Vols.
Determined
to take a 2-0 match lead, the Cougars built their advantage to 12-6 and used a
4-0 run to make it 18-9.
UT
fought back, but it wasn’t enough as the deficit was too much and the Cougars
won the set 25-18.
As much
as the second set went the Cougs way, the third set did just the opposite as UT
came out of the break hot and showed they came to play.
The
Lady Vols took an early 8-6 lead and extended that to 21-16. Despite a valiant
attempt, WSU could not come back and lost the third set 25-19.
Greeny
said that she called a timeout in the middle of the third set to talk to her
team after the set wasn’t going WSU’s way.
She
said she told them that they can’t get all of the points they were trailing by
back at once, so just chip away and create some momentum going forward.
“We ran
off some points in the third and got momentum back,” Greeny said. “It really
helped us going into the fourth set.”
The
team in fact carried that momentum into the fourth set as senior middle blocker
Claire Martin’s fifth block of the night gave the Cougars a 6-3 lead early on.
WSU
extended its lead to 14-9 with a kill by junior setter Ashley Brown, forcing a
UT timeout. Out of the timeout, the Cougs finished the set by winning 25-13.
With
the victory, the Cougars advance to face No. 1 Stanford in the third round of
the NCAA tournament. WSU has already faced the Cardinal twice this season and
lost the first match up in three sets and the second in four.
Woodford
acknowledged that Stanford is an incredible team, but she is ready to see what
the Cougars can do.
“We’ve
played down there before, this isn’t new to us,” Woodford said.
WSU
will take on the Cardinal 5:30 p.m. Friday at Maples Pavilion at Stanford
University in California’s SF Bay Area.
#
