Sadly, the Cougs just couldn’t quite make the full comeback last week against Cal - the only team left on their schedule where a loss could have been anticipated/ expected. The remainder of this season is going to be must-win games against beatable opponents. I.e., this is where Bill Doba keeps or loses his job. If he gets them back to 6-6 it would be much harder to get rid of the coach; if he leads the Cougs to sub-.500 ball it makes it much easier to cop out, make the easy decision, cave into the demands of the uneducated, and put out some posts on Craigslist for a new head coach.

First of all, Stanford is NOT a terrible team. They are beatable, but not terrible. In fact, Stanford’s two wins have come against two teams who killed the Cougs: USC and ‘Zona. As a matter of fact, Stanford has really played two different seasons this year: the season consisting of weeks 1-4 where their point differential was -13.25 per game and weeks 5-9 where the point differential has been -7. It’s not major, but it looks like this team has made a lot of progress and is capable of playing a very good game. Here though is what the game comes down to: Stanford’s 9th ranked pass defense (in conference) taking on Wazzu’s 2nd ranked passing offense (also in conference). Stanford on the other hand has the 7th best conference pass offense and 9th rush offense; they really aren’t capable of putting up 30 points on a Pac-10 defense. So they key is whether or not they can hold the Cougs below 30… and I think not.

I think Vegas is with me on this one too… the current point spread is 11 in favor of WSU, who will be playing in front of a home crowd on Dad’s weekend (aka sellout) crowd. The Cougs play well at home, so I don’t have much faith in the upset, nor do I think the Cardinal can beat the spread. WSU’s average margin of victory this season is by three touchdowns. Rivals.com, who has been spectacular in predicting Cougs games this year agrees, saying the Cougs win the game tomorrow 35-10. This Coug-friendly blog I often refer to has the score at 42-17. So now it’s time for me to sack up and make the prediction.

Honestly, I think the Cardinal scores at least 17… probably scored two touchdowns and two field goals for a total of 20 points. WSU wins games by an average of 21, but they only win this one by 14, with many missed opportunities being accompanied by numerous “f— you Doba!” yells from the same students who think Bill Doba’s offensive playcalling is suspect (ummmm hello? Mike Levenseller, anyone?). But Doba’s D plays well and yet he will get little to no credit for that playcalling… which he actually does.

Stanford 20
WSU 34

As always, Go Cougs! And if any students/ fans read this… please keep “f— you Doba!”’s to an absolute minimum. None at all would probably be best.

[ed. note: In the past two weeks, I have actually spoken to more than 20 students who actually believe that Bill Doba is the head coach/ offensive coordinator… not head coach/ defensive coordinator as he actually is. I know that 99% of Coug fans know better and never drop the “f— you Doba!” during games… but that 1% really pisses me off]