Conan, The only thing that worries me about our ASU play is that Erickson is coaching against one of his former players for the first time. Who knows if he will call off the dogs in the 4th, but with that being said ASU has not won at home since Sept 6 and he needs a BIG win for the fans and alumn. If they win the last 3 they may go to a small bowl game. Keegan Herring should rush for 200 in this game! Do you think Erickson calls the dogs off early in the 4th quarter up 45 plus? I am torn on if he would or not and if Wash State would be able to even do anything against 2nd, 3rd and 4th stringers.
With Wulff, Erickson faces ex-player for 1st time
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, Associated Press Writer Nov 12, 10:37 pm EST
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP)—The question stumped Arizona State football coach Dennis Erickson for a moment.
After 20 years leading six college programs, had Erickson ever before taken the field against a team coached by one of his former players?
He’ll do it Saturday when Paul Wulff leads Washington State against Erickson’s Sun Devils.
“I’ve done most things in this profession, but this is the first time I’ve coached against somebody who played for me,” Erickson said Tuesday.
Erickson spent the 1987 and ‘88 seasons coaching at Washington State, where Wulff was his starting center. Now, Erickson is struggling to get Arizona State (3-6, 2-4 Pac-10) to a bowl game.
Even though the Cougars (1-9, 0-7) are having one of the worst seasons in school history, Erickson believes Wulff, who was hired in December, is the man to turn the program around.
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“I’ve got great respect for Paul,” Erickson said. “He’s the right guy for that job and will do great there.”
“He’s a Cougar and that’s very, very important,” Erickson added.
Lots of Erickson’s former players are college assistant coaches, and he keeps an eye on their progress.
“I’m proud of that,” Erickson said.
For his part, Wulff said he learned plenty from a coach who went on to win two national titles at Miami and has won nearly 70 percent of his college games.
“There are a lot of things that I would emulate, or do the same kind of things I learned, from coach,” Wulff said Tuesday. “If I didn’t do that I wouldn’t be a very smart person.”
He remembers Erickson as highly competitive and very innovative, especially on offense. That made playing for him fun.
“He was clear on what the goals were, to win,” Wulff said.
Wulff and Erickson talked after the Cougars were blown out by California earlier this season, with Erickson giving some thoughts on coaching at WSU.
“I hope they have success for all but one week,” Erickson said.
In 1988, Erickson led Washington State to its first bowl game since 1931, and then left for Miami, where he won national titles in two of the next three seasons. This is his second season at Arizona State.
Wulff had a brief pro career and coached at Eastern Washington University for 15 seasons before taking over at his alma mater.
Arizona State, coming off a win over Washington that broke a five-game losing streak, needs to win its final three games to become bowl eligible.
The Cougars, meanwhile, are still looking for their first victory over a major college team this season.
They have the worst defense and second-worst offense in the nation, a combination that has led to blowouts in most games.
But last week, they hung tough late into the first half at home against Arizona, losing 59-28—a season-high for points.
“When they got down, they continued to fight,” Wulff said.
That has stirred some hopes in Cougar Nation that a victory might be possible. After Arizona State, the Cougars finish with Washington (0-9) and Hawaii (5-5).
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, Associated Press Writer Nov 12, 10:37 pm EST
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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP)—The question stumped Arizona State football coach Dennis Erickson for a moment.
After 20 years leading six college programs, had Erickson ever before taken the field against a team coached by one of his former players?
He’ll do it Saturday when Paul Wulff leads Washington State against Erickson’s Sun Devils.
“I’ve done most things in this profession, but this is the first time I’ve coached against somebody who played for me,” Erickson said Tuesday.
Erickson spent the 1987 and ‘88 seasons coaching at Washington State, where Wulff was his starting center. Now, Erickson is struggling to get Arizona State (3-6, 2-4 Pac-10) to a bowl game.
Even though the Cougars (1-9, 0-7) are having one of the worst seasons in school history, Erickson believes Wulff, who was hired in December, is the man to turn the program around.
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“I’ve got great respect for Paul,” Erickson said. “He’s the right guy for that job and will do great there.”
“He’s a Cougar and that’s very, very important,” Erickson added.
Lots of Erickson’s former players are college assistant coaches, and he keeps an eye on their progress.
“I’m proud of that,” Erickson said.
For his part, Wulff said he learned plenty from a coach who went on to win two national titles at Miami and has won nearly 70 percent of his college games.
“There are a lot of things that I would emulate, or do the same kind of things I learned, from coach,” Wulff said Tuesday. “If I didn’t do that I wouldn’t be a very smart person.”
He remembers Erickson as highly competitive and very innovative, especially on offense. That made playing for him fun.
“He was clear on what the goals were, to win,” Wulff said.
Wulff and Erickson talked after the Cougars were blown out by California earlier this season, with Erickson giving some thoughts on coaching at WSU.
“I hope they have success for all but one week,” Erickson said.
In 1988, Erickson led Washington State to its first bowl game since 1931, and then left for Miami, where he won national titles in two of the next three seasons. This is his second season at Arizona State.
Wulff had a brief pro career and coached at Eastern Washington University for 15 seasons before taking over at his alma mater.
Arizona State, coming off a win over Washington that broke a five-game losing streak, needs to win its final three games to become bowl eligible.
The Cougars, meanwhile, are still looking for their first victory over a major college team this season.
They have the worst defense and second-worst offense in the nation, a combination that has led to blowouts in most games.
But last week, they hung tough late into the first half at home against Arizona, losing 59-28—a season-high for points.
“When they got down, they continued to fight,” Wulff said.
That has stirred some hopes in Cougar Nation that a victory might be possible. After Arizona State, the Cougars finish with Washington (0-9) and Hawaii (5-5).
I thought that I'd bump this post up for this page.
In a way, this game reminds me of what Oregon State faced after they played USC. You'd expect a letdown perhaps (but not in the case of OSU.) However both Oregon St. and Cal go on the road the following week after USC and found (will find) the going tough. The Beavers had it won and blew it. The Cal setup is similar. On the road after USC vs a tough opponent.
Recap & update
Season total:
36-23 (61%) +17.5 Units
This week's plays:
OR-3.5/AZ*
OSU-3/Cal*
Stan+23/USC*
UW+7.5/UCLA*
ASU-34/WSU* (37 is fine)
NEV-14/SJSU*
UCLA/UW U46.5*
Adding:
SJSU/NEV U52*
That's a ton of them that I have strong opinions about.
So I'll skip the best bet play for this week, though I am tempted with the total in the SJSU/NEV game.
Season total:
36-23 (61%) +17.5 Units
This week's plays:
OR-3.5/AZ*
OSU-3/Cal*
Stan+23/USC*
UW+7.5/UCLA*
ASU-34/WSU* (37 is fine)
NEV-14/SJSU*
UCLA/UW U46.5*
Adding:
SJSU/NEV U52*
That's a ton of them that I have strong opinions about.
So I'll skip the best bet play for this week, though I am tempted with the total in the SJSU/NEV game.
I agree with this. However, turnovers, dumb penalties and poor Red Zone efficiency scare me more with this big of line. WSU is horrible, but ASU has shown that they can, and do, shoot themselves in the foot. The Washington game is a good example. PP, you saw how many dumb penalties ASU had. What did Lou have, 3 field goals that should have been touchdowns? Olson's play calling has been bad all year in the Red Zone. Field goals won't cover this line. Don't get me wrong, ASU will score many touchdowns, but if two or three become field goals, 37 will be hard to cover.
This is a no play for me as I want this to be 52-0, but don't think it will happen. I hope I am wrong.
Good luck to all of you guys on this and your other plays. I DO hope they hit.
Nice season so far, Conan.
You have a lot more confidence in Washington than I do. The trend for the Huskies has been to play tuff in the 1st half and then fold in the 2nd half. I see Slick Rick's Bruins blowing it open late. Too many mistakes lately by Fouch.
I'll be on Stanford by kickoff. USC hasn't looked good on the road against decent conf. opponents.
I like the Oregon St. play over Cal. as well. Should be a hard fought game. If they win out, it would be their 1st trip to Pasadena in 44 years. Somebody has to keep USC from going again.
You have a lot more confidence in Washington than I do. The trend for the Huskies has been to play tuff in the 1st half and then fold in the 2nd half. I see Slick Rick's Bruins blowing it open late. Too many mistakes lately by Fouch.
I'll be on Stanford by kickoff. USC hasn't looked good on the road against decent conf. opponents.
I like the Oregon St. play over Cal. as well. Should be a hard fought game. If they win out, it would be their 1st trip to Pasadena in 44 years. Somebody has to keep USC from going again.
I've noticed that too Pags.
Nice to see a lot of new guys chip in with their opinions.
By the way, I'm not so convinced as the author is about Oregon St., but he makes a very good argument for their cause. I think they may have a couple things yet to prove but they seem on track to do it.
