Washington State Vs Idaho “Battle of the Palouse” GameDay Huddle

No worries, I got no worries, la la la la. How’s that song go?!  It’s another weekend of football on the Palouse and today (well tonight actually) it’s the “Battle of the Palouse” in Martin Stadium that’s got me excited.

It’s a bit of a local battle too, with Idaho Qb Chad Chalich (Coeur d’Alene) and WSU Lb Jared Byers (Pullman) pitted against each other, which is not something that will be thought about but a pretty cool nugget. It’s also not a big deal for the rest of college football as they see local battles all the time but around here it’s surprisingly rare.

The only complaint I have is that I woke up with a headache and stuffy nose this morning (thank you world) because I steadily had a cold descend upon me yesterday. We all know what that’s like right? But it’s football time today so I guess I’m feeling better than I normally would in this case, I’ll certainly not miss going to the game tonight for it. Looking at the weather report that might be a mistake too, as it’s gonna be a bit nippy this evening when kickoff commences, and probably drop unmercifully from there.

Let’s talk about the game itself though, shall we! First I want to mention that with both USC and Auburn on the road to start the season, it was difficult for most to believe we’d be equaling our win total from last year just four games in. I believed it, but few others did. And here we are with the opportunity to do just that, which is pretty awesome of our boys in Crimson and Gray!

I think our running game needs to get cranked back up tonight. It’s been two straight games of not-a-whole-lotta-nothin’ after that stunning 120 yard performance against Auburn. I would like Stanford to have to prepare for it next week at least (although would I?) Doesn’t matter, the Cougs need to get it going for themselves so that Connor doesn’t get gun-shy about making those checks. He’s done such a great job of checking to it that it would be nice to pop a couple against Idaho. A couple came really close last week.

Far as passing game goes, WSU should have their proverbial way in this one, though Connor needs to break the three game streak of red zone INT’s he’s been putting together. Need to take a few more shots tonight as the Vandals don’t have the athletes to cover all the receivers in the secondary.

Speaking of secondaries, ours is the best in the nation so far this season! WOW never thought that I’d be saying that at any point this season, but here we are. And I truly believe now that we have a chance to hold that title at least through week 5! Horton, Bucannon, Washington, Brown, Taliulu, Dotson, Carpenter… and whoever else steps in needs to accept the personal challenge of not allowing any big plays and keeping the Vandals to under 100 yards through the air. WSU is allowing 99.7 yards through the air so far this season and this is the weakest group of athletes in that regard to date in my personal opinion. Still, Chalich threw for over 200 last week against NIU, so it’s not going to be easy.

Let’s get this show on the road baby! Oh and I heard they might be doing the 8-mile walk tonight by the loser after the game? I doubt that’s the case, but a though-the-grapevine thing that I heard yesterday for some reason. If it WAS agreed on it was a silly bet by Idaho (I hope).

Time to go watch a full day of football before making the trek to Martin.

Go Cougs!