5 Days of College Football
Senior QB Alex Brink: The unknown can fill up a stat sheet.
Washington State Cougars (Predicted Record 7-5)
For a cool million dollars, answer the following 2007 Pac-Ten pursuit of trivia question. Of the eight returning starting quarterbacks in the conference, who leads the group in career passing yards and touchdowns? Though the answer is seemingly clear cut and will highlight the wondrous berg of Pullman, Washington clairvoyance ends with the numbers. Senior QB Alex Brink returns to engineer the Palouse offense, having thrown for 7000 yards and 50 touchdowns in a career that has been somewhat overshadowed by a surrounding stagnant mediocrity and leveled expectations.
After giving away a handful of games in the 4th quarter in 2005, head coach Bill Doba preached the importance of hammering the nails in the coffin and finishing strong for 2006. The Cougars responded with a promising start, winning 6 out of their first 9 games. However, the proverbial wheels came off the wagon, as WSU dropped its last three contests, including a devastating 35-32 defeat to the rival UW in the Apple Cup to end a dissapointing season. As Doba desperately searches for a catch phrase to capture lightning in a bottle and in the process save his job, Brink waits patiently in the shadows of college football obscurity, learning everyday that statistical supremacy proves hollow in the absence of wins.
Steady senior Quarterback Alex Brink will do his part with 3500 yards passing and 28 touchdowns, but greater balance needs to be generated for the unit as a whole. Against two of the better defenses last year in USC and UCLA, Brink threw for a staggering 692 yards and five touchdowns with virtually no help from the running game. As one-dimensional as Washington State was in their 2006 opener against a quality opponent at Auburn, Brink struggled in the worst effort of his career and failed to surpass 100 yards passing. Case in point, for the Cougars to have a shot and winning in 2007, the offensive line has to mature enough to allow one of the many backs in Doba’s stable gain effective and positive yards.
Although 4 of the 5 starters return on the OL, a lack of cohesion and inexperience marred the 2006 campaign. Too many times Brink had to make plays with his feet, an indication of quarterback diress in the one-back offense. Add to the potion unspectacular production from the running back spot, and opposing defenses had no excuse but to gear for the pass.
The talk of the off-season was the move made by capable blocker Bobby Byrd to the guard spot after displaying an ineptitude for slowing down the better rush ends in the conference. At 6’7 318 pounds, Byrd should solidify the inside of the WSU interior, leaving the onus on tackles Vaughn Lesuma and Don Rowlands. Rowlands is a versatile player who will attempt to protect Brink’s blind side, while Lesuma at 340 pounds has limited playing experience. Sophomore center Kenny Alfred has already been touted as a future all-conference player and will need to have a proficient season making the line calls in order for a postseason to be a possibility.
The Cougar offense possesses the scheme, a reliable engineer and a few versatile tools to put 40 points and 450 yards on lesser opponents, but the line needs to gel in the first three weeks in order for the unit to gain any semblance of big game momentum. Anything less than 2000 combined yards from the running back spot will not be a sufficient total to reach a bowl game. As a senior quarterback Brink has the ability and arsenal to throw for over 300 yards each weekend, however an effective ground game is the emphasis that a strong front five must provide.
Amidst a season ending loss to end the 2006 season, the WSU defense and its inability to prevent the big play was not a simple aberration dictated by a single game. Opponents were able to generate almost 250 yards through the air against a unit that could not find an identity. As talented safety Eric Frampton has left for greener pastures on Sundays, a depleted Cougar back four braces itself to the reality of facing a conference loaded with veteran QB’s.
As with many programs that lack that the rare presence of a dominant and talented defense lineman, WSU has gone to a committee approach for the upcoming season. Situational substitutions and lots of bodies will be the m.o. in compensating for an overall lack of experience. The linebacker situation is solid at best, but not a crucial aspect in the current defensive scheme. Head coach Bill Doba will fill a dual coaching role and to a familiar position of coordinating the defense in the wake of departed assistant Rob Akeny. Doba will have to find a catalyst to account for a startling retooling effort in the secondary.
Solitary returnee, safety Husain Abdullah, is a strength over the middle in cover two and run force, but game wisdom needs to be propagated at the corners in order to for minimal support. Two seniors, Markus Dawes and B.T. Walker will get the nod on the outside and can cling to the notion of seasoned practice players in Doba’s system. A trial by fire is evident.
Once again Pac-10 programs need to be lauded for schedule difficulty and intrigue. A shaky line and untested secondary will show clearly as WSU opens at #7 Wisconsin in Madison. After an interesting non-conference affair with San Diego State, Rob Akeny brings his Vandals eight miles into Pullman and provides a brief respite before the Cougs travel to the Coleseum and welcome the conference schedule with USC. A stretch of three brutal games in the late October and early November will be the true litmus test for Doba and his team. Dates in Eugene, at home against UCLA and a trip to Berkley will determine if any meaning is necessary for the Apple Cup in Seattle.
