2007 Washington State Cougars Football Preview

2007 Washington State Cougars season preview from Maddux Sports. Below you can find our official Washington State Cougars football preview as well as the 2007 Washington State Cougars Football Schedule. Dont miss Maddux's free college football picks taken from the weekly college football odds from the #1 sports handicapping team.

Coach: Bill Doba (5th year at Washington State)
Team Name: Cougars
2006 Overall Record: 6-6
Returning Starters: 12

In 2006, the Washington State Cougars (6- 6 overall, 4- 5 PAC-10) were in pretty good shape heading into their final three games and then they lost three in a row. Wining one would have made them 7- 6 and possibly bowl bound. Instead they finished tied for 5th in their conference.

The Cougars like to play a wide-open game with three wide and one back. Senior QB Alex Brink (60.9% COMP 2,899 YDs, 19 TDs, 10 INTs) offers accuracy and leadership as he enters his fourth season as Washington State's starter. Senior slotback Michael Bumpus (60 REC, 558 YDs, 1 TD) has good hands, while junior flanker Brandon Gibson averaged 14.9 yards per catch. Sophomore RB Dwight Tardy (145 CAR, 667 YDs, 4 TDs) returns as the top rusher with other runners being questionable. Three tough and talented offensive linemen return, which means Brink should be well protected.

While the "O" was scoring 24.6 PPG, the "D" was allowing 23.1 PPG. The Cougars were able to stop the run but when teams took to the air they were terrible, ranking 108th nationally as they allowed 243.1 YPG. The frontline is without star Mkristo Bruce but it offers two tough run-stopping seniors at the tackle spots—Ropati Potoitua and Aaron Johnson. Junior MLB Greg Trent (77 tackles, 35 solo) returns as the club's leading tackler. He'll help two new starters break-in. One starter, FS Husain Abdullah, is back for the secondary. Everyone else is a question mark.

The Cougars best chance to upset a team will be when they play Oregon State. Their primary swing game is away against Washington. For this team to go 6- 6 this year, they'll need some luck. Four or even five wins may be possible. In the quarterback-rich PAC-10, their secondary won't cut it. The Cougars have not been to a bowl since 2003 when they upset Texas 28- 20 in the Holiday Bowl. They won't be in the post-season this year either.

Washington State Cougars Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away
Sep 1	Wisconsin	Away
Sep 8	San Diego St	Neutral
Sep 15	Idaho	Home
Sep 22	USC	Away
Sep 29	Arizona	Away
Oct 6	Arizona St	Home
Oct 13	Oregon	Away
Oct 27	UCLA	Home
Nov 3	California	Away
Nov 10	Stanford	Home
Nov 17	Oregon St	Home
Nov 24	Washington	Away

 

For more info on the 2007 Washington State Cougars football program, view the Cougars football site or you can read about other Pac-10 teams below.