2009 College Football Predictions: Washington State Cougars

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This is a continuation of our series on our exclusive 2009 college football predictions.  Follow all of our 2009 college football predictions here (team by team) or here (by conference).

Washington State Cougars

2008 Record: (2-11, 1-8)
Coach: Paul Wulff, 2nd year (2-11 at Washington State, 55-51 overall)
Off. Coordinator: Todd Sturdy (2nd year)
Def. Coordinator: Chris Bell (2nd year) and Jody Sears (2nd year)
Returning Starters: 15 (8 offense, 5 defense, kicker, punter)
Ret. Starting Quarterback: Yes (Kevin Lopina)

Offense: The Washington State Cougars return Kevin Lopina (6-3, 228), a senior quarterback who came back from a broken neck but threw for no touchdowns and 11 interceptions in eight starts last year. Sophomore QB Marshall Lobbestael (6-3, 199) should also be in the mix if he’s recovered from knee surgery. He’ll need to be mobile considering the Cougars gave up 43 sacks last year. At running back, they are stacked with five experienced backs including senior Dwight Tardy (5-10, 210), who ran for 481 yards last year. He was coming off a knee injury in 2007, so he should be completely healthy this season. At receiver, speedy junior Joshua Anderson (6-2, 186) could be a huge factor, but working with the track team has slowed his progress. The offensive line returns three starters including C Kenny Alfred (6-2, 293), though the rest of the line is a major concern.

Defense: The defense returns five starters from a unit that allowed 43.9ppg (118th in the nation) and 443.4 yards per game (108th in the nation). Up front, they return just one starter, which is not necessarily a bad thing since they finished 119th (last) in the nation against the run, allowing 247.6 yards per game last season. Juco transfer Bernard Wolfgramm (6-3, 288) will be a huge key, but he’s coming off back surgery that kept him out of spring ball. At linebacker, they return senior Andy Mattingly (6-4, 241) from defensive end to linebacker, where he was much more comfortable. He recorded 91 tackles as a linebacker when he was a sophomore in 2007. Strong safety Xavier Hicks (6-0, 196) leads the secondary and is the leading returning tackler with 79 last year and also added two picks.

Outlook: The Cougars open with Stanford at home, then face Hawaii (in Seattle), followed by SMU at home. After that, the schedule is brutal as they have to face USC, Oregon and Cal on the road in three of their next four games. They also face Notre Dame in San Antonio of all places. This will be an extremely tough season for Paul Wulff in his second season at the helm. He has to get some consistency at the quarterback spot and find some impact players on defense.

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