2011 Washington State Cougars Football Predictions, Odds, Picks and Schedule – 2011 WSU NCAA Football Preview

2011 Washington State Cougars College Football Expert Predictions, Picks, Vegas Odds and Schedule – WSU NCAA Football Preview: To say that the Washington State program has struggled under Paul Wulff would be an understatement. He is just 5-32 in his three seasons as head coach of the Cougars and is coming off a miserable 2-10 season. Needless to say, Wulff is on the hot seat entering the 2011-12 campaign, and Washington State has plenty of holes to fill on both sides of the ball. Unless the Cougars show some kind of progress, especially as a factor in the PAC-12, Wulff could find himself looking for new job.

It’s not often that an offensive line has to take a majority of the blame for a team’s struggles, but the Cougars’ front five gets the dubious honor. The unit ranked in the bottom five nationally in terms of protecting the quarterback and in rushing yards. In fact, Washington State rushers managed just 2.6 yards per carry last season. Unless there is some improvement from the offensive line, it isn’t going to matter what the skill position players bring to the table.

Despite having next to no running game, quarterback Jeff Tuel put together a decent season. He finished just shy of 2,800 yards and threw 18 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions. The numbers aren’t mid blowing by any means, but it is the most production the Cougars have seen from under center in quite some time. Helping the cause are wide receivers Jared Karstetter and Marquess Wilson. The duo combined for 117 catches last season, and at the very least, the passing game should be able to move the ball and put up some points.

Stopping opponents will likely be a different story. After all, Washington State did rank dead last in the PAC-12 last season in scoring defense, passing defense and rushing defense. In other words, the Cougars were the worst defensive team in the conference in every way possible. On the bright side, the unit’s two best players return. Defensive end Travis Long and linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis give Washington State the groundwork for improvement, but it is still going to be an uphill battle.

Considering how bad the Cougars have in recent years, every team on the schedule has to be viewed as a threat. Even the out-of-conference schedule features a road game against a solid San Diego State team, and once conference play begins, things could get ugly. Stanford and Arizona State visit the Cougars, while Washington State goes on the road to play tough opponents such as UCLA, California, Oregon and Washington. Outside of the opening games against Idaho State and UNLV, there isn’t a game on the schedule that can be called an easy win for the Cougars.

While the Washington State offense should be at its best since Wulff took the helm, Tuel won’t and his dynamic receiving duo won’t be able to mask all the other issues facing the Cougars. The offensive line has a lot of developing to do, and the run game is going to be virtually nonexistent until the guys up front can get their act together. Throw in the fact that the defense ranked dead last in almost every category last year, and it is hard to find a silver lining for the Cougars. The improved offense should help, but it won’t help that much. Washington State will be a nonfactor in the PAC-12 race.

2011 Washington State Cougars College Football Predictions: 3-9 Record

Preseason 2011 Washington State Cougars NCAA Football Odds:
Odds to Win 2012 BCS Championship: NA/Off the Board
Odds to Win 2011 PAC 12 Championship: +10000
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2011 Washington St Cougars College Football Schedule
Sat, Sep 3 Idaho State 5:00 pm —
Sat, Sep 10 UNLV 5:00 pm —
Sat, Sep 17 at San Diego State 6:30 pm —
Sat, Oct 1 at Colorado TBA —
Sat, Oct 8 at UCLA TBA —
Sat, Oct 15 Stanford TBA —
Sat, Oct 22 Oregon State TBA —
Sat, Oct 29 at Oregon TBA —
Sat, Nov 5 at California TBA —
Sat, Nov 12 Arizona State TBA —
Sat, Nov 19 Utah TBA —
Sat, Nov 26 at Washington TBA —

Check out NSAwins.com’s official 2011 College Football Over Under Team Wins Odds and Predictions and 2011 PAC 12 Football Odds and Predictions articles.

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