Sunday, September 27, 2009

Does Everybody Know What Time it is?

TUEL TIME! That's right, true freshman Jeff Tuel made his collegiate debut Saturday against USC, and despite a 27-6 loss, the Cougars have a lot to be proud about.

USC was a 45.5 point favorite going into Saturday's game, and with the way the first quarter went it looked like the Cougars were going to see a repeat of last year's dismantling. After taking a quick 13-0 lead, the Trojans attempted an, in my opinion, unsportsmanlike onside kick and recovered the ball. They scored again and advanced their lead to 20-0.

However, in the remaining 48 minutes of the game, the Cougars held USC to just seven more points, thanks in large to two goal line stops by the Cougar defense on fourth down.

True freshman Jeff Tuel relieved redshirt sophomore Marshall Lobbestael at quarterback halfway into the second quarter. Lobbestael was 2-of-9 for only 14 yards, while Tuel stole the show (and our hearts) finishing 14-of-22 for 130 yards. Those numbers are good for a freshman in his first game, but against USC? Those numbers are spectacular. Tuel continuously moved the ball down the field, and the three-and-outs that Coug fans have grown used to were replaced by first down after first down. He's got a cannon of an arm, quick feet, and great judgment. Tuel will be the difference this season, and I can't wait to see him and the Cougars take on Locker and the Huskies in the Apple Cup.

That said, the Cougs made a few big mistakes, including a missed field goal, a missed PAT, an interception in the end zone, and a fumble that ended in a touchdown for USC. If those were successful scores and you take away that fumble, the score would be 20-17 which may have given the Cougars enough momentum to upset the Trojans. But that's just wishful thinking.

In other news, Stanford sent the Huskies crashing back to Earth on Saturday in a 34-14 victory. Washington, who beat an injured USC last week, is now 2-2 (1-1 Pac-10).

3 comments:

  1. Tuel looked great for his first gig in college. It was also good to see his success against USC. The most important thing he did was keep the USC offense off the field. As far as the onside kick? Who cares?! It's Pete Carroll and it's not his job to slow down against a weaker opponent. Probably was hoping for an early route so he could put in more true freshmen to deepen his team's roster. Over all, very happy with the play of Tuel and Simone. Hope to hear that combo for years to come!!! GO COUGS!!!

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  2. Personally, I think the onside kick in the FIRST quarter when USC was already ahead by two touchdowns was a classless move; the fact that it was successful is irrelevant. It's one thing to want to prove that USC is the best team in the nation (which they certainly did not last night), but you'd think Carroll would want to show that his team deserves respect. They don't.

    Carroll got some karma for that move. Sure, the Trojans won, but they played embarrassingly against a team they smashed last year 69-0. Hawaii, a mediocre WAC team, played better against us than a team that was No. 3 in the nation two weeks ago.

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  3. Im inclined to agree with NateBleedsCrimson on the onside kick issue. Before the game I thought Pete Carroll was a very classy coach, although Carroll is still an outstanding coach, he has lost much of my respectfor him. As for the Cougs play at USC, i was extremely impressed with "The Tuel." With that performance against USC, I am more than willing to Buy apple cup tickets knowing that if we keep improving, we will succeed! We do face a huge obsticle in Oregon and Arizona State over the next few weeks. Even if we don't win against Oregon this weekend, i feel that we will improve somemore and really make Arizona State play their best football, or we will come away with a win!!!

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