Washington State Welcomes Texas Tech to the Palouse (GAME THREAD)

Hello Coug fans! We awaken this beautiful Saturday sitting pretty at 1-0. I’ve been a Coug fan long enough to cherish these kinds of days. Heck, I’ve been a Coug fan long enough to remember when we once woke up 0-1 after playing Portland State.

But the past is past. Today, it’s the Texas Tech Red Raiders making their first ever trip to God’s Country. May they go home losers.

Before touching on today’s game a little more, let me share a short story….

Two years ago this weekend, WSU traveled to Madison for a showdown with the Wisconsin Badgers, ranked no. 19 at the time. You know what happened. WSU left Madison with a big road win against a Big Ten team.

One year ago this weekend, WSU welcomed those Wisconsin Badgers to Pullman. Wisconsin was again ranked no. 19, and WSU used some key defensive plays to knock off the Badgers once again for another win against a Big Ten team.

Both of those weekends I was at the Palouse Empire Fair in the thriving metropolis of Colfax, Wash. It’s a family affair, and I have nieces and nephews who enter baked goods and show pigs. It’s a big friggin’ deal. Both of those weekends were WSU wins over Power 5 conference foes. I’d like to be in Martin Stadium today for the third matchup with a Power 5 team on the same weekend, but…

So you’re welcome. And if you’re heading to Pullman via Highway 26, you’ll drive right past the fairgrounds. Roll down your windows and smell the pigsty!

As for today’s game, Washington State is coming off the first 70-point showing since Martin Stadium had cement-like turf. Sure, they gave up 30 points to a bad Big Sky team, but it seems like all the defensive miscues are fixable. Let’s hope so, because Texas Tech dropped 52 points last week on Abilene Christian.

The good news, I guess, is Tech also gave up 51 points to ACU and barely survived in overtime. ACU is an FCS school and was picked to finish sixth (out of nine) in the United Athletic Conference. I hadn’t heard of it, either.

Perhaps the scoreboard operator will get plenty of reps tonight.

Greg Woods of The Spokesman-Review sees WSU winning, seemingly because they had pick six last week?

Talk about it here, and get ready for a late night.

When

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., but this one’s on Fox, so it could be anywhere form 7:17 p.m. to 9:05 p.m.

Where

Gesa Field at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash., Whitman County, America.

How to Watch

Big Fox, with Tim Brando on play-by-play and Devin Gardner on color.

The Line

Cougs with the home field bump at -1.5. The O/U is 66.5

Storyline That Fox Will Talk About 66.5 Times

Mike Leach. Long live the pirate.

Know Your Assignment

It’s a football must-do, and Jake Dickert and the WSU Athletics department have a very important assignment for fans at the game: