Washington State is looking for a win against UNLV to go into Pac-12 play on the right foot. (Photo: Facebook / WSUCougarAthletics)
The Washington State Cougars (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12) will travel to Sam Boyd Stadium to take on the UNLV Rebels (0-2, 0-0 MWC) on Friday. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN at 9:00 p.m. ET and can also be watched via live stream online for free on WatchESPN and here.
Washington State routed UNLV last season in a 59-7 victory, outgaining the Rebels 612-158 in total yards, as UNLV's only score came on a kickoff return. Senior Marshall Lobbestael at the time threw for career highs of 361 yards and five touchdowns.
Like Us on Facebook :
The senior starting quarterback now, Jeff Tuel, however, may not play, after he left in the fourth quarter of last week's 24-20 win over FCS opponent Eastern Washington with an apparent right knee injury. But, according to The Spokesman-Review, while Tuel has done some throwing at practice this week, he hasn't taken any snaps with the first team.
Instead, he watched with a knee brace on as sophomore quarterback Connor Halliday took the reps. Halliday, who threw 100 passes late last year, could be effective in Tuel's place.
As for the Cougars' defense, which has seven starters back, junior safety Deone Bucannon will watch the first half of the game from the bench after the Pac-12 suspended him for a his late hit in the fourth quarter against Eastern Washington. The Cougars should be able to stop UNLV's running attack considering it only gave up 108 last Saturday. As a result, its pass defense without Bucannon, who has one of the team's two interceptions for the season thus far, will most likely be somewhat vulnerable.
UNLV, unlike Washington State, got upset last week by an FCS team in Northern Arizona. They can truly make a statement, though, by bouncing back with an upset against a BCS team when they host the Cougars.
Nevertheless, UNLV is still favored by many to lose, despite 12 starters back on both sides of the ball. They will probably have to step up their passing game and run defense to have a chance. Â
Freshman quarterback Nick Sherry only has 355 yards and one touchdown through the air with three interceptions in two games. He has struggled to complete half of his passes. The run defense allowed 209 yards in its first game of the season against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Â
The running game, meanwhile, is fairly formidable for UNLV. The team gained 159 yards on the ground against Minnesota and then 189 against Northern Arizona. Â
For tips, thoughts and observations on all things sports, email us at tips [at] isportstimes.com
© 2012 iSports Times All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
No comments:
Post a Comment