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Washington State @ Oklahoma State: A Disney Movie Miracle?

I've talked to a lot of OSU fans about the home opener this Saturday against the Washington State Cougars and not one has uttered a word about anything other than a dominating victory.  

Fair enough..

The Cougars managed just one win last year, going 1-11 overall and 0-8 in Pac-10 play. They were outgained by almost 300 yards per game and finished dead last in every statistical category you'd want to finish first in. They were quite literally, terrible.  It would take a "Disney Movie Miracle" (thanks Cozmo!) for them to pull out the win in Stillwater this weekend and we've all seen that movie a time or two.   

The only thing that you might be able to talk me in to being a bit nervous about is...

Jeff Tuel

The Cougs decided to take the redshirt off Tuel last season, and he responded very well in limited action.   In his first game, he faced the USC defense and was 14-of-22 passing for 130 yards.  Against Cal, he had the second-greatest passing performance in Cougar freshman history with 354 yards. This total is topped only by Drew Bledsoe's 385-yard total against Arizona in 1990.     

Oklahoma State has traditionally struggled against the spread style of offense and that is exactly what Washington State runs.  If the offensive line improves enough to give Tuel  time to get the ball downfield, he could have a serviceable day. A quick score or two could give the Coug's confidence, and confidence from a team that has nothing to lose can be dangerous. I certainly don't expect this to happen, but if you see Tuel completing long passes early, we could be in for a better game than most expect.