Once upon a time, when I was in high school, WSU football made me appreciate defense. In my grade school days, Drew Bledsoe and Ryan Leaf were my go-to players to watch, and I couldn’t wait to see what they did when WSU had the ball.
But as I matured, it was the defense that caught my attention. I would go so far as to convince myself that, after throwing an interception, fumbling the ball way or just punting on 4th down, that it was all OK, because the WSU defense was more fun to watch, anyway.
That
mindset, for better or worse, was because of WSU’s defensive coordinator Robb Akey.
Akey’s defenses were full of “diamonds in the rough,” as the old timers like to say. They were often fast, exciting and dictated the games. Guys like Will Derting, Jason David, Rien Long, Isaac Brown, Mkristo Bruce and many more made a huge impression on my young mind.
Beyond the field, Akey was always a good quote, something our friends at Idaho came to discover when he took the head coaching job for the Vandals in 2007.
Akey’s been across the United States since those days. After being let go at Idaho in 2012, he coached for the Washington Redskins, Florida Gators and at Central Michigan. This year, he was an assistant at Oregon State before suddenly becoming interim head coach upon Trent Bray’s firing.
And today, he’ll be on the opposite sideline as WSU travels for Corvallis for Game One of the in-season home-and-home against the Oregon State Beavers.
This isn’t the first time Akey was leading a team against WSU from the other sideline. WSU beat Akey and Idaho in Akey’s first season as Vandals head coach in 2007. But today’s game should bring back some nostalgia for fans of a certain age.
It’s been a trying year for the Beavers. They started out 0-7, fired Bray, won their first game two weeks ago and are coming off a bye. Our Cougs, meanwhile, got back on the saddle with a good win last week over Toledo. WSU needs two wins to be bowl eligible, and I suspect some fans are penciling in two wins over Oregon State given the state of the Beavers program.
We’ll find out if that’s the case today. Talk about it here.
When
4:30 p.m. PT. Perhaps the last time the sun will be out at that time for a while.
Where
Reser Stadium in Corvallis. Did you know Reser Stadium is the tallest structure in Corvallis?
How to Watch
We’re on the big CBS with Chris Lewis and Logan Ryan on the all. Apparently the A team of
Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson are busy broadcasting the Indiana-Maryland basketball game. What’s that? It’s a football game? Indiana is now a football school? Huh.
The Line
Cougs are a 3.5-point favorite and the O/U is 47.5.
Familiar Names
Akey is the only connection between the two schools.
