Notes
Notes at Wazzu is a file of 3 stories. The newest of them: “A quiet bus ride home after Corvallis”, “Cougs hit the road, Utah State notes and what we saw in Logan”, and “A few things stood out in the notes from Duquesne”. The bus was quiet. Logan is a tough place to play, and the Cougs found that out the hard way. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every Notes story on Wazzu, newest first.
A quiet bus ride home after Corvallis
The bus was quiet. Not the tired quiet of a win, not the stunned quiet of a blowout. Just the quiet of a long day in Corvallis finally catching up to everyone. The kind where you stare out the window at the dark fields and don't say much because there isn't much to say. It wasn't a bad game. It wasn't a great one. It was football in October, and that counts for something. Kirby Moore finally had something to say about it afterward, and it wasn't about a tie. That alone is worth reading. The guy has been buttoned-up all season, and he let a little more out this time. Meanwhile, Braden Atkinson keeps slinging it over in Corvallis, and Trent Bray's defense brought heat and a little revenge. All three stories are worth your time. But this bus ride? It's the part that doesn't make the broadcast. The hum of the tires. The smell of the gas station coffee someone grabbed in Portland. The guy two rows up asleep with his hood up. That's the part you remember. Not the score. Not the call. Just the quiet. And the fact that you're headed home. Go Cougs.
Cougs hit the road, Utah State notes and what we saw in Logan
Logan is a tough place to play, and the Cougs found that out the hard way. The scoreboard showed a loss, but the film shows something worse: an offense that forgot how to finish. We saw drives stall. We saw promising plays die before they could breathe. Utah State's linebacker, Asher Cunningham, made the kind of plays that flip games, two turnovers that felt like the whole night pivoted on his shoulders. He was the best player on the field, and he wore the wrong jersey for us. You can't win in the Mountain West if you can't close. And right now, the Cougs can't close. That's not panic. That's just what we saw in Logan. If you want the full breakdown of how that offense kept shooting itself in the foot, go read "Cougs hand Utah State a win with an offense that forgot how to finish." It's ugly, but we don't sugarcoat things here. Next up is Oregon State. Another road game. Another chance to find that first win. The Cougs head south still searching, and we'll be watching to see if they find anything different in Corvallis. We've got a look at that one too, in "Oregon State looms as Cougs head south still searching for first win." Go Cougs.
A few things stood out in the notes from Duquesne
The notes from the Duquesne game are out, and a few things jumped off the page. Not everything that matters shows up in a highlight reel, and this batch of observations proves it. The coaching staff saw some specific tendencies in how Duquesne lined up, and the adjustments they made in the second half tell you more about this Cougar team than any final score ever could. There's a reason the film room breakdown from the Duquesne game is worth your six seconds, because the details win in November, not September. This group is learning how to read what a defense gives them and then take it. That is not a given for a roster still finding its rhythm. The notes show a team that trusts what it sees, and that trust is built in practice, not on Saturdays. If you want the full picture, pull up the breakdown we already posted. It connects the dots between the whiteboard and the field. The rest of this season will come down to whether the Cougs keep seeing the game the same way the coaches do. So far, the signs are good. Go Cougs.