First-half, first-game observations
Oklahoma State leads Washington State 15-0 at halftime in Seattle. Some early thoughts:
- Between receiving, kick returns and (hopefully) some occasional rushing attempts, OSU sophomore receiver Dez Bryant needs to touch the ball 15-20 times a game. This won’t be Bryant’s last game on Qwest Field. He’ll play here on Sundays sometime after his junior season.
- Mike Gundy’s first half of play-calling was so-so at best (22 rushes; 18 passes). He’s done a lousy job utilizing All-American tight end candidate Brandon Pettigrew, who has four catches for 21 yards. Pettigrew has been used only for dink passes. Send the kid downfield.
- Kendall Hunter looks terrific (63 yards on 14 carries). OSU’s reputation as Tailback U. is in good hands.
- You’d think a game between two no-huddle teams would have some rhythm do it, a fast-pace feel. Not this game.
- After a safety, a team can either punt or kick off from its own 20-yard line. WSU opted to kickoff. I can’t remember the last time I saw a team not punt after a safety. The reason was obvious. Punter Daniel Wagner punts like Dave Winfield used to hit — nothing but line drives.
8 a.m. GameDay whets the appetite
Living on the West Coast has its advantages. Getting an early start to sporting events definitely is one of them.
ESPN’s College Football GameDay begins at 8 a.m. out here, which helped whet the appetite for today’s Oklahoma State-Washington State contest, which starts at 12:30 locally.
The WSU school flag, one of the staples in the GameDay crowd shot every week, was being waved proudly in the backdrop, drawing even more attention to the OSU-WSU opener.
More exposure came when commentator Lee Corso picked the Cougars over the Cowboys as his upset special. Corso ranted he liked WSU’s chances because the game was in Pullman, where the Cougars won four of five home games last season (they actually won three of five).
Trouble is, this game is being held on Qwest Field in Seattle. Classy guys they are, GameDay partners Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit didn’t publicly correct Corso, saving him further embarrassment.
(If Corso picks Oklahoma to beat Texas in Dallas later this season, let’s hope it won’t be because the Sooners are unbeaten in Norman since September 2005.)
Speaking of Qwest Field, it’s an impressive stadium, and should be, considering the project cost roughly $425 million. Across the street is $518 million Safeco Field, home of the Mariners. These are two big reasons the metro area balked at a proposed $500 million arena project that would have kept the SuperSonics in town.
By the way, I have yet to hear the word “Sonics” uttered by anyone locally since arriving in town.
Safeco has a retractable roof. Qwest doesn’t, but looks like it does. This begs a question: Why design a stadium that looks like it has a retractable roof when it doesn’t? The reason: The partially covered stands on each side of the stadium help prevent the crowd noise from escaping.
