WSU Coach Looking Forward to AU Crowd

[DKW 86 6,388]

http://auburn.scout.com/2/562408.html

WSU Coach Looking Forward to AU Crowd

Coach Bill Doba By Mark Murphy

Inside the Auburn Tigers

Posted Aug 30, 2006

Pullman, Wash.--Washington State University head coach Bill Doba says he is looking forward to bringing his team to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday night despite Auburn’s homefield having a reputation as a tough place to win a football game.

“I don’t think it will be a whole lot different than Oregon to be quite honest with you,” he says. “You can’t hear yourself think in that Oregon stadium.”

Washington State will making its first ever appearance at Auburn as the Cougars face the Tigers in a game that will be televised by ESPN2 with a 6:45 p.m. CDT kickoff. The Tigers and Cougars have never met in football.

A crowd of around 87,000 fans is expected to be at the stadium to support the Tigers, who are ranked fourth in the preseason AP poll and sixth in the USA Today coaches poll.

“I think it is neat,” Doba says of the chance to play in front of a hostile crowd. “I like places where everybody is against you and there are a bunch of people yelling against you. I think that helps to pump up the adrenaline. It helps to get you going.”

Washington State’s coach adds that despite the atmosphere, the game will be won or lost by on the field performance. “Once you get hit in the mouth by that offensive line, you forget about all of that stuff and it is self preservation after that,” he contends.

Although the Cougars play in the Pac-10 conference and don’t make many trips as far east as Auburn for football games, Doba will see a familiar face on the AU sideline on Saturday. Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges has gone head to head vs. Doba when Borges worked at UCLA, Cal and Oregon calling plays. Borges says he has a lot of respect for Doba, a coach with a defensive background, and the WSU coach says the feeling is mutual.

Commenting on what he remembers about the offense Borges runs, Doba says, “For every running play, there was a reverse off that run, there was a play-action pass off that run, there was a screen off that run. He really made you...your defense had to slow down.

“We love to run to the ball and he presented a lot of problems,” Doba adds. “He is a very good offensive mind, obviously, for people who don’t know. He has gotten a little bit more conservative, but every year is different. It is hard to tell.

“He has an experienced quarterback back who does an excellent job. I think he is kind of underrated, Brandon Cox. If you watch the tape, now if there is a high-low read there he makes good decisions and throws to the people who are open. He is good and of course there is the great tailback, Kenny Irons.”

With a new defensive coordinator on board this season at Auburn, Doba says it is more difficult to get a good read on what the Tigers will be doing with Will Muschamp calling the shots.

Washington State plans to fly from Pullman to Montgomery on Friday and then bus over to work out at Jordan-Hare Stadium that day before returning to their hotel in Prattville. The trip is expected to include a 4 1/2-hour flight unless the plane has to make a fuel stop, something the coach is hoping won’t happen.

Doba jokes he “praying for snow” on his visit to Auburn, which has had above average heat and humidity all week, although the forecast is for cooler temperatures by Saturday evening.

To get his players ready for the weather after coming from a climate that is dry and cooler, the WSU staff is encouraging their players to drink around a gallon of fluid each day to stay hydrated. Once the Cougars line up against the Tigers on Saturday night, Doba says the plan will be to substitute liberally to keep his players as fresh as possible for four quarters.

Jason Hill is considered one of the nation's top receivers.

Washington State features a talented 6-3, 215 QB in junior Alex Brink, who passed for 2,891 yards and 24 touchdowns last season. His star receiver is back,6-1, 209 senior Jason Hill, who caught 62 passes for 1,097 yards and a school record 12 touchdowns.

WSU was effective running the football last season, too, but must replace star back Jerome Harrison, who rushed for 1,900 yards and 16 TDs in 2005.

Defensively, the Cougars battled through injury problems in 2005 and struggled last year allowing 442.5 yards per game despite strong play from end Mkristo Bruce, an All-American candidate.

[GalensGhost 0]

“I don’t think it will be a whole lot different than Oregon to be quite honest with you,†he says. “You can’t hear yourself think in that Oregon stadium.â€Â

Yes, I can see how it would be exactly the same. If he were playing UNA. Oregon's stadium seats a whopping 41,000. It's nearly as big as Scott Field in Starkville. It's exactly the same. No difference.

Duck ponds and whatnot

[GoAU 1,138]

I find it impossible to believe that Oregon is anywhere near as loud as J-H. How many does their stadium seat??

[Tigermike 2,359]

All of you who will be there Saturday night be sure to give them a warm AUBURN WELCOME!!

Let them know just how loud it is in AUBURN and how hot it is on Pat Dye Field!

[subterranean_jack 107]

I've seen the Oregon stadium. The stands are more vertical and closer to the field than JHS. It probably feels cramped, like the fans are right on top of you.

41,000 is a big crowd for a PAC10 game outside of LA or Phoenix.

WA State has no idea what they will be facing come 6:45 pm Saturday night. They're first thought will be to think the game is called because of an earthquake.

[Ranger12 41]

Let him think that way. He will find out the hard way the difference between JHS and Oregon's stadium.

[OKieAuburnDoug 1]

Oregon's is tiny just like Kansas State(both known for being loud even though they are undersized)..sure they are both loud but 87,000 FREAKS is a LOT louder than a crowd half the size....NO comparison!

[chinook 0]

it is a loud,loud stadium. i bet if you metered the sound it would be as loud as jh stadium. unless you have been there you really can not fathom the loudness this stadium is capable of producing.... why bother as galen is always right.

i believe autzen seats 54,000 to 56,000. though i think they have jammed close to 60k in that stadium for the michigan and osu games.

the fog horn along with oregon state's chain saw sound have got to be the 2 most annoying sounds in college football stadiums.

[GalensGhost 0]

it is a loud,loud stadium. i bet if you metered the sound it would be as loud as jh stadium. unless you have been there you really can not fathom the loudness this stadium is capable of producing.... why bother as galen is always right.

i believe autzen seats 54,000 to 56,000. though i think they have jammed close to 60k in that stadium for the michigan and osu games.

the fog horn along with oregon state's chain saw sound have got to be the 2 most annoying sounds in college football stadiums.

Do the link in my post. The attendance is there. 41,600.

[WinCrimson 61]

It won't be any louder than Oregon? That was foolish.

He has no idea about what SEC football is all about.

[AUloggerhead 1,519]

it is a loud,loud stadium. i bet if you metered the sound it would be as loud as jh stadium. unless you have been there you really can not fathom the loudness this stadium is capable of producing.... why bother as galen is always right.

i believe autzen seats 54,000 to 56,000. though i think they have jammed close to 60k in that stadium for the michigan and osu games.

the fog horn along with oregon state's chain saw sound have got to be the 2 most annoying sounds in college football stadiums.

Do the link in my post. The attendance is there. 41,600.

GG, that's an old link. The stadium's capacity has been increased to 54k. Even when it only held 41k, it was still loud as heck. The noise has more to do with the shape of the stadium -- it's built with steep sides close to the field (like LSU's Deaf Valley,) and also the stadium is built partially below ground level. The crowd noise has nowhere to go and is concentrated toward the field as a result.

All Pac-10 players/coaches who've played there always comment on the noise. For Doba to say JH will be like Oregon is not an insult. Just the opposite.

[SouthLink02 8]

Good friend of mine in Law School went to Oregon State and has been to LSU night games before.

He swears that Autzen is as loud as many SEC schools.

I dunno if that is true but if the stadium is built in a small way, I guess it could occur

[jumbo 0]

I bet its not as loud as my bathroom after I just had Mexican for dinner

[Bottomfeeder 239]

It's going to be a good ballgame, no blowout for sure. I hope our guys are mentally ready.

[tigereyes 19]

That parking lot looks awfull. It looks like 41,000 cars around it. Is that stadium on campus?

[WinCrimson 61]

It's going to be a good ballgame, no blowout for sure. I hope our guys are mentally ready.

Why won't it be a blowout? They went 4-7 in the Pac-10 last year and lost their All-American... they're playing on the road against a preseason Top 10 team in a hostile environment.

You guys might be a little scared b/c of AU's recent woes in season openers. That all changes Saturday. I'm picking you guys 34-14.

[saniflush 0]

You guys might be a little scared b/c of AU's recent woes in season openers. That all changes Saturday. I'm picking you guys 34-14.

Hope you are right although I think you are trying to put the hoodoo on us.

[chinook 0]

Do the link in my post. The attendance is there. 41,600.

gg, maybe you should look at it more carefully.

u of o vs u of m59,023

p.s. i am not arguing that gameday experience @ auburn or any other sec school equals or is less than autzen but has far as deafening it is close.

[wardamneagle 0]

I think Coach Doba is going to be in for a bit of a surprise come 6:45 on Saturday

[tigerfan1234 0]

Oregon is routinely ranked in the top 10-15 of college football's loudest and most intimidating places to play. Don't be fooled by the smaller size. The place supposedly packs a punch. Also, I seem to remember a couple years back when a certain Pac-10 team came to Jordan-Hare and all the fans at Auburn were talking all this smack about how hot it is in the south and how intimidating Jordan-Hare is and how we were gonna kill the pretty little Pac-10. Well it was the other way around. Don't get overconfident people. We are only as good as our last performance. Washington St. has been a good program for awhile now. They had an off year last year, so what, this is 2006.

[bammanmr 0]

everyone needs to send that link to everyone they know that's going to the game.

lets make sure he never forgets the night he walked into our house.

[WeagleDMS 0]

I imagine Autzen is probably loud because of the way it is built but in a different way from Jordan Hare. Autzen is likely more consistently loud throughout the game because their stadium would hold the sound that would die out in big Jordan Hare whereas Jordan Hare can get louder than Autzen because of more people and such but likely is not as loud in between downs and when the crowd isn't in the game.

[KunzelTiger 0]

Remember when the last coach commented that the crowd noise wouldn't be a factor?

Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks had to take two time outs in the first :17 and went on to be blown out...I think you'd be suprised at how loud the crowd gets when our manhood is tested...

[AURainman 6]

It's going to be a good ballgame, no blowout for sure. I hope our guys are mentally ready.

Why won't it be a blowout? They went 4-7 in the Pac-10 last year and lost their All-American... they're playing on the road against a preseason Top 10 team in a hostile environment.

You guys might be a little scared b/c of AU's recent woes in season openers. That all changes Saturday. I'm picking you guys 34-14.

They were 4-7 last year, losing 4 games by 4 points or less. By Bama standards, they pratically won the MNC!!

[GalensGhost 0]

Do the link in my post. The attendance is there. 41,600.

gg, maybe you should look at it more carefully.

u of o vs u of m59,023

p.s. i am not arguing that gameday experience @ auburn or any other sec school equals or is less than autzen but has far as deafening it is close.

I read the big yellow print that says 41,600. I can't help it if they want to be like Bama and claim impossible attendance numbers in relation to the seating capacity.