Originally published Sunday, November 1, 2009 at 5:30 PM
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Young Washington State squad no match for Notre Dame
As a linebacker who played high-school football in Texas and is playing college ball in the Pac-10, Jason Stripling is accustomed to seeing big guys on the offensive line.
The Spokesman-Review
As a linebacker who played high-school football in Texas and is playing college ball in the Pac-10, Jason Stripling is accustomed to seeing big guys on the offensive line.
But what he saw Saturday in the Alamodome was on a different level.
The Notre Dame line was so big, so physical, the 5-foot-11, 242-pound Stripling had to search for the right word to describe them following Washington State's 40-14 loss.
"They had a pretty big line," Stripling finally said. "They had some monuments up front."
Yes, monuments. Monuments to a Notre Dame tradition of dominating offensive lines. And monuments to success.
"Even their backs were more physical," Cougars coach Paul Wulff marveled. "We couldn't bring them down. ... They were more physical than we thought."
On both sides of the ball.
Though the Irish offense ground out 255 yards rushing and added another 337 through the air, it was the defense that really threw its size around. They attacked from every spot, overpowering and disrupting Washington State's young offense, led by freshman quarterback Jeff Tuel.
"I thought early on he got a little flustered, but we didn't block very well," Wulff said of Tuel's 12-of-23 passing performance. "And we didn't give him a chance to get into any rhythm. It's hard to gauge it when he got hit a few times early."
On Tuel's first eight attempts, he was sacked twice and hit another three times.
"It's just going to happen sometimes," said Tuel. "I'm going to take my lickings. That's just how it goes."
The physical defense forced WSU's kids — the Cougars started five freshman or sophomores on offense — out of their comfort zone and frustrated them.
"We played young on offense," Wulff said. "This was the day it showed up."
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