Speaking of mistakes made last week, there were few bigger than Washington State coach Bill Doba's decision to try a fake punt with six minutes left and his team ahead by 10 points against California. The play was stuffed and Cal went on to win 42-38. I can understand Doba's desire to get a spark going for his struggling team, to build some excitement and confidence. But wouldn't simply beating California, a ranked team, do that? Why not punt the ball and make the Golden Bears move the ball down the field? Cal quarterback Joe Ayoob has been erratic this season, completing just 50 percent of his passes. I know WSU's defense has struggled recently, so why not make things a little easier for it? And at worst, if Doba wanted to keep his offense on the field, which would be understandable, why not just go for it? The Cougars needed just 2 yards for a first down. You've got the nation's second-leading rusher who is averaging 6.3 yards a carry, and one of the nation's top receivers, going against a defense that was having trouble stopping you. Every week on the Pac-10 conference call, Doba sounds like he's not sure exactly what to do to get his team to play better. Heck, he even says so. Doba was trying to be aggressive on the play, but there's a time to be aggressive and a time to be smart. If your team is struggling, as a coach you put your players in the best position to succeed, and in the case of Saturday, that meant doing anything but faking a punt. It's not the only reason WSU lost its fourth game in a row, but it played a big part in it.
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