Wulff looking for big win over coach who gave him his first job

Published 5:45 pm Friday, September 2, 2011

SPOKANE — Washington State coach Paul Wulff and Idaho State coach Mike Kramer have been friends and colleagues for two decades, but that won’t make a lot of difference when their two teams open their season Saturday in Pullman.

“He gave me my first opportunity as a full-time coach,” Wulff re

called earlier this week. “He’s been like a brother to me.”

That doesn’t mean Wulff wouldn’t like a big win over the Bengals in the first meeting ever between the teams.

“I’d love to be able to do that,” said Wulff, who is on the hot seat entering his fourth season.

The game is a matchup of teams coming off tough seasons.

Washington State of the Pac-12 finished 2-10. Idaho State of the FCS Big Sky Conference lost its final 10 games to finish 1-10, costing coach John Zamberlin his job.

Enter Kramer, who was Eastern Washington’s head coach when he hired Wulff as an assistant in 1994. When Kramer moved on to Montana State in 2000, Wulff succeeded him as head coach of the Eagles. Last year, when Kramer was out of work, Wulff hired him as an assistant at WSU.

“Obviously I owe a great, great deal to him,” Wulff said.

Kramer returned the love, saying Wulff was among his closest friends.

“But when the whistle blows, we are trying to knock them off,” Kramer said.

After serving on Wulff’s staff last year, Kramer acknowledged that “I know them about as intimately as anybody.”

But that knowledge isn’t much good if his players can’t put it to productive use, Kramer said.

“We are trying to teach our own team how to play the sport,” Kramer said of the woeful Bengals, who are 3-31 the past three seasons.

The game is a chance for Washington State to show it is improving after posting a 5-32 record in Wulff’s first three seasons.

Washington State has never lost to an FCS-level team in 15 outings. But last season, the Cougars needed to come from behind to edge Montana State 23-22 in Pullman. A similarly close game against Idaho State, which is a four touchdown underdog, would not be a good omen.

“We are focused on Cougar football and trying to elevate our standards and reach new heights of performance,” Wulff said.

Wulff believes his offensive and defensive lines are improved this year, and the Cougars have more speed at the skill positions.

“But we still have to go out and prove it each Saturday,” he said.

Kramer said his team was obviously short of talent in recent years. But he believes the Bengals have some outstanding players, including linebacker A.J. Storms, who led the nation in tackles last year.

Junior college transfer Kevin Yost from Glendale College won the starting quarterback job.

“He’s given us the caliber of quarterback we need in this conference to be successful,” Kramer said.

Kramer said his team will be relying heavily on the pass attack this season.

The last time Idaho State beat a major college team was Utah State in 2000, and they have lost 14 in a row since. They have lost 27 straight games on the road, last winning at Northern Colorado in 2006.