He’s a man. His team scored 40.

Well, not exactly, but the 39 points scored by Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State University squad were enough to leave a bitter taste in the mouth of Cougar faithful everywhere.

Last week I boldly predicted this Cougar football team could win seven games under the right circumstances. If Saturday’s game is an accurate indication of how the 2008 campaign will run, then my prediction was overzealous. Let me be the first to admit I may have been looking through my crimson-colored glasses while assessing the team. But I’m not ready to jump off the Paul Wulff bandwagon after one game.

In the midst of all that went wrong Saturday, there were some positives that should make Cougar fans excited about the direction of this team. First and foremost, the attitude of the players, coaches and personnel has dramatically changed from the end of last season. That is best summarized by Wulff, who seemed to say all the right things in the post-game conference.

“The attention and focus was there,” he said. “The players were doing all the things they could control and encouraging each other.” On defense, the Cougars exhibited fundamental form in tackling. The linebackers did not bite on play-actions or bootlegs and the safeties did not get beat over the top.

“The defense did a nice job,” Wulff said. “After the big punt returns (and bad field position), they held them to 3 points. That’s a positive.” Offensively, the Cougars struggled to move the football in the first half as they racked up a whopping 72 yards of total offense. However, they did make adjustments and were able to score on consecutive possessions in the third quarter by mixing in the run with the pass.

“Right now, we’re using less than 50 percent of our playbook because injuries are not allowing us to move forward with our schemes,” Wulff said. “But we should be getting some guys back in a few weeks.” One reporter asked senior quarterback Gary Rogers if the Cougars would have rather played a lesser opponent to start the season.

“No. I’d rather not play a Division II team,” Rogers said. “This game shows us where we are.” Warm and fuzzy answers usually don’t whet my appetite. But you have to like a quarterback who will sit there and tell you he would rather lose against a quality team than stomp a weak opponent. Wulff’s and Rogers’ answers make it clear this team wants to improve and shows the team is willing to work to get there. Here at WSU, we do not have to look any further than the men’s basketball team as an example of what hard work and dedication can create. Does that mean the football team will suddenly find itself ranked in the top ten this year? Or even next year? Certainly not. But it definitely helps that Coach Wulff can use it as a motivator for his team.

It’s going to be a long road back to national prominence for the Cougars, but I have confidence in Wulff. Last year’s 52-17 loss to Oregon State University on Senior Night was rock bottom. There is no place to go but up.

It could be worse. We could be the University of Washington, led by a coach with an 11-26 record and reeling from a 34-point loss to an Oregon team playing a third-string quarterback.

There are absolutely no positives in that.