Home Football Bye Week Thread

Bye Week Thread

440

Anything goes.

A point I forgot to make in the prior post was that the Beavs players almost seemed to think WSU was going to lay over for them. Player X seemed to stand around thinking Player Y would make the play. Saw this over and over. Worth discussing. How and why does this happen? On the coaches? On the players?

Go Beavs.

440 COMMENTS

  1. Musgrave is the only one on offense I saw doing this.

    Defensively much more. Especially on the pass rush, not giving full effort because they doubted themselves. And on the back end playing scared to get beat more than aggressive

      • There was a play near the wsu goal line where one of our LB went to make a tackle and was dragged a few yards before taking the WR down. Cant remember who it was, but it stuck out because 3 other Beavs were in the area and could have gang tackled, but they stood and watched instead. Could have helped their teammate save 4 or 5 yards.

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          That was Speights. He and Roberts were gassed. They inexplicably played every snap of the game and were forced into covering slot WR ‘s and or playing boundary side spy. Both of them should have been subbed out when The Cougs went 5 wide and empty with Julian in the box and Arnold or Hodge as the dime Db. Or god forbid Colleto or Fisher could have also played a few snaps. Tibs and Bray failed them.

          • Roberts and Speights have struggled all year in coverage. Forget their 3 ints. Was stupid to have them out there. Has happened often on third and long. I see them getting exploited more as the season goes on. The are great at the run but third and mor than 5 or 7 the don’t need to be out their.

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    I only really noticed it on D, too. Chance had a few “deer in the headlight” moments but those were after he kept getting hit.

    It only took a few Wazzu run plays in the second half to pretty much confuse everything they wanted to do. A few players took bad angles and some gaps opened up.

    Then, they couldn’t stop anything in the pass game. I have no idea why Jones did not play more. We desperately needed a capable corner to run the nickel and dime packages.

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    BeaverBill, shared your post on Twitter. Hope that’s okay. But it’s very important people start to realize “time” is a factor. I have mentioned this many times in the past, and joked about it with OOB as well. Beavs are dropping every day, and when you (as a coach/team) have a shot to give fans a special life moment, and when that isn’t seized, it’s a big deal.

    https://twitter.com/angrybeavs/status/1447621952558878723

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      Seriously?? This team looked like a Rose Bowl team?? I hope Bill gets to see a Rose Bowl with his parents but they were so far away from reaching that accomplishment. Like 7 more games. And the prior weekend they barely won.

      • Considering the state of our competition, a Rose Bowl is absolutely still possible.

        Is it probable? No. But every game left on the schedule is still winnable. If you think we have any home field advantage at all, our schedule looks pretty good right now with Utah, Stanford and ASU at home. Nike is our toughest competition in the North and they have the opposite situation where their toughest games (except the CW) are all on the road.

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        Lol. They were 4-1 and leading a division that’s looked awful, and about to go to 5-1 before their coach blew the game for them, so yeah, they looked like a Rose Bowl team. Man, you used to be a fairly normal person. No clue what happened to you, but you disagree with everything for the sake of it now.

        • Which coach? Final drive play calling was questionable, defensive schemes looked questionable, punt fake with the punter passing was questionable.

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          Haha, darn. I was hoping to be normal in your eyes. Let’s just put out a poll, who thought they looked like a division leading team AFTER 2 CONFERENCE GAMES? After 2 games, they were record wise. And yes, the division is weak. And yes, it would be awesome to have them finish first. But there are so many toss up games. Vegas had us barely favored the last two games against teams that are having crappy years. I hope they win a Rose Bowl soon. I regret not going to the Fiesta Bowl when I had the chance. I’m just not a sky is falling person but I know the basis of the blog so I get it you have to pick one extreme or the other. I don’t blame Chance completely, but his last two games have not been well whether it’s WR drops or getting happy feet. He is missing open receivers as well. So when I watch them I don’t see a team that I think is capable of representing the Pac-12 at the Rose Bowl. Hopefully they get better and there are some clear WR’s that step up. Are we thinking they are a Rose Bowl team because of the great transfers and depth we have? A lot of teams have depth we just aren’t use to having it. Every time we get a transfer, it’s catching up, not getting ahead.

          And your whole time is a factor thing, don’t you think they are ahead of schedule? The thought was try and make a bowl this year. That looks very obtainable. Hug?

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            Oh I guess since there were 7 games left and they had a few toss up games in there we should just give up on a Rose Bowl. Great take, man.

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            Not giving up if you read my post. Just not surprised if this isn’t the year. I love your comment though. The guy that wants to fire a coach after a down season. You are hilarious.

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            They still have a good shot at winning the division. If they do, all bets are off on what happens in Vegas.

            First, they need to beat Utah. Haven’t done so since 2013.

  4. 3
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    I apologize to myself for getting my hopes up. Not that I shouldn’t with the Beavs at some point with the trajectory but the Washington win was really misleading. We could easily have been 1-1 going into this game. If I had told myself that, and not started thinking we could go 9-whatever this year then maybe my disappointment wouldn’t have been so much. But I think it was the way they lost. Anyways, impressed how they showed up at home against Washington and didn’t let the USC win get to their heads. Let’s go Beavs. Get some things done during the bye week. On a good note, Smith should be out of the running for the USC job after the Wazzu loss. (was he ever??)

    • I get it, I was mocked for my wildest dream of 9-3 for the season! Somehow now that’s failure? idk lol.

      I also don’t really see why people think this year was our only shot. Team is unlikely to be worse next year unless the new guys on the OLine are a huge step back.

      • The O-line is a real concern – this year we returned every O-line starter from last year (a really good unit!) and had zero injuries. Cohesion is a big factor in addition to raw talent, and I think it’s a huge part of the success that we’ve had. TQ is another big and related loss.

        We also lose a lot of talent on D (Wright, Roberts, Grant, Schad, etc).

        Cupboards aren’t bare next year but it seems like we’ll be worse.

        • Of the players you listed only Schad is out of eligibility. The rest would be retiring or entering the draft early.

          The only senior starters are AHM, Eldridge, Nous, Bradford and Schad.

          • AHM will be the hardest to replace (and that’s no disrespect to Eldredge). We really could use a freshman or two to step up at OLB.

          • I’m assuming Wright will be gone (whether or not he should, not sure)…he’s talked a lot about being one and done, and his brother went out early and it worked out for him. And I think he’ll be a better prospect after this year than his brother was.

            Roberts – I was kind of thinking he’d leave early too with all the hype and the recent trend in the program, but we’ll see. Hopefully he stays another year!

            Didn’t realize Grant and TQ were juniors- that’s cool.

          • Guys I could see possibly leaving early are Baylor, Fenwick, Kipper, Roberts and Wright. All of it is dependent on the rest of the year ofc.

            Jones should redshirt and get a real look at the draft next season.

          • All of them would be a big loss. Kipper needs another year. Not that he wouldn’t get drafted I just think one more year and he is in a good spot. TQ is ready and will be successful- his run blocking is great I just wish they would go to him more.

          • How is Hardge doing through this point in the season? I heard his name called on the radio and I didn’t even recognize the name. Of course nobody in the secondary really seemed to do well Saturday in the second half…

          • Hes definitely been on the field. 7 solo tackles, 4 assists and credited with 1 break up. A DB who is getting solo tackles is a good sign generally.

      • Just for the record my post wasn’t so much about this team being the only shot for years to come but more about my dad not having much time left… so possibly his and my only shot to have a very cool moment together to remember.

        As far as believing this is a Rose Bowl team, yes I do believe this could have or even could be a Rose Bowl team based on the stats they have been putting up before this last game. Up until the WSU game the Beavs have played and looked as good as any team in the PAC-12. When is the last time we could say that?

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    Remember when I said, seriously, that MLW Wiffle Ball was a fantastic product that would be the future of sports in some regard? (i.e. I think it can be a replacement for the large segment of MLB audience disillusioned with the 3 outcomes every at bat). Well last night TBS had them on prior to the MLB playoffs. I’m good at predicting the future, scouting, etc…called this six months ago. The people who mocked me are going to eat a big shit burger for dinner tonight.

    • Very interesting. It looks like a very tough sport to master. I see this being similar to American Cornhole League which now has a huge following. Anything that can get everyday folks participating has big potential.

      I don’t know if anyone on here plays slow pitch softball but that game has a huge following. The senior leagues had their world championships in Vegas two weeks ago. My dads team AA team was the west champion. I encourage anyone who enjoys the sport to get on a team. Just plain old fun and a great way to make friends and stay active. I see the wiffle ball league growing just as slow pitch has.

      And I feel you on the predictions. If folks remember I was talking early in the MLB season that the Mariners had a shot at the playoffs and was shot down immediately. They almost made it and I almost cashed in on a 1000 to 1 bet. The lesson is don’t listen to the nay sayers, especially when your prediction is knowledge based.

      • Anything that can get everyday folks participating has big potential.

        That’s part of it, but with baseball people long for a game that had heart and more than 3 outcomes. This Wiffle league provides both. Firmly believe YouTube amateur sports has a big future. The pro sports have gifted amateurs this opportunity.

        • The kids in the feature do a nice job on their YouTube channel, but you want to talk about a three outcome sport! They were smart enough to edit their videos down to 20 minutes or it would be fairly boring. They had to put in a speed warning because the pitches are so unhittable at times.

          • Ah yes, good point on editing them down. I imagine it’s much more boring live, in person.
            Disagree on the three outcomes. I’ve been watching these guys for two years, and I see many balls put in play. Maybe I’m wrong and the quick editing of walks and strikeouts is biasing that. I’ll have to pay more attention.

  6. 2
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    “How and why does this happen? On the coaches? On the players?”

    Its on the coaches for not calling it out after a series and trying to refocus the units, but the team also needs on the field leaders who can be vocal when necessary. Not to simply berate their teammates, but encourage them, challenge them, correct a flaw (e.g. poor angle) and motivate them. I’m not sure who that is on defense. It seems like its been a while since the Beavers have had leaders like that.

    I also wonder if the team – just like the fan base – gets a “uh oh. Here go again…” Older players on the team haven’t tasted any real winning success and bowl games. Some younger players might be relatively fresh from winning HS programs, but part of changing the culture is making sure people don’t accept losing, which requires things like not accepting players or teammates standing around waiting for someone else to make something happen.

  7. Well the last couple weeks have been a roller coaster. Highs of beating USC and UW in back to back games. Then a crushing loss to WSU. But the season is only half over and the next four games are 50/50 games. Win 2 and the team is going bowling. Maybe not the three steps forward that a lot of people were feeling last week but it’s a step forward to go bowling. Esp with a backup QB.

    Beating USC made Nolan a rising star. But I’ve always said he’s no 4 star and we see it now. I thought sitting the entire year would be most beneficial but circumstances forced him in. Clearly there’s something on film that teams have picked up and are forcing him into bad plays. But they can’t stop him handing the ball off. 5 stars there. Why no adjustments were made from last week is a mystery. Is it coaching or in his head?

    I hope everyone has jumped off the tibs train. Did not get one stop in the second half. Fire the guy. He’s just not cut out for a d coordinator job. Great position coach though. After last game, they are #124 of 130 teams in third down defense percent. But they are #17 in fourth down defense. I’ll say it again, tibs good for three downs but it ain’t third. I don’t think lack of talent can be used as an excuse this year.

    Where do they go now? Coaches need to self scout, there’s something that opposing teams are picking up in the passing game. Running for 300 yards should never result in a loss. On defense, play calling is the issue. Tibs must have tells on third down. Could explain why the defense gives up so many conversions.

    The questions for the rest of the year,
    1. What happens when Gebbia is ready to play? How much leash does Nolan get? Would Gebbia play at a high level right away?
    2. What adjustments do the coaches make? Do they insert Noyer for a change of pace?
    3. While a bad loss, the team is still own their destiny, how do they respond?
    4. Were people really scared of losing coaches? Wait until the end of the year for that. They don’t leave mid season. Never give extensions mid season.

    My outlook is fairly positive. Schedule is favorable as their two toughest remaining games will be in state and the bye splits the season in half. Reset the mental game. Winninng two of six seems very doable. Even a crappy bowl game is extremely important to the development of the program. It’ll give all the young guys a lot of full reps and hopefully some playing time in the bowl game.

  8. 12
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    With the implied authorization in Angry’s thread opener–“Anything goes”–I thought I might provide an update on a former topic of general interest here: the origin of Covid 19. There was an interesting article in the WSJ of 10/6 authored by Richard Muller, from the National Laboratory at Berkeley, and Steven Quay, the founder of a therapeutics company. Here are the few key paragraphs:

    “Based on the experience with SARS-1 in 2003 and MERS in 2012, we know that many people are infected by a host animal long before a coronavirus mutates to the point where it can jump from human to human. An extensive data set from late 2019–more than 9,000 hospital samples–is available of people exhibiting flu-like (thus Covid-like) symptoms in China’s Hubei and Shaanxi provinces before the pandemic started. Based on SARS-1 and MERS, the natural zoonotic theory predicts 100 to 400 Covid infections would be found in those samples. The lab-leak hypothesis, of course, predicts zero. If the novel coronavirus were engineered by scientists pursuing gain of function research, there would be no instances of community infection until it escaped from the laboratory. The WHO investigation analyzed those stored samples and found zero pre-pandemic infections. This is powerful evidence favoring the lab-leak theory.

    Within months of the SARS-1 and MERS outbreaks, scientists found animals that had hosted the viruses before they made the jump to humans. More than 80% of the animals in affected markets were infected with a coronavirus. In an influential March 2020 paper in Nature Medicine, Kristian Andersen and co-authors implied that a host animal for SARS-CoV-2 would soon be found. If the virus had been cooked up in a lab, of course, there would be no host animal to find.

    The WHO team search for a host in early 2020, testing more than 80,000 animals from 209 species, including wild, domesticated and market animals. Not a single animal infected with SARS CoV-2 was found. This finding strongly favors the lab-leak theory. We can only wonder if the results would have been different if the animals tested had included the humanized mice kept at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”

    ” . . . a team of American scientists mutated the stem of the coronavirus genome in nearly 4,000 different ways and tested each variation. In the process they actually stumbled on the Delta variant. In the end, they determined that the original SARS-CoV-2 pathogen was 99.5% optimized for human infection–strong confirmation of the the lab leak hypothesis.”

    “Based on the scientific evidence alone, an unbiased jury would be convinced that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus escaped after being created in a laboratory using accelerated evolution (aka gain of function) and gene splicing on the backbone of a bat coronavirus. Using standard statistical methods, we can quantify the likelihood of the lab-leak hypothesis compared with that of zoonosis. The odds enormously favor a lab leak, far more significantly than the 99% confidence usually required for a revolutionary scientific discovery.”

  9. Anything goes – Gruden resigned today after more emails emerged. When are people going to learn? What you send out in emails is essentially out there indefinitely.

  10. 2
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    What I saw against WSU was encouraging. Teams that run this effectively win more than they lose. Nolan is an issue but I still think he’ll improve. Defense has performed ok despite injuries and some glaring weaknesses in secondary. Gotta give WSU qb some credit. Poor calls on fake punt and at the 14 hurt but we’ll be fine

      • Hasn’t played. Was posted earlier he’s had 30 snaps in 6 games. Game 1 I think he missed with an injury but thought he was good to go after that. Maybe not, hard to say with injuries as the coaches don’t give info on them.

          • You’d think he’d be fine getting the scheme being a senior that’s started for a few years at a P5 school but who knows. Maybe he isn’t that good but how much worse can he be than Austin who seeme to always be several yards away from the receiver. We don’t see what all goes on so perhaps there’s more to the story but seemed like in camp he was typically with the 1st team group and it was the foot injury around game 1 that caused him to not start.

          • That seemed to be the order in camp for the corners then I guess Austin 3rd. Although, I think Jaden Roninson had one if the best camps out of all the DBs based off some of the reports and was making a push for the 2 or 3 spot but he also got injured right before the Purdue game. Not sure what his status is if he’s healthy or not. Pretty much get zero updates on injuries from the coaches so it’s a guessing game.

  11. Southwest had to cancel over 2,000 flights this past weekend. Its union denies that there is a vaccine protest or “sickout”; rather, it is because current pilots and associated personnel are being overworked.

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/companies/southwest-airlines-flight-cancellations-continue-into-monday/ar-AAPnDG0?ocid=uxbndlbing

    People may want to have a backup plan for how they’re going to travel for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It looks like flying may get pretty expensive.

        • Beavs finally make the Rose Bowl, but are forced to forfeit due to new Oregon state legislation banning intrastate travel due to COVID

          • According to the hospitalization data I’ve worked around lately, hospitalizations are decreasing pretty much every……except Colorado where they are increasing right now.

            Beavs travel to Colorado, earn a bowl game, but the flight home is cancelled. They find a backup pilot but after they get in the air they discover he has full blown Covid and infects the entire team during the flight home. Every Beav develops long covid and we are required to forfeit all remaining games including the bowl.

        • Harrison and Gould are the best all around receivers this season in my book. They should be on the field as much as possible. Lindsay has been good but he isn’t great in space or with difficult catches. He knows how to get open.

          Beason and Bradford should be competing for reps imo.

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          Champ has been the most consistent pass catcher this year. Probably why he keeps getting on the field despite the physical matchup deficiencies. Has good hands which we lack

  12. The play I want to see more than anything.

    Inside receiver slip screen with Irish and Gould running decoy. Drop the ball to Harrison in space with blockers while the dbs try to chase down two of the fastest guys on the field.

    • They need to have more down field passing to get that play going. Nolan can’t stretch the field with his arm so the dbs can play tighter near the line disrupting those kinds of plays.

  13. 13

    So I rewatched the WSU and UW game and really payed attention to the passing game. Heres what I came up with.

    Nolan went 18-40 for 206 yds with 3 interceptions and no touchdowns. On the surface that is very very bad. He also tacked on 62 yards rushing which is really nice.

    Heres where the picture stops being ‘Nolan Sucks’.

    By my count there was a whopping 13 drops in 2 games. Two of the interceptions were receivers faults (Beason bobbling it and Musgrave waiting for the ball). Guestimating on yardage those 13 drops were good for about 170 yards if I throw 3 yards on for running from the point of the catch. So that gives us a new state line of something like:

    31-40 for 376 yards and 1 int. That doesn’t account for things like extra plays on drives and such. I squarely put the problems in the pass game on the catchers. Musgrave alone I credit for a pretty insane 7 drops (counting the interception as a drop) in two games. I don’t care how good the QB is, if the 33% of the balls are dropped hes gonna look like shit.

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        In fact one could argue that maybe all the drops have messed with Nolan’s head. The confidence level has been damaged it seems.

        • Musgrave has insane potential. But that kid is my least favorite to watch play. Plays so timid, even his blocking is almost a scared type of blocking. And receiving he is by far the worst right end we’ve had in a while. Play overman with Teagen. Teagen is a bad ass by the way. He covers so much for Musgrave ineptness

        • Offense has the potential to be the best in the conference (see USC game).

          Defense just needs to keep forcing turnovers because apparently they can’t stop anyone if they don’t.

    • Thanks for the research NB. Did you notice Nolan passing up on any open receivers? In the Wazzu game there was a play where Tongue was wide open in an underneath route. Not sure where Nolan ended up going on that play. Maybe there just haven’t been guys open but that seems odd with the creativity of the routes.

      • There’s been drops but there’s also been some wide open misses. Also missed Baylor out in the flat by himself. Was a check down throw and I don’t think there was anyone within 10 yards of him. Would’ve been a big gain for sure had it not been throw 5 yards over his head. The fumble vs UW and the int towards end of half vs wsu that should’ve been a throw away or he could’ve ran for 8 yards and gotten out of bounds. The ball just doesn’t look the same though as it did in the 3 games where he shined. Those had zip, pretty good spiral and the throwing motion just seemed more natural. Last 2 games his motion seems more forced, the ball has wobble and nearly every miss is high. Not saying he’s bad but even with the drops there are some differences that are showing. Really interesting how the passing game has unraveled all the way around over the last 2 games.

        • I counted 4 misses in the two games (not counting ints). Not exactly a wild amount compared to the drops. All of it needs cleaned up though.

        • Seems like those missed throws he is off balance unable to step into his passes…but that is just a recollection without actually rewatching the shit show

      • I saw quite a few routes that were open after he had to get rid of it. Lots of plays where guys are open in the flats but hes waiting on bigger routes to finish up. Theres a timing issue with the guys in the flats and the downfield routes. I would say we need to simplify some of the receiver routes or we need to have the guys in the flats on longer delays.

    • Thanks, Nuke, appreciate you taking the time for that research. I caught most of the 60 minute highlights on PAC last night and saw the same things you pointed out.
      Unbelievable that the talent of Baylor and Flemings was wasted on Saturday.

      Also hard to believe that WSU was taking over 3 sacks per game prior to the Beavs very weak rushing performance. Big difference in the first half D and what we all saw in the second half, seems WSU adjusted and Tibs did not.

      ohiobeav may have something there on the “is Nolan hurt” question, hopefully the bye week is good for him.

      • What I saw 1st to 2nd half on defense was that Tibs adjusted WRONG. First half we were rushing atleast 1 LB on almost every play, corners were not jamming but fairly close and the safeties were doing a good job of covering for the LB. Less time for de Laura to work the routes due to pressure.

        Second half we switched to rushing 3 and dropping 8 for most of it. Speights and Roberts are awesome but they are not great coverage line backers. They just are not built for that kind of movement, they are built to blow up rbs. This put tons of pressure on the LB to cover the center of the field and exhausted them both. Instead of dropping 8 we should have kept up with LB pressure and mixed in CB and Safety blitz.

  14. A couple of obvious issues from WSU:
    Champ attempting a kickoff return and getting destroyed at the 14 yd line results in another pile of momentum for Cougs.
    Dropping 8 in coverage and never sending a blitz to break-up WSU momentum.
    Musgrave stonehands.
    3 red zone possessionsend up with only a field goal…this team should never need to pass inside the 15, just go Stanford and punish teams into the endzone with the run.
    Not one flysweep the entire game, when WSU is only overpursuing to get sacks.
    Did the Beavs ever include a screen pass?
    IS Nolan hurt? Play action off the run works best with deep shots and Nolan hasn’t thrown deeper than 20 yds the last 2 games. WHere is the go route?

    My guess is they know Nolan has a shoulder issue, deep throws are off the table, and WSU guessed as much and began crowding the line and mucking up underneath routes. Beavs were limping into the Bye hoping to sneak out a win but for some reason continued to throw the ball when they had the win within grasp.

    • I believe we ran 1 sweep with Bradford and it wasn’t blocked that well. He had to get super wide due to an unblocked player but still managed to get a few positive yards out of it. Why we ran with Bradford and not any of the faster relievers like Gould, Irish, or Harrison is another question. It is a little surprising how little we’ve been using screens this whole year. Whether RB screens, WR screens or TE screens, those types of plays can build QB confidence and if he’s injured and not able to throw downfield, gotta mix those in. I’m also surprised that the play action hasn’t seemed to be as effective but maybe I haven’t been paying attention that well. With how much we run the ball with great success, you’d think PA would be nearly automatic.

    • There’s little point in returning kicks anymore. Let it go through the end zone…

      Dropping 8 in “coverage’ and not covering is a problem.

  15. One month to basketball. No one is expecting the the MBB to make the tourney in early season projections. They clearly have the talent and experience. But the conference will be tougher and opponents will come at them harder.

    If guys developed over the off season, they could have another great season. Approach the games with a tourney mentality. Tourney appearance is the min expectation this year.

    WBB will have a tough time as well but will make the tourney bc the conference is the strongest in the nation. A top half finish in the conference translates to an elite eight run.

    • Replacing ET’s production will be the key to the season for MBB. My guess is we’ll see Gianni get more playing time early in the season while Davis acclimates to this level, then hopefully Davis will take over late in non-conference play or early conference play. I think we have enough depth at the 3 to replace Reichle’s scoring, but his ball movement ability will be missed. We need a more capable distributor at PG to make up for that.

      The fact is, everyone contributed during the tourney run in a way that covered for anyone having an off night, but ET was consistent the whole way. Tinkle said all the right things about the returning players, so hopefully they are listening. Calloo especially could play his way into a NBA opportunity if he steps up the defense and rebounding.

    • Also, the key to setting ourselves up for the tournament: no bad non-conference losses (Samford, Sac State, UC Davis, etc.) Need to take care of business in those games at home.

  16. Been looking and realized that former Very highly rated dB transfer from Kansas Karon Prunty left South Carolina a Month after arriving. Wonder what happened over there and if the beavs would still be interested in him.

  17. Also have noticed a lot of USC stuff coming from Mathias Maliki-Donaldson recently including an offer. Little nervous we could lose him to the Trojans if this keeps up.

    • Kindof have to wait to see who they end up hiring. Could be a completely different group of cosches in 2 months. Does the staff at that time still honor the offer? Does he like the new staff? Lots up in the air on this one

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    Nick Daschel is sure a Smith apologist. I finally decided to listen to a “Beaver Banter” podcast. He seems to think he knows it all, calling out the masses for “going crazy” over the 4th down decision. He actually commented, “what if it worked”? And Aaron Fentress had to add the “Beaver Nation is lucky to have him” cliched comment.

    • I guess that’s why they call it banter….can’t get them for false advertising. Does Daschel acknowledge that Smith apologized for his poor decisions and likely cost his players a win?

      Here’s how S-I describes Smith in an evaluation of college coaches recently, including candidates for USC:

      “Jonathan Smith (14), Oregon State. He was very much the Flavor of the Week after beating USC and Washington in consecutive games and taking the Beavers to the top of the Pac-12 North at 4–1. But let’s remember: USC is terrible, and Washington is dysfunctional on offense, and Smith followed up that twin killing by losing to Washington State. Until Smith has a winning season—he’s 13–24 in his fourth year—it’s a bit premature to put him on the USC wish list.” https://www.si.com/college/2021/10/11/usc-football-coach-search-candidates-lsu

      Now to be clear, when Andersen left, I wanted Smith in the coaching candidate pool, along with Ryan Day of Ohio State (even knowing that bringing him out west was a long shot, he was an OC with a good track record outside of the “OSU family”). I liked Smith’s experience in the Dennis Erickson (aggressive) and Peterson (strategic, focused, disciplined, organized) coaching tree and hoped he might bring the best of those experiences to OSU. But Smith’s gambling habits have been a liability, and likely cost a bowl season last year as well as 5-1 in the right now.

      I’m still willing to give Smith two more years if:

      1) he can moderate his gambling play calling instincts that are clearly anti-strategic for the rest of this season. He apologized to the team after the loss to WSU loss, so admitting he was wrong is (potentially) the first step in improving calls in that regard. Does Daschel acknowledge that Smith admitted he made bad calls?;

      2) He is willing to replace Tisebar at the end of this season if Tisebar can’t show improvements on 3rd down and in passing defense. They have their players, including their more physical and talented transfers, arguably better talent than when the staff arrived, its time for progress on the defensive side of the ball. The run D has improved, but that is maybe only a statistical benefit if you give up 3rd and 10+ at such a high rate. Opponents should salivate on third downs.

      This season could have been special, and it can still be respectable progress. I think 8+ wins is meaningful progress and worthy of a bowl game.

      • 100% disagree that the 4th down call cost us the game. Hating the call is one thing but the Cougs scored on every 2H possession and made it look easy (50,75,75,95 yard drives). Our defense was pathetic and had no answer to their 5 wide formation. I have absolutely no faith that an extra 30-40 yards would have been any kind of obstacle.

        And as many have said, abandoning the run on the final drive was horrible as well. Bad clock management as well as just dumb. We played to our weakness when we could and should have rammed it down their throat.

        Personnel decisions were also very questionable especially on O…in short, 4th down would be pretty far down my list of coaching disappointments from the game. It’s just high profile because it’s unconventional.

      • Regarding Smith apologizing, I kid you not, Daschel sort of dismissed it. I can’t remember the exact quote, but something to the effect that he (Daschel) had not been able to verify that it actually happened.

        And I think Angry’s alluded to this before, but it sure sounds like Daschel reads this blog without coming out and admitting it.

        • I dont know about apologizing, but it was the first play Smith mentioned post game with Ron Callan, wishing he had done something different there

          • Daschel might be playing semantics, even Fentress challenged the stupidity of the decision to fake but even more so the play. The play had a second-string CB running a go route expecting a throw from the punter for god sake! Fentress made a good point, wasn’t there a check out of the play when it was obvious the Cougs had the gunners covered?

  19. Mighty lonely here on the Tibs train.
    In his defense (pun intended) there’s this from the GT:
    Oregon State’s defense has been solid against the run, ranking second in the Pac-12 at 94 yards a contest while allowing an opponent to reach 100 yards just twice … The Beavers are also second in turnover margin at plus-0.8…OSU’s defense is first in interceptions at 10, led by Speights’ two, and tied for third with four fumble recoveries. The defense has 13 sacks, third in the Pac-12 at 2.17 per game.

    Remember, the pre-season focus was on getting takeaways. Big improvement in that area along with rush defense.

    Red zone D had been looking decent, now middle of the pack nationally, ranking #64.
    I had ’em pegged for top third of the PAC12, right now just missing at #5 in both scoring D and yds/game given up. Disappointing, particularly in view of the Time of Possession which shows Beavs O leading the PAC, albeit by just seconds.

    Not sure the return of McCartan, Hodgins, or even Gumbs will be enough to move the D ranking up significantly without better scheming.
    Lack of sacks vs WSU still stings.

    • “All abooaaaarrrrd! Still plenty of seats left. Tickets? Tickets anyone? Leaving soon…I mean it. If you don’t get on board, we’ll leave. Anyone?”

      As I said, I’m not so sure the rushing D improvements mean much when you are so generous and accommodating on third downs. “Oh, you need 12 yards? Here’s 16!”

      You have them right where you want them, and you, let them go? Its such a bizarre dynamic.

    • Saw this on O-live. Osu 3rd down D % by year, rank out of 130 teams:

      2015: 112
      2016: 87
      2017: 130
      2018: 127
      2019: 107
      2020: 106
      2021: 124

      I mean…I knew it was bad but assumed it was better than it seemed from my perspective as a fan. That is unbelievable. And it’s transcended 2 HC and 3-4 DC. Honest question – why? How can we be so consistently bad over so many years at giving up 3rd downs?

      Also, THIS is why the Cougs beat us. 8/8 on 3rd down in the second half. Any other criticism – however valid – is pretty much irrelevant by comparison.

      • Giving Daschel credit, he was big on the recent Beav history of atrocious 3rd down defense. It is sort of bizarre, doesn’t matter what coach or what players. Seven years of pathetic third down D, not surprising they do not have a winning record in that timeframe.

      • 2
        1

        Sinple. It’s talent in the secondary. 2016 we had DeCoud, Crawford and Chappell in the secondary.

        The talent we get coming out of high school for positions in the secondary is absolutely abysmal.

        • Well the prior staff also ran the 3-4 of I’m not mistaken. Again, some of his issues are deeper than the improvements we have seen. Scheme. Lack of adjustments, etc. If it seems like we can’t recruit to run a successful 3-4 than why the hell try? Switch it up. If you can’t get off the field, leads to player fatigue and more scoring opportunities. It’s nice to not be the worst overall defense anymore but the only place to go was up and sadly the 3rd down results are atrocious.

          • 2
            2

            Last I checked Blue Adams coached defensive backs and Legi Suiaunoa coached defensive line.

            You get what you pay for. 600K a year is 8th in the conference. Remarkable how defense has progressed with how little we throw at coordinators and position coaches in a state that does not produce much high school talent

          • This may be an unpopular opinion, but it seems like it’s Bray who is underperforming most as a coach. He’s an effective recruiter, but our EDGE players are ranked 11/12 in the conference and our MLB’s are great run stoppers who are pretty ineffective in pass coverage.

            On the other hand, Adams has seen significant improvement in 3 out of our 4 starting DB’s. Austin is the only head scratcher in the unit.

            Hard to say with Legi because we’ve had so little talent. Maybe that’s partially on him, but we have some good guys coming in next year.

          • Interesting about Bray. I know Tibs coaches OLB’s himself and Bray is more focused on the ILB’s. The LB’s in general struggle in pass coverage but I wonder how much that would change if Gumbs and Saluni were healthy.

          • Minus Hughes-Murray and McCartan, the depth chart at OLB is filled with underclassmen. If I’m Tibs I’d consider moving Fisher to OLB so that there is some experience at the position.

            Speaking of McCartan, is he injured? I haven’t seen his name mentioned.

          • Our OLB’s only drop into coverage on ~10% of snaps according to PFF, so different personal wouldn’t change much.

            The MLB’s, on the other hand, play coverage on almost 50% of snaps.

    • I’m with you on the Tibs train.

      When fixing a defense that is horrifically bad as OSU’s was, you have to fix the run first. It took a while but when I watch them play, they stuff the run. If you can’t fix that, you can’t fix red zone defense, and that’s what really counts.

      We gripe about how bad the pass defense is, but we don’t have to look further than Washington at how long it takes a bad program to develop a solid pass defense. They were god awful for ten years, but they slowly built the best secondary in the conference.

      The third down defense this year has been much better than in year’s past. Wazzu was frustrating to watch because they got back to some bad habits of taking bad angles, but that’s been mostly the exception and not the norm. A back-shoulder fade for 20 is hard for most defenses to stop. An inside zone that goes for 25 on 3rd and 18 is what we would see the Beavs give up the past few seasons.

      Overall, we’re seeing obvious improvement, and the deficiencies pertain to talent at the NT and CB positions. I think Tibs is earning his paycheck (which ranks 8th in the conference)

    • I’m still on it! I like the scheme and I see the logic in stopping run first and bend but don’t break. A few times I have been frustrated by adjustments. Sometimes we make halftime adjustments for no real reason. Don’t change the defense unless the offense makes you.

  20. Well, I’m in the hospital and they’re doing an angiogram tomorrow morning. I’m sure this episode was caused by me screaming at JS and his stupid fake punt, and the 10yard cushion at the LOS on WSU WRs and the final series where they did not run the effing ball…rooting for the beavers will be the death of me. Lol

  21. 4
    1

    Just want to point out that Nick daschel can’t afford to be a critic of Smith. He’s a beat writer not a columnist. His job is to report the daily news of the team. If he starts being overly critical, Smith will start ignoring him and limit his access to the coaches and team. Or get his press pass revoked.

    This has been brought up in the past for the gazette times writers. They didn’t want their access taken away so they didn’t write critical articles. A guy like canzano can write that stuff because that’s his job.

    I recall angry asking for a press pass once. He was denied. I wonder why…

  22. MBB media day today. Beavs get a lot of love from the press. Nothing nationally though.

    Tied for fourth with Arizona. Behind UCLA, USC and Oregon. A fourth place finish means a tourney bid.

    Alitishe picked first team. Lucas on the second team. Calloo should get more love but he didn’t really breakout until the tourney.

    Not bad at all…

    • I think there have been years where fourth place didn’t mean a tourney bid for the PAC-12…

      Calloo needs to work harder at both ends before he’ll deserve any accolades. Lucas didn’t become all-conference (and earn the minutes to do so) until he started playing defense.

      • Could see both Calloo and Hunt being on the cusp of all conference this year and Dashawn Davis being in the mix for “newcomer of the year” if there is such a thing. Kid can hoop

    • Interesting, MBB and WBB ranked 4th and quacks are 2nd in both sports as well.
      BTW, word is Kennedy Brown is healthy.
      Pre-season polls, ugh. Won’t be surprised to see one or both squads exceed the 4th place projection.

      • I’m hoping we get some votes in the pre-season top 25 polls. Historically, the top 2-3 teams in the conference are in the top 25 and the next 1-2 get votes.

  23. Smith on Canzano currently. Says they didnt run late in the 4th from the 14 because of personnel that was currently in the gsme wasnt ideal for that. Also says he was planning to go into overtime rather than 2 pt conversion.

    Wasnt 1st down coming off a penalty? Seems you could sub players without losing time off the clock.

    Oh well at least canzano asked the questions people wanted

      • That was my takeaway too.
        He seemed to imply switching out the personnel for run plays would have killed time. But you’d think after the PI penalty stoppage amd marching off the 15 yards, there would have been ample time.

        • Getting the correct personnel out there is really the main theme of the WSU loss.

          – On offense its ok to throw out of 10 personnel with 3 WR sets like we did earlier in the year with success. You don’t have to show run based formation looks to setup the pass
          – On defense its a great idea to pull your coverage challenged ILB’s with the offense is continually in 5 wide zero running back formations
          – On defense if you are going to leave your coverage challenged ILB’s in to chase around slot WR’s all game its probably a good idea to not have them both play all 71 snaps of the game.. You can sub in Colletto or Fisher or god forbid play Julian in the box and bring on a dime DB like Arnold or Hardge like every other team that has slowed the Cougs down has done.

          Getting the “ideal personnel” out there was a huge fail last Saturday. .

    • “because of personnel that was currently in the game wasn’t ideal for that”

      That’s such a passive statement. You MAKE it happen. You don’t wait for it to happen. Its like Angry’s observation the players seemed to be standing around and waiting for others to do something.

      Smith has to own it and make it happen. That’s crazy. Over a minute on the clock, two RBs averaging over 8 yards per carry, you could have Colleto at fullback, and or two TEs…its maybe the weakest, lamest thing Smith has said to date.

      CaliBeavs comment about “getting the correct personnel out there, ” and Smith’s passive comment, and apology after the game, really put this loss on the coaches.

  24. Mario Eugenio, 4 star edge who recently decommited from Michigan has gotten an offer from us. It’s currently the only offer he has actually posted on his IG and Melvin Jordan seems to be pretty excited about it. Possibly something to see here?

  25. Larry Miller admits to killing a kid in cold blood and people feel sorry that he had to keep a secret for 40 years? Yet Gruden gets fired for emails and Urban Meyer keeps his job. Weird world we live in right now.

        • 1
          1

          Drew Magary – cancel culture’s batting average is insanely high:

          https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/amp/Drew-Magary-cancel-culture-15495803.php

          “… Cancellation is the result of people relegated to the fringes by the powerful using those collective voices to give the hook to those same powerbrokers, all of whom have hogged the spotlight far longer than they deserve.”

          Anybody read his sports book “Men with balls?” Supposed to be pretty funny.

          • Magary’s criteria are some of the many, unfortunate issues with this piece. He wants to cancel Drew Brees for saying (then apologizing for) the exact same thing Ruth Bader Ginsburg said about anthem kneeling. My guess is he won’t be calling for RBG’s legacy and persona to be canceled any time soon.

            I’m curious if there is a piece expressing similar sentiment that isn’t nearly as politically one-sided.

          • The label of ‘culture’ was attached to it to make it sound more ominous. It’s people getting fired for saying things their business or organization deemed worthy of firing, which is something that’s always happened. I think people should direct their ire to the people in charge who don’t know how to handle some social media and internet outrage. Twitter isn’t real life and only represents a small, anonymous segment of society.

          • I always took the name including “culture” to mean it was indicative of a trend in the broader culture of rushing to publicly condemn people for things.

            Even though the Twitter mobs represent a small segment of society, the media outlets turning Twitter activity into news articles have an amplifying effect. A broader audience sees headlines like “People are turning on Greg Street for sexist comments on Twitter” and without even reading the article, an association has been created where headline readers think “Greg Street is a racist.”

      • Part of what makes the Gumbs thing strange is that he’s been listed as a starter on the weekly official depth chart for most of the year. My guess is no one takes that document seriously and they just haven’t been updating it.

        • Seems like media members could ask that question and it wouldnt be considered controversial.
          If Gumbs is OLB1 every week, why havent we seen him play yet?

          • Could be vaccine-related?

            The fact that he’s still listed on the depth chart at #1 feels like the staff communicating “you still have a spot here if you comply with x,” and x could be quickly resolved.

          • So what is the policy for participating in varsity sports? Do NCAA athletes have to be vaccinated, or do they have the option to perform routine testing if they decline it?

          • Good luck, I emailed him a couple weeks ago; he’s tired of getting that question. Seemed frustrated that he doesn’t have an answer.

    • 2
      1

      Unfortunately it also sounded like JS was fine with the defensive approach which seems to at least indicate he’s not looking to make changes. Obviously JS is not going to say he’s coaching for his job these last games but gotta have something to say about zero improvement in a critical area like 3rd down and getting absolutely out coached, particularly in that 2nd half. Guess getting off the field isn’t a concern and I feel like groundhog day with every press conference for the last 4 years being “well we gotta get better on 3rd down” or “this game looks different with a couple 3rd down stops”. It’s laughable.

      Wonder how much longer Bray will be around. Think teams were interested in him last off-season and he seems to be the best position coach on the defense and has shown enough success to warrant a DC position somewhere. I’d hate to lose Bray and have JS end up keeping Tibs around.

      • JS is smart enough to not say that he’s unhappy with Tibs publicly. Hopefully JS makes it clear to Tibs that he is coaching for his job in private.

  26. 1
    1

    What are the chances Spencer Rattler transfers to Nike for next year and gets a completely unrelated sweet NIL deal? Mario loves his grad transfer QB’s.

  27. 8
    1

    Just got out of the hospital and it looked like a freaking war zone with several national guard providing help throughout the hospital die to staffing shortages. I also talked with several nurses about their experiences dealing with covid. Those conversations were very sobering as many have dealt with covid deaths that were potentially preventable. These nurses told me that many of the very sick patients with covid were unvaxxed so that’s consistent with media reports. Until you talk with some of these health care professionals first hand and see what’s actually going on, it doesn’t make sense to not get vaxxed. I was glad I was only in there for two days and have a much greater appreciation for the strain these Heath care professionals are under. Please don’t disregard the seriousness of this situation. It’s real, very real despite the apparent downward trend.

    • 10
      1

      Also, many of them are saying, “wish I got the vaccine” on their death bed and begging their friends and family to do so. I have siblings in healthcare who witness this. Just brutal propaganda campaign that’s tearing families apart and causing unnecessary pain.

      Are you going to be alright, man? Prognosis?

      • 7
        1

        Yep, you are correct as one of the nurses I spoke with said that very same thing and indicated the dying patient was begging to get vaxxed. Very, very sad but you’re also correct about the propaganda that’s being put out. I just can’t believe people are that gullible. Yeah, I’ll be okay as one of the arteries that branches off a major artery was 100% closed. They had to dilate with more solution than normal and couldn’t do a partially closed artery bc of fear it would affect my kidneys. Anyway, I’m good to go but a more restricted diet now. They wanted to prescribe brilenta which is very expensive and I got them to go with plavix instead. Brilenta is about $250/mo with insurance compared to $10/month for plavix. The doctor agreed with my decision though. Thanks for asking.

          • It did. I just wish that JS and his staff weren’t such dumb ass decision makers in the WSU game. Gave away a perfectly winnable game. I won’t be screaming at the TV during any future games. I learned my lesson and lived to talk about it.

          • When I was in college my current gf pointed out that they couldn’t hear me through the tv. Now that I remember that I feel dumb and just stay chill. I yell a lot at games though haha

    • The staff shortages are absolutely insane.

      Even some of the ones who comply with their company’s policies are quitting because they’re overworked.

      • A friend of mine who has worked in healthcare for several decades says he’s never seen medical professional morale as low as it is. People are quitting and taking early retirements, which is putting even more strain on the ones left behind. It’s a stressful profession in the best of time, having to see people in pain all day.

        • It’s got be tough on them even under the best of circumstances. I talked with another doctor today and he’s retiring too. He’s just overwhelmed by circumstances. It’s an industry that’s in inajor distress.

    • 3
      3

      A lot of hospitals track unvaccinated vs vaccinated and which of those are in the hospital, which are in ICU, and which are on vents. St. Charles here in Central Oregon also delineates above age 60 and below. It’s always overwhelmingly more unvaccinated than vaccinated in all situations. Thankfully the numbers are slowly dropping up here, but sadly it had to make a drawn out slow crawl through the low vaccinated areas (i.e. everywhere outside of Bend).

      • 5
        5

        Yep. Society moves on with or without you. No one is more important. Short term might be annoying but everyone thinking they’re un replaceable, will soon realize they’re not that important in this world. And that applies to every job there is.

          • 3
            1

            Exactly. When you have a relatively large inexperienced staff it puts more strain on the senior leadership, and the leadership is more likely to quit, creating a vicious cycle.

            Then that company has a reputation of becoming a revolving door, doesn’t attract good talent, then goes out of business.

        • 2
          3

          This couldn’t be more wrong of a take.

          Plenty of professions have a shortage of skilled workers and did even before COVID.

          • Skilled workers and experienced workers are 2 different things. We have masters of engineering engineers at our work that pay retirees $60000 a year as consultants because of their experience. These are dudes who only graduated high-school. But 40-45 years of experience in my field is more knowledgeable that anything learned at a university with a masters. Aeronautics and defense since your going to ask.

    • 3
      2

      Are you sure they don’t want the vaccine?, or are they overworked due to shortages and tired from fighting the virus for over 18 months….?

  28. Some PFF coverage grades for our DBs and LBs. I excluded the OLB and the part-time players because they had very few coverage snaps, and it’s a small sample size. They were all pretty mediocre anyway. But check this out:

    Julian: 86.9
    Wright: 75.2
    Olidapo: 73.2
    Grant: 64.3
    Austin: 58.7
    Speights: 58.0
    Roberts: 29.7

    1) Julian’s been super impressive all around
    2) Roberts’ grade is absolutely awful. Worst coverage grade of any defender at any position, by far. Second worst is 55 or so. Bottom line- he needs to come off the field in obvious passing situations.

        • It’s gone down since then. It was decent before USC, which helped his score post-USC.

          He has an above average run defense score, so that must be where the staff sees his value. Keep in mind, Robinson and Jones seemed to be in the mix before their injuries, so Austin was quite possible #4 in the rotation during preseason.

        • Honestly, been a lot of turnover on his squads it seems like. Outside the 3 coaches’ kids, been like a revolving door…at least over the last couple seasons it feels like.

          • With the transfer portal, should expect nearly half the roster to turn every year.

            If a high school recruit doesn’t get into the rotation by year two, he’ll probably transfer.

            Tinkle did say he has more doors open now. He’ll need to capitalize with this decommit.

          • Lots of Sr and Jr on this squad. Not sure who has another year due to covid but we only have one Fr and one Soph on the squad. I like what WT has done utilizing the transfer portal but he really needs to pick up his HS recruiting. We have zero for 2022 with Cruz Davis decomitting.

          • Reading between the lines, it might be because Wayne (chair of the NCAA ethics committee) is unwilling to play the games most other programs do with HS recruits.

            Seems like there would be less funny business with second-chance transfer recruits.

          • Not too worried about not having any high school recruits. Bball rosters can change overnight unlike football. Transfer portal really helps fill in gaps with ready made players.

            Another tourney run will help with high school guys.

  29. 5
    1

    Love it when data confirms what our eyes see. For Tibs and really the entire staff to allow Robert’s and Speights to remain in the game for every snap against WSU and especially when they were in empty 5 wide sets should be a fireable offense. Just awful from coaches at this level. Julian should have been In the box with Arnold or Hardge in as a 6th db..

    The thing is if other teams replicate this by going 4 and 5 wide against us like they should Tibs likely won’t adjust and we will get cooked again.

    • Could be that the DBs are not reliable tacklers, too. That’s consistent with what we’ve seen for the past decade against Wazzu. Too many instances of arm tackles, trying to tackle high, or launching at the ball carrier’s lower body rather than wrapping up

  30. 2
    1

    I’m a dodger fan and am excited they beat the giants, but that checked swing called third strike was just a brutally bad call by the first base ump. The game had some good drama but to see it end the way it did was a letdown despite the dodgers winning. I thought the giants manager in the post game conference handled the questions regarding that call with class. Too bad these two teams didn’t play for the NLCS, but time to move onto the ATL braves. I’m hoping for dodgers and red Sox WS.

  31. Looks like Nall and Pierce are going to get a lot of reps for the Bears this week. The bears running backs have suffered a couple injuries and have one out with COVID. This is their big chance to stay in the league or be relegated to practice squad life for the rest of their career.

    Luton will likely be elevated to the active roster with Wilson out in Seattle.

  32. Article in the O indicated that Smith is confident in Tibesar. In professional sports that’s usually the kiss of death. I don’t subscribe to the O soup I didn’t read the article but saw the headline. The soft cushion by the corners at the LOS almost the entire game set the table for that loss. I understand if you play press coverage at the LOS, you might get beat over the top but that’s why you have safeties. At least make the offense prove they can beat you deep and switch up you cover occasionally. The coverage made WSU receivers and the QB look like they were all all conference players. If Smith still has confidence in that defensive scheme, we’re in for more disappointing losses against teams we should beat. Fortunately, I don’t think we play against that type of offense with maybe the exception of ASU. 7-5 or 6-6 best case scenario unless Tibby decides to put his defense in better position to win.

    • I’m right there with you on the frustration and Smith doesn’t do Tibs any favors with field position. I do think the running game has helped the D this year with longer, more sustained drives. Watching college football, how many good defenses are there really though? What I mean is, there are decent to good defenses that give up points. With the current rules and types of offenses, it’s hard to stop teams. Would giving up say an avg of 25 points per game be considered a good defense in this day and age? I just watched Bama give up a lot of points to a back up qb at A and M. It seems like the good SEC teams now just score on most possessions and end up winning. There sure are some adjustments I hope Tibs makes.

        • Maybe there’s no confidence in the press coverage. Beavs are only playing a few true corners each game. There might not be the depth to play press.

          • The point is you should try though. Qb threw for 300 yds in the 2nd half. Seems like there wasn’t any reason to at least try to press and maybe disrupt some routes. What’s the worst that could happen? Keep scoring and moving the ball like they did? Not that Kansas has been a good program either, but hard to imagine a senior cb that’s started several years at a P5 school isn’t worth consideration to swap for Austin who moved over from safety. He was the 2nd cb in camp and was the slated starter until an injury before Purdue.

    • 5
      1

      If oregon somehow is still in the playoff conversation when we play them, there is no way the Pac will let OSU be conpetitive in that game. Would rather see them lose 2 or 3 games before we play them.
      I still think Cal loses, but think they’ll play a somewhat close game.

      • 2
        1

        It’s funny you mention the Quacks and playoffs. The Portland media is still pumping out the thought that Oregon is alive for the playoff hunt. I guess with Bama losing and them beating Ohio St, they have to keep that out there for reader interest. I just don’t think the Ducks are that good, be nice if this inane chatter ends tonight, but I don’t think Cal is the team to do it. You’re right, if they don’t lose again, it’s going to be dicey for The Beavs to do anything about it.

        • They’re still ranked up in the top 10 with a top 10 win. They’re not great, but good enough to potentially win their remaining games on their athleticism alone. Even with the injuries and coaching deficiencies.
          With half a season to go, they could crawl back i to the top 4 as other teams fall out.
          But most likely they will still lose a couple Pac games this season.

      • Yup. I hope they lose to UW in particular, and anyone else, then get curb-stomped by the Beavers. If they go in as a presumptive CFP pariticpant, or even Rose Bowl rep, the refereeing will suck more than usual. Remember last year when their offsides was not called, one writer said, “…it was visible from space.” Which was pretty damn funny…then of course no call for unnecessarily yanking on Gebbia’s leg and injuring him.

    • I picked Cal to cover also, looking forward to quack QB play as well as their RB.
      The interesting game this weekend for me is ASU vs Utah, two of the better teams the Beavs have still on the schedule. Will be interested to learn what Bill, angry, and some others think about those two teams after Saturday night.

      • I think if Daniels can stay upright all season at ASU, they’ll win it all. They’re good defensively and have speed offensively to run around Stanford and Oregon. But Daniels is a toothpick. If he gets injured theyre finished.
        Utah has a strong defense but their offense is a crapshoot. QB play has been erratic. But they also seem to have gelled as a team after their teammate was murdered. Cant underestimate a motivated team.

        • It’s a typical Utah team with a solid defense, good running game, but a passing game that won’t take over games if you can stop the run.

  33. Gebbia reportedly out for the year. After getting a medical redshirt, he’ll be a 25 year old QB his SR year. Sets up an interesting QB battle next year.

    • So that would make him a 6th year RS Jr next season? Does he ever get to the field though? If Chance holds onto the job for this year and next, he’s gonna beat out Vidlak/Gulbransen to take over in 2023?

      2017 – NEB RS
      2018 – OSU RS FR
      2019 – OSU RS Soph
      2020 – OSU RS JR (Covid)
      2021 – OSU RS Jr (Medical)
      2022 – OSU RS Jr (FOR REAL)
      2023 – OSU RS Sr

  34. Kerry Martin from WV who we apparently have transfer portal interest in looks like he would be an interesting commit. Safety with limited snap count the past two seasons, but really solid PFF scores. He was on the PFF All-Freshman team his freshman year (2019), didn’t play last year, and has an 81 score in limited time this season.

  35. Chase Garbers is fucking horrible.

    Couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a fucking boat.

    PAC-12 football. That’s the joke

    • I’ve been watching his stats in disbelief this season because they’ve been surprisingly good. Every time I watch him play, I can’t figure out why Cal keeps starting him. Surely they have better options.

  36. ESPN sure spends alot of time trying to convince viewers oregon belongs in the playoff hunt, while the team on the screen sure looks like booty.
    Oregon up on Cal 10-7 at half.

    • At home, right? With CAL getting the ball first in the 3rd QTR?

      IF this continues, this will not impress, and they’ll drop in rankings. Lose to an unranked, 1-4 they could fall to #20…

      • Yep agree on all fronts. This Oregon team is not any different than UW or Sc or Wsu. Literally huge parody in Pac-12 no matter who tries to convince you someone is better. The only team at this point that is “out front” is ASU. They’re qb is the difference at this stage, and it’s not by a lot over any other teams. (Colorado and Arizona aside)

        • Ha! Parody! Was that word play intentional? It is so appropriate in this context.

          A CFP team is supposed to blow out a team like CAL, own and control all 4 quarters, not have a 3 point lead at the half. If Oregon explodes in the second half and drops 40+, they might come out ok because east coast voters will only really see the box score and point differential.

          If they win a low scoring game by a small margin, or lose, the Ohio win looks like an outlier instead of an indication of a winner.

        • The most Pac12 outcome would be for ASU to run the table and make the playoffs, but have the NCAA rule on their infractions right before the playoffs and force the conference out of any playoff bowl money

          • I used to think about the benefits to the conference, and benefits of bowl payouts, but fuck Herm Edwards. I don’t think it does any good to have PAC team get to that point then get busted for recruiting violations.

            I’d rather see the Beavers beat ASU then ASU run the table. I don’t think the Beavers will win. If WSU can shred OSU, and OSU doesn’t adjust from that experience, Daniels could be out there playing pitch and catch.

  37. Oregon needed to make a statement with this game. The statement they made is “Hey, CFP – we’re cool with not making the playoff again.” Seriously, they won’t have another standalone game and I imagine most of the committee went to bed at the half with clean conscience. You don’t come off of a bye after your first loss of the season and play this cruddy. Adios Ducks.

  38. Absurd coaching salaries and buyouts:

    Ed Orgeron, LSU – The 60-year-old Orgeron is due to nearly $8.7 million in compensation from the school this year, including a $2.5 million premium payment on a split-dollar life insurance policy. His basic pay is $6 million.

    If Orgeron is fired without cause on Dec. 1, he will be owed a little less than $17.2 million – an amount that is feasible for a school like LSU, but nevertheless substantial. And after the events of the past year, it appears entirely possible that such a firing could occur. The Tigers finished 5-5 last year, and they are 3-3 this year. The football program has also been the subject of Title IX allegations uncovered by USA TODAY last year.

    Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M – Not only is Fisher among the highest-paid coaches in the FBS, at $7.5 million, but he also has the longest contract in the sport, thanks to a four-year extension he received in September.

    The deal, which ties Fisher to Texas A&M for the next decade, is also fully guaranteed. This means that if the school wanted to fire him without cause at some point between now and the start of the 2027 season, for example, it would owe him at least $50 million.

    Scott Frost, Cornholers – The Huskers finished 4-8 and 5-7 in Frost’s first two years at the helm, but Nebraska administrators gave him a two-year contract extension anyways, stretching his deal through the end of 2026. In the year-plus since, Frost’s teams have gone 6-9, losing twice as many Big Ten games (eight) as they’ve won (four).

    Simply put, Frost is once again among the highest-paid coaches in the Big Ten – his $5 million in total compensation is tied for fourth – but his team has yet to make it to a bowl game, or post a winning record in a season. To make matters worse for Nebraska, Frost’s deal also has the third-largest buyout clause in the conference. The school would owe him more than $20 million if it decided to make a change this year.”

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2021/10/14/college-football-ranking-worst-coaches-contracts-2021-season/6054410001/

    • Interestingly, it looks like Nebraska has a much better team this year so far, but they came out completely unprepared against a crappy Illinois team and have also lost every close game. I think that’s mostly on the Frost, but can they afford that buy-out?

  39. I never got why the media was going apeshit over this year’s edition of the Quacks. They were a 4-3 team last year who were blown out in their bowl game. What did they add that was going to make them a playoff team? Making Brown their starter? They looked like shit against Fresno St. Somehow managed to beat Ohio St. Looked disinterested for three quarters against a pathetic Arizona team and then lost to an average Stanford team. Now they’re tied with Cal going into the 4th quarter. Even if the Ducks manage to win, they are irrelevant, they just don’t know it yet.

    • Spot on. They’re inflated by preseason marketing and the false narrative that they’re the PACs best hope for a CFP spot.

      People forget they went to the PAC championship game last year because UW couldn’t. And didn’t UW beat them last year?

  40. 3
    1

    Thibodeaux is a cyborg. Oregon gets home almost every time he rushes the passer.

    It’ll be interesting to see how Lindgren gameplans for this guy in late November. Does he double team him with a tackle and TQ?

    Also, Cal is pretty damn good for a 1-5 team. That game in Berkeley will be a struggle.

    • Hopefully we stick to the dominant run game and we don’t really need to worry about him as a pass rusher. I’d also like them to take advantage of Nolan’s scramble ability and maybe do some rollouts away from him. No reason he needs to be a pocket passer.

      • Yeah, Lindgren is going to have to toss his playbook if he expects Chance to be able to sit in the pocket for more than 3 seconds against Oregon.

        Once Chance gets hit a few times, he misses throws.

        • Ducks won’t be able to stop beavers running game so beavers will need lots of play action to keep Oregon’s LB honest. If the beavers c as my get the passing g as me on track and WR open, the ducks won’t beat the beavers but that’s a big “if”. If the ducks are losing to the beavers, you can bet they’ll try some dirty crap just like McKinley’s dirty tactic against Gebbia last year on the goal line.

  41. Watch just the second half of $ucks vs Cal. Both teams look beatable. Can’t believe the $ucks are ranked in top 10. Only worry for me with my Beavs vs OU is the mobile QB

    • quack beat reporter tweeted during the game, “This is not the No. 9 team in the country”

      Yeah, they are beatable, Brown isn’t much of a passer but their #2 RB looked really good…almost as good as either the Beavs #1 or #2.

  42. Relaxing sunny weekend without Beaver anxiety. If JS wants to make a defensive move next year I think Wilcox will be available. He’s below 500% in year five… kiss of death.

  43. That win couldn’t have impressed the voters. They should slip unless others in the top 15 falter.

    Did Thibodeaux play in the CW last year? Was he a factor if so?

    • He did. Was a non factor. He is the most hyped player for really nothing special, I’ve ever seen. Does he have potential sure, but it’s almost as if espn last night has a share of his crypto currency and will make money from propping him up

      • He was in the backfield a lot. I don’t I’d we stand why cal did have a backer help chip block or run away from him. I think big quick linemen will neutralize him in the nfl.

        How about the final snap by crystobal? Who does that to run the clock out. Odd guy.

  44. Smith apparently saying Beavs won’t be able to run against Utah like they did against WSU, and they’ll need to pass. They may not be able to run for 300+ yards against Utah, but I hope he doesn’t pulls his genitalia between his legs and waddle out of the tunnel. Running is the team’s strength, don’t take it away yourself like Andersen did…

    • I wonder if a loss to the alternative rodents would seal Frost’s fate? It would erase the recent positives of blowing out Northwestern and playing close games against Top 10 teams.

      • See the post about his contract and buyout clauses. I suppose Nebby alumni would eat that much to move on to the next victim if unrealistic expectations.

        Maybe they can have a seance and call down the ghost of Tim Osborne, or get the Infinity Stones and go back to the 90’s…

  45. 1
    2

    I was reading this post from 2014:

    For this reason, I don’t like Beau Baldwin in any capacity, even OC. My #1 guy is Kirby Smart. Doubt he’s even on OSU’s radar. But he fits the bill.

    I think that held up well. We’d be #1 now if OSU had listened. ;)

  46. 2
    1

    I was thinking about Smith’s 4th down playcalling…sounds like I’m very much in the minority here but I don’t think it’s a liability. I don’t like every call – didn’t like the one vs WSU – but in general I like the approach and I don’t think it costs us games (at least not net games. May cost us individual games, but win us others).

    Much has been made of analytics, but for me the bigger deal is the strengths and weakness of our team. We are much better and more consistent on offense than defense. We always have been under Smith, and probably always will be. That should shift the 4th down mentality. Many here dog Smith for gambling, but isn’t it a gamble either way? You’re gambling that the offense will convert vs that your defense will be able to get a stop. And for a Smith team at the end of a game, I think the odds of the offense converting 4th and short tend to be better than that the defense can get a stop. Until we can figure out our worst-in-CFB 3rd down conversion rate, how do you ever feel like you can count on your D to step up? Or that an extra 30 yards would make a difference?

    Personally, one of the things I hated most about Riley was his traditional approach to 4th down. I felt that we gave away a lot of games where our offense was clicking and defense was struggling, punting the game away on 4th and 1 just outside FG range. Did you guys like the Riley approach to 4th down, and is that what you’d want Smith to be doing? Or are you looking for a middle ground?

    • There’s obviously times that going for it on 4th makes sense and I think that’s my biggest issue is we go for it a lot where it doesn’t make sense. Both cases in the WSU game didn’t make sense to me based on when and where they took place (too early and bad area of the field) not to mention the play choice with the punt fake. Riley seemed more content to take a fg attempt vs going for it and that would be frustrating at times especially when you play the ducks and we seemed to settle for fg and ducks would score touchdowns. Riley would’ve never considered those two attempts that JS did vs WSU and I would’ve been just fine with not taking them as well.

      • 4th down throw on fake punt (?) or fg(?) to Swancutt for the first down, who had a monster CW game….

        Huckin’ Hecker throwing on fake punts….

  47. 4
    7

    Wazzu getting bullied by Stanford in Pullman and their offense is back to looking dreadful, predictably. Tibesar making their offense look good last week was coaching malpractice

  48. ESPN commentators going into the half on the night Utah is honoring their murdered teammate. ASU intercepts Utah on a last minute failed touchdown drive.

    Commentator 1:
    ASU….

    Commentator 2:
    Dodges a bullet?

    Bet he wishes he could have that one back.

  49. 2
    1

    UCLA deafest UW, hosts UO next week, then 2 weeks later UO @ UW. UO could be further exposed in the next 3 weeks.

    Man Smith, there was such a great opportunity this year!

    Still a decent one, if the best Nolan can show UO (@ USC) and D can get some 3rd down stops.

  50. 3
    1

    Welp, luck O the Beavs is back.
    Utah appears to be at their peak as they come to Corvallis this week. Maybe the rain will help slow their passing game, cause their receivers were catching everything they could get a fingertip on, and ours can’t do that.
    And their defense was pretty good against the run tonight vs ASU. Hope the OLine is up to the task after a week of rest.

    • How was their run D? Are they a physical team? DBs get tight coverage and keep ASU receivers from getting loose? OSU receivers don’t seem to get good separation. Does Utah have solid RBs again?

      The conference looks wide open.

      • Run D was a strength. They couldnt catch Daniels, but otherwise they were only giving up maybe 1-2 yards on most runs. But we don’t have a QB with Daniels speed.
        DBs were good enough to bother ASU receivers to the point that cstchable balls were dropped pretty frequently by ASU.
        Just looks like a tough matchup for OSU on both sides of the ball.

  51. WSU did us a favor in the North standings (unless you buy them as a North contender). Now that Stanford is basically out of the running, Nike and OSU seem to be in the driver’s seat.

  52. 3
    2

    Didn’t get to see Utah last night, but under KW I just assume they will be well coached, disciplined, and physical. Has anything changed? If not, then they have the advantage. Always assumed this was a loss. I think we can be in the game and possibly steal it, though, given October in Corvallis has a feel to it and there should be some electricity in the crowd. Just not sure the Beavs know how to stay in a game like this and ultimately finish it if they do have a lead. Beavs seem on par with the PAC physically at this point, but mentally what I saw vs WSU was weakness. Next step is overcoming that.

    • 1
      1

      I think on the opening drive for the beavers, they should call a fake punt on 4th and 4 from the beaver 42 yard line. Oh, wait a minute, that would be deja vu.

    • I was actually just talking about how the top Pac-12 teams have the players to be top 25 teams, including Oregon State, but the problem isn’t the ability. It’s the mental aspect of the game they are lacking. Reminds me of the Jeff Tedford CAL bears teams, “Which CAL team is going to show up today?”

  53. 1
    2

    I hate how we match up with Utah. It could get ugly. Nolan has to play great. Defense has to get off field on 3rd down. Doubt we’ll be able to run for over 200 yards. Utah 34 Beavs 13.

    • I don’t quite get this. We play very similar style so it’s really going to come down to play calling and winning one on one battles. Rising is a pretty accurate QB but we should be seeing 2/3/4 WR formations which is good for us. Offensively I doubt Utah can stop the run game any better than UW. If our wideouts learned how to catch again we should be back to business on offense.

      Should be a close fun game.

      • You hit the nail on the head. I think this is a very even match up that will just come down to good ol’ fashioned execution.

        Utah’s defense is solid across the board, with their MLB Loyd being the star. In their two losses, they gave up over 200 yards of rushing, so that still seems to be the key to beating them. Looks like ASU ran the ball well, too, they just didn’t have the TOP they needed in the second half.

        On offense, interior OL is their biggest weakness, which bodes well for our ability to stop the run and the effectiveness of the stunting stuff Tibs likes to do on the pass rush. I’m concerned about their TE and our inability to match up against him.

        In a game of execution, unfortunately, I have to give the edge to KW’s team.

        31-24 Utah.

        • If their TE gets active they should just paste Julian or Kitan to them. They both hit like trucks and are more than athletic enough to cover up a good TE in man.

          I don’t want to see Omar or Roberts in coverage outside of simple zones. Let them do what they are best at and wreck the running game and pressure the qb

        • To your point: if the DTs can push the pocket inwards, we have a chance against most opponents.

          Hopefully Sio is back in the lineup because that is exactly what he does.

      • It’s that catching balls thing I dont feel good about. A bye week wont fix those season long issues. Musgrave needs to improve. Beason needs to improve. And we need at least one more consistent target besides Lindsey. I cant count Champ because even though he has good hands, the window where Chance needs to place the ball is so tight in most cases, those passes are almost always risky.

        On the plus side, our OLine is healthy, and Utah’s guys might be a little banged up after playing a tough game this weekend.
        And hopefully we have rain force them into a ground game

        • Harrison seems to have come on as a reliable target. We just need to get him the ball more. It’d be better to get guys like Tongue and Harrison the ball in space on a short route, and give them a chance to run after the catch.

          You’re right about Champ. We make him run long routes but the required accuracy for hitting him in stride is so stringent that I don’t think Chance can do it consistently, or when it really counts. I think he could get a few receptions a game if he runs something like a mesh or speed out.

  54. Still looking like Rolovich is going to see if Inslee blinks. He says it’s “out if his hands” and he’s just preparing for the next game.

    Or will Rolovich produce some exception tomorrow so he and Inslee save face?

    • 7
      3

      I don’t see any reason for Inslee to blink. His political support agrees with his mandate and he’s a governor. Governor is slightly more important than 2nd most important football head coach in the State.

    • Yeah Inslee won’t blink. Rolovich has filed his exemption, which is supposed to be reviewed blind and with a very high threshold for acceptance.

      My only question is whether WSU finds a way to make that review process a little less blind. Coaching him on what the review committee is looking to see, maybe “hey coach submit your application at 2:01am on Weds.”

      There’s just a lot of money involved and careers on the line for the athletic dept to sit back and leave it to chance.

    • As much as I dislike Rolivich, he is actually following the guidelines put in place by the governer. It’s everybody else in the media/social media who has a problem with it. As far as I can tell, he’s filed for am exhemption within the timeline required. If other people with religeous exhemptions are allowed to go unvaccinated, seems like Rolo would get approved too. It’s pretty loosley leguslated, sortof like the NCAA’s transfer waiver policy in the past. And on top of that he has actually been doing ok on the cosching front lately. So now WSU needs to decide if this will all blow over in a few months anyway, is it really worth it to go through the trouble of firing the guy? Probably not

      • I don’t see a problem, he is following the rules as they are laid out. He filed for a religious exemption and it wasn’t last minute. He should definitely have written in his request that his religious belief is worth millions of dollars per year though, haha. And there may be more reasons that we don’t know about. Maybe he’s never had a vaccine.

          • If you follow court cases around the country in religious exemptions, it’s extremely difficult to qualify.

            Basically, you need to prove you’ve never taken Tylenol and other basic over the counter medications, as similar science was used to develop these treatments. Otherwise, you’re a hypocrite and your religious exemption will likely be denied. Plus, the Pope himself said it was okay for Catholics to get the vaccine.

            I have no problem with Rolo applying for the exemption, but my sense is he will get fired. Sounds like alums and academia are embarrassed by the negative national attention. Plus, the blind review of his request is likely not going to pass muster.

  55. Sounds like Ed Orgeron is out as LSU coach, but will finish out the season as HC.
    Wonder if that has anything to do with the USC opening?

    • Coaching carousel should be pretty wild this year.

      In addition to USC and LSU, there could be some other big schools looking to make a change. If they fill those openings with a current P5 coach, it’ll cascade down into the lower ranks.

      V-Tech, Miami, and Nebraska should really consider changes.

      PAC12 could see changes at WSU, and UW. Not sure how Arizona feels about Fisch. Don’t know all the circumstances there but the results have been terrible.

      And there is no chance Smith leaves.

      • Fisch is in year 1 changing systems. He’ll get a few years, at least.

        Lake is the only other PAC-12 coach I could see getting the boot, but he hasn’t had much time either.

      • JS won’t go anywhere, but there’s a good chance one of the new coaches tries to throw big $$ at one of the assistants.

        I wonder if one of them tries to poach Sitake, he seems to be doing a pretty nice job at Mormon U.

    • You got it, Bill. Opened with Utes favored by 4 and now down to 3.
      Nike opened as 3 pt favorites at UCLA, now it’s UCLA favored by 1.5.

  56. 6
    1

    The game vs Utah is the most important on the schedule. Not just because it’s the only game this week, not because the Purdue game was originally the most important. But, simply, because it sets the tone for the last half of the season.

    Sure, Tree and ASU (even nike) may take just as much effort and smarts as this weeks contest; but each one of those will likely be a continuation of whatever takes place this Saturday.

    Coming off a bye week doesn’t always mean improvement (see nike vs Cal last night). For the Beavs, it better; it better mean improved coaching decisions both in scheme and choice of who is on the field. And it better mean improved execution by those on the field. Early momentum vs Utah may make all the difference in whether or not the Beavs can come out on top of the PAC-N

    Prove me wrong, Beavs. My early lean: 31-24 Utes.

  57. Surprised to see that people think we don’t match up well against Utah. I think the thing most people missed last night was how many penalties ASU received. It was literally the difference in the game. So many extended Utah drives where they ran clock. ASU had six snaps in the third quarter, completely killed the momentum.

    OSU will control the ball with the run game. BYU and San Diego State were able to run on Utah and I don’t think it’s any different here.

    On Defense OSU won’t see many 5 WR sets and can get into their normal 3-2.

    To me it’s a tailor made matchup for us to win. 24-14 Beavs!

    • What do people think of OSU running 5 WR sets on occasion as Angry suggested before season? Could be a way for Nolan to hit some quick throws.

      Maybe if the WRs aren’t getting separation, it’s not worth trying. But W/Lindsey, Harrison, Tongue, Bradford, seems like SOMEONE would have to get open….

      And I don’t mean abandoning the run, just running the package once in a while situationally.

      • I like the idea, just another look to throw at someone. I actually think this is where Champ would excel. I know folks hate on his height but he is the best route runner and gets open all the time. There is a reason most NFL teams have a short quick slot receiver. Champ just needs a QB who can get him the ball.

        • The thing about the 5 wide is we could in theory do that in a base offense. Especially with Lowe but even Baylor as RB.

          It’s a great strategy I haven’t seen the offensive coordinator deploy, but I’m positive that is something in the bag. Musgrave and teagan in theory should be a huge miss match, than add Lowe. It could be a tough matchup for defenses.

          The challenge is when the biggest mismatch (Musgrave) can’t make the plays. Teagan on a safety or linebacker could be really good too. And Lowe vs a lb should be a huge speed mismatch

  58. “Oregon State beat the University of San Francisco 13-4 in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader, while taking the nightcap 5-1 to sweep the Dons.
    “We’ve always known that Corvallis travels well, so we knew there would be a few people here and probably a lot of locals, too,” said OSU left-hander Cooper Hjerpe, who got the start in Game 1. “It was cool to get in front of a crowd like this again. Even with COVID still being a thing, it’s still good to see some people out here.”

    https://www.mailtribune.com/college-sports/2021/10/16/beavers-bring-out-a-crowd-in-medford/

    • Thanks for that link.
      Canham said. “We’re allowed a couple of fall games a year, and for the guys to work on traveling, how to prep on the road and we get to play on a dirt field, it helps the guys out in a number of ways…”

        • Outcoaching themselves…is that a theme? “Let’s go away from the run game, we’re only averaging 8 YPC and can’t our receivers couldn’t catch the clap in a whorehouse. Put in the passing package.”

        • What appears to be the heavy reliance on the analytics is one of my biggest issues with the staff. Had those situations with runners on base, bring in a guy who strikes out 2 batters to then pull him out of the game for the 6.0 era pitcher because they have a slightly better result vs a lefty and then wham, base knock or home run. Then often times we pull that pitcher after that batter and now we’ve used 3 pitchers, given up the runs anyway. Why pull the guy who just mowed down the 2 batters they faced? Not saying there isn’t value to be had with it but seems like we ignore the momentum of the game, player performance at the time, and just rely on the #’s.

          Obviously not a ton of content available outside the season, but baseball Twitter account seems to be mostly hyping up the analytics squad, analytics room, and some of the tools they use. Perhaps that is what players care about now, not my area of expertise, but part of me is wondering if we actually throw pitches, take batting practice, practice bunting, etc or is it just film room? If it translates into wins that’s what matters so hopefully it leads to continued success.

  59. 2
    2

    Ducks drop to #10…

    women’s hoops world has a nice article on OSU WBB Fr TVO, Greta K, and AJ Marotte. TVO now in the “best shape of her life” and last year doesn’t count against her eligibility.

  60. Looks like I had this week’s College Gameday location pegged 2 weeks ago in the Oregon State @ WSU game week thread calling the Oregon @ UCLA as the other site if USC didn’t beat Utah before their BYE:

    http://angrybeavs.com/football/16416#comment-361240
    beavers4life
    October 6, 2021 at 12:10 pm

    The only other two games I could see that might impact Game Day going to Corvallis is USC @ ND or Oregon @ UCLA.

    This week:
    Oregon BYE (BYE wins)
    Utah @ USC (Toss up)
    UCLA @ Arizona (UCLA moves to 4-2(2-1) )
    Washington BYE
    OSU @ WSU (Beavs move to 5-1(3-0) or 4-2(2-1) to be tied with Oregon after the BYE week with a loss to WSU)

    Next week:
    CAL @ Oregon (Oregon moves to 5-1(2-1))
    ASU @ Utah in a night game (I have Utah winning this game going to 4-2(3-0) or 3-3(2-1) )
    USC BYE
    UCLA @ Washington (UCLA 5-2(3-1) or 4-3(2-2))

    • 1
      2

      Lame, but game day could be on the docket soon enough if Beavs can win the next few. Have to think the Stanford or asu game would have potential if they win the next 3/4.

      Thing is winning gets accolades. Win the game in front of you and than trophies and accolodates come soon enough

      • I didn’t predict the future, I merely went off of information that was given and came to two conclusions. Oregon State can’t handle outside pressure and Utah Utes are disciplined.

  61. Interestingly, our all time record vs Utah is 11-11-1. However, the last 5 have all been the Utes and with the exception of the blowout 2 years ago, most have been close scores. Utah has a similar situation as the Beavs where the early losses they experienced were with Brewer at a QB and have looked like a different team since then. Rising did play in their loss vs SDSU but didn’t get the start. Completion percentage wasn’t great but he threw 3 tds, ran for about 50 yds and had zero picks. Since then, their offense is avg 4 more pts per game at around 34 and that’s versus Pac12 opponents. 9 tds and 2 picks so far this year plus he appears to have some scramble ability with 2 rushing tds and about 40 yds rushing per game.

    In the end, I think this should be a close one again this year but unless the passing game for the Beavs improves and resembles those first 3 wins of the season, I am giving the nod to the Utes. Inaccuracy and dropped balls are not recipes for success in those last minute drive situations and this definitely could be a game where we are in that situation. I also see 3rd down defense as a big problem and giving too many extra possessions to Utah. Rising’s ability to scramble may also be a big factor, and in particular, on those 3rd down situations and has been a historical problem for the Beavs.

    The Beavs don’t need to play a perfect game to win by any means, but with Utah having momentum and a couple big wins the last couple weeks, we will have to play much better than we have vs the Washington schools.

    TLDR: Giving the W to the Utes with 3rd down conversions and at least 1 coaching decision (4th down call? Dropping run game for a half?) being a catalyst. 31-28 Utah. Please let me be wrong!

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