As always, this thread is for venting, cheering, discussing food and libations, etc on gameday.
What will you be looking to see today?
Points that have my interest:
- Whether Quizz can find running room versus this porous defense. I'm highly frustrated with the walk-ons on the offensive line. On seemingly every play at least one of them botches a block. Progress and confidence needs to be made today versus a weak opponent, as the back half of the schedule is loaded.
- The referees. Enough said.
- Do the Beavers' nagging injuries synergize to the point of weakening the whole?
- Can a MLB please step forward? A few weeks ago, it looked like Tony Wilson's light turned on, but then, inexplicably, Reuben Robinson started seeing more playing time. It's not unusual to have no idea what the defensive minds are thinking, but it is unusual that their patience ever pans out. Play Wilson.
- Will Collins get more playing time at OLB than Pankey? He's been slowly seeing the field more.
- Will Brandin Hardin thump his chest and do the "incomplete pass" signal if Locker overthrows his man? Note to Brandin: this is not cool. In fact, it's embarrassing and needs to stop.
- Finally, Jake Locker–looking forward to more pratfalls in a Buster Keaton-esque performance from this clown, while imagining Mel Kiper's face and reputation dropping even further.
These aren't "keys to the game", just a combination of random things I find interesting, humorous (e.g. Hardin), frustrating etc and will therefore be watching closely.
Speaking of interesting, did you guys see how quickly the MWC enacted a rule change and suspensions? http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5690191
Yeah.
Put the gin down, boys; you'll need it two weeks from now.
I’m sort of bummed. My lady Beav is out of town (Minnesota) visiting family and I’ve been reduced to eating canned chili instead of her fantastic, home cooking. I think I’ll make some Maryland style crab cakes from scratch before game time–one of maybe ten meals i can cook well.Meh.
sounds like a good night for pizza night
I’m watching the Cal/USC game trying to figure how the Beavs will match up versus both these teams. USC just looks huge and they’re playing with fire–glad we get them at home.
i think i think i think they can give oregon a run for their money.
it’s hard to say when and where they will show up, but it still seems like when they do, they still have enough size and talent to beat any pac-10 team.
The Ducks have a back-loaded schedule. One of those teams will take them down, I think. My guess would be one game out of USC, Arizona, and OSU. I sort of want the Ducks to go undefeated to free up the Rose Bowl and leave room for error for the Beavs. If both are undefeated in-conference come the Civil War, you almost have to root for the Ducks to win and go to the title game, right? Otherwise the Beavs will get screwed and wind up in the Sun Bowl if the Ducks get the Rose.
if oregon goes undefeated, no pac-10 team is guaranteed a rose bowl spot, because they have to take a non-AQ team this year.
I forget the rules for this. Do you have a link that explains how the Rose Bowl would be selected if both the Ducks/Beavs are undefeated come Civil War where a Ducks victory puts them in the title game?
http://www.bcsknowhow.com/new-rose-bowl-selection-process-explained
I can’t remember why this is. It was something about the Rose Bowl reaching a compromise with the rest of the BCS, because of some advantage or something the Rose Bowl got that the other games did.
I will be very happy if we start by winning tonight. Our first 3-0 start in conference since ’68 is worth celebrating. Possession again will be a key component of this game. Defense has to get off the field and the offense stay on it for as long as we can. GO BEAVS!!
On a side note:
Dallas radio reporting that TCU has been invited to the Big East. (Grain of salt: a Memphis station reported same re: Memphis this summer…and noone seems to know the station yet…this rumor from mwcconnection.com)
Wisconsin 14, Ohio St. 0
MY OH MY!!
Why are the Bombardiers not at the game tonight??
Ducks will be #1. It’s rightfully so…Ohio State has played nobody. This is all going to shift around a lot, but the Ducks are definitely going to get their 15 minutes of fame.
21-0 Wisconsin!
Will tOSU make a run at them? Or are they fried?
Interesting stat they showed:
tOSU lost the last game in which they gave up 14+ points in the first quarter (Illinois beat them). They were also ranked #1 at the time.
Ouch!
John Clay is just an awesome football name. It’s not pretentious like someone with Rock or Stone in their names. It’s just salt of the earth stuff.
Wisconsin just got jobbed after their QB threw a horrible pick. tOSU hit their guy out of bounds and Wisconsin got called for the hit.
Terrelle Pryor will be lucky to make the NFL after the stupid JaMarcus Russell experiment. At least Russell could wing it to his receivers on the fly. Pryor just can’t make any reads.
Looks like tOSU is going to drop one… I hate tOSU…
Pryor looks like a man amongst boys, but throws the football like a child.
I hate these late kickoffs. I’ve felt my enthusiasm diminish as the day has gone along…and it makes me worry that might happen to the players, too.
Foles goes down with an injury after the whistle. Poetic justice.
Two teams have to wait… not just the Beavs.
Cliff mentioned that the players were night owls this week. maybe to compensate for the late start?
Late starts tend to favor the underdogs… which we are.
“Two teams have to wait… not just the Beavs.”
Yeah, I know. But they’re home, so it will be easy to get back up. Are the Beavers really underdogs? The line might say so, but they should win this game.
I agree. The Beavs should be about five or six point favorites. But we get no respect.
Man!!! The Deschutes special reserve Black Butte XXI is good! I opened a bottle immediately (a year ago), and now I know why they say it’s better after 10/17/10. It has aged really really well.
tOSU got away with a hold on their last TD run. While Herbstreet was praising Herron’s stiff-arm, you could see that #76 had a hold of #87’s sleeve. That’s why he flipped over, not because of the stiff-arm.
Yeah, I dislike the late start also. I’m watching from the east coast, I’ve been waiting all damn day for this game to start!
Does anyone else see UW and the next few games being a huge opportunity for Danny Langsdorf to prove his worth as a playcaller outside of the Rodgers’ neighborhood?
OSU has used the Rodgerses well not only on the field but as recruiting bait for some of these young receivers, and this strikes me as the first time Langsdorf and the offensive staff will have the Beavs’ current level of talent to work with, at least at receiver, without the kneejerk reaction to always look to No. 8 first.
Granted, the guy is a great leader and playmaker, and will be sorely missed on the field and in the locker room. But I’m excited, and a little apprehensive, to see what our coaching staff can draw up with this talent pool against a Husky defense that has no idea what could be coming.
Hopefully Poyer, Wheaton and the return teams can pick up the difference, and Newhouse can piece something together with the LBs. I don’t care who it is, I just want it to work.
Oh no, Jay Stricherz!
*Gets out the notebook*
Let’s be clear: Pankey was *around* the fumble but did NOT cause it. Pankey apologists, relax.
ps. Nice!
Good to see that, by week 7, we still can’t cover a running QB or tackle effectively.
Or cover a pass, apparently.
Gonna be a long day.
Put down the gin?
It’s still too early to panic. I did fix a drink, though.
Main issue so far is how predictable the Beavers are on offense. Washington is just stacking the box.
Ya still early, but still our defense…ugh
It has me feeling sick… I think its over already.
I was just thinking, “I bet I can guess ever Langsdorf play this game” and I’m like 7-7.
Our offense is 0-2 on drives so far, and our defense is 0-40. Looks like we’re regressing to week 1 again.
What happened to the ballsy playcalling from a few years ago? Middle screens, fly sweeps, bombs…
Can I panic now Angry?
Prediction: Locker bootleg runs in for a TD. If Washington is smart that’s what they’ll do–huge speed advantage on the edge and the Beavers will bite on a fake.
Or that.
Don’t think it matters what they do at this point. We better have some sort of drive. Three and out would kill us.
OSU defense showing how SLOW they really are tonight. AMAZING, they are getting manhandled by UW. Pathetic…
Worse is this offensive line. Washington has a terrible D, and they can’t run on them.
return game solid as always
Have we had a single good stretch-run this year? It seems like its always 2 yards or worse.
Was that not a PI? You can just run into a guy to keep him from making a play on the ball?
Ya man I don’t. That looked pretty blatant to me
don’t know*
Blown call #1.
Even Huard and Belloti said it was PI.
Just because its an accident does not mean it was not a PI…
There’s no leader on this team, especially defense. They look like they’re panicking and playing slow.
Maybe we need to mix up the o-line like UW. Seems to have worked so far for them. Pathetic run blocking… Banker still needs to be fired.. but maybe the offensive coordinator too.
Goodnight, fellas.
Two defenders just fall over, letting Locker run for the 1st. I hate this defense so much.
And we’ve apparently never seen a play action pass before. WTF does Banker do with all his practice time?
Think this one may just about be over already… Beavs definitely didn’t come to play tonight, UW having their breakout game of the year. Uuugggghh!
Game over UW 42 – OSU 7
Over/under on Washington punts: 1?
I’m taking the under.
Was that a counter run?
OMG LANGSDORF HAS PLAYS!!!
Time for UW to score again…
Maybe we took their best punch? That’s my optimism speaking. I’ll be curious to see how Washington and our D respond.
Well that was promising. Katz and Quiz taking that series on themselves to make plays. Wheaton is showing his lack of reps this week. I hope our defense can respond.
Those short kickoffs KILL an already weak defense. 35-40 every time.
The Natural!
Poyer is a baller.
Quizz is getting going and looking good.
And yeah, Kahut’s kicking is horrible. Can Hecker do kickoffs? He has a leg.
Screen pass #9, for 200 yards so far.
Please do not rough the punter…
Should just let this clock run out
And we do :) That I have some faith in, sometimes to a fault.
Guys, who got the ball first? I’ve had one too many and forget.
UW had the ball, we get it back.
I feel like we got down a ton, and that woke us up. After they scored their 3rd, Quizz started playing hard and Katz stepped up.
And that was 2 or 3 stops by the defense. So UW might have punched themselves out in the first round.
At least we hope so.
man, quizz threw the team on his back in the 2nd quarter…
I am not saying we are back in this one yet… But i am going to change my score from 42-7…
We all get emotional and ridiculous. It’s why I was trying to stay calm at 14-0. 21-0 made me blow my top, though.
This game still has a weird feeling. Like, I can envision a 50 yard kickoff return to start the half and then ol’ Jay calling a holding penalty and it’s suddenly half the distance to the goal. Maybe not that exact scenario, but some waxing/waning where the Beavers can’t just get over the hump easily. That’s how it feels to me at least.
You may be right. The first drive for both teams this half will be huge.
Hawaii quietly up 14-0 on Nevada. Good, makes BSU schedule even more pathetic.
Did our offensive line learn how to block after the first quarter? There are some nice holes there for Quizz.
Locker is good for one overthrow down the middle for an INT. Come on, Jake, you want to do it.
Oh man, that was almost it!
Total random question, I just got a text that told me James Rodgers has a baby… Does anyone know if that’s true?
I believe so.
I had not heard that. All the more reason to like the guy… (with all the recent defections for baby mama drama) Lagrone and Bubba
A bunch of guys on oregonlive talked about it–they seemed in the know. I never saw it written by a reporter officially.
Wow HUGE stop on 4th!!!!!
Bolander! Great stop D!!!
I guess the report that our players were pissed is right. Everyone looks like they’re going harder than ever. Love it.
I think brennan olander has pretty quietly turned into a clutch guy to complement paea. Neither of them is having a great year statistically, but they’re getting a lot better at collapsing the pocket inside and getting to some quarterbacks
Katz! What the FUCK!!! It takes you 4 game to throw one… now you have 3 in two games!
What the hell…such a bad decision and kills the defensive stand.
God, that was the worst decision I’ve seen a QB make in a long time. Deep throw into perfect double coverage, murdering our momentum…
Jdock! Nice play… Lets not throw this one away Katz.
Late hit out of bounds.
Bad call #2
JaQuizz Sanders. Sick, sick run.
What the hell is Katz doing?
Losing this game for us…
No picks in 4 games… 4 in the last 2
I think Katz let some talk last week go to his head. He’s either trying to force things Favre-style, or just not seeing the safety in coverage, which is even worse. Either way, he is murdering us right now.
I agree…
As I see it, Katz hasn’t figured out to dump to the running back and he hasn’t figured out when to throw it away all the time. If he learns those two things, he’ll be nails.
Pretty much. Even on the sack before the INT, he was looking to throw the ball somewhere…anywhere…
Young guy, wanting to be the hero. And our O line isn’t protecting him as well on this last drive. Have some poppers and watch some Favre film, I guess.
Katz looked dejected after calling that timeout. Did UW break our QB?
This is huge for our entire season. A QB without confidence might as well go play golf.
If nothing else, at least we’ve chewed up some time. I feel like our D has been good this game when it’s been rested and bad when it hasn’t.
Anyone else feeling a bad vibe?
Like I said, Katz looks broken. Just done.
Yes… Its over UW 28 OSU 24
KEITH!!!
This is interesting…have a chance for a winning drive, but a QB and place kicker with poor confidence. This would be the time for fly sweeps to Wheaton and short TE screens etc.
Or a bomb into double-coverage.
How about we hand the ball to Quizz a few times. He’s pretty good.
This team is going to give me a stroke before this season is over.
Nice to see the D keeping us in the game. We should still be up at least one score and probably two, but credit where credit is due. Since 10’00” in the second our D has been playing out of its mind.
This is horrible play calling…horrible.
Beavs doing everything they can to hand this game over for good. Nice punt JOHNNY!
We should have put this game away in the third… What happened?
2 picks, then Katz completely lost his confidence. And with no passing game, there’s no room for Quizz to run.
That scramble on 2nd down by Katz shows he is too scared to throw… Then the terrible throw on 3rd, he has no confidence
Yeah, he’s done.
I’ve never seen anything like this happen before.
I say we run the Wildcat from here on out.
What could Locker POSSIBLY do on 3rd and long?
IM SO SHOCKED HE RAN!!!
Great call, Banker.
Merry Christmas Beavlettes lets make it count.
Makeup call?
Katz has turned into a complete POS in 40 minutes. He took off when he didnt have to, for 2 yards. Screw Katz.
I’d step away from the ledge…
The way things are going, our D needs to put it in the end zone to win. Can we even get 25 in OT?
Banker STILL has not seen a game tape of Locker, to realize he runs on like 50% of 3rd downs.
I hate the intangibles in OT. Experienced QB vs. a rattled Katz; Folk vs. Kahut.
DO PAC 10 OFFICIALS KNOW YOU CANT THROW SOMEONE DOWN AFTER THE SCORE?!?! FUCK ME!
Is this facebook? Can I like this?
A modicum of redemption for Katz. Please, D, don’t ruin this.
Hi from the future. Ya Uw scored.
Did we just have a safety in coverage there, instead of Poyer? Seriously?
Banker needs to be fucking fired.
And Hardin fucking fails for the 400th time.
Fire Banker.
Merry Christmas #2 Beavlettes make it count
What do you guys think? I think go for 2.
Redemption for 1998.
Shouldn’t have hit submit. That’s embarrassing.
Dropped pass, same as in 1998.
Love the idea of going for 2.
Otherwise Riley is freezing our kicker.
in and out of joe the tank’s hands….
right call regardless
Loved the idea of going for 2, but a shitty play call.
Put Quizz in the backfield, not in the slot.
And that was, what, the 10th drop of the game for our WRs?
We need to quit playing on ESPN, it seems like we NEVER win those games.
Man, I feel bad for the Beavs…they have been in some rough games.
I like the call to go for 2, but I think you have to have some run/pass option–that play call was bad, and then the execution (drop) was bad as well.
My nerves are shot.
Mine too. I’m going to have to play Team Fortress 2 for an hour to calm my nerves down. It’s 1 AM here, glad I go to church on Saturday now.
You liked the decision to go for 2? I am not clear on the coaching staff’s thinking. Use NO timeouts at the end of the 4th QTR – why not? And then one kick for 3OT, and you get the ball NEXT, presumably your offense is in more of a flow, and you both have to go for 2 anyway.
The talent discrepancy between UW and OSU that existed the last several years is gone. UW has some athletes. Not everywhere, but enough obviously to give the Beavs problems and USC.
OSU coulda/woulda/shoulda, but that’s Riley. The D did a good job of buttoning things down in the 2 – 4th quarters. Quizz ran with some passion. But, this is looking like a 7-win team and a lame bowl game which will extend Riley’s contract another year.
Have fun in the Tampax Fruitloops bowl this year Beavs I’m done.
I can’t watch these guys play anymore… It fucking kills me.
Why not pass to the wide open Bishop ? Check the replay… ugh. Our o-line better get good fast or we are screwed for the rest of the season… and Katz needs to come back strong.. what a lost opportunity. I feel for the players though..
We still have a decent shot at the Rose Bowl if we can come back from this emotionally and make some positive changes. No way Oregon wins against USC, Arizona, Cal. It will be Civil war for the Roses again if we can pull our heads out of our asses…
Wow..lost to UW. Beavs have taken 10 steps backwards tonight. But…I think this is the year they are going to have.
I’m still waiting for the personal foul flag after Quiz’ TD in OT1 that should have been thrown. Un-fricken-believable! ANOTHER screw job by Pac10 refs.
Well, they had plenty of opportunities to win this tonight, and squandered them. They really didn’t deserve to win it, it was pretty much an embarassment for a team that should be much better than this.
1. Katz went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. He let last week go to his head and got a serious reality check tonight, and did NOT handle it well. He looks done.
2. Banker is horrible; apparently doesnt realize that Locker will run on every 3rd down if given the chance.
3. Langsdouche is equally horrible; that game-winning play was a terrible selection, as was throwing streak after streak.
umm, did your signal die during the overtimes? katz doesn’t look “done” at all…
Agreed. Katz looked composed to me.
I watched him panic the entire second half, get happy feet at the slightest amount of pressure, and overthrow or underthrow a bunch of receivers. He also does not have the same fire or leadership he had before, or other QBs have had.
Also, he managed to not pick up another first down rushing after the first half. He was running and playing scared of his own mistakes.
No question Katz had a bad game. How does that make him “done”? Or was Moore done after UA in 2005 too?
he’s a first year starter… no matter what, no matter what team you are, a first year starting quarterback is going to cost you a game at some point. this was that game.
fortunately, the bye week comes at the perfect time, so everyone can get healthy, katz can watch film and learn from his mistakes, and the beavs can come into their next game vs. Cal with a chip on their shoulder after losing their last game by 1…
That environment looked tougher than Boise, TCU, or Arizona. I think he’s seen the max now.
I thought Katz played well except in the red zone.
Yeah, I hang some of this on the o-line, now in addition to shakey run blocking they can’t pass block against UW? Starting to have my doubts about Phillip, maybe the coaches were right about his work ethic? Katz ran hot and cold, like all young QB’s, but you are right, he has to have ball security in the red zone. Both the interceptions this year in the RZ were very bad decisions and momentum swingers.
I think for now I’m going to just DVR the games and watch them later so I know what to expect. I think I’m decreasing my life watching this team.
I agree.
I might be done with the Beavs for a while–I feel ill right now.
Do think it was the right call, though. Kahut would have missed the kick. Might as well get a shot to win it. Just a bad play call.
That was like watching a trademark DA game, with the 3 picks.
Except DA would have also had 3 TDs and 400 yards.
Of course, DA had Straughter and Hass to throw to, and Jackson/Bernard running…I miss having good players on our team. Hard to win with 50% walk-ons.
I need a break from this team. They always let me down every time I think they could have a special year they lose a game like this. Every season under Riley they lose a game that is just confusing. They always lose a game they shouldn’t at least one every season. I feel really bad for Joe though. He is probably beating himself up for dropping the pass in the end zone.
The 2 pt call was awful. I think you got to roll out Katz to the right and give him a run/pass option. I think the Beavers probably convert and win.
But like I said, need a break only so many gut wrenching losses a guy can take.
Going for two was a bad decision based on the fourth and one call.
Don’t most teams have that special emergency ‘we really need this score/two-pointer’ play? Something a little unusual that almost always results in an open guy, but will only work once a season?
On the fourth and one it was obvious, by that atrocious call, that the Beavers possess no such play. So if they didn’t have a decent play there they certainly didn’t just a few plays later.
Bad decision. Horrendous play call.
Katz doesn’t look done to me. Just a young QB in an insanely hostile environment on a night when nothing was going right for anyone trying to win a game. He is still figuring it out. He’ll be fine. More than fine actually.
I’m glad they have a bye. I’m Beaved out.
I guess I’m odd man out. We should not have gone for 2. Washington would not have scored another TD and we would have. As soon as I saw Riley pull everyone over I knew he was throwing away another one… and this was one where they fought and scratched their way back.
We definitely need a team psych now. I know the fans do.
Watching these guys seriously makes my chest hurt. I’m 48 and need a defibrillator near by when the Beavs play.
You’re convinced Kahut would have made that extra point? I’m not. If we had a great kicker, I’d say kick the point. But the Beavers had a shaky kicker, a defense that just gave up 2tds in 3 minutes, and a 12th man to contend with.
Indirect costs of this loss are deeper than Riley or OSU ever seems to care about. Winning early puts a team high in the polls – OSU treats its non-conference schedule like fall camp, as if it doesnt’ matter.
Now, they’ll drop out of the top 25, and it will be tough to climb back in until late in the season, then they’ll end up in a shit bowl game again. Oregon’s scheduling is paying off for them. OSU’s schedule could have, but only if they take a different approach in the off-season.
I credit OSU’s late start to to the coaching staff’s approach. Spring should be for identifying talent, fall for “forming identity” (expectations) and roles. OSU waits until september/october to “find” its identity, that’s why there always a month late.
Fucking Riley….tonight was an opportunity cost. Besides the polls, recruiting suffers from performances like this.
(2 grey goose dirty martinis)
I think the players wanted to go into a 3rd OT and I felt good about Kahut making it. We would have gotten the ball next so it would still have been in our hands. Our D stopped them most the 2nd half and I felt above 50-50 we would win in the 3rd OT. Those go for 2 plays only average out about 35% chance it seems though. Halahuni just couldn’t quite keep his grip. I can live with the call but you would hope we would have a slightly better play. Where is Ice Blast when you need it? We lost by not scoring atleast a field goal with the 1st down on the 5 yard line. You got to take the major mojo moment and get a TD there. All we can hope is that they respond well and continue to work hard to improve. Still quite a few games left and the Pac-10 is wacky enough so we are still in the mix.
Bummer game. Going to have to play better. It is definitely disheartening. I think UW will lose 1 more game at least so Beavs can eventually control their own fate, Katz will play better, he needs to study all the time. Defense seemed to come up with plays when it had to. Could be a struggle to make a bowl could still time to get it together. If we lose one or two more though I say we start Civil War prep. Destroying their perfect season (should we be so fortunate) would be epic.
I might be in the minority, but going for two is the emotional play and not the percentage play. It is especially annoying when Riley (from what I have read he calls the plays) can’t come up with a better play than that for a young QB. Here is another thought on the decision. If the team is 1-1 or even 0-2 and playing a better team, I say what the hell go for two, but when you are undefeated with a chance to tie for 1st place you go for percentages. The Beavs got a nice break anyway, that PI call was pretty ticky tacky in the endzone.
I honstly don’t care too much about the outcome of this year. Next year, Katz is more experienced, and will have a lot of seasoned weapons. I do believe the defense will be better, because a lot of the younger players we have are better than some of our starters (Pankey, Tuimaunei, etc.)
Without James Rodgers on the field and the lack of improvement from the defense, I am hoping the team sneaks by at 6-6 (5-4) in conference and makes a minor bowl, so they at least get more practice time and gets ready for next year.
I was supposed to have a good time up here in Seattle spending all day partying with friends in the beautiful sun before a beaver victory. Now, aside from Arizona this is the 5th straight road loss & I’ve been to every single one!
In addition to my season tix this is getting expensive. I’m the idiot though, if I could just figure out how to enjoy the games regardless of outcome I’d be fine & enjoy these trips to different cities.
The 405 congratulatory slaps on the back I got from the gracious husky fans don’t help with the walk back to the hotel. A loss is a fucking loss and I’m sick of it!
I might go hide in a dark hole for awhile…see ya in a week or 2 after the CAL game! I can’t believe we didn’t run for the 2 point conversion. Quizz was on fire inside the 5. He was getting 4-6 yards a pop! The last time we went for two in an OT game was against Mizzou in the Sun Bowl and we handed it off to Bernard in the power block formation and we won that game on a run! Our Run blocking had a better chance to get Quizz into the endzone than Kaz’s arm. for some reason Katz was off last night!
I don’t pretend to know much about football. It’s fun to watch and I admire the skill and hard work required of those who play it at a high level.
My question: Does OSU have only 2 offensive players that can run the ball from scrimmage? Jacquizz Rodgers and Ryan Katz?
Just looked at next year’s schedule, and we have a road game at Wisconsin week 2. Great.
Only hope there is that Wisconsin always seems to have one non-conference where they underperform (think San Diego St. Cal Poly) in the past. I dont know maybe they will be loaded next year though?
I saw some quotes from Riley that they had the right call on the 2pter. Not sure what he was seeing. Joe H. was not that open and it took a great throw from Katz just to get it in there (I thought Katz stared him down a little).
I was actually hollering QB draw when I saw the formation because I thought it seemed too obvious for a pass. Sunday AM quarterbacking, but I would rather see Quizz in the backfield as a run possibility or to take the LB one on one in the flat. Also read something from UW coaches that Nick Holt was so confident in their defensive alignment against that formation that he told Sarkisian no timeout was needed. So much for the right play from Riley/Langsdorf. Sorry for the rant…this one is going to hurt for awhile!
I don’t remember a single Fly Sweep from OSU, and we definitely didn’t run any wildcat. And since we don’t run many counter plays, that’s basically no deception or misdirection at all in the running game. It’s not hard to stop an offense when you know exactly what they’re going to do at all times.
Can’t wait for basketball season already. The only player I really trust on this team is Quizz, and he can’t do everything.
No fly sweep was probably due to the noise. Quizz misdirected/cut back on the zone blocks. He was running much better than any game this year…looked fast, decisive with his cuts, etc.
Guys, going for 2 was the right call. You don’t go into triple overtime in that environment with a shaky kicker. However, that play call was atrocious. Spread them out with 4 receivers so there is no chance of a run? Okaaaay.
We did run a fly sweep or two. I remember one where Wheaton got a yard or two. We also ran a couple of counters and did well. The thing about the counter is if you over call the play it loses effectiveness, just like the fly sweep. The problem with the fly sweep is that other teams have figured it out. We need a tough runner around the corner with some different blocking schemes that then current one. I think a fly sweep out the power I could be interesting (a FB is there to block). You can also motion the FB to a slot receiver and let him crack on a LB.
Angry, you know I respect you, but 99% of the coaches in the nation would have kicked it and lived for another round as so much can happen in those 25 yards with both teams under pressure in OT. Circumstances dictated the safe play (Kahut looked fine on his XPs yesterday). This was not the 98 Beavers looking to end 28 years of agony or the 2006 Beavers playing in a meaningless bowl game. This was a team looking to stay tied with the Ducks for first place in the P-10. The poor play call was just as big of a disservice as if Kahut had shanked one IMHO.
It’s clearly debatable since people are going nuts all over the internet, but while I think odds of converting the tie were greater than the victory, I also think odds of the victory in a 3rd OT were less than in the 2nd OT.
Consider this:
1. OSU defense gave up 2 TDs within two minutes, and looked more porous in the OT (tired?).
2. Think about how easy it was for Washington to score TDs in the OT, and how difficult it was for the Beavs. They needed a 4th down pass to the RB and a PI call.
3. Speaking of which, the PI call was iffy, so the game should have been over there–Riley probably figured “house money”…that game should have been over.
4. Speaking of house, that crowd was truly a 12th man. I felt ill just watching it on TV–can’t imagine trying to execute plays in that.
5. Finally, the Beavers kicker is a liability in that situation.
Given all that, why did circumstance dictate kicking an extra point? I feel like it was clearly the opposite. My one problem was the play call. I think a fake extra point would have worked, especially with Hekker throwing. Calling a timeout and letting the D think about it and the crowd get into it were mistakes.
I agree with you except on this point again…with first place on the line against a team of equal talent, I would extend the game as long as possible and take my risk when I absolutely had no other choice. I did feel ill watching the play calling!
I guess we disagree on the probability of extending the game with an extra point. I think Kahut would be somewhere in the 85-90% range on the kick, which to me is Russian roulette type odds (e.g. 1/6 vs 15/100). Probably a 10-15% chance he misses that kick. Again, if it were 99% like with MOST kickers, I’d agree, extend the game, and I think Riley would have.
That might be the unspoken thing here, that Riley had no confidence in Kahut. I do not think that will ever be addressed, but I would love for Cliff or somebody to at least ask that question. That last XP in OT to tie it back up did have quite a bit of hook on it, but at least he kicked it hard.
No confidence in Kahut is how I interpreted it. Actions > words, etc. If a coach truly believes his kicker, like most, has a 99% chance of making that kick then you take that. I think that was the #1 factor, then it was some ancillary stuff like the crowd, Dub’s intensity advantage, etc.
Anyway!
Also, say Kahut did come on the field and missed that kick. Would you feel better than you do today knowing they tried to win the game? I feel better with a missed 2pt try.
We’d be screaming and calling him Kaput, and we’d be asking why Riley didn’t consider winning the game with such a shaky kicker.
Nah, I would have been pissed off too and I would have bitched about the program never going for scholarship kickers! It would have been interesting if Katz had just thrown the ball away on that endzone interception because Kahut would have had the opportunity to put the team in the lead. That would have been the true test of where his head is at! Not to be too hard on Katz, but I kind of felt the game was lost on that interception.
Katz has thrown atleast a couple picks when we were deep in the red zone and the game was up in the air the last couple games. You have to score 99% of the time in the red zone. He needs to get that screen toss down in the flats without overthrowing people and learn that there is no penalty for throwing it 5 yards out of bounds or out the back of the endzone. Taking a 10 yard sack on a 2nd and 1 when first downs, possession and field position were critical and we were somewhere like the 42 yard line was a big mistake too. You have to have runs where you have 85% confidence Quizz will pick that up for you. The way we were marching backwards at the end was alos frustrating. This team still needs a couple more guys to help provide leadership. We were SO CLOSE to sitting so pretty right now, and I would like to see this team be more confident when inside the 10 yard line. Have to have some good plays there. I also think maybe a fake kick could have been successful, and also would have liked to see Quizz in the backfield on that last play as an option that would have created more room for that pass. Get the next one and move on. That’s all we can do.
It was too painful to watch again last night, but I just spent 30 minutes replaying in slow motion all the plays on the Beavers’ last drive (in the second OT), along with the failed 2-point conversion attempt. Here is my semi-sober assessment based on today’s slow-motion review:
1) Let’s start at the end — with the failed 2-point conversion attempt. Slow motion reveals that Halahuni really was WIDE open at the start of the play. Unfortunately, Katz was a half-second too slow with the pass, giving time for the defender to close on Halahuni and disrupt the catch. Halahuni still almost kept a handle on the ball, but it would have been an easy play if Katz had been a half-second quicker with the read and the throw. Too bad.
2) Although Katz fell apart in the fourth quarter, seemed to lose his confidence, and made some bad decisions and worse throws, Katz came back and made some big-time, clutch throws in that final drive in OT 2. His mid-range passes to Bishop and then to Wheaton to keep alive the Beavers’ drive were both excellent throws, under lots of pressure. And actually his last throw, on the 2-point conversion, was a fine throw as well — just a half-second too late (as noted above). Impressive that Katz was able to pull himself together in the OT’s, after playing so badly just a few minutes earlier. I still believe Katz is going to be an excellent QB — he just needs to learn from this game and keep getting better.
3) Wheaton had a couple of bad drops in regulation (including of course the potential TD catch where Wheaton had beaten everyone but couldn’t hang on to Katz’s long pass). But Wheaton came back to make some nice, clutch catches, including the super-clutch catch in OT 2 that led to the Beavs’ final score. I think Wheaton — like Katz — is going to be really good. Just not quite there yet.
4) I have to say something about Hardin (again). Watching the Huskies’ last TD in slow mo (the throw in OT 2 to Kearse on 2d-and-17), it seemed obvious that Locker was targeting Hardin. Kearse made a little move to the inside, and then headed for the corner. Locker watched Kearse all the way and threw the ball as Kearse came out of his break, knowing that Kearse would have at least a step on Hardin, with no safety help available. Sure enough, Kearse quickly had two steps on Hardin, and the play was a gimme TD. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — Hardin is not good enough to be the starting CB for the Beavers. Poyer needs to start at CB. Hardin should be a special teams coverage guy, and back-up CB. Period.
Overall, it was a sickening loss. But with a bye week the Beavs should be able to recover, learn from it, get healthy, and move on. If the Beavs can do that, their schedule still sets up nicely. The Beavs should be able to beat Cal at home, UCLA away, and then Washington State at home. That would put the Beavs at 5-1 in conference, going into the USC game at home. Win that game against USC, and the Beavs are back in the picture. Not easy, but not impossible either.
I have not given up hope this season, IF Ryan Katz comes back after the bye week showing that he has learned from last night’s loss.
Meanwhile, I’m already excited about next season (assuming, as I do, that James comes back healthy).
Go Beavers!!
Good read, thanks.
Hardin should sit. Let Poyer and Reynolds give it a try. Hardin was better last year in spot duty. The more he plays, the more his warts show. I was a Hardin guy last year, but the sample was too small.
Great analysis…still not thrilled with the play call on the 2pter. Interesting, about Katz being late on the read. He also made the kind of throw you want to make on 3rd and goal during regulation when you cannot risk an interception, but a tough throw when it is all or nothing. I am reading some stuff on other sites calling it a drop by big Joe, I think it was a tough play and it was a good effort. This team is really hard to read. I still think the defense needs to improve a lot to finish in the upper tier. Giving up 450 yards a game does not cut even though the secondary are better ball hawks than last year.
I think I’m still depressed from this loss. Season’s not over yet, but I’m already looking forward to next year. Also, I really think we need to recruit some guys that play with intensity and have some swagger. How come we never recruit in the southeast? There is so much talent down there, but the region is so poor that the players don’t have the training equipment to get bulky like kids from Texas. I believe that the coaches really need to start expanding their horizons. Sorry for the rant, just VERY frustrated.
Rant is okay. After that loss (in a disappointing loss to a team that we should have handily beaten) we have shown our true colors. A team that when lucky and inspired can inch out a victory against a decent team. We are also a team of weaklings that can lose to anyone. This team is knocking on the door of a 4-8 season. I mentioned to a few friends in the off-season that WSU was going to improve and give a few teams a run for their money (which they have). I also mentioned that the Beavers are just the kind of team that would lose to WSU. I am really afraid right now that the second prediction is shaping up to be a reality.