Home Athletics Quizz’s Big Mouth, Riley’s Strange Demeanor, & USC

Quizz’s Big Mouth, Riley’s Strange Demeanor, & USC

64

It's becoming clear the Beavers season ended in Arizona with the injury to James Rodgers. Ironic, considering it was their biggest win of the year.

Who else noticed that Jacquizz started calling people out right around the time the team went in the latrine? He started during the Washington game, then took it to the media afterwards. It continued after loses to UCLA and Washington State.

When I saw Quizz getting on the offensive linemen (in the papers), my first thought was "that's the coaches job"…didn't think much about the discontent it might cause. In retrospect it seems like that's what happened. This team genuinely seems to dislike one another. Quizz clearly hates his offensive linemen, or at least their attitude, and he doesn't seem enamored with Ryan "Dirk Diggler" Katz, either. However, Rodgers did a disservice to the team by bringing it to the papers. Fans insulting the offensive line on a public blog is one thing, but when they're shamed by one of their peers it destroys confidence.

As far as Riley, I have a feeling we'll see a new man. His quotes this week have sure been out of character, sounding more like Rick Neuheisel pleading with fans:

“I am very appreciative of that,’’ said Riley, who also acknowledged the Dad’s Weekend crowd of 45,389 for WSU – a crowd eerily quiet for much of the afternoon because of the shocking turn of events on the field.

 “All I can do is assure them we will do everything we can to try and play the best football we can in the next three games,’’ said Riley, addressing the students.

Very strange quote. I'll leave it at that.

Read between the lines, though. The guy is clearly feeling the heat. Expect to see him redirect that pressure upon his staff to step up their recruiting, game planning, etc. Do not be surprised to see Riley takeover play calling. He did this before the 2008 season, and he's publicly questioned (a) Quizz getting too few carries and (b) the "rhythm" of the offense. The latter is coach speak for bad play calling. And Banker? He is under contract for just one more year, so anything can happen. Riley deserves a pass this season; the coordinators do not.

As far as USC, I don't know what to expect, nor do you. We know the Beavers will lose the eyeball test and be out-physicalled. That's about all we know. It's nice to guess right and feel smart and all, but we're beyond predictions or expectations. There's too much going on internally to gauge how the individual player (never mind the larger whole) will react to adversity. A team has a soul comprised of it's parts, and what makes that energy wax or wane are 100 different variables. How they come together this Saturday will be a matter of how the individuals handle themselves and contribute and believe in the unit. I wouldn't be surprised to see a big showing–they are definitely the more desperate team of the two–but I wouldn't be surprised to see Cody Vaz in the game and Mike Riley calling plays, either. Would you?

64 COMMENTS

  1. Yeah, who the hell knows anymore. Could be a Trojan blow-out or somehow they show some signs of life. It will be interesting one way or the other to see whether Riley really has control of this team.
    One other thought, what the hell happened to Daryl Catchings? Is it a physical thing? I was watching highlights from his true freshmen year and he had the potential to dominant. Riley does not even use him.

    • Catchings was diagnosed with diabetes his sophomore year. He showed promise as a freshman but still had a fair share of drops, which has been his Achilles heal. He really should not see the field at this point. I’m with the coach on that one.

      • Yup, I knew about the diabetes. It seemed to have stopped his developement completely. Just saying as a true freshmen, he ran crisp routes, made catches over the middle and had some impact. I had forgotten what a potential talent he was until I saw the footage. In reality, I dont think Riley ever forgave him for the fumble against Stanford!

          • Eh, he was trying to be aggressive and make a dive. It was a painful loss, but great effort. What I remember most about that game was Pankey’s bad angles on Gerhart that allowed him to tee off. I hated Pankey, the player, ever since.

          • He had a first down and was/could have been out of bounds at the 2 yard line with time to spare, but instead took a flailing leap with the ball exposed for the easy “forced” fumble. It was a terrible decision and a needless risk.

            And yeah, no guarantee on the 2 pt conversion, but that was the year we had a line, had just found a decent young running back and were chewing up yards at will.

            I still remember the Riley quote…”we had a play for the 2 point conversion that would have worked.”

          • Your description is right on. I mean he had effort, but a real lack of field awareness. It seems like players in general have stopped that reckless stretching with the ball towards the goal line the last year or two as it has lead to too many fumbles and touchbacks.

  2. I really hope that Riley takes over the play-calling. My memory may be short, but I think that most of the criticism of OSU’s play-calling has come since Langsdorf took over that duty. My sense is that Langs does a pretty good job installing the system in practice, but the results when he calls plays speak for themselves.

    I’m a little surprised with Quizz myself. I was surprised when he called the O-line out the first time, and it seemed reckless to me. Calling people out in public doesn’t motivate them to work harder; even private criticism only helps when you sweeten it up with a generous dose of compliments. That’s Psych 101 stuff.

  3. Yeah, I agree after that Arizona game they just seemed to pack it in and I’ve been saying since the Washington game this team lacks heart. James Rodgers is the Beavers best player but just cause he got hurt was no reason to just give up. I don’t get it where’s the pride on this time? Also, Quizz should have known you can’t throw your teammates under the bus it always ends badly.

    I think Cody Vaz should have been put in there in the UCLA game, he could have given the team a spark and maybe helped them pull it out. Ryan Katz has all the physical tools but it’s all mental right now with him. He stares down his #1 receiver and if he’s covered he panics and takes off running. Have you noticed he a lot of times has running room to the sideline and yet always seems to run up the middle for like a 2 yard game instead of a 10-15 yard game? Ryan Katz was given an opportunity and just seems to be regressing each week, I did not expect that. It would have been nice to see Vaz play the 2nd half against WSU I don’t understand why they put Katz back in there. Hopefully this week Vaz will get his shot. Who was the one who liked Katz so much Langsdorgf or Riley? I think it was Langsdorf. Next season I think Vaz will be the backup hopefully Katz will be 3rd on the depth chart and we can see what Mannion can do. Riley likes him I think he can be pretty damn good if he’s given the opportunity.

    Riley should definitely take the play calling duties over, we’ve seen what Langsdorf can do. The offense looked much more smooth when Riley called the plays. If he does call the plays this week I doubt Quizz gets less than 23 carries.

  4. Sometimes I think it is just as simple as if you have a poor performing o-line and d-line, you are not going to be very good. I was watching highlights from 2007 and 2008 and yes there were some bad games, but overall the line play was much better. O-line pushing guys back and creating nice pockets for Canfield and Moevoa to throw. D-line creating all kinds of havoc in the backfield. Is that really Lansdorfs fault? One game, the announcers were praising his genius…20 yard deep out to Stroughter, James on a 15 yard fly sweep, Quizz 12 yards on a zone read. I mean if you have an o-line that cannot run block or pass block show me some plays that are going to work for you? Yes, keep the pressure on Banker, but also why is Cavanaugh getting a pass? This o-line is regressing not improving as the year goes on.

  5. I’m not ready to give up on Katz. Sure he’s made some bad decisions – getting tunnel vision, not checking-down, and always focusing in on the deep ball only to overthrow it. But, remember, he’s a soph starting his first year. Add to that the fact that the last few games he has had little to no time to throw. Finally, with the recent lack of a consistent running attack (mostly thanks to awful play-calling) he has been unable to get this offense in rhythm. His play has been mediocre at best the last couple games, but I can’t throw in the towel yet. I remember Canfield’s first games as a starter. Terrible. Tons of INTs. I was ready to throw in the towel on him.

    I’m not saying that Katz should be anointed starter for the rest of his career, not even close. I’d like to see healthy competition next year in camp. Whoever plays best wins the position. Who knows, maybe Mannion wins it, and turns out to be amazing. That the best case scenario.

    I certainly don’t think QB should be our chief concern here. Most QBs are going to struggle when they spend most of their time scrambling for their life. Fix the line issues first. Get Quizz some room to do what he does we’ll see vast improvement in what Katz and the rest of the offense can do. Unfortunately, at this point I don’t have much faith in what this line can do.

  6. I’d love the Beavers to beat USC this Saturday, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. I think this season and this team died last week, against Washington State. I think it’s now a zombie team that will lose its last three games.

    Reasonable people can disagree as to what was the fatal blow that killed this year’s OSU team. The most obvious candidate is the hit at AZ that KO’d James Rodgers for the season. But personally I’d vote for Halahuni’s dropped pass in double-overtime that cost the Beavers the game against the Huskies.

    When Halahuni dropped that pass, the Beavs seemed shocked. OSU players and coaches all expected to come back and win that game. It was going to be the start of another mid-season push to the top of the PAC-10 — the same thing the Beavs have done the past few seasons.

    If Halahuni hangs on to that pass, the Beavs keep their dreams alive, play hard, and beat UCLA as well as Washington State. And we come into the USC game 6-0 in PAC-10 play. Really.

    Unfortunately, Halahuni didn’t catch the ball. And I think, in retrospect, that one play ended up killing this team and this season.

    Although the season is dead, OSU’s football program is very much alive. The coaches (and players) have to step back and look at it that way. It’s now about doing what’s best for the program. Let some younger players get game experience in the last three games of this season. Experiment a bit with schemes and play-calling. Try to build some excitement to ride into next season. Focus on closing the deal with some top recruits. Stuff like that….

    • It’s hard to blame Halahuni for the loss. The D gave up 21 points and played uninspired out of the gate. It’s more accurate to say Halahuni had a chance to redeem a poor team effort rather than say he single-handedly cost them the game.

      • You are right. It was not the easiest of catches either. Not like he dropped one between the numbers. I think I am guilty of under estimating James Rodgers impact. You cannot replace his ability nor leadership at the drop of the hat. Those were real yards in gained in the kicking game and he was starting to get on a roll as a receiver again before the injury.

  7. I think the Beavs will lose simply because they respond to pressure poorly. WSU was their most winnable, remaining game, and they didn’t get it done. For all their talk about focusing on one game at a time, I suspect this team, lacking confidence, is thinking “We HAVE to win every game from here on out?!?” and doubting themselves.

    USC’s running backs, with their speed and power, will pose a problem for this speed and tackling-challenged defense. USC will be able to run a balanced offense, throw in some big downfield completions, and then pin their ears back as OSU finds itself in a come-from-behind-we-have-to-throw-it vulnerability.

  8. Whether it is Quiz being vocal, the injury to James or anything else, I’ve thought for several weeks that a solid journalist would make his mark by exploring the causes of this teams problems. Angry comes the closest to doing this, the paid fellows…not so much.

    If the O line thinks they’ll “show Quiz” they are mistaken; they’ll only go down as the group that wouldn’t/couldn’t provide just a little assist to a true Heisman candidate.

    I still think James should have been on the traveling squad even when injured. GO BEAVS !!

  9. Angry, you said you were going to “leave it at that.” Then you didn’t.

    I think OSU fans may be the most fickle in the Pac-10.

    Everybody’s all up in Katz’s grill, and I myself throw things when he overthrows wide open receivers by five yards, but let’s be pragmatic about this. First, the O-line is inconsistent…they do a great job on one play and the next features two “lookout” blocks. Second, there is no three step drop beat the blitz play. Not one. Some pages fell out of the playbook and nobody’s noticed yet or something. Third, the coaching staff has told Katz not to get hurt under penalty of death which is why you see him doing crazy stuff like crumpling to the ground when there’s nobody even near him and not running to the sideline because, you know, a DB might get close. It’s symptomatic of a team playing not to lose. No nastiness, no attitude. Quizz points fingers now, but his decision making at the LOS often sucks.

    Katz will be fine, the last few games haven’t been great, but benching him? Some people think getting all dramatic will improve the team, but they’re wrong. A team is defined by how it deals with adversity. I like Quizz a lot so it pains me to say that he gets a failing grade in this department.

    • I said I’d leave the quote at that–there’s a lot more to say about the quote itself. I realize I talked about Riley more, but about what he might do.

      As far as Katz–all I’m saying is don’t be surprised to see Vaz in there. Just like the last game when Katz’s confidence got rattled.

  10. Defense wins championships. It also loses a season. With a half decent defense, we are probably still looking at a run for the roses.

    We all knew the offense was going to struggle this year with a new QB and a bunch of walk-on linemen. James made it that much better because he was able to force excellent timing and play during practice. And that confidence carried over to the games. Without him, the offense died. At the very least, he should be on the travelling team. It seems we have a bunch of RB’s who will never see the field in any game. Why bring them along?

    So James goes down, and it’s up to the defense to make games close. Sure, we still have enough skill to compete sometimes offensively. But that skill is still raw. Katz can’t progress on his reads because he doesn’t get the time… probably because the run threat disappears with play-calling and poor blocking.

    But let’s face it. We shouldn’t have given up more than 14 points to any one of our last three losses. And I say that knowing that UCLA missed two FG’s.

    Our defense just sucks eggs, and the weaknesses expected in our offense (and FG kicker) are exposed by it. Our D-line was average when Olander, Henry and Castro were in the rotation because Paea could take the heat off them and make them look good. Paea can’t make the remaining rotation look good. Reggie White in his prime couldn’t make them look good.

    The second level is a bad joke. When I see a LB get stoned by a QB roll-out and option pitch without a cut fake I feel like I’m watching jv high school football. At least the varsity high school starting LB knows to key on the back and not the pitch man. When I see a LB get caught inside on a run away which stops in the bac, I have to wonder what the hell these guys are thinking.

  11. I don’t know that it’s fair to say anything about the secondary at this point. They’re not world beaters, but we only know that because they’re the only part of our defense doing anything… especially on Hardin’s side. That poor kid has to make a decision on every play. Does he cover his man, or does he cover the gaping hole that will be there if the offense decides to run his direction?

  12. I think it is also pretty rare to have two solid starters leave the program by their own choice before the season even starts. I do not know that the D would have been any better, but possibly. Seems like the quotes out there from Banker and Riley at the time acknowledged that those were two big losses. Seems to me that Banker had a pretty bad feeling about the defense going into September and his doubts have proved very accurate.

    • Losing the MLB was huge because there was no depth. The lack of depth is a Riley issue that Banker had to take the brunt of. I’m basing my comments/judgments of Banker on prior years–the technique he teaches CBs, his inability to scheme against option QBs, his reluctance to blitz, etc. He’s just not with these modern times.

      • Yeah, definitely..not trying to absolve Banker of anything. I was just struck by the down tone he took when those guys left because the defense was nothing to get excited about last year! I was kind of thinking, geez this does not bode well for having any depth this season. The current cupboard must be barer than I thought!

    • Bubba and the Rev would have made this defense quite a bit better. They were good enough that we may have had a false sense of ability leading into another CW blow-out.

      It’s too bad we’re in this situation, but maybe it’s a blessing to know what our real strengths were. Two guys leaving should not make that much of a difference. Lack of depth is apparent not only at those positions. It’s apparent where they provided a crutch for other players to remain on the field through poor play. We can’t replace those who leave or those who remain and suck.

      Has this already been noted by the coaches? Are they just mailing it in by riding the horses they came with?

  13. When Mizell tackled Quizz so far OOB on the home sideline that they were almost to the grandstand, and nobody did anything to Mizell, I caught myself thinking that Quizz must not be a very well liked teammate.

    No one made a move to mix it up a little on the sideline to even put on a show of possible retalitation. Then I thought, there’s no way in hell Erickson would have let Mizell finish that game.

    In all likelihood there are serious locker room divisions on this year’s Beavers squad that make a mockery of “Dad’s” family atmosphere.

  14. It all goes back to recruiting….. This team has zero depth. If a starter goes down, there is nobody to fill in. The defensive front 7 and offensive lines have been monumental disappointments. I think we get blasted by USC unless some personnel changes occur. I still can’t figure out why Pankey is on the field instead of Collins. Also, Nichols is a great story and all, but he must not be getting open very often because it sure doesn’t seem like he makes more than a couple of grabs a game at most–which is pretty bad considering he’s the starting split end.

    As for Katz- sure he makes bad decisions but if you look at his stats he’s actually doing quite well for a sophomore with a horrible offensive line and only one sophomore playmaker at WR. He is still not turning the ball over. We wont improve until the offensive line improves. Even Philipp looks awful. I can’t imagine that a QB change is the answer. It rarely is in college football.

  15. @angry: “It’s hard to blame Halahuni for the loss. The D gave up 21 points and played uninspired out of the gate. It’s more accurate to say Halahuni had a chance to redeem a poor team effort rather than say he single-handedly cost them the game.”

    Let me try to be clearer. I wasn’t blaming Halahuni for the loss to the Huskies. As I’ve said before on this blog, I think Katz was late with that throw to Halahuni, who was wide open early in the play. And the snapper, who floated the ball back to Katz, also played a part in the failure of that particular play. All of that made it a very tough catch for Halahuni, who couldn’t hold on to the ball under heavy pressure from the defensive back.

    I’m not trying to pin the blame on Halahuni for the loss to the Huskies — not at all. My point, rather, is that the failure of Halahuni to make that catch (whatever the reason) was, in retrospect, the fatal blow for this OSU team and this OSU season. And that’s a very different point.

    Here’s the deal. If Halahuni makes that catch, we are 6-0 in PAC-10 play, despite all the other problems. The failure of that one play has led, rather directly, to OSU instead finding itself at 3-3 in PAC-10 play as of today, and likely ending up at 3-6 in the conference.

    Could that one play really make such a difference? Yes. Because it destroyed the confidence of the team — the belief that the Beavers, once again, would surge up the PAC-10 standings in October and November. And it’s that lack of confidence — the lack of a shared belief in a shared dream — that led to the losses to UCLA and Washington State.

    Let me also be clear — I’m not downplaying the other issues with this team. The loss of James Rodgers was huge. Pankey has been a step slow all year, and has missed a lot tackles. The defensive line (without Olander and Castro) is ineffective. Hardin couldn’t cover my mother over the middle. The O-line has been inconsistent all season. Katz seems to have lost his confidence, and has failed to progress in his decision-making.

    But if Halahuni catches that ball and OSU beats the Huskies, we would be 6-0 in the PAC-10, despite all those issues and problems. I could of course be wrong, but I really believe that. That’s how razor-thin the difference is, for the Beavers as currently constituted, between a successful season and a disastrous one.

    I hope that the OSU program can recruit more and better talent (players and assistant coaches) in the next year or two or three. That would give OSU more margin for error in the future. And, again, I’d start thinking about that future now, and focus for the last part of this lost season on playing some younger guys, and closing the deal on some great recruits for next year.

    • Gotcha. Pretty much agree, though OSU used some smoke and mirrors (no turnovers, great return game, timely interceptions, etc) in their Pac-10 wins, so we never really knew how good/bad they were. They’re probably NOT as bad as we think they are right now. The team can do things well, but not consistently. Same is true with things they do bad. I don’t think they’d be 6-0 if Halahuni makes that catch, but I do think they’d go into the UCLA, Cal, and WSU games with more confidence, which would have given them a better shot at more wins.

  16. Let me add that I continue to believe in the potential of Ryan Katz. I think Katz has a big upside (and that’s only partly because of his cannon arm). I don’t want to see Cody Vaz at QB. I want to see Ryan Katz play the last three games. I’m hoping that Katz can use these games to regain his confidence, and to improve his decision-making, so that Katz goes into this off-season with an upbeat attitude, and works hard to improve. And then I want to see a real competition in this Spring between Katz and Sean Mannion (who also has a big upside).

    Let me also add that I remain a fan of Mike Riley. I think he is still the right guy to run the football program at OSU. But he needs to get rid of Banker and Langsdorf and hire better people to run the defense and call the plays. Both those guys have obviously failed this season. Time for new blood.

  17. My dad’s got an extra ticket to the USC game, which at first I turned down after being at that ridiculous showing that I was witness to at the WSU game. I think I’ll still go but I will defiantly be venting my frustrations if things are not going well. I let em’ have it after the second half of the WSU game (after taking my frustrations out on a bottle of old crow in the parking lot). The person next to me responded with, well in my day we were happy when they scored a field goal. I responded with well in my day we never lost to WSU.

    I also high fived all the coug fans at the game, good for them for sticking with that program. It must have been really hard being a coug fan these past five years.

    • Interesting. Like you, I also bumped fists with some Cougar fans after the game, and congratulated them on a huge win for the WSU program.

      For years, I’ve felt bad for the Cougs and their fans. Seeing the WSU players, fans, cheerleaders and even the Cougar band all screaming and jumping up and down (literally) in the SW corner of Reser after the game, I had to smile. Sorry it came at the Beavs’ expense, but good for them.

  18. 2 USC Tickets for Sale

    I have two tickets for USC positioned by the goal line. Single game tickets go for $65 each for USC but I am willing to sell the pair for $120 obo. We won’t be playing USC again until 2013. Call 503-936-9031 if interested. (Portland Metro Area)

  19. Angry, you hit the nail on the head. The offense was a machine in the first half of the AZ game. After we lost Rodgers all down hill. I have been thinking of what this team is with our normal recruiting and walk ons. The Rodgers bros. fell into their lap. Without them, we might not have beat WSU the past two years. Without the Rodgers the 08 Sun bowl was a flop. I think Quizz is really frustrated. Up the middle, over and over and over. I think he knows it won’t work and is also frustrated by the offensive line. The problem is the coaches not seeing the real picture and working around their weaknesses or in the case of Quizz, the box is stacked.

    • I think it’s conjecture to say the team would be bad without the Rodgers brothers. Other players would be getting those touches and would be further developed. McCants might be a beast by now. Who knows?

  20. Riley has definitely made some telling quotes this week after complete disarray has crept up amongst the team. Mostly I recognize his discrepancies:

    Mike Riley –
    “I really contend that personality has nothing to do with the preparation of a football team. I think being yourself is the right way to be, and that has nothing to do with being demanding, being disciplined, anything.”
    “The staff has the be the adults here. They’ve got to set the tone for the preparation and the demands for what we do..”

    Here are some thoughts and observations I made while at the WSU game.

    1- Mike Riley knew pre-season that this team/group of individuals were less able to perform than years prior. That’s why he so adamantly told his players and the media from the beginning that they weren’t guaranteed a fast finish like years past.

    2- Do coaches need a sport psychologist on staff to assist them with game-to-game and season-to-season preparation more than individual players might? If so, how should their mentality change given graduation/injuries/drafts/etc.?

    3- In what ways do our fans limit us? Lack of enthusiasm/energy/emotion? Inability to sellout Reser? Etc.?

    4- Would improved roads in and out of Corvallis increase the fan base and subsequently the team’s performance?

    5- Is there any correlations to the age of the coaching staff with that of the fan base?

    6- What are the benefits of a good band? (I think ours stinks! ex. slow to start and stop; out of tune; archaic songs; lack of rhythm; etc.)

    These are just a few notes I took in no specific order. I would be interested in hearing other people’s thoughts on any they may have expertise on?

    • I share some of your thoughts and have a few others along those same lines. My first thought is home night games. This weekend will be the first home night game since I don’t know when. I honestly cannot remember the last time we had a night home game, maybe the last time USC was here. I know tv has everything to do with start time, but the atmosphere is infinitely more electric for a night game then a noon kickoff, is there nothing we can do to get more late kickoffs? I think this would also help with the attitude of the fans. After a full day of tailgating, fans will be much more willing to arrive early and fill the stadium up before the team enters the field instead of arriving 10-15 minutes after kickoff. Also, just general marketing of the program. Every time I see the Ducks marketing their program I am jealous because it makes our marketing look like a high school production. Those Quizz for Heisman videos were pathetic, can’t we hire some professionals to market the program instead of wasting our money on painting our practice fields blue. It just seems to me we could be going at things differently and better than we are now.

  21. I agree with the coaches mentality matching that of the fans. OSU needs to hire more black coaches that are better able to relate to the majority of players we are trying to recruit. I believe that one of the reasons Craig Robinson is able to recruit so well is his ability to relate to many of the players. Give us a team we can get excited about, and the fans will show up.

  22. I think if one looks to close, one can miss the big picture. Pulling back and looking over the years we see tends here at OSU.
    The Bad:
    1) Poor starts to the season
    2) Poor recruiting (lack of star players)
    3) Defensive or Offensive line lacking depth and one always being not as good as the other (this year both).
    4) Poor play calling, especially at critical times.
    The Good:
    1) Team Leaders and break-out players
    2) Strong season finishers
    3) Ability to do more with less (walk-ons)
    4) Great atmosphere (family thing)

    Everything starts at the top and flows down. Riley is ultimately responsible for the bad and good. This year the bad, poor recruiting for instance, has won over good.

    I do like Riley, but changes bring about change. Riley needs to see the patterns and bring people in that will move some of the bad column to the good column before we can go for the roses.

  23. Hey Angry,

    Out of these guys how many of them will really hurt to lose and do we have good replacements in-line:
    52 Camat, Keo LB SR
    83 Camp, Brady TE SR
    4 Dockery, James CB SR
    75 Hannah, Nathan DT SR
    77 Hull, Evan DT SR
    92 Hunt, Mitchel DE SR
    27 Kahut, Justin PK SR
    60 Linnenkohl, Alex C SR
    68 McAndrews, Wilder OL SR
    99 Miller, Gabe DE SR
    46 Nichols, Aaron WR SR
    78 Olander, Brennan DT SR
    72 Oshinowo, Timi OL SR
    54 Paea, Stephen DT SR
    35 Pankey, Keith LB SR
    63 Pohl, Ryan OL SR
    59 Roberson, Dwight LB SR
    8 Rodgers, James WR SR
    28 Tuimaunei, Suaesi S SR
    48 Vave, Walker LB SR
    80 Reese, John TE RS SR

    Anymore recruiting news?

    • James Rodgers should be back.

      Linnenkohl, Dockery, and Paea are the only ones I care about on that list. Pretty sad for a group of seniors so large, right?

      I think McClure, the WR Thomas, and Rusty Fernando are visiting this weekend. Maybe a few others. The Civil War is the big weekend for that.

      After the season we can analyze and discuss the depth chart. I don’t feel like doing that right now.

  24. Did you guys see Yvenson Bernard at the game? There was a shot of him standing on the sidelines with a look on his face, like “That’s not the Beavers I played for.”

    Can you IMAGINE A guy like Bernard getting 14 and 15 carriers in two games? Would he let that slide? He would DEMAND the ball, and go out and carry the team. So while it’s nice for Quizz to try and be more vocal, he should do it with the coaches, not the line; it’s not their fault they suck and are still the starters. Quizz should tell Riley he gets 25 carriers from here on out or he goes pro.

    Think of some other Beaver greats; Simonton, Hass, Swancutt, DA, Jackson, Chad, Siegler, Doggett…they would not be going down with a whimper, they’d fight their asses off. They didn’t need a fiery coach to BE fired up. Sadly, this team seems like it does, minus Quizz.

  25. OSU this season has gotten and will get lots of exposure in big games of national interest (TCU, Boise State, Arizona, USC, Stanford, Oregon). The early Heisman hype around Jacquizz didn’t hurt, either. The Beavers are perhaps still unknown to some D1 recruits, but most recruits (and their coaches and parents) know at least something about OSU.

    Handled properly, this should result in a good recruiting year for the Beavs. I hope that Riley and his staff understand this, and that they pay extra attention to the recruits coming to the USC game this Saturday, and to the Civil War game on December 4. Those recruits are extremely important to the program, especially this year, given what has happened on the field in the last month or so.

    A strong recruiting class will get everyone fired up about next season, and let people move past this year’s disappointments. That’s important right now, for fans, players, and everyone else associated with OSU football.

    • Totally agree. Use this year as incentive for recruiting change, move on and don’t look back. With the Pac-12 schedule coming, if OSU can just recruit better we can really parley the team as a real contender and now make a name in the north that won’t be so over shadowed by the south.

    • +1.

      I’ll add that TCU and BSU were my bowl/BCS games. I had a feeling it might turn out that way. If the Beavers win a game or two down the stretch and land a great class I’d be stoked going into next season.

      That isn’t to say tolerate losing. It’s more to say that the situation is what it is and OSU can’t reload as we thought, and as frustrating as this is, Riley earned a shot to right it.

  26. Riley is now questioning himself and the psychological component. As difficult as it is to read the follow quote, the fact Riley is thinking this way is big. Maybe a light turned on for the guy.

    “As much as anything it’s the approach to the detail to practice,” Riley said. “And then making it come alive in the game. Is it transferring to the game? Are we doing a good enough job coaching the details? Are we helping them to have the mental edge to play physically? Are we demanding enough of what’s expected?”

  27. “I felt pretty good after this last week,” Katz said. “The tempo was good. We just have to play faster in practice. We have to play harder in practice. That translates into the game.”

    Have to play faster in practice, play harder in practice…I feel like we covered this already. Not a good sign that the team practices slow and light.

  28. The media has glommed on to Quizz and his unhappiness with the current situation at OSU.

    Will Quizz leave for the NFL after this season? I doubt it very much. Quizz is not a quitter. Neither is his brother James. Quizz and James don’t want this season to be their legacy at OSU.

    Anyway, this would not be a great year for Quizz and James to try their luck with the NFL draft. Quizz has struggled lately. James’ injured knee makes him an unknown quantity. There’s also the cloudy NFL labor relations situation. All things considered, I expect Quizz and James to return next season. And I expect them to do EVERYTHING in their power to avoid a repeat of this year’s fiasco.

    Fingers crossed that Riley and his coaches make every effort to close the deal with some top recruits (including JuCo players). I’m also hoping that Riley makes a change regarding the play-calling, or the defensive coordinator, or both. Get all that done, and get Quizz and James back, and next season could be a great one.

    • Good post.
      NFL lockout will stop everyone from going pro.

      The Beavs need more high percentage, quick strike passes. Think Tom Brady at New England or Jones’ Hawaii offenses. A short, efficient passing game based on slot routes and crossing routes is the way to go with the personnel they have. It would compliment the Ducks run game well. Ducks have the wacky rushing attack; Beavs could do the same only aerial.

      In such a system, anyone could play QB. I don’t buy into the idea you need to be 6’5 or have a rocket arm. The Pro QB’s we have recruited haven’t been very savvy. I’d rather see Vaz running a short passing attack and mixing in the run than what we have now. It’s why Mike Leach or someone similarly-minded would be an awesome hire.

  29. 1. Mike Riley is a tremendous football coach; however, at this stage of his career, he is very much like a younger version of Bobby Bowden – his coordinators run their respective sides of the ball in their entirety, including who plays. Riley is merely the face of the franchise, and the CEO of the Riley brand. Thus, any criticism of Riley this season has to focus solely on his oversight (if any) on both sides of the ball.

    2. Regarding your observations that Quizz doesn’t seem all that enamored with Katz – why would (or should) he? Quizz knows the reason opposing teams stack the run game is because they’ve figured out Katz is a 1-trick pony and is incapable of doing anything other than throwing the ball as hard as he can downfield.

    2b. Instead of thinking that the Arizona game was an indicator of how good OSU could be with James Rodgers healthy, I would argue that it shows how well OSU can do offensively when a complete idiot is on the opposing sideline allowing Katz to throw deep every play against man coverage.

    3. Combining points 1&2 above – maybe Quizz knows that Katz should never have been the starting QB on this team. Maybe Quizz and the other players on the team know that Langsdorf, with Riley ceding compete control over the offense, put his own personal agenda ahead of the team and made Katz the starting QB. For a guy who continually can’t see that a guy is wide open or misses a wide open WR by 5 yards, Katz had an amazing PR machine from January through August – and Beaver Nation drank the Koolaid. Even now, message boards and beat writers are trying to convince the faithful that he’ll be better next year. Um no. If Katz is starting next year, it means that Riley allowed Langsdorf to double down on Danny’s own ego-driven mistake, or Mannion still isn’t ready or Vaz decided to transfer because he wasn’t getting a fair shake.

    4. Maybe Beaver Nation should be asking how (and why) a QB who obviously has such glaring deficiencies was handed the job without any real competition in the Spring (he was given 50% of the reps while the other QBs split the reps) and why the coaching staff clearly manipulated the open scrimmages and spring game and their comments to the media to hype Katz beyond any realistic assessment of his talent. I don’t hear any John Elway comparisons now – do you? The fact that they actually benched Katz speaks (even for a series) speaks volumes to how buffoonish all of the hype around Katz was and how reckless a coaching decision it was to go “all in” with Katz back in January with such glaring weaknesses that could not possibly be masked over the course of an entire season.

    The only thing that surprises me is that it took this long for opposing coaches to figure out how to defend the Beavers. Once they did that, and the OSU defense is forced back onto the field repeatedley because the offense has one of the worst 3rd down efficiencies in the country, the smallish and under-talented defense was bound to break as the season wore on.

    Yes, the OL may be bad; however, a QB who can read defenses can make teams pay for blitzing or otherwise make D-Coordinators hesitant to blitz as much as the Beavs’ opponents are this season. Katz instills no such fear in opponents.

    Mike Riley can take responsibility all he wants for the team’s cratering and provide great soundbites as to how the staff is going to roll-up its sleeves and work harder but I’ll await an on the record answer as to how he handed the QBs on the roster from January 2010 forward.

    • “I don’t hear any John Elway comparisons now – do you?”

      Sheesh! I hope not.

      That would mean we would have to sit through two losing seasons his junior and senior years. UO would win the 2012 CW (his last college game) on the most silly kick-off return for a TD to end a game ever… and they would steal one of our band member’s trombones to hang in the Casanova Center. Then we would fall apart the next year and fire Mike Riley, only to hire Katz’ father as head coach.

  30. I completely agree about the need to retool the passing game. Use 3-step drops, run quick slants and outs and bubble screens, and also play more up-tempo. Downfield bombs should be the exception, not the rule.

    I also agree that a QB does not need a cannon to run that kind of quick-strike passing offense (although, honestly, a cannon is still a useful thing to have — some of those quick outs need to be thrown 30 yards across the field on a line to avoid a possible pick-six from a quick DB).

    Is Vaz the right guy to run that kind of offense? Attending spring and fall practices, I saw quite a bit of Cody Vaz. He’s okay I guess, but I don’t think he’s ready for prime time (and not sure he ever will be).

    Personally, as noted in a prior post, I’d like instead to see a genuine competition this coming spring between Ryan Katz and Sean Mannion, with Mannion getting a fair shot to unseat Katz as the starter. I think Mannion has as big an upside as Katz. Let them fight it out — best man wins.

    In fact, I’d like to see open competition this spring and this fall for all positions on offense and defense. I think that kind of competition would be good for everyone. No one (maybe not even Quizz and James) should be “guaranteed” a spot after this season’s debacle.

    That of course would represent a big culture change for the Beavers and would make many people uncomfortable — but I think it would be a change for the better.

    • I don’t know if Vaz is the guy, but I don’t like the pro-style QBs Riley signs. I don’t like Mannion, despite his 4-star rating. I never liked Canfield much. I think Lyle was the best college QB we’ve had in the last decade, since J. Smith. It just prefer that kind of guy…a leader who is savvy, over the 6″5 Diggler type with cannon arms.

      What I liked about Katz so much last year was that he looked like that kind of guy, WITH a cannon arm. Still might be, but leaders don’t get rattled and lose confidence so easily, so I think I was wrong on him.

      • I think Katz might still be that kind of guy as well. There has been some really nice moments from him this year – his first year.

        But I believe the deficiencies right now can be attributed to poor coaching. All those forcing the long bombs and not checking down should have been dealt with by the coaches.

        Take him out on the practice field and give him a play but tell him you are going to call the number of of different receiver as he is in the pocket and see what he does. It would teach him to be cognitive of where everyone is at. Do it about a 100 times. If he doesn’t change or get it he is broken, time to replace.

  31. 2 tickets USC vs OSU football on Nov.20th

    $110 obo for the pair. Single game tickets cost $65 each for USC but I am willing to take a little less. Good seats with good view of the action. Call 503-936-9031 if interested.

  32. Final Price Drop!

    2 tickets USC vs OSU football on Nov.20th

    $100 for the pair. Single game tickets cost $65 each for USC but I am willing to take less. Good seats with good view of the action. Call 503-936-9031 if interested.

  33. Dude you and your spamming suck. I hope you realize that you are also selling your right to be a beaver believer. I for one hope to not see your postings anymore. I don’t like to filter through your crap to read actual blogs. You suck.

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