Home Football Oregonian Article Made Me Laugh

Oregonian Article Made Me Laugh

99

First off, is this newsworthy for a 5-5 team? I guess it’s fine to briefly mention it like they did, but they take it a step further [into the ridiculous] with this:

The Beavers have the best home winning percentage against top-10 teams since 2000 (5-5) of any unranked FBS team, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Just seems like a huge reach to find something positive. (a) narrowing it down to home winning percentage is odd (b) they then narrow it down to top 10 teams, and as we know Riley is 14-42 vs top 25 teams (c) the word “unranked” should be negative, but the stat spins this as a positive.

It is a very odd stat and a good example how statistics can be misleading. For example, you have to wonder maybe the Beavs have just been unranked more often than the teams below them. Of course we don’t get that half of the equation. I know most will say “Angry, this is good for our National perception so why are you complaining?” I’m not. Just pointing out the BS/weirdness of it. If I am angry about anything it’s the mild insinuation in this article that everything’s now okay with Oregon State football. Ted Miller loves Riley and gets annoyed annually with fans who want to see a change.

99 COMMENTS

  1. Big Game National Team of the Week?

    I have honestly never heard of that award before. It is an award. Isn’t it?

    Two things:
    1. 5-6… I believe EWU had a top ten ranking.
    2. There were other parameters beyond just “unranked FBS home team versus teams ranked in top ten (at the time the game was played).” There was also a parameter which excluded any teams who had played less than 10 top ten opponents. And I believe they also stipulated that the games had to have been started after 6:30pm PST and on an odd numbered calendar date. I could be wrong about the last two.

  2. Just looking at ESPN’s schedule for OSU and counting the raw numbers, we’re 2-11 on the road and neutral sites against top ten opponents regardless of our own ranking. And we’re 3-6 at home.

    But their database dropdown for past seasons only goes back to 2002.

    • I didn’t count the EWU loss, so it would be 3-7 at home since 2002 against teams ranked in the top ten… if you want to count them for this exercise.

      But looking at the parameters they used, we would have to remove that game and the 2012 Civil War. That leaves the count at 3-4 since 2002. The wins would be two times USC and this last week.

      So… apparently we were 2-1 in games that fall within these parameters in 2000 and 2001. And a quick look there says the wins were UW in 2001 and USC in 2000 (and, incidentally a win against #1 EWU). But there are no losses which fit the parameters. In fact, we were 3-0 (*4-0) at home against top ten teams in those two years regardless of our own ranking.

  3. Was the ASU win a nice surprise? Yes. But it doesn’t make up for the bad losses. If they could beat ASU why did they lose to Cal, Wazzu and a 5-5 Stanford team so badly? And furthermore why did it take them 10 games to play their best game of the season?

  4. So… I just ran through the numbers. We have played a top ten team at home 14 times (plus two 1AA top tens) since 1997:

    1997-98: 0-2
    1999-2003: 3-0 (+1-0)
    2003-09: 2-2
    2010-present: 1-4 (+0-1)

    • The Beavers have the best home winning percentage against top-10 teams since 2000 (5-5) of any unranked FBS team.

      1. Key phrase there being unranked FBS team (That being the beavs)
      2. playing a top 10 team at home (I assume that means top 10 at the time).
      3. I’m too lazy to check

      • I was just listing all the games against top ten teams we’ve played since 1997. Remove the two losses before 2000. And remove the 2000 and 2012 Civil Wars, and that’s how we get down to the 5-5 in ten games thing. Otherwise, we’re 6-8 overall since 1997. Even if “since 2000” was the only parameter they wanted, they could have done it without the “unranked” part. And we would have been 6-6. I’m guessing there are other teams out there who are better though… since they’re ranked more than once in a beaver moon.

  5. Guys, we’re at 100% winning percentage against Arizona teams in the top 10, in the month of November in the 2014 season, when starting the game at 7:45pm and the weather is below 40 degrees on a clear night.

    • Exactly. But you leave the article feeling warm and cozy about OSU football. So odd ESPN would add that spin, unless they know Riley = automatic Duck win.

      • Maybe when we lose the CW and go to 5-6, an SEC team will then have the best record under these convoluted parameters? Then ESPN will write a four-page spread about it and point at their first identifying OSU with these weird numbers, thus concluding once and for all they have no SEC bias.

  6. I was thinking about the “Riley gets better as the season goes on” thing yesterday.

    I think the more accurate statement is that Riley’s teams seem to require embarrassing beatdowns (adversity) before they wake up and start playing hard.

    In years past, OSU scheduled a lot of tough non-conf away games to make some cash. We got beat down a few times on national TV, and by the time conference games had started, we’d generally “found our identity” and were playing with passion.

    We were all glad OSU stopped scheduling like that, assuming that we could build up to good play with poor non conf opponents. It hasn’t worked out like that…

    Both last year(excluding EWU) and this year, we got off to a solid start against poor competition. Then when the games got hard, we wilted. Somewhere along the way, we woke up and finished strong. Interesting, both this year and last, the losing streak was 4 games (we still lost to Oregon but we played very well, far better than the previous 4). In years past, it was generally around game #4 or #5 that we started playing well.

    Just an interesting observation I guess…Riley’s coaching style requires the team to hit rock bottom before he can turn it around…every year!

    Of course, maybe ASU just figured they could sleepwalk through the game and the cold temperature really hurt them. We’ll see on Saturday whether or not it was just a fluke!

    • I dunno how you can consider another civil war loss and beating up on a Boise State team that had just lost half it’s coaching staff “finishing strong”

      • The results weren’t outstanding, but the play was. They play that way all year, we’d have been an 8-9 win team. Maybe 10. Like Angry’s always saying, it’s not strictly the W/L record that drives us crazy. It’s the lack of attention to detail, poor execution, stupid penalties, lack of passion, ….and so on.

        I’ll be the first to admit that playing Oregon tough is not a victory, but they probably played their best game of the year there. And Boise St…again, not an impressive opponent but they played well and won handily. What more can you expect?

        • I expect them to give effort like that every game. Ya know, not getting beaten on their home turf 69-27 by the huskies. Or continuing to make the same mistakes 4 weeks in a row and losing to teams that are at best .500 teams (Stanford, Cal, WSU)

          • Exactly! This occasionally rise up and smite someone is bullshit . Riley & co need to apply themselves 100% .. ALL THE TIME.

            But it keeps his neck off the chopping block, so its all we get…

          • and that 42 point beat down by the huskies at reser was the final home game for last years seniors. Ask Brandin Cooks and bet he probably doesn’t enjoy that being the final time he walked off his home field after a game. Real proud moment there. That was with Miley Cyrus making his first career start at QB. So, logic says the leg humpers were gonna be run heavy. and the beavs couldn’t tackle. or cover, or defend or get pressure on Miley. Or score until the 4th quarter. Pretty much couldn’t do anything right. One of the worst performances in OSU football history and it happened on Riley’s watch. As have countless others. If this team shits the bed this weekend (and I believe they will) well, let’s just wait and see what happens………………………….

      • But wait! There was more! OSU had in the CW and the Hawaii Bowl established balance and a running game, and was going to build on that and continue it in the 2014 regular season!

        Oh. Don’t wait. There wasn’t much more. OSU is now 108th in the country at 122 YPG, even after the ASU victory.

        FWIW, UW putting up 193 per game and is 42nd in the nation.

        UO putting up 232 YPG.

        Both have mobile QBs.

  7. Watching the Beavs men’s basketball game right now. After hearing the announcers talking about Malcolm Duvivier getting more minutes because of Hallice Cooke transferring I became curious how he is doing at Iowa state. Looks like the poor kid is having dual hip surgeries and will be out 6-8 months.

  8. Brandon calling for more of the run too:

    Brandin Cooks ?@brandincooks 8h8 hours ago

    When they use @Storm34thetruth the right way great things happen for @OSUBeaversFB feed my brother! I know how he worked in the off season

  9. One reason we get that status, good record against ranked team, for an unranked team, is the underachievement. Riley bozos winnable games, and so we a underdogs when we shouldnt be. So I regard such a stat as pretty irrelevant.

    And even in the ASU game, it was four big plays that won it. We were lousy in third down %. If those four big plays hadnt happened, its business as usual….

    The local media, of course, dredge for anything positive to say, since they really like Riley.

    For me, show that wasnt an abberation, and win the last two. Show me! Please!!

    • Sure did seem that way.

      I didn’t record it so I can’t go back and look, but I don’t recall ever seeing Simple Jack with a play card in his hand. I wonder if ASU was Garrett’s show?

    • They didn’t really get there faster. But they got there prepared. There were times when they would wait to huddle until about 15-18 seconds left then get to the line somewhere around 12-15 seconds. It looked pretty intentional that we were forcing our pace on them.

      Mannion did make quicker reads. He would audible with 8 or 9 seconds left instead of waiting until about 5 or 6. And he would be more immediate in his counts instead of looking over the defense first. This allowed him to get many snaps with more than 10 seconds left if he didn’t audible.

    • I’ve been disappointed with the Obsidian, Black Butte and Jubelale for a couple years now. They all used to be rich with some nice sweet depths. But now they seem a little more bitter with more carbonation. I still drink the IPA though.

      I’m really really disappointed in Widmer. I used to look forward to Snow Cap every year. But it has turned into just another brown beer. I almost think they just put food coloring in it now. Of course, I haven’t had one in about five years. So maybe it was just two or three years of bad batches.

      • Snow Cap is Pyramid, haven’t had it for years. Widmer’s winter offering is Brrr which is actually the only Widmer offering that I buy anymore.

        • You’re right. And I’m conflating the two. It is Widmer that lost it several years ago. In fact, it had to be at least ten years ago now that I think about buying their beer and where I was living at the time. I bought Snow Cap last year, and it really sucked. I was surprised because it’s usually hard to find… or sold out. Last year it was all over the place with continuous supply.

          Snow Plow! That’s what I was thinking of. They must have had one really bad year. But it turned me off it with one pint.

      • Agree on the Jubale. First time I had it it was awesome. Next year tasted totally different.
        I bought a bunch of the Not the Stoic Belgian Quad from Deschutes to drink to celebrate significant football victories this year. Until last Sat.,Beavs had not warranted drinking one. Consumed a couple to honor the Golden Rodents.

        • Not the Stoic is a really good one. I’ve noticed that the Jubelale tastes different from year to year. On one of the tours of the Brewery I did, the guide was talking about Red Chair being consistent year to year, which I agreed with, then I said the Jubelale tastes different each year, and he kind of looked at me like I didn’t know what I was talking about.

          Should I save my ’09 Abyss for the final four appearance?

      • Most of the bigger breweries in Oregon don’t have a good IPA or DIPA, so I always find myself going for the smaller breweries. RPM is very good, but I like Hop Valley’s Alphadelic IPA and Alpha Centauri (imperial) better. I know it’s made in Eugene, but it’s so good, I can overlook that. Vortex from Ft. George in Astoria is awesome too. Of course, I like real hoppy beers so if that’s not your style stay away. My goto is Torpedo in a 16oz can from Sierra Nevada… that’s good beer…

          • Crux has the best beer overall. When someone asks which is the best brewpub, that’s the one I say before going into my where-to-go-for beer in Bend assessment and questionnaire if the choice needs to be narrowed down.

          • Cool, I’ll have to check them out next time I’m in town. I always hit up Tumalo Feed Company when I’m in there, but havent yet found a go to brew pub.

          • Hey Bendbeaver, were you much of a 10 Barrel guy? I only visited their place once when in Bend, but I tended to like the few I’ve tried. Read they recently sold to Anheuser Busch?

          • I would go occasionally since the layout and setting is really nice and I always had fun there. Hanging out on the patio has a good feel. The food could be better, the beer is good, but others in town make better beer, although their pumpkin ale is the best pumpkin beer I’ve had. Everyone’s reactions to selling to AB has been interesting, and all valid, I would say. I’m kind of waiting to see, but for me, it loses it local feel, and people are very provincial about their beer. I’m hoping they’ll still be able to make good, and different kinds of beer at the pub, but like Goose Island, that AB bought, their main types of beers will likely get made elsewhere and drop in quality. It’d be too bad if the employees get dropped or it just becomes crappy to work there. I did end up getting one of these t shirts:
            Well, I just went to the link and now it looks like I won’t be getting the t shirt “due to content issues”. It was the red bud logo, but it said 10 Barrel over the top of it instead of Budweiser. Now I’m irritated and it’ll be that much harder for me to go in there.

          • RPM, Hop Venom, and Crux half hitch are awesome. After you drink these it’s nearly impossible to enjoy others. It’s hard to find the latter two in Portland and when you do most won’t do growler fills because the demand is too high.

    • yup. The one I remember was on the third down play after the Mannion pick that forced ASU to attempt a FG. Would have been a first down had the receiver hung on to it. Good play by Nelson

    • It strikes me that Steven Nelson is a little like Brandin Cooks in that he had a plan, Oregon State could facilitate it. I don’t know if there is a story about Nelson like the one about Cooks explaining the rationale for going to OSU. Nelson has had only 2 years in Corvallis to accomplish his goals. I hope he achieves them.

    • Question1:
      Do these guys know how to count in their heads?

      Question2:
      What good does a chart do if you don’t even know how many time-outs you have left… and presumably how much time is left since you’re not looking at the scoreboard to see how many time-outs you have left?

      • Is that one of the things that makes an awesome coach? Counting in your head is all?

        I’m watching hoops, and I see hoops coaches making calls on time-outs (the use it or lose it in the first half or the end of game) whenever they get the chance. Hell, CR made good calls in late game situations. All it takes is an understanding of how much time is left and how many time-outs you have.

        A friggin’ chart? You can create and remember 25 stupid plays with thousands of variations in some alternate code, but you can’t remember how to count?

        Sheesh!

        • There has to be more to it with Riley. He seems to actually rule out timeouts. Maybe he likes slow play — some kind of ..play slowly and you wont make mistakes bullshit. Because he does it again and again…

          But is sure hilarious to see him consulted about decisions in a short time situation….!! Like asking a psycho arsonist about fire safety…. Yeeehaaw!

          • The quote from Riley came, as I understand, from the media call where all the coaches participate. The writer may just have asked Riley because he was “next man up” and didn’t actually seek him out for wisdom on time management.
            But, there surely were better choices available.

  10. HELP! I’m unable to watch TalkinBeavs.

    Anyone who watches “Talkin’ Beavers”, please let me know if Parker asks Riley about taking Terron Ward with the team to Seattle. On JoeRadio today I brought up the case with (I believe) James Rogers a few years back when he was not allowed to accompany the team and had to find his own way north.
    If the rules limiting travel squads include injured players, there must be someone (Hawkins? whose redshirt has been wasted?) who could be left behind in order to have Ward’s motivating presence involved in the entire trip/game experience. If Riley is such a nice guy, it seems like the kind of neat deal he would arrange.
    I’d be interested in Riley’s response if Parker follows through with his plan to ask the question, thanks.

    • It’s a decent question, but there really is a next man up. And that kid really wants to be on the travel team. I would… you would… everyone would.

      It would be mean to that kid if the rules change now… assuming the rules were set forth at the beginning of the year. Anybody else can pull a Rudy on Riley. But it’s not on Riley to do this. It’s not even on him to suggest it and make it just another neat deal. He has a job, and neat deals don’t always trump that job.

  11. Merging this thread topic (which was brought up at the end of the previous thread) and the previous thread topic, is OSU’s own site, which is titled ‘Beavers Faces Dawgs in Saturday Night Brawl:

    First, this irony:

    “IT’S ON US: Oregon State University in conjunction with the Pac-12 Conference is proud to be a part of the national “It’s On Us” campaign to create awareness of sexual violence. For more information go to itsonus.org or oregonstate.edu.”

    Follow the link on “It’s On Us” to what Riley and team should be reviewing before using Brenda Tracy to feel good about themselves while having her talk to them. The link includes the following pledge:

    “I Pledge:

    To recognize that non-consensual sex is sexual assault.

    To identify situations in which sexual assault may occur.

    To intervene in situations where consent has not or cannot be given.

    To create an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported.”

    One cannot make this shit up.

    Then this follows immediately:

    “BIG GAME NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEK: Oregon State earned the Big Game National Team of the Week honor for its 35-27 win over No. 7 Arizona State last Saturday at Reser Stadium. It was the Beavers’ fourth such honor since the award was initiated by the Football Writers Association of America in 2002.”

    What I find most funny about this is the fact it wasn’t a big game. It was on late, not prime time and the two teams were not playing for high stakes (my general expectation of a “big game”).

    “Trap Game” of the Week?” Maybe, with some mouse trap sponsor. Disney Sports HAD pointed out that teams that beat ND were something like 2-20 the subsequent week, but that may have been against the spread. This many of the characteristics of a “trap game” for ASU, it was not a big game for college football.

    Then of course there’s a great deal of bunch of unnecessary OSU-UW info that follows here:

    http://www.osubeavers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30800&ATCLID=209771761

    Geezus.

    • Great timing with the ON US shit…..lol!

      On the big game thing….is it even possible for a bottom feeder like us, to HAVE a big game? Good teams often take bottom feeders lightly and sometimes lose. Or is there some strange fine print in the playoff situation that now gets us in??? There IS??? Damn, UO is gonna be pissed…!

  12. You know what the OSU upset of ASU reminds me of? UW taking down a top 10 OSU Beaver Juice team (weren’t the #8?) and UW fans “storming” the field….which in the past, in response to a victory over OSU, would have been unthinkable. I think that was the game where this site was temporarily shut down because Riley choked it so bad up there.

    The team ought to consider that loss, in contrast to last Saturday’s win, as they prepare for Saturday; to remind themselves how the roles change.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here