302 COMMENTS

  1. Biley down 10 to the first real team he’s facing this year. Gum chewing up and down the sideline, blank expression, arms folded and huddled up like he’s gonna freeze. And he’s wearing red instead of orange and black.

    Priceless.

    Wait, actually, it’s worth $500,000. #TPB

    • Doubt his rep will be hurt much. TPB’s will say the zebras missed that PI on one of the last plays.
      “Bear Crawl” Cav will stay low, hoping no one saw the failures of his guys.

    • Your cubbies?……You have more than one reason to dislike Mike Leach!!……Do ya have a BMW and the latest attachments for your computer?? lol

    • I was just talking about this… Refs are doing no favors. The announcers are calling them out on it… I’m thinking to myself, you must not watch much PAC12 football if you’re surprised.

  2. This is the offense I envisioned when I said Nall at RB, McM at QB and moving StS to WR…last year.
    Nice to see it all fall into place. Too bad GA took forever to see the obvious.

  3. Now is the time the beavs need to nut up. Leach is one of the best halftime adjustments coaches around. I would expect them to come out firing on all cylinders, and things to get difficult for the beavs. Let’s hope we can match the same adjustments.

    • Yep. I’m expecting Clune and GA to keep the pedal to the metal on O and D. But these guys are young, hope they can weather a Wazzu run.

      • We should now see the difference having GA at the helm vs MR. Adjust, step on the throat, and don’t ever let up!!

        POST GAME EDIT: Failed on all counts tonight. Continuing to pass was very Riley’esque.

      • We are sitting a 18 minutes of possession vs wsu’s 11. That will be the key again keep the clock moving. And maybe another turn over or 2. I’m still waiting for the pick, we have good DBs, someone needs to make a play on the ball.

  4. First half stats: McM 16 of 23 passing for 234 yds; 3 of 6 third down conversions; 2 for 2 in red zone.
    Penalties 6 for 51 yds; TOP 18:37. Total Offense=394 yds.

  5. Heard the Wrecking Nall is back in business. Great news, for sure. Anyone got video or a gif of that touchdown run he did? Or, for that matter, any of the other touchdowns?

  6. I’d like to see Cook get a few carries and Jarmon replace Villamin. Lucas is going to have to move to DB, I think. He’s just not that good an offensive player, despite the supposed speed (I don’t see the speed, personally). His speed looks average. Maybe in open space he’s fast.

    Hopefully this game alleviates all the unfair McM talk. McGiven’s eye for talent should really come into question. McM’s only flaw that I see is his footwork, and it’s not that bad.

    On another note, they should wear the “Men of Roses” helmet all year. I think it’s a psychological bump for these guys and makes them feel like a Rose Bowl team. That’s how they’re playing. It’s a great slogan to motivate, so why not keep it?

    • Why? It makes me feel like I can order a pancake with a chocolate chip smiley face with a cup of applesauce on the side, then doodle on the menu with the crayons

    • He looked like hulk hogan trying to throw Andre the giant on the ropes. It took moxie, I give home credit for that, but it just looked more effective when the lineman grabbed pierce and drove him 20 yards.

  7. Bullshit. By the time the defender could even see Falk was sliding, what the heck was he supposed to do? Defy physics and go full stop?! Thought it was bullshit when it got called against Minnesota earlier this year, too.

    • McGiven is a problem. He couldn’t identify McM as the best QB, and his play calling is worse than Langs. That punt fake…eesh. Captain Obvious play call there. Getting pass happy at the half made no sense, either.

    • Muyi tugi whatever had 3 false starts correct? They should just put an olinemen with a reciever number out there. We’re not throwing to them, what’s the point of putting an undersized for blocking guy on the field?

  8. I actually thought this was a good loss.

    OSU is deep into its depth chart, and still put up a fight. Never would have happened under Riley, probably even Erickson;

    Its tough for a young team, with a depleted D, to beat a veteran QB like Falk;

    On 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1, Andersen should have taken at least one timeout and talked to the offense or the offensive line at least to motivate them. He’s a former center for chrissakes, and that was critical.

    It was over when the Beavers were playing Ozzy in Reser. Really?!? Turn that shit off.

  9. McM’s inability to run, or disdain to do so, was a problem at times…otherwise. nice to see an OSU QB complete passes again.

    Whereas others needed to learn to accurately complete a pass, he needs to learn when to run. His lesson seems easier than Garretson’s/Blount’s lesson, and so there’s hope for improvement.

  10. The team is getting better. Two weeks ago they played a close game vs top 25 Utah. WSU will now be ranked top 25 next week and we should’ve been able to hang on and win tonigh. To many 3 & outs. Yes, that many 3 & outs are on the coaches/play calling. Special teams has looked strong. Defense is improving. Upward trend in competitiveness

  11. Watching McMaryion try and pull Nall for additional yards for the first down gives me immense hope. Really how often do you see a QB do that? Beavs are bowl bound, and I don’t care how shitty a bowl it is.

    • McM is no Moevao, but he did try to throw a block tonight. Got knocked on his wallet but at least he tried………yeah, the story of this team, I suppose,

    • Technically pulling a player is illegal. You can push now, just can’t pull. I wonder if that factored into the replay officials decision, because it looked like Nall maybe got the first there to me. It wasnt a smart challenge there though, because spot calls are rarely reversed and timeouts are too valuable in the 4th quarter.

      • I think that has to be called on the field, even if there is a challenge or replay for something else. Only missed targeting calls can be called from the booth.

      • I disagree. Get a decent spot (it was the 4-6 inches better than placed) and they would have had a good shot to win. But the bad spots. 2. First wasn’t as bad as the second, even with timeouts, is likely lose lose.

      • I’m not upset by the spot because it was a predictable and poor call after what happened on third down. In fact, if McGiven had any creativity, he would have looked at it as a two play scenario and maybe taken a little risk on third down because the team needed a TD to go ahead. I wish they had some “under center” plays for short yardage so Nall could get a head of steam. I think you see so many short yardage stops in college because of shotgun.

  12. Tough loss and made worse by the fact that I feel like just sat through a four hour Wazzu football promotional video. When did ESPN get their heads so far up Leach’s ass? That idiots decision to go for it would have cost them the game against a slightly better offensive team.

    • I have a serious headache from listening to those douches Especially bad from mid 3rd quarter on. Normally I don’t listen to tv announcers. I remember why

      • Some of their babbling did not even make sense, like when they were talking about how it was puzzling that OSU was down this year.. Have they been paying attention to anything? The team has been down for two, going on three years now!!!!

        • Yeah. At one point they were talking about how Washington State was scoring on every possession, forgetting that the previous was a 3&out. That was in the 3rd quarter. It became very bad after that. But I got to thinking, if I’m an eastern guy watching, then I really don’t give a crap either.

          • I’m da man! Turned it off when we got behind. I was have having Leach disaster flashback from my Gopher side. 38-7 with seven minutes left in the third, and lose the ’06 Insight Bowl to T Tech.

    • Think leach going for it on 4th and 2 from his own 40 with a lead was a knee jerk decision based on our stupid fake punt call 3 plays earlier. Leach surely doesn’t want anybody out “overcoaching” him.

  13. All those false starts, at home no less, were killer. The cougs defensive front shifting all game was drawing those penalties. That had been the beavers bread and butter until recently, you would have thought they could handle it.

  14. So… can we get rid of those gawd awful grey helmets?

    I can understand the coaches getting excited about MM playing well in the first half. But to put the game on the shoulders of someone who clearly is not ready for that when we have a big lead? The reason MM was effective in the first half was because we were jamming the ball down their throats… and he was keeping his quick hits down. They did start floating late in the half, and he was just lost for most of the second half. Did the coaches tell him that the read option is called an option for a reason? Why do we have a QB who needs to be told this? I would say MM’s misdirection was poorer than his normal not great hands. But there can’t be misdirection if the D knows you’re going to hand the ball off every time.

    I watched the game by fast-forwarding through the 3.5 hours of dead time, so I didn’t stop to see if the play calls were all audibles and poor options. MM had about four or five plays he could have run for days… and maybe stopped to pick daisies along the way. Wazzu’s D was sold out on Nall and Bolden in the second half… not Pierce or Collins… not MM… Nall and Bolden.

    The refs threw a flag on one of Wazzu’s screens because an O-lineman was way downfield. I thought they threw it at that guy because he shoved a defender squarely in the back at the point of attack. And the difference in the game was a hail Mary with multiple holds to free the QB… or a missed FG and zero attempts from ~50 yards out… or a TD with the same O-PI that was called on Villy.

    ?

    The better team did not win this game. Wazzu was the better team in the second half. But they weren’t 18 points better even with all our penalties. They were aided by our coaches and QB getting stuck in their own heads.

  15. And what does it take to get a roughing the kicker call anymore? I saw it in two different games today, and they were both the five yard variety. There’s zero disincentive to just hammer a P in the game as it is now.

  16. I only watched the first quarter, and obviously the final score sucked. I’m curious about McM’s performance. His stats look good, but in the first quarter, I saw a bunch of quick throws and play action where the play was designed to not make him think too much. Was this what he was throwing most of the game?

    Also, I saw a few very poorly designed bubble screens that hung our receivers out to dry and don’t like they would ever work against the tight man coverage WSU was playing.

  17. The game was lost because of a couple of really bad coverage breakdowns. If #5 jumps 1/2 inch it is an INT and not a miracle TD. He was right there. Guess I will watch the rest of the game on DVR.for self punishment when I get home. Wife and drove to Champaign Il at the last moment chasing 80 degree temps. Improved our Gopher traveling record to a stellar 2-10.

  18. Bad play calling in the 2nd half and poor officiating cost us this one. This team is leaps and bounds better than last year. Mcm surprised me in the first half, he might be the guy if he can figure out the right read on the read option. Several plays he should have kept and probably would still be running. I really liked seeing him show emotions. He definitely needs to get with Moevow(sp?) On how a QB should block. I liked the effort and the team will stay behind him as a leader with him doing stuff like that.I’m at a loss for villiman. He has great size, decent speed and showed so much potential and now he is just taking up space on the field. next man up and keep him out of the game. I don’t know if they will run the table for the rest of the season but I see multiple wins coming our way.

  19. I’m actually glad we didn’t win this game. A win probably would have mislead the team (and the fans), that they are farther along in the rebuild than they really are. This team still should not be measured by wins, but rather how they compete against teams like WSU. The Beavs passed that test yesterday. They took the little talent and very little depth that they have and exceeded any realistic expectation. The effort and heart that I saw in that game is extremely encouraging for next year. I’m not even worried about winning more games this year (although I know that’s what the players want), I just want them to continue to compete and stay healthy. But next year they will be deeper, more polished, and more complete. I expect them to go to a Bowl next year.

    • I’m all for measuring the team by how they play and not simply by W/L. However, I don’t think GA would let a win or two cause these guys to get full of themselves at all. On the contrary, a win now and then should encourage them to keep fighting and learning. Doesn’t hurt recruiting either.

      It’s pretty remarkable that this group has stayed focused and keeps fighting without much in the way of W/L rewards. Much of the credit for that has to go to GA.

    • You do know that when you write something down and hit submit that people with an interweb at their fingers can know reality in seconds… if they didn’t live through it already?

      • Then why are you in such denial? I’ve seen this act before and it goes nowhere. Time to cut our losses. Offer the job to Jonathan Smith now or as soon as we can while he’s still available.

        • Denial about what?

          Avezzano was a drunk floozie and an ass hole who also sucked as a coach and only improved over his first year because his first year was possibly the worst year of football for any team in NCAA history.

          In terms of W/L, this will likely be comparable to Riley’s first two years, except our D is actually good this year.

  20. What did everyone think of the targeting penalty? They don’t show replays in stadium but in real time it looked like the tackle had been initiated before the slide had been. So lame they don’t show replays in stadium. Might as well just get rid of stadiums with the way the NCAA is headed.

    • I dont think it was dirty on brights part. As a ball carrier, its lame the qb can dive at the last second and still get that call. Can a RB do the same?
      Either way, i think the call stood because there was helmet to helmet contact, and they call that every time, especially with QBs

        • Brights helmet wouldnt have hit falk’s except that falk slid at that last moment, bring his head down into harm’s way. Not sure how a flying defender is supposed to pull up that late. Not really a fair situation from the defenders perspective, but i understand wanting to preserve player safety. Just dont think it warrants missing half of the game next week. Maybe that is reviewable by the league office?

          • I saw it exactly as you say.

            If the suspension for the first half vs Stanford isn’t/can’t be overturned then how many Stanford points in that half is it worth? I’d guess seven or more. Hope I’m wrong, cause this is a winnable game.

            Is anyone coming off the injury list this week to help here? One thing we can expect if the suspension holds; when Bright does return he’ll be fresh and anxious to make plays.

  21. Wish i could have heard Fauk’s exchange with Leach after the failed 4th down conversion late in the game. He looked pissed at his coach for making that call.

    • And? What’s your point? Florida has a great defense with seasoned players and wide receivers who will be playing on sundays. We don’t.

    • Holy crap! You’re talking up that schedule? I thought Nebraska’s was soft. If Florida had even a serviceable QB, they might not lose three of their next four games… or all four.

      You have the “is/wasn’t good enough for” backward.

  22. I know I’m late to the party but what I saw was a very young team losing to a more experienced team. We lost the game due to penalties, dropped passes, and lack of depth (tired players). All typical for a rebuild / young team. What I loved was the fight and competitiveness. We are headed in the right direction.

  23. Beavs flat out robbed by refs. 4th and one spot off by an entire yard and a half. Running into kicker defensive line shifts legal by WSU but penalty on OSU. PIs blatant holds uncalled. It was a shot show

      • Something is wrong with you, man. Either you can’t see clearly or you’re that stubborn. His ENTIRE body was across the marker, but the ball was behind it because he was holding it low. He was spotted about 6 inches short, as the ref noticed the discrepancy where his body was (past the market) to where the ball was (behind the marker). Yet, he’s not even close? It was actually a great spot, and I’m impressed the zebra saw it. In real time he looked past the marker because of where his body landed.

        I think what people are referring to is that Timmy Hernandez, on the catch, was laying with the ball on the yellow line, and that looked like an obvious first down, yet they marked it a yard behind. THAT was an awful spot.

        • While, you can go back and read what I said at the moment it happened, its in this thread. He was clearly short in my eyes in real time. And it wasn’t close.

          I didn’t even expect a measurement.

        • I’d have to go back to the Timmy play but I thought he was short as well (on memory), closer than the spot but short of the first.

        • You ever think (especially since you even agree I was right that he was short?) that maybe I am the one that was seeing it clearly? Naw, can’t be that.

          • Yes, he was short, but with measurement it was 6 inches. That’s close enough to warrant a challenge, and the fact his entire upper body was past the marker justifies those who saw that play and thought he made it. Jeez.

          • Totally disagree, he was clearly short and it was a waste of a time out to challenge. I don’t care what some other fans who apparently weren’t looking at the ball think, it was clear as day and even more obvious on review.

            Andersen’s coaches had the ability to see a replay and he still decided to challenge, that was dumb. No question is was dumb.

          • Andersen’s coaches had the ability to see a replay and he still decided to challenge, that was dumb. No question is was dumb.

            If they could see the replay then you can argue it was dumb. I’d call it desperation.
            I didn’t have a problem with it because they were not winning that game without making that 1st down, so might as well give it a shot.

          • With over 2 minutes left and 3 time outs you were prepared to concede?

            That is crazy. Weird shit happens in football, you can’t assume you have no chance with that much time left. The Beavs had just gotten a 4 and out and the previous series.

            And yes, the coaches upstairs have access to review so they saw it.

            I’ll agree it was desperation. Think I even said panic earlier in this thread. Head coaches can’t get desperate or panic. They have to stay above that. That is their job to keep their heads and make the right strategic decision at all times. A challenge you have no chance of winning is never the right strategy.

          • Yes, I definitely conceded at that point.

            Reasons being that WSU had taken over that game (the muffed kick made the game look closer there at the end, but WSU was pulling away). OSU’s chance was to run down the clock and score at the end. It wasn’t stopping Falk. The latter could have happened, and pigs can fly, but the better odds are keeping the ball and trying to win at the end/leave WSU no time.

            There were bigger problems and causes for the loss than that challenge.

          • If you had a chance of winning the challenge then sure but with no chance (and it was a no chance situation) you don’t concede, I don’t care if they’ve out played you or not. Maybe they do run the clock out, you still don’t help them do it

            You’re a fan, you can concede, the head coach can’t

        • Hernandez was on his knees a yard short when he caught it. Nall was obvously shrt on 4th.

          The spot on Nall’s 3rd down run was a half yard or more short.

          • That was what I remembered on the Hernandez catch too. Not sure why its so controversial to recognize that Nall was clearly short on 4th though.

          • It’s not controversial. They measured and he was short. The replayed showed he was short.

            What you fail to understand, for whatever, reason, that the upper 3ft of his body were past the marker. So his body was 3ft past the first. Nobody could know, in real time, that he had the ball down by his groin. That’s why he didn’t get the first.

          • And what you fail to understand is that some people could know he had his ball in his groin. I knew. And I knew in real time.

            The camera was on the side where he had the ball and you could see the ball clearly as he went to the ground.

          • Well you’re an eagle-eyed genius and everyone else is blind and stupid. That’s what this is about. At least we got to the bottom of it.

          • I’d have to see the Hernandez play again, but I believe he was right on the marker. Not sure where his knee was. I don’t remember them showing a replay. If anyone has the game on their PC do a screen cap. I’d be curious to see his knee with the yellow marker.

          • Not knee… knees.

            He was kneeling on both knees when he caught it a yard short. Then he fell forward because he hadn’t been touched… I guess? It would have been a first down in the NFL.

  24. I’m as disappointed as the next person that the Beavs didn’t win, which, much like Utah, was one they could have and maybe should have. That said, the gap in talent and execution between their QB and WR’s and ours is simply profound, which leads to my main point: my principal difficulty with Riley late in his regime is that in all to many losses he had superior talent to the opposition but his poorly coached squad gave games away. (and yes, when all was said and done, there were more of those than wins they had no business pulling off, like the SC games for example.) Anderson’s second year team is on the opposite side of the ledger; they stay in games with big talent discrepancies, which shows the effect of good coaching. Still, a lot of Riley-like admin penalties last night and though MM does, in fact, look like the best of the eligible QB’s he simply cannot make the calls and throws that Falk does, for example

    • Agreed, except for McGiven. He has no eye for QBs and has called horrible games and/or horrible play calls at key moments. McGiven recommends to GA that Blount and Garretson are better QBs. The guy he viewed as 3rd string puts up the best game since NFLer Sean Mannion. When Baldwin was OC last year, McM was vying for the #1 and only their fascination with StS’s hurdles got in the way. I trust Baldwin more. Make the Coke jokes, but he has a long history of potent offenses and QB evaluation.
      Baldwin got a raw deal (given that Sts was QB). Baldwin now has half a job whereas McGiven is stretched thin with dual responsibilities. Maybe the latter is why he’s been bad, but I don’t think so.

  25. Re: Admin Penalties and McM
    Admin penalties were 6 of the total 13 flags on the Beavs, McM says, “I got to be louder at the line,” … “We had little communication issues. I’ll put that on me. I got to be a little bit louder with the cadence.”

    While McM is acting like a leader here, I note this tweet from Eggers during the game:
    “That’s second time entire O-line has moved and C Gavin Andrews hasn’t snapped the ball. Something’s wrong with that picture”
    Seems the experienced Andrews bears some blame.

    • Let’s remember Eggers assessment of QBs, too:
      “OSU coaches love the character of McMaryion, a 3.8 student who is eying a career one day in the medical field. But they understand his limitations as a QB, and are trying to maximize what the offense can do with him at the controls….

      When I pressed him privately, he added, “Average thrower, average runner, inexperienced in a big-time setting, for starters.”

      The guy also thought Riley was a great coach. Eggers is a good writer. He’s not good at anything related to analysis.

      • I am concerned by his lack of interest (or ability) in running the ball. At some point you have to pull the ball and run on those read plays. WSU was selling out to stop Nall on 3rd and 1 and McM could have pulled the ball and walked for 10 yards if he’d have wanted too.

          • You’ve hit upon one of my biggest frustrations with the offensive play calling. Regardless of how one feels about McM’s ability or instructions to avoid carrying the ball, I cannot understand why he isn’t lined up under center more often.

            Too many short yardage and first down situations have been lost when a quick developing inside the tackles rush would have likely been successful. As mentioned, the Cougs first string NT was suspended and the Beavs have three guys who’ve often done well playing the BigBoy rush game.

          • Yes, I think someone above (McKalk?) mentioned there are no under center plays. It’s a big problem. Running short yardage out of shotgun makes very little sense. Also, it would be nice to have a lead blocker in there…bet Nall picks up those short yardages if they just move under center.

        • Maybe they asked him not to run since they’re down to zero QBs?
          This team has no depth anywhere, so it’s probably affecting some decisions. McM didn’t look slow. He eluded the rush several times and looked quick enough doing it. He also didn’t seem scared of contact, as shown when he threw the block. He’s also not stupid. So, maybe it’s something else, like an instruction he was given to stay healthy. Last year, they specifically told Sts to stop taking hits.

          • That is fine (and fair) but stop calling the read play then. It slows down the play to have the QB make the read (even if its fake) and if their is no threat of actually running it simply helps the defense make the play.

            Just hand the ball off and get Nall to the line. Especially on short yardage plays.

          • Yeah, WSU wasn’t even biting on the QB, so at that point at least run one to keep them honest. But I can see why they didn’t want to run him a lot. If they just ran him once (I remember one specifically where the entire top half of the TV screen was empty and McM could have run 20 to 30 yards) it would have justified continuing to call the play. I agree with you to an extent on that, but I don’t think it was McM. I think McGiven is a problem.

  26. Anderson was so overwhelmed by the 59-0 beating that Ohio State gave Wisconsin in the B1G Championship Game that he vowed to never let that happen again and decided to take the Beavers done the dumper early in ANY/EVERY season and avoid another Championship Game. God Bless all of you unfortunate Beaver Fans. You do know that Les Miles is availablr, right? You could even rescue the former Nebraska HC (Bo Pelini), if you are looking for some emotion in your coaching. Here in Ohio, Urban has a job for as long as he wants it. How long do you think the job term expectancy is for Gary Anderson?

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