Home Football This Rebuild is Becoming Exciting

This Rebuild is Becoming Exciting

By
angry
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349

Yes, last night was a heartbreaking loss, but ever since game 1 last year, I/we said that what we want to see is progress. For most of last year there was none. I feel that had a lot to do with StS at QB, though you guys can argue that all you wish. This year, from game 1 vs MN, I noticed they looked bigger and more aggressive. They passed the “eye ball” test more. They gave good effort. Things looked on track. Then the Colorado game. That one threw us all off. Those of us who saw progress began to question it, etc. It was ugly. Shortly after, first Pac-12 win, and things are looking up again. Then they play Utah close. Tough loss, but again, looking up compared to last year and the general effort. Then Washington blows us out, though we still see effort and will the entire game. They never mentally break; they just get outplayed. Now a great effort vs a tough offense in WSU.

It makes you wonder how fast this thing can get turned around next year with (a) everyone who is injured now returning healthy and (b) new injection of talent into the program via another recruiting cycle, and the current redshirts coming off.

I had this team for 4 wins this year (Arizona and Oregon seem like wins to me, but with a team this beat up you can’t bank on anything). Next year I’m seeing 6 if they continue this effort and also get that injection of depth/talent.

The good news is we have an exciting basketball team and baseball team to bridge the gap until then. And also we can watch this current team keep fighting and mentally preparing (because that’s what they’re essentially doing this year — it is simply mental training for when they do have the physical bodies) for next year and beyond. This is what I expected to see all along, and I’m fine with it because I can see the improvement, even if it’s not yet showing up in the results. It reminds me of a stock, like say Google, which years ago spent billions investing in hiring new talent. The stock cratered hundreds of points as investors got spooked by the short-term earnings dip. What has happened since? The stock almost doubled as those long-term investments paid off in new product. It’s the same thing happening here. GA is laying down the mind-set, which is long-term. The short-term results aren’t there, but this will pay off big.

The one concern I have is McGiven. He could not recognize McM as the best QB (and not only that, but threw him under the bus, when he didn’t do the same for the other QBs who were actually out there playing and sucking eggs), he came out of the half pass happy last night, overall play calling has been poor, etc. The other coach who should be on the hot seat is Brennan. I like him very much as a human being, and I think he’s a decent recruiter, but someone has to take the responsibility for all these dropped passes the past few years. It should be easy to coach “focus”, catching with the hands instead of body, looking the ball in before running upfield, etc. These are not difficult skills. The rest of the staff looks solid. Clune has been a surprise to the upside. I was lukewarm on the hire.

349 COMMENTS

  3. concur. If the rate of progress carries over to next year the win total should approach if not reach 6. “Rate of progress” translates to improved play and greater depth on the lines and marked improvement in QB play. Even MM with his current level of base talent could probably deliver that but I wouldn’t count on that. Maybe a healthier and wiser Garretson.

    Let me be the first to take a look ahead to where six wins might lie next year: Right out of the gate next year, wins at home vs. Portland State, Minnesota, and at CSU. (Digression: this is what a good out of conference schedule looks like.) Other than the Civil War in Eugene, which ends the season, the vagaries of the conference schedule can’t be perfectly discerned, but out of those nine games three more wins seem most reachable our of this subset: @Zona, and @ Cal, plus home victories vs. Colorado and Stanford.

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      • That’s a good point, too. I never watched a women’s basketball game (until two years ago) or thought I’d be a fan of a woman’s sport, but Rueck is such a good coach I can’t help but watch them and enjoy their style. I find myself looking forward to those games.

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        • Same here, never paid attention to the gals game. Rueck is a culture builder, probably easier to do with a small squad vs 100+ in FB (I’d mention gals vs guys too but gotta watch out for the PC warriors!).

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          • Watching non-revenue sports is one of the reasons I try not to get too down on the PTN. It’s still not the access I would like. But it’s far better than what we had in the past.

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  5. If they can show progress in road games then it’s real steps forward. Uw eased up. They could have put up 70 if they wanted to. Jonathan Smith held back.

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    • UW would not have been able to put up 70 on the Beav D…..that is laughable — Beavs D is two touchdowns better than Ducks D easy. I saw many UW starters on both sides of the ball deep into the 4th quarter.

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  6. Curious how we end up doing with our OL JUCO recruiting in this class. Thats one area I could see us regressing in next year when some of our seniors graduate, but hopefully some JUCO guys can help maintain that area

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  7. Disagree on Brennan, some players aren’t mentally tough. Sometimes you get the yips and in result you revert to bad habits. Our QBs seldom have thrown a good ball. Underthrown, overthrown, thrown where the WR is going to get creamed. Mentally the WRs just don’t have the chemistry or the confidence that the QB is going to get them the ball. As a result they slow down and overthink where will the ball be getting themselves out of position.

    Brennan can flat out recruit and I don’t think he has forgotten how to coach.

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    • Nobody cares what happens when those passes are played. It’s the ones that hit the receivers in the hands before falling to the ground that are theirs alone to own.

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    • Yeah….I don’t see the argument about Brennan. But, we go another season with key starters showing brick hands, you gotta question the decisions regarding starting roles, and heavily consider a HAAS approach to recruitment.

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  8. Barring further catastrophic injuries, I would be disappointed if they are not competitive in their remaining games. I remember even last year thinking GA had something going on after the Stanford game and then they were dismantled by Arizona. As it stands right now, they should beat Arizona at home and by that time they could even be favored for the first time in a long time in a league game.

    Also, I agree about the read option comments. If you are going to be a read team, the QB has to run it on occassion. I accept the “injured QB” theory for this past game, but if Blout is ok, there is no excuse next week, but even then they could have run read with Collins as a regular package and not just Wildcat straight ahead.

    Slightly OT, but did everyone else notice Villamin was a complete non-factor except for drawing the PI call? What was funny was that the ball was very catchable and went right through his hands, so the Beavs actually lost yardage with penalty vs.catch. Was Bradford in as his replacement? What a strange case.. Would not be surprised if he’s not in the team’s further plans.

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    • Villamin also dropped the pass right in his bread basket after gaining separation with the PI. He’s become a disaster. I’d like to see Jarmon or Bradford replace him. Either would improve the passing game. I’m high on both players. Jarmon has been MIA, and I’m not sure why, as he hasn’t dropped balls to my memory and showed big play ability (vs Stanford a few years ago, etc).

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      • Well, Jarmon caught three balls yesterday and Bradford made his first catch, so maybe that is the trend now. Update: I did read from Eggers that Jarmon left the game with an injury, I did not realize that.

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      • I don’t doubt it……….my thought was he transfers to Nebraska and becomes a star his senior season. He was almost at star level last year. Especially when considering the QB’s who were throwing to him!

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    • Villamin’s upcoming civil court case might have something to do with it, although Bright, Willis, etc are involved too and I don’t see them being a non-factor.

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          • He puts the court case # instead of saying what it’s about. That’s funny. Oneoldbeav, will you head down to the courthouse and pull up the case for us?

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          • You have to go to room 106 of the courthouse and log on there or pay a subscription for remote access through the state.

            It wouldn’t surprise me if it was related to any number of slumlords’ shoddy or moldy rentals and rents being kept in lieu of deposits/fees not rightly being returned. That’s the most common thing I see in this type of case. These ass holes think they can keep those monies, a lot of times never using it to maintain their properties.

            I can tell you a lot about a person by the way they maintain the land they own.

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          • Looking at what IS available re: court info…other players are listed as defendants and Creekside is not your typical Corvallis slum-dump. So what exactly was the point of posting two irrelevant court cases? The way the first post reads, and the lack of other info available, it seems like you’re trying to insinuate Villamin was involved in some super damning situation.

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        • Here’s what they’re up against.
          http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/riverstone-residential-group-c314771.html

          -and-

          http://missoulian.com/business/local/low-income-missoula-renters-sue-property-management-company-win-class/article_7a25f88b-e3bc-5dad-9670-7707b0195493.html

          This particular corporation has run a risk/reward analysis on the clientele they “serve” and it comes out like this:

          Individual tenants likely could not afford to bring separate claims for what is an alleged illegality in a standard lease form widely used by Riverstone.

          Even if a group forms to counter their illegal practices, they can just pay them off and make it go away with the profits they glean from the other unsuspecting clientele they “serve” around the nation. They have a contingency fund for such occasions.

          It’s big c Capitalism at its finest, taking advantage of people who would have faith in the market to provide fair goods and services but don’t realize the market is controlled by self-interested profiteers who defy even regulation since it has no real teeth.

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          • I feel bad for the kids now. Even if they burned their apartment down, they likely shouldn’t have to pay anything when they vacate one of those properties. They’re just poorly constructed economy grade shit holes run by a collection agency.

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          • They are not one of the least slimy. They are the most slimy. They are who all others aspire to be when racing to the bottom… king of the pit, if you will. Nobody else you deal with in Corvallis will have pockets as deep as theirs or use those pockets in such a professionally criminal way.

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          • Now I’m just angry.

            Someone at the university needs to form a blacklist for some of these properties. If University money is subsidizing this kind of business practice, I hold the University responsible first. They should be the arbiter for any monies being contracted… from the front end.

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          • Gotcha.

            I suppose the original intent may have been to throw shade on Villy et al. But the can of worms opened because of who the plaintiff is should be a call to arms. I don’t care if they cut holes in the carpet and walls and trashed the blinds. I can almost guarantee you the previous tenants paid to replace those items, but it was never done upon move-in. And it likely won’t be done after they’re done with these kids.

            If the new tenant moves in and fails to make a detailed punch list and have the on-site manager sign duplicates of it and notations questioning the contract’s legality in certain sections… with a notary public… they will still pull this shit. I’ve helped to deal with these people before. The notary public was my wife, and I was the one who did the punch list and provided pictures with notes (also notarized).

            Usually a landlord knows when you’re that cynical you are not the type of person to go after once you vacate. But they went ahead and sent that letter for mostly normal wear shit on crappy finishes that were documented and photographed and notarized as already worn beyond use upon move-in.

            And they still took it to court.

            My friend got three times the cost of damages from them, and they didn’t even care. We didn’t even get to show the court that all the items they were trying to charge were in the exact same condition they were in on the punch list… seven months after another tenant moved in. They claimed not to have all the notarized stuff, and that’s all the judge had to hear. They had it in discovery and claimed ignorance of even that.

            They’re scum.

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    • That’s a good comparison. When the ’99 team destroyed UCLA 55-7 after suffering through a three game losing streak, I felt maybe the season was going to turn positive and it did. It seemed like it had been decades since a Beav team dominated someone in league play. It will be nice when GA has a team do that to someone.

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        • I watched it on TV when I lived in Utah. Ironically, back in “99 the Beavs were on my TV more than they are now. A backwater UHF channel carried the Pac-10 game of the week and I could get Fox Sports NW on DirecTV!

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    • Well… technically played good teams close once the back-up QB took over. Before that we beat up on a couple Idaho State level talents and got blown out by the better teams.

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  10. I’ve finally and officially come around on Boldin. He’ll always have a few dumb mistakes, but now he’s balancing them out with great plays. He does seem to be improving with drops too. And sadly enough, at the moment he’s probably the most reliable WR we have wrt drops.

    In any case, he’s finally become a legit playmaker. Maybe we’re finally seeing the guy that the coaches have seen in practice the last 4 years. That one deep catch yesterday was incredible- catching the ball against the defender.

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  12. Game Grade Rankings Post-Week 9:

    CONFERENCE NAME – Overall Conference Average Per Team
    [Division Name – Division Average Grade Per Team (Division Rank Nationally)]
    Rank Nationally. Team Name Grade (season-to-date) Projected Final Record

    ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE – 89.69
    [Atlantic Division – 92.07 (#2)]
    2. Louisville Cardinals 112.3 11-1
    5. Clemson Tigers 103.0 12-0
    11. Florida State Seminoles 96.8 9-3
    37. NC State Wolfpack 88.5 5-7
    58. Syracuse Orange 84.2 4-8
    73. Boston College Eagles 79.9 5-7
    75. Wake Forest Demon Deacons 79.8 7-5
    [Coastal Division – 87.31 (#6)]
    8. Virginia Tech Hokies 97.5 10-2
    23. Miami FL Hurricanes 91.5 8-4
    26. North Carolina Tar Heels 90.6 10-2
    49. Pittsburgh Panthers 86.3 7-5
    50. Duke Blue Devils 86.0 3-9
    70. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 81.7 7-5
    84. Virginia Cavaliers 77.6 2-10

    SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE – 89.02
    [West Division – 94.64 (#1)]
    1. Alabama Crimson Tide 113.0 12-0
    7. Auburn Tigers 102.2 9-3
    10. LSU Tigers 97.2 7-4
    17. Texas A&M Aggies 94.7 11-1
    24. Mississippi Rebels 91.3 6-6
    60. Arkansas Razorbacks 83.5 6-6
    72. Mississippi State Bulldogs 80.6 3-9
    [East Division – 83.40 (#8)]
    16. Florida Gators 94.9 8-3
    36. Tennessee Volunteers 88.6 9-3
    55. Missouri Tigers 84.5 5-7
    68. Georgia Bulldogs 82.2 6-6
    74. Kentucky Wildcats 79.9 6-6
    85. South Carolina Gamecocks 77.3 5-7
    89. Vanderbilt Commodores 76.4 4-8

    PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE – 88.99
    [South Division – 89.50 (#4)]
    6. Colorado Buffaloes 102.4 10-2
    14. USC Trojans 95.6 8-4
    27. UCLA Bruins 90.1 5-7
    31. Utah Utes 89.3 9-3
    71. Arizona Wildcats 81.0 2-10
    79. Arizona State Sun Devils 78.6 6-6
    [North Division – 88.48 (#5)]
    9. Washington Huskies 97.2 12-0
    18. Washington State Cougars 94.1 8-4
    29. Stanford Cardinal 89.5 9-3
    39. California Golden Bears 88.2 4-8
    59. Oregon Ducks 83.9 4-8
    80. Oregon State Beavers 78.0 3-9

    BIG 12 CONFERENCE – 87.68
    13. Oklahoma Sooners 96.1 9-3
    15. Baylor Bears 95.4 9-3
    20. West Virginia Mountaineers 93.3 11-1
    28. Texas Longhorns 89.5 6-6
    30. TCU Horned Frogs 89.4 4-8
    33. Oklahoma State Cowboys 89.0 8-4
    35. Kansas State Wildcats 88.7 8-4
    38. Texas Tech Red Raiders 88.3 6-6
    82. Iowa State Cyclones 77.8 2-10
    110. Kansas Jayhawks 69.3 1-11

    BIG TEN CONFERENCE – 86.69
    [East Division – 89.64 (#3)]
    3. Michigan Wolverines 110.7 11-1
    4. Ohio State Buckeyes 107.3 11-1
    34. Penn State Nittany Lions 88.9 10-2
    51. Indiana Hoosiers 85.9 6-6
    62. Maryland Terrapins 83.2 6-6
    69. Michigan State Spartans 82.2 4-8
    109. Rutgers Scarlet Knights 69.3 2-10
    [West Division – 83.74 (#7)]
    12. Wisconsin Badgers 96.4 10-2
    25. Nebraska Cornhuskers 91.3 10-2
    53. Northwestern Wildcats 85.3 7-5
    63. Minnesota Golden Gophers 83.0 7-5
    65. Iowa Hawkeyes 82.5 6-6
    86. Illinois Fighting Illini 77.1 2-10
    105. Purdue Boilermakers 70.6 3-9

    AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE – 81.96
    [West Division – 82.05 (#9)]
    19. Houston Cougars 93.7 9-3
    52. Tulsa Golden Hurricane 85.4 8-4
    66. Memphis Tigers 82.4 7-5
    76. SMU Mustangs 79.6 4-8
    81. Navy Midshipmen 77.9 8-4
    96. Tulane Green Wave 73.3 3-9
    [East Division – 81.87 (#10)]
    40. USF Bulls 88.1 10-2
    42. Temple Owls 87.9 9-3
    54. UCF Knights 84.9 7-5
    64. East Carolina Pirates 83.0 4-8
    94. Cincinnati Bearcats 74.5 4-8
    99. Connecticut Huskies 72.8 4-8

    FBS INDEPENDENTS – 81.55
    44. Army West Point Black Knights 87.6 8-4
    46. BYU Cougars 86.7 8-4
    48. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 86.5 5-7
    120. Massachusetts Minutemen 65.4 2-10

    MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE – 76.55
    [Mountain Division – 80.65 (#12)]
    22. Boise State Broncos 91.6 11-1
    67. Air Force Falcons 82.3 7-5
    78. New Mexico Lobos 78.7 6-6
    83. Utah State Aggies 77.6 5-7
    87. Wyoming Cowboys 76.9 9-3
    88. Colorado State Rams 76.8 6-6
    [West Division – 72.47 (#14)]
    45. San Diego State Aztecs 87.1 11-1
    97. UNLV Rebels 73.2 4-8
    102. Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors 71.8 5-8
    113. San Jose State Spartans 68.8 3-9
    114. Fresno State Bulldogs 67.9 3-9
    117. Nevada Wolf Pack 66.0 3-9

    MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE – 74.94
    [West Division – 80.87 (#11)]
    21. Western Michigan Broncos 92.5 12-0
    32. Toledo Rockets 89.2 9-3
    77. Central Michigan Chippewas 79.5 8-4
    90. Northern Illinois Huskies 75.7 4-8
    92. Eastern Michigan Eagles 75.4 6-6
    98. Ball State Cardinals 72.9 6-6
    [East Division – 69.02 (#16)]
    91. Ohio Bobcats 75.6 8-4
    100. Miami OH Redhawks 72.7 4-8
    101. Kent State Golden Flashes 72.1 4-8
    107. Akron Zips 69.7 6-6
    123. Bowling Green Falcons 63.6 2-10
    126. Buffalo Bulls 60.4 2-10

    CONFERENCE USA – 72.25
    [West Division – 72.53 (#13)]
    47. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 86.6 9-3
    57. Southern Miss Golden Eagles 84.3 8-4
    111. North Texas Mean Green 68.9 5-7
    112. UTSA Roadrunners 68.8 5-7
    122. UTEP Miners 64.1 3-9
    125. Rice Owls 62.5 4-8
    [East Division – 72.00 (#15)]
    41. WKU Hilltoppers 87.9 9-3
    56. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 84.5 10-2
    93. Old Dominion Monarchs 75.2 8-4
    116. FIU Panthers 67.4 3-9
    118. Marshall Thundering Herd 65.7 3-9
    121. Charlotte 49ers 64.5 3-9
    127. Florida Atlantic Owls 58.8 2-10

    SUN BELT CONFERENCE – 70.79
    43. Troy Trojans 87.6 11-1
    61. Appalachian State Mountaineers 83.3 9-3
    95. Georgia Southern Eagles 74.2 6-6
    103. South Alabama Jaguars 71.4 8-4
    104. Arkansas State Red Wolves 71.3 6-6
    106. Georgia State Panthers 69.8 5-7
    108. UL Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns 69.3 5-7
    115. Idaho Vandals 67.7 5-7
    119. New Mexico State Aggies 65.6 3-9
    124. ULM Warhawks 62.6 2-10
    128. Texas State Bobcats 55.9 2-10

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      • Actually, Arizona is still rated higher but the game is in Corvallis so Oregon State gets a home field advantage boost and is projected to win. A lot of Arizona’s grade, I’m guessing, has to do with their overtime performance vs Washington. Remember, this metric is grading game performance, not just wins and losses. Where the game is played, Yardage difference compared to opposing averages, etc. etc.

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        • Yeah, I mis-read it, got a little excited after seeing a third win. I’d like to see them get a couple of more and mess up the ratings further!

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  13. While driving through enemy territory today, I caught part of the Badger football wrap up show.
    The topic of Paul Chryst using and switching between two QB’s came up.
    Host: “Has this reached the Gary Andersen level of confusion?”
    Local Writer: “No, he is in a league of his own for messing up QB’s.”
    Obviously some sour grapes, but an interesting comment given our struggles with that position.
    The OL will be the limiting factor next year. Losing three seniors will be tough. That is the one position where experience is more important and younger guys usually struggle.

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  14. Tin foil conspiracy to the 2nd half curious refereeing, ball placement, non holds, nocalls for wazzu d-line shifts etc:
    Larry Scott in the house talking about the conference needing to get back into the spotlight for football, final 4 for basketball, hence Wazzu needs to run the table to make the Apple Cup a legit national story and give more weight to the Huskies schedule later in order to clinch the Barking Peterson’s their spot in the “Who’s In?” debate.
    Plus ESPN needed the Pirate to win for their lame narrative of limited information/knowledge of the teams.

    The game itself was a disappointing finish, but quite enjoyable first half. I look forward to the games when they drill teams in such a way for the whole game. Defensive intensity and offensive explosiveness is enjoyable to watch from the Beavs. Progress is happening

    I think wazzu recievers made incredible catches but also have a bit of the Chris Paul acting school when it comes to drawing PIs. Annoying to watch.

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    • I mentioned it earlier, but I felt like the ESPN storyline was Mike Leach the wacky genious and four hours of pimping for Wazzu. When they discussed the Beavs it was an afterthough and ill-informed part of the time.

      And I know this sounds callous, but I was getting tired of Falk also, he’s looking like he’s dying on the sidelines one minute, but comes back in and lights up the Beavs the next, to the over blown adulation of the ESPN announcing team. You can’t be that hurt if you can throw a damn football like that.

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      • Agree. The non calls for Wazzu O-line men holding pissed me off. It did feel like the Pac12 refs were going to protect Wazzu so they could keep rolling along in the W column. But I do like to see us competing through the entire game. Last year Wazzu won by way more.

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      • As I watched the second time, I listened to those Sean McDonough wannabes.

        If you watch the replays of Marks’ TD over DeCoud, one of them is praising its perfection and how the defender had no chance to get it. As he’s talking, they flash to the highlight from the sideline and you can see Marks push off. And the guy pauses before mumbling his way to the finish.

        I like to imagine he is intelligent enough to know all that he just said combined with the video that was showing and the speech he gave about Villamin doing the exact same thing earlier in the game… made him look the fool.

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        • Yeah at least the announcers during the UW game had the balls to call out the 3 blatant block in the back non-calls during one punt return TD.

          I lost count of how many D linemen I saw faceplant after being pushed square in the back by the WSU O line.

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          • Those are the plays that piss me off most. It’s not like the refs can’t see them. They threw a flag right at one. It’s at the very least a safety issue.

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        • I forgot to DVR the game, but as I remember they were sort of making fun of DeCoud for protesting the call in a condescending manner and then the replay showed the push off and they completely ignored it. They were too busy sticking their noses up Mark’s and Falk’s asses to realize the initial separation was actually caused by the shove.

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  15. I’m wondering what kind of coaching McMaryion received during half time.
    Perhaps Baldwin talking about the benefits derived from drinking 18 diet cokes a day?
    Or perhaps McGiven complementing him on his completion ratio during the 1st half?
    Or…… being told that he should make the most of it because he’s going to be riding the bench as soon as a gimpy walk-on freshman can stand up?

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  16. I really have respect and admiration for this team. Even when we were dealing with monsoon conditions during the Utah game the fans present were excited and into the game. Not many left early and there were lots of people back right after halftime. Jim Wilson commented during the post game show that over the past two years the beavs played poorly at home and this year things were different.

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  17. Power Rankings chart has been updated:
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l2T3pgiHk1WKiNvQZUzWzWYR3Oo5HoBxrxcCbnl2LcY/edit#gid=27

    Best way to read: scroll cursor to far right.

    Current Power = current strength of team’s performance to date.
    PWR RAT = fixed talent level of team
    HF = Home Field Advantage gained when playing at home
    Sch STR = average of opponents’ Current Power divided by # of games played
    S R = Overall Rank of Sch STR compared to other FBS teams
    Conf YPG = difference in yardage margin in conference games (Independents all games)
    YPP = Yards Per POINT
    W0-CH = Computer predictions for each game based on current power ratings (Currently W10)
    PD = Total number of wins projected for each team, factoring in actual results to date

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  20. Eggers with some comments on young players with promising futures, and Moore’s potential move to LB in the future:

    “There were good signs from the OSU defense, notably from safety Jalen Moore. In his second career start, the 6-foot, 210-pound redshirt freshman made a game-high 10 tackles and had a forced fumble.

    “He’s going to be a very good player,” says Andersen, who envisions Moore one day growing into a standout outside linebacker.

    Sophomore defensive tackle Kalani Vakameilalo graded out as a “champion” for the second straight week, and outside linebacker Andrzej Hughes-Murray laid some big hits on Falk late in the game.

    “Andrzej is going to be special,” Andersen says. “For a true freshman in the spot he’s in, I’m pleased with the way he’s playing.”

    http://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-sports/329802-209309-beavers-fizzle-fritter-away-big-lead-over-wsu

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    • Damn!

      “And our time of possession (in succession) was 1:45, 1:39, 1:05, 2:43 and 1:04,” Andersen says.

      I guess he saves me the time of making that exact same post after every game year in and out.

      Now that we have a coach who recognizes these kind of things, what’s he going to do about it?

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  21. Stanford is a one trick pony. Stop Christian McCaffrey, stop the Cardinal. Neither Ryan Burns or Keller Chryst are going to beat you throwing the football. McCaffrey has been hurt but he looked good against Arizona on Saturday night. I remain unconvinced the Beavs front 7 can stop a power running game. This game LOOKS winnable but I think it’s a bad matchup for the Beavs D on the road. Another physical football team like Utah and I expect to see more injuries from an already depleted team. The offense is going to have to show up and help keep the defense off the field and rested (that’s probably in the duh category there).

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    • Stanford could easily write in Nall’s name with what you just wrote about McCaffery.

      Beavs don’t travel well so I see Stanford covering the spread.

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  22. Men’s hoops pre-season top 25 polls are out…………

    5. Oregon
    10/11. Arizona
    16/20. UCLA

    I would agree that the Ducks and Arizona will be very good. Oregon is more than likely the team to beat and Altman is a damn good coach. With what they have coming back and added they could be a final four team. Way off on UCLA though. I don’t see them as a top 25 team at all. as for the Beavs? They’re young this year but talented. Best case scenario? 4th. I don’t see them any worse than 7th though. I expect an NIT bid at the very least

    http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings

    Reply

    • The UCLA ranking is all based on recruiting which is fine for now.

      Need the PAC12 to step up like they did last year in non conf. If they do that, they could sneak 7 teams in again.

      Reply

    • It’s a wonderful surprise to me to find that AAU coaches paid large amounts by “shoe and apparel” companies are altruistic and don’t direct players here or there for the money.

      It brings a tear to my eye just thinking about the neat story… -ness of it all.

      Reply

  23. “Clune has been a surprise to the upside. I was lukewarm on the hire.”

    It will be entertaining to watch what he can do with healthy players and depth. The context for college football “defense” has changed considerably the last several years, but I think OSU will be one of the more enjoyable defenses to watch and highly respected in league play in the next couple of years.

    Reply

  24. Speaking of “lukewarm”:

    Andersen still in his presser now; his early comments in response to a question about McM seemed to be pretty lukewarm.

    Reply

    • I don’t know what the protocol is for qbs coming off the field when the team has had to punt. However, there was a moment in the WSU game where the tv showed McM coming off the field, walking to the sideline,looking at Andersen and the latter completely avoided looking at McM – I don’t think its too far-fetched to say that Andersen even had a slightly disgusted look. Don’t know what’s going on, but I think it’s rather strange.

      Reply

      • Angry had an entire thread along those lines. I thought McM played well, but I’m not an expert and I don’t see the whole field. Even as a layman, I think it’s fair to say that McM throws a nice ball, the coaches have to see that. I don’t think he threw anything that was close to being intercepted. If I was to guess, I think it might be in the run game, but then again, he executed a very nice QB draw against the Ducks in the CW last year, so he can do it.

        Reply

        • If we’re going to rehash conspiracies, can I at least get one in?

          What if MM is calling his own number when he’s not supposed to do it?

          Reply

      • I saw that, too, and it was bizarre. Nobody will ask the question, so we’ll never know.
        If McM transfers I’ll try to get an interview with him.

        Reply

  25. OT: Does Phil Knight own the Oregonian? I know most people here have disdain for the Oregonian and I agree. But I scroll through the sports section of O Live occasionally. It’s just so blatantly biased toward the Ducks that there is no way it can consider itself an objective news source. Right now there is 1 headline directly related to the Beavers. There are 11 headlines directly related to the Ducks. WTF?

    Reply

    • The numbers of fans linking just to whine about shit is great enough to justify click-bait. Click-bait is money for the new Groanian and their owners. If it’s not easily reproduced on buzzfeed or heavily linked to several other baits which do so, then it’s an AP cut-n-paste.

      Reply

    • Is it that hard to understand? The ducks have a larger “audience” and a much more recognizable brand. Thus higher traffic and more money for them. They’re running a business so they’re going to do whatever the market dictates. It has nothing to do with bias and everything to do with what makes them the most money.

      Reply

      • I think he’s conflating quantity with quality. One fan base will drive their model, ignoring the latter for the former.

        Plus, they have had recent success, making them nationally recognized. If the paper casts a wide net, they have more chance to draw in national links, fans or not. There are a lot of people who wake up the next morning and look for scores out west. Start winning games, and there will be an equal amount of junk for us.

        My only gripe is that search engines relying on traffic decide to ignore key words when populating their search.

        Reply

      • Yeah, I understand that in order to make money they need people to visit thier site, click links, and read ads. So why would they want to disregard an entire demographic. Writing 11 stories about the Ducks doesn’t preclude you from writing more than 1 story about the Beavers. Wouldn’t they at least want to match the ratio of investment to user population? I know the ratio of Duck fans to Beaver fans is not 11:1. I’m guessing it’s more like 2:1. So you would think they would write at least half as many Beaver stories as Duck stories.

        Reply

        • The point is that there is only one story per team. They choose to take the whole and split it up for one team, and they choose to give limited info on the second. Since I don’t care to read a story about my favorite CB’s breakfast habits just so I can slum around the water cooler and be all tribal in my school colors, talking about so-and-so eating his Wheaties… well… then I don’t care.

          If you don’t like what some information outlet provides, find info where it is provided to your satisfaction. I recommend a combination of the Tribune and the GT/Salem/Albany/Bend papers.

          Whining about the Groanian is so much less satisfying than just not reading it. Make an exception for Gina and Connor for their respective strengths. But don’t hang around and expect more.

          Reply

    • I like Davis, and I hope he comes full circle with speed like that. But I have to say I’m relieved it’s not Miller, as I was thinking above.

      Reply

    • Just in general, or at the same time, in the context of OSU?

      In the former, I’d say very high, particularly black. On the latter, was wondering that myself…have to wait until the 10th apparently…

      Reply

      • Well… the timing is interesting.

        She’s going to announce on Thursday, November 10. And I 99.999% guarantee she will be at Gill on Friday, November 11.

        Will she be sitting with her future teammates, or will she be sitting in the visitors section, incognito?

        Reply

  28. I’m not sold on the play calling/spotting best QB for the job either. I feel we need to find a QB/Offensive coordinator who is innovative, knows what to instill and how to play against Pac-12 defenses. I really wish we could have gotten Jonathan Smith from Boise State before Chris Peterson went on to Washington.

    Reply

    • Yeah at times I think the play calling has been inconsistent, and I wonder if that is because we have Co-OC. It’s hard though to determine if its more the play calling or the execution.

      I thought the first half was our best half of football all year. The second half they looked a little tentative both playing and the calls.

      The biggest series of the game IMO was after the WSU failed faked punt to start the 3rd Quarter. If we take it down and get points (any points) I think that game is over. But instead we go 3 and out. Right there I knew we were in trouble. They should have just ran the ball down their throats there, but I think they threw two incomplete passes. They looked tight and were playing not to lose.

      We are getting closer, gotta learn how to play with a lead and play with confidence, go for the throat. But like everything its a learning process. Hopefully, we take another step forward this week.

      Reply

  31. I wonder why McM does not pull the ball and run. Not familiar with the run/pass nuance due to lack of playing time? Shying away from contact? I could’nt pay as close attention during the broadcast Saturday as would like, so will watch Pac12 football in 60 if/when they play it next. He has three rushes the last two weeks, sacks included I think.
    The lack of a viable run threat is a big part of the offensive scheme. And I completely agree about the play calling in the second half while playing with a lead. Stomping ass with the run game so naturally lets kill the clock throwing?!
    300+ yards passing is superb but no QB rushing threat let’s the defensive off the hook.

    Reply

    • I should add that this is the polar opposite of the offense’s struggle with Garretson at the QB position. Seemed solid at the run read, but paltry passing game. Defense’s could load up on the run with little regard to passing threat.

      Reply

    • Coaches really emphasize the “Arms, Legs, Mind” thing. So he might be scared to and / or doesn’t feel comfortable. Coaches have got to be on him about it.

      Reply

    • There was a play, in the 3rd quarter when we were desperate for offensive production, where the alignment of players facilitated a perfect view of the action for me, during which MM aimed a ball toward the sideline (on the student side). It was clearly obvious (to me, sitting in the 22nd row) that MM could have run to the spot where he was targeting his receiver (twenty or more yards downfield) without ANY risk of being tackled. Of course, the pass was incomplete.

      This is emblematic of the damnable situation we have found ourselves over the course of two seasons now, where Seth kept the ball to himself and ran FAR too often, but couldn’t pass a damn; to Garretson, who is expert in making the decision on the read-option to hand off or keep, but can’t pass a damn, to MM, who if not great is a decent passer, but because he doesn’t have Garretson’s inclinations on the read-option, never runs, thus limits the effectiveness of the run game as much as Seth’s selfishness did. If only we a QB who was not afraid to run but didn’t call his own number too much and yet could hit merely 50% or so of his completions. What a mess.

      Reply

      • Spot on analysis. If we could create a hybrid player with McMaryion’s ability to distribute the ball in the passing game, Garretson’s ability to make the right decision out of the read option, and Collins’ athletic ability, we’d have the prototype QB for the offense Oregon State wants to run.

        Reply

  32. Stats for UW:
    http://www.osubeavers.com/boxscore.aspx?id=6477&path=football
    Stats for WSU:
    http://www.osubeavers.com/boxscore.aspx?id=6478&path=football

    Also need a QB that can pick up yards and not get killed. It’s clear that there is a short shelf life for QB’s running spread option. I would think you are right about coaches being all over this aspect of their vision for this offense. But no QB depth probably dictates deferring to the pass first and using the RB’s exclusively to plow for yardage.

    Reply

    • I always thought the Masoli/Moevao type of QB was the best for the option, beefy dudes that can pass well enough that you have to respect it but can pull the ball down and run for real without as much worry of getting snapped like a twig.

      Reply

  33. OT: BWB’s picked by ESPN ….
    20. (tie) Oregon State Beavers

    2015-16 record: 32-5; lost in Final Four
    Points: 22 (15/23)
    Notable returners: Sydney Wiese (12.8 PPG, 4.9 APG); Gabriella Hanson (7.8 PPG, 2.9 APG); Marie Gulich (4.1 PPG, 3.9 APG)

    Early in the season, the Beavers will be relying heavily on Wiese and Hanson as they get used to life without Jamie Weisner and Ruth Hamblin, the two players, along with Wiese, who were the catalysts behind Scott Rueck’s program rejuvenation. With those three leading the way, Oregon State won 83 games and two Pac-12 titles in the last three years. The nonconference schedule is manageable. By the time conference play begins, players like Gulich, who is trying to replace Hamblin’s at center, sophomore guard Katie McWilliams and five freshmen should have a better grasp of their expanded roles. Combo guard Mikayla Pivec is the prize of the recruiting class and could ease the ballhandling responsibilities on Wiese.

    Reply

  34. The good news is McM has time – and reps – to get better.

    Watching the WSU film, he HAS to see where/when he could have run. I bet he takes off more at Stanfird.

    V. UCLA he’ll put together his most complete game yet in a Beaver victory.

    Reply

  35. Hey, it was closer than I expected! Had me worried for a bit early on…

    I thought your QB played pretty well most of the time. Throws a decent ball. Your RB’s seem good, but we’re not a defensive to measure that on necessarily.

    We found a way to win and happy for my team, but I expect some good games vs all of the North and especially the Wa and Or schools for the next several years.

    Good luck the rest of the way. Go Cougs!

    Reply

    • Had you worried “early on”??? It should have had you worried until almost the end, especially after Leach made that awful call to go for it from his own 40 yard line. God, I would have loved for that to have backfired on Aunt Pattie. The Palouse would have been set on fire! He won’t get away with that crap in a couple of years against the Beavs.

      Reply

  37. I was thinking about the situations where the defensive line shifts in unison. That seemed to cause the Beavs some problems. Can the offense work it out to snap the ball right when they shift? If the OL can hit them when they are off balance then it would seem to give the OL an advantage.

    Reply

    • I was thinking about the same thing but telling the entire line to just fire off and have the center snap as soon as he can, point and blame the d-line for any false starts. GA said that it is only a penalty on the d-line if it mimics the snap calls, or the timing of the snap…seems like an easy penalty on the d-line to get if you let them decide when they want to get it. It would be similar to the savvy vet hiking the ball as soon as the d-line jumps across the line whether it is on the regular count or not, force the refs to throw the flag, & 5 yds.

      Reply

  41. So highly ranked Alabama transfer Blake Barnett supposedly visiting the Ducks, who I think will be set at QB with Herbert. If Barnett is willing to come back out west (played HS football in CA) why don’t Andersen et al make an offer and recruit him to a place that’s improving and should have a pretty wide open QB competition next year? A QB who can actually throw would have a clear and distinct advantage.

    I know not all of these highly ranked kids pan out (I think some struggle mentally or ego wise with the increased level of competition) but Moore did.

    Reply

    • It’d be a pretty hard sell. Andersen would have to guarantee him the starting spot. Barnett can pretty much go where ever he wants. Likely won’t head to a rebuilding effort.

      Reply

    • Those aren’t reasons to not offer/recruit. He liked Alabama so much he left, and UO is a defensive coordinator away from being a top program and that may set them back three years at least (looking at UW as an example as a school with resources and with Petersen and staff taking 3 years to get to a good D and national prominence).

      Maybe the chances are low, and you argue you can’t afford the time in light of other recruiting needs if after a few conversations with him he’s cold to the idea, but otherwise it seems like it worth some effort.

      Reply

    • Barnett is really visiting Oregon? Why would he? He’s willing to ride the bench waiting for a injury or screw up? Nice vote of confidence for Herbert. I guess it’s good to stockpile QB transfers if you can, but in some ways it doesn’t seem like Helrich gets it.

      Reply

      • Good round, and totally legal.
        Depending on PA law, if the gun were loaded and where in the car it was located, those could pose a problem.

        Reply

        • “Good round, and totally legal.
          Depending on PA law, if the gun were loaded and where in the car it was located, those could pose a problem.”

          If he was on the New Jersey side of the bridge, no it isn’t. Either way he will only get a slap on the wrist. If this had been you or I we’d be looking at a lengthy prison sentence

          Reply

  44. Not that it matters much right now but a 1-loss aTm is No. 4 over UW in the first CFP rankings.

    Sister slammers > Leg humpers

    Reply

  45. SEC bias is making college fooball outside of Oregon state hard to watch. A&M over Washington how? Don’t give me that bull ish schedule either A&M barely beat a crappy UCLA team at home. Smh

    Reply

    • They more they do this the more they expose the corruption. It will be hard for the common man to understand (and rightfully so) a 1 loss team in over an undefeated team who’s dominating. This is corruption to the core and all about Disney shareholders.

      Reply

      • agreed. I guess what I don’t understand is the CFP committee weighs heavily on winning your conference championship. Which is why I stated it doesn’t matter right now. But still how can they put a 1 loss ATM team ahead of UW right now? ATM is 2nd in the SEC west. Only way they make it to the SEC championship is they win out and Bama loses twice. Hell, Florida has a better argument than ATM because they’re actually leading their division in the SEC right now. Sorry ATM, you had your shot at Bama and LOST. End of argument

        Reply

        • How? Because its totally possible that Alabama loses a game…! And without inflated conference opponents, the SEC could get stuck sitting out to Clemson, Michigan, Washington and say Lousiville?… Besides, this is coming off of a very impressive aTm win over New Mexico State last week.

          Reply

  47. I like all the points above about McM lack of running ability and the limit it places on the offense.

    I want to argue he quality of pass from McM. The ball looks pretty but it isn’t delivered accurately. This offense requires a qb to be able to hit the slant, stick, quick out, etc. McM often throws behind the receivers body. Those make for very tough catches not to mention high risk for interception because the defender trails the wr on thsee routes. We talked about footwork limitations in the past. These throws are all about footwork, specifically planting your nonthrowing foot to square off and be slightly ahead of the intended target. I wonder if these subtle but important skills are why the coaching staff has reservations about McM.

    Reply

  48. SI CBB preview issue thrown on my desk this morning. Almost induced vomiting.
    Quacks on the cover…”Duck tale.” Work your magic SI jinx,

    Reply

    • We’ll see. There’s a reason we have to play the season. I predict the Ducks will not win their pre-season championship. And it’s not because of the talent. Their schedule lines up poorly this year, and teams will be gunning for them.

      Reply

      • Yes there’s a reason they play the season but honestly I’ll be shocked if they don’t win the Pac-12 title. Loads of talent, well coached and no trip to Tucson. Puke all you want but they have enough to be a final four team. Doesn’t mean they will but they certainly have the talent, experience and coaching.

        I’d take Altman’s X’s and O’s 10 out of 10 times vs Sean Miller

        Reply

          • “It’s almost like NBA free agency down there.”

            Not disagreeing with you. It’s just the same in football. Honestly it just seems to me like it’s the NCAA’s way of throwing a bone to student athletes. Hey, schools have made a shitpot of money off you so as a parting gift, here’s a way you can improve your draft stock to earn more in your first pro contract.

            Or not and I’m full of shit

            Reply

          • It’s not the NCAA. Any kid who gets his school done and still has eligibility should be able to go play somewhere else if they want. They shouldn’t pretend anyone is chasing a masters if that’s their pretense. They should require a post-bac program with real classes and real consequences re failure for the schools “recruiting” these players.

            It’s more like NBA free agency than you think… at some schools.

            Reply

        • I’d take Miller’s personnel management 10 out of 10 times vs Dana Altman.

          Name another coach not named LaVonda Wagner, and let’s try that sentence again.

          Reply

  49. OT – We can put a man on the moon (years ago) and will be putting a man on Mars soon. Why the hell can’t we design better football equipment to help decrease the injuries. Especially helmets that work. — random thoughts by beaverbill —

    Reply

  50. Is anyone here an electrical engineer?

    I want to make a microphone out of an old telephone receiver (believe it’s two wires) but into a balanced xlr (hot/cold/ground so 3 wires). How would I do this? I know how to solder and all that, but just not sure how to wire it.

    Reply

    • To make it balanced, you need to either splice into the middle of the coil (the splice becomes ground) or add another identical coil in series and make the connection ground. (hot/cold would be either). Though for the latter, you would have to make the second coil a part of the microphone so that it is part of the magnetic induction. There are certainly active circuits which can do this without the splicing but it doesn’t sound like you want to add a battery.

      Reply

      • you need to either splice into the middle of the coil (the splice becomes ground)

        Do you mean the copper wiring around the mic’s diaphragm? Splice that wiring (the magnet’s coil) into two?

        Yeah I definitely don’t want to add a battery. 1/4″/TS mics tend to be pretty noisy so I want to make this XLR. I just can’t find any diagrams or instruction online. I’m also not sure what type of power it would need. I have read it needs +48v (phantom power) once it’s balanced, which would suck. I can’t imagine why it would need that.

        I want to make something like this:
        http://www.wasaphone.com/wasaphone-mkii

        Reply

        • Do you mean the copper wiring around the mic’s diaphragm? Splice that wiring (the magnet’s coil) into two?

          Yes. The trick would be to find the middle of the wire. Sounds hard. Also, the coil wire is really thin and prone to breaking. I would try to find a passive unbalanced-to-balanced converter. They do exist as I just found out.

          Reply

          • Cool, thanks. I might buy a wasaphone and take it apart to see how they did it, then make a few of my own for fun.

            I recently restored an old crystal mic, and it was a lot of fun and gave me the itch to try this, but it was TS/unbalanced, so it was easy to re-wire. The mic is 70 years old and the crystal sounds strong. I got very lucky.

            Reply

      • It’s not clear how much quality you’re after, using a telephone microphone. You can also use a 1:1 transformer with a center-tap. The unbalanced input is connected to +/- taps of the primary coil. The balanced output ground is connected to the center tap of the secondary (output) coil. From previous posts my assumption is you’re pretty serious about quality. Getting a real, honest-to-goodness audio quality converter would be in your best interest.

        Reply

        • This mic would be for a lo-fi special effect, which is why I want to use the telephone mic. I have a large collection of quality mics (and convertors), and they all serve a purpose, but none can do a lo-fi sound (without a lot of post-processing EQ at least, which adds phase, etc, so it’s best not to do that from an audio engineering standpoint. Best to get the sound at the source).

          If you listen to this clip, you can hear the “special effect”. The good mic (mic 1) vs the telephone mic (mic 2). It’s raw and shitty sounding but kind of cool for certain songs.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6WmHrDMisE

          Reply

  51. Westbrook announcing next week…the biggest test of Rueck’s recruiting. True head to head with the big time programs. If she chooses USC, that would be a huge loss since it’s to a conference opponent. The other schools, not so much.

    Reply

    • Jack pointed out that she’s announcing the day before her brother plays against OSU. Zero insight here but I have to believe that her announcement date has to do with who she’s going to choose. She has from Nov 9-16 to sign so why sign on the 10th? Just looking for any positive sign here. :-)

      Reply

      • I should also point out that there’s no school on Veterans Day, and the women play Lamar at 2:00 that afternoon.

        It might be a fun day to watch hoops at Gill.

        Reply

    • Stanford has a couple notable guys banged up (OL Johnny Caspers-questionable this week, FB Daniel Marx-doubtful) how talented are their backups and are there other important players likely to miss the Beavs game?
      What adjustments are likely in view of the probable absence of these guys?

      I understand that Chryst has averaged 3.5 yds per passing attempt and his long last week was 18yds; it has been written, “Stanford does not threaten a defense deep at all and makes scheming for their offense incredibly easy as they are still very one dimensional” Does the Stanford blogger agree?

      Reply

      • That’s funny. As a long time Oakland A’s fan, I hate the Cubs for one reason……Jon Lester. He was basically hired by the A’s to do one thing, win playoff games. In his one chance against the Royals, he sucked, so in my deviant thinking I did not want any joy coming his way. Plus from what I heard, he was a pretty disinterested teammate during his brief tenure, even for being a hired gun. So screw the Cubbies!

        Reply

        • I’m an A’s fan also. Our next door neighbors’ son, when I was a little tyke, was the second baseman for the awesome teams that won the five straight division titles and three straight World Series.

          Reply

          • Cool, I wonder if it was Dick Green, although the A’s were fairly unstable at 2nd in those days and other’s played 2nd base. I discovered that team also when I was little. My NL team has always been the Mets. ’73 series was a tough one for my little adolescent mind!

            Reply

          • Green wasn’t unstable in those years. Just ask any Dodger fan what they think of him from the ’74 WS.

            Ugh!

            And now I remember another play involving Billy Buckner that ended a series for one team.

            Reply

          • Yup. Dick Green and he was a great defensive second baseman. See Jack’s post. He should have been MVP that series for his work with the glove. I had some autographs of Joe Rudi and Sal Bando when they came and did some promo work for his dads moving and storage company. The talent on those teams was off the chart. Too bad free agency broke them up.

            Reply

    • You would think the Bharatiya would’ve learned from the Cavaliers defeating the roundball Warriors after falling behind 3-1.

      I mean… isn’t that the first time anyone calling themselves Cavaliers have ever won anything?

      Reply

  59. It’s easy to read too much into the short quotes we see from coaches and players, with that in mind; McGiven gives McM props here. First time?

    “that was a big-time football play by Marcus. He’s (about to get) hit and (he has) to react, because he was reacting to a second read in less time than he’s actually getting through his first read to what would be his second read. His understanding of the play and knowing that he had Seth over there, it was just great, great execution on his part.”

    http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2016/11/why_it_worked_breaking_down_or_1.html#incart_river_index

    ALSO: Got a kick out of this from McM, “I don’t think too many people are gonna catch him (StG). And if they do, he might jump over them.”

    Reply

    • It’s nice to see McM given a compliment. He seems to get them begrudingly. I don’t know if anyone saw this back and forth between GA and Leach, with Leach calling the Beavs as talented as the Cougs and GA responding to whatever cheap psychology Aunt Pattie is trying to use, but if I was McM, I would be a little annoyed at GA’s tone and the continued reference to McM as the 3rd string QB. What’s the poor guy have to do?

      http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2016/11/oregon_state_coach_gary_anders_1.html

      Reply

      • I was going to reply to oob about how no, it isn’t the first time. But it would be forgotten soon enough in order to continue to fill the weird contra-narrative going on recently.

        I guess I’m too late for that.

        Reply

        • In some ways, one could say this isn’t going to matter much longer with just four games left in the season unless there is a consensus that McM will even be in the picture for the starting job next year. My feeling is that we will get some coach speak, but in the end McM will be riding the bench in ’17.

          Reply

          • He has a month to find more than one receiver. One thing nobody has mentioned is that we had zero turnovers. With all the ducks MM was throwing in the second half, that means he was getting the ball out mostly in time and in the general direction of the space he needed to hit. Those plays are low risk, high reward if done with the proper timing and knowing your spots, even if you can’t hit them.

            Watching MM play is like watching Tebow play on the NFL level. Unlike Tebow, MM can–as he already has–get better relative to his competition. It’s up to him to put himself higher on next year’s depth chart.

            When they take away the run, he goes to Bolden. When they take away the run and Bolden, he’s lost. Against UW he was lost once the run was gone… that, and a sky ninja took one pass from him. I would say he progressed from one week to the next. Now he needs to find receivers #3-check-down, and we’ll be good.

            Reply

          • That started recently when McM’s name wasn’t mentioned in a discussion (McGiven or Andersen questioned by Gina??) of possible QB battle next season.

            Reply

          • I’m going to revise that analogy. He’s like watching Winston on the NFL level. He can look efficient and composed for stretches when he’s in a rhythm. And he has a young, piecemeal team with some talent but little depth. But when he’s not in rhythm, he’s inaccurate, can’t quite scramble relative to the athleticism of that level without seeming to get himself killed and can’t figure out how the D is adjusting to the game plan. The latter, of course, being partly management’s fault.

            So he ends up with good stats, but those stats don’t tell the whole story. And I feel like people are stuck on just the stats, not the whole. Remember, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. If you don’t know your limitations, you make mistakes trying to do more than you can do. Nobody’s perfect, and we will all try to do more. We’re human. We make mistakes. But we know from experience what mistakes are just the wrong ones to make and limit it all to the point we can have maxims like the previous sentences.

            If you hadn’t yet noticed, all these concepts can be applied to the team, in pieces or as a whole. Bright going in on a QB with his head down ends up the way it does most of the time. That was a collision that was unnecessary and could have been avoided if he’s employing proper technique. But he made a mistake that cost the team. There was no one mistake that lost that game. But the cumulative gave the refs a starting role, and that in itself is a mistake.

            And mistakes were made up and down the COC. But that’s the cool part of this season. The team is acting like a team, thriving and suffering with each other. The QB and coaching positions are just glorified more than the other positions. IMO, the QB is less important in this system. The complexities are all removed. It’s like he’s now a PG instead. Just run the offense, and the game will take care of itself. You have to break it down to the second level every now and then if they pressure you. And you have to make your shots if they leave you open outside. But just manage the game, and you’re doing your job.

            Reply

  61. I saw this article today: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/greg-cote/article112127422.html

    Wonder how NCAA ratings are doing. I did a google search but couldn’t find any year over year comparisons. I know in the past few years I stopped watching all college football except the Beavs (sometimes I’ll watch the Ducks or Nebraska).

    I feel strongly college football will lose interest over the upcoming decades. Mostly because of the system in place, SEC bias, Disney/Nike too involved, etc. All of that is ruining the game and will only get worse.

    Reply

    • Something that became apparent to me when I watched the first round of the NFL playoffs last year: the product on the field just isn’t that fun to watch.

      The pro game is so homogenized now that running a jet sweep gets you praise from annoucers for being novel.

      I think NCAA ratings will hold up better because the fanbases are different and more dedicated. You have alumni with natural ties to universities, places like Nebraska where there are no other sports going on, etc. Maybe more than anything, the NFL relies on player brands to attract people, while the NCAA can’t do that as much because they’d be marketing “student athletes,” so they have to focus more on the programs themselves and tradition.

      There’s not nearly as much of that in the NFL. It’s just “come see JJ Watt” or “come see Russell Wilson,” and if they’re hurt, you lose your draw.

      Come to think of it, the NFL doesn’t even have any good superstars anymore. The whole thing is just boring.

      Reply

      • I remember when there was a big shift in the NFL to west coast offenses, or derivations thereof…I thought it got very boring and that the NCAA offered more entertaining viewing by virtue of the diversity of systems run. Now, I think NCAA football is suffering the same, with spread and or read option offenses proliferating. When OSU was going for it on 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1 against WSU I was so disappointed they didn’t have a package for going directly behind center, and they stayed in shotgun. I prefer the balance, running, and TE use that Harbaugh employed at Stanford and Michigan. Throw in a QB that can run just enough to be dangerous, and you get a very diverse attack and the ability to use the clock if needed.

        At the pro level, the consistent skill application is amazing. I can’t believe at OSU for example that Bolden could continue to drop passes that he lets into his chest. In the NFL, that kind of flaw is much more rare and isn’t tolerated. Individuals do amazing things every Sunday. That said, I don’t watch it – takes too long, the announcers are boring and predictable with clichés and hyperbole….I watch an occasional OSU Beavers game and that’s about it.

        What I think will hurt the college game and its atmosphere is the move to a “televised league;’ games scheduled to fit tv slots that discourage live attendance. I also don’t like the neutral site pre-season games at Jerry World as it takes games off of campus.

        Reply

        • imo, spot on – as little as I know about the intricacies of football systems – when there’s something and 1, why have the quarterback retreat backwards? Too many nice things to do in the autumn to sit in front of a tv for hours. If I can tune into something (and I’m only interested in OSU games), I go to free football radio, find the opposing team radio broadcast, and listen to that while otherwise busy – no tolerance for Mike Parker. The announcers are better and although rooting for the home team, they are usually pretty even-handed pointing out weaknesses and strengths of each team and praising good play on both sides.

          Reply

          • If you dislike Parker you may be happy to learn that his sidekick from the JoeBeav Show will be announcing the mens exhibition game tomorrow. OTOH, you may realize why it is often said that one should beware of what they wish for!

            BTW: game is at 7pm and live streamed according to the OSU site.

            Reply

      • I think you’re a lot closer than the author is. You pretty much nailed it in your opening statement. Football, when played at the top level, is just a boring sport. Running a fly sweep on that level is novel because if you try to run it a second time you stand a good chance of losing your WR for the rest of the season… and/or about three yards. The athleticism, effort and teamwork can be recognized and appreciated by sports purists. But nobody can say that sitting around for four-plus hours for a couple minutes of action (less when you consider chunk plays are the main impetus for most casual fans to watch).

        College is worse for several reasons. Mostly it’s the talent level. But I watched a couple minutes of the Ducks and Fork U last week, and I seriously thought we would get a good ref crew because of how bad theirs were. Our refs were much better, but they were not good. And then I saw how absolutely horrible both Ds were, and the game was just not watchable, even at Nikegon’s pace.

        I think I turned it to a gardening show.

        Yes, watching someone else’s grass grow was more exciting than football.

        Reply

        • I prefer the lower talent level and less consistent skill execution. It leads to greater variation in play. To me, college football strikes the perfect balance of athletic ability and variation in play, although as ObjCritic pointed out, the spread option is getting to be frustratingly common.

          The great thing about college is that there are enough places for someone to innovate with low risk that something different is always going to come along and become the new thing. In the NFL, there’s such a low tolerance for risk and there’s such an ingrained culture, that doing things differently (like Chip) immediately gets you flagged as crazy and put on watch. In college, there’s way more tolerance for novelty.

          Reply

          • It’s not that there’s no tolerance. It’s that there really isn’t much that’s new, and anything pretending to be so will only last a year before one of 31 other O or D coordinators gets a week in the off-season to check out your tape.

            Then you’re done, and you’re subject to the same thing everyone else is as a coach in the NFL–management’s ability to accumulate and keep talent.

            Reply

          • And I think the reason people are drawn to lower levels of play is because they can find more joy in the game, visible on the field. As it becomes more and more a business, that joy is lost.

            Reply

  62. Looks like Luton might be settling in a bit as the season goes on. His overall is 187/331, 56.5% completion pct, 2398 yds, 26 TDs, 13 Int. But in the last 3 games he’s 76/115, 66.7% Completion Pct, 963 yds, 11 TDs, 5 Int.

    Still not perfect by any stretch but his apparent progress is encouraging.

    Reply

  63. I see the BeavsRecruitNews twitter retweeted this from Elu Aydon, “One thing I never got to see in Samoa, was the change in season. Corvallis is such a beautiful town…” Accompanied by a beautiful pic of the campus.

    Makes me wonder, is this the game where we see him and/or Kalani at TE? Would seem appropriate in some ways, given the opponent.

    Reply

    • My eyes tell me, Nall can get to his top speed quickly and maintain it for a longer time than others. He’s also a long strider so it doesn’t look like he’s going that fast since his steps are long. I’m going to guess he’s somewhere around 4.6 in the 40.

      Reply

      • Not this year. Soon. In about 2 years, maybe next, its payback time…a young but experienced defense, Nall running wild, Pierce stronger, faster…the Oline will need to rebuild.

        I want to know when in the next 4 years or so OSU plays @ USC, victory there for the first time in a long time…..

        Reply

  68. PHIL STEELE REPORT:

    Oregon State (Offense: 86 / Defense: 81 / Special Teams: 46) – Game Grade Average 78.0 (#80)
    Projected Final Record: 3-9

    Stanford (Offense: 76 / Defense: 8 / Special Teams: 14) – Game Grade Average 89.5 (#29)
    Projected Final Record: 9-3

    Stanford is 6-0 SU/5-1-1 ATS vs Oregon State. Last year the situation greatly favored Oregon State but Stanford still prevailed 42-24 (-14.5) as RB McCaffrey went for 206 yards. Stanford is coming off a 34-10 (-4.5) win at Arizona. HC Shaw switched to QB Chryst and although he only went 14-30-106, he made better decisions. Stanford held Arizona to a season low in yards (286) and first downs (15). RB McCaffrey finally looked healthy, going for 169 (7.3) and their offense had their most yards in the last 5 games (341). Their defense is #13 in the nation, holding foes to 101 ypg less than their average. Oregon State is coming off a 35-31 (+14) home loss to Washington State. The Beavers actually led 24-6 at halftime and 31-28 4Q. RB Nall went for 131 (6.9) and 2 TD’s incl an 89 yard run (3rd longest in school history). They avg 366 ypg incl 197 (5.5) rushing and are -165 ypg on the road against my #20 schedule. Stanford averages 304 ypg and are -52 ypg but have faced my #1 schedule in the nation! A win here makes Stanford bowl
    eligible. Stanford gets the call by 3 TD’s, making this a ‘Best Bet’ selection.

    STANFORD 31 OREGON STATE 10 – BEST BET

    POSITION BY POSITION EDGES:

    WHEN OREGON STATE HAS THE BALL:
    Oregon State QB/WR’s vs Stanford DB’s: STAN +2.17
    Oregon State RB’s vs Stanford LB’s: STAN +1.03
    Oregon State OL vs Stanford DL: STAN +0.98

    WHEN STANFORD HAS THE BALL:
    Oregon State DL vs Stanford OL: STAN +0.56
    Oregon State LB’s vs Stanford RB’s: STAN +1.17
    Oregon State DB’s vs Stanford QB/WR’s: ORST +0.64

    MISCELLANEOUS:
    Special Teams: STAN +0.23
    Kicking: STAN +1.12
    Coaching: STAN +1.60

    Oregon State Total: 0.64
    Stanford Total: 8.85
    Positional Edge Awarded to Stanford By 8.21 Points

    PROJECTED BOX SCORE (Oregon State – Stanford):
    Rushing Yards: 152-247
    Passing Yards: 87-168
    Yardage Total: 239-416
    Projected Final Score: 10-29
    Experience Rankings: 75-122
    Team Schedule Strength: 20-1

    Las Vegas Line: Stanford by 14.5
    Las Vegas Total: 42.5 Points
    +/- Ratings: Stanford by 20.3
    Game Grade: Stanford by 16.7
    Computer Yards: Stanford 416-239
    Computer Points: Stanford 29-10

    Reply

  75. I was watching “Talkin’ Beavers” last night (a local CSN show about the Beavs) and they had clips and quotes of various players. McM said something kind of bizarre and I’m not sure what to make of it.

    “It’s just the execution of the plays that McGiven or Baldwin or whoever is calling the plays is calling.”

    This sounds like a case of “too many cooks.” Weird.

    Reply

    • If it’s too many cooks, then the coaches have to realize this and give MM a single voice. But I would think it more easily understood if the guy up in the booth sees something that will work he talks to the QB on the phone between series to set up that sequence. The on-field manager has things to do, and relaying the info to him and then to the QB would be redundant in terms of time spent.

      So I’m guessing something like this happens with McGiven and Woods listening in, giving their input and relaying the info to their units.

      Reply

  76. Week 9 results:

    1. scotty: 5-1 (+6/-11)
    2. BlackBandits: 4-2 (+2/-3)
    3. Mud&Sticks: 4-2 (+13/-7)
    4. nicebeaver: 4-2 (+17/-7)
    5. Outcast: 3-3 (+10/-1)
    6. whiskey: 3-3 (+7/-7)
    7. oneoldbeav: 2-4 L(-7/n)
    8. Jack: 2-4 L(-6/+3)
    9. Theboneyard: 2-4 L(+2/+10)
    10. dwil03: 2-4 L(+11/+3)
    11. cj: 2-4 L(-21/-7)
    12. mckalk: 1-5 L(-2/+7)
    13. Numbers: 1-5 L(-3/+7)
    14. RanYakumo: 1-5 L(-1/+10)
    15. beavergopher: 1-5 L(-11/-4)
    16. orangejulius: 0-6 L(-7/+7)

    Week 10 picks:

    1. AFA @ Army
    2. Florida @ Arkansas
    3. TCU @ Baylor
    4. Iowa @ Penn St
    5. Utah State @ Wyoming
    6. OSU @ Stanford (score)

    Reply

  78. Hoping we can out score the Tree in two out of the four quarters…. and minimize the damage in the “down” quarters to single digit delta. Last week’s 3rd quarter killed us. Nail biter…
    30-27 Tree

    Reply

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