Ducks handling PSU as expected, but Nevada beat them more convincingly last week. I know, transitive property doesn’t apply, but seeing Nevada get held down by Vandy this week makes me think oregon is just an average team with a sweetheart of a schedule this year
Rutgers-tOSU is making me feel better about our performance last week. It’s almost halftime and Rutgers even sniffed the end zone. 35-0. They just threw a pick as I speak. Rutgers isn’t great, but they have respectable talent.
Bill swancutt and d Anderson were at the game. Swanny looks like he could still line up. Nice guy. Mention he likes the direction of the program and vibe this season.
I know this opponent isn’t good, but we do look a lot better this year, which is impressive after losing so many players, etc. Blount is significantly better than Luton based on how I analyze QBs.
I would assume it has to do with speed of the game? Meaning because tOSU plays faster than the beavs, while SUU plays slower than the beavs and they tackle more awkwardly because of the speed difference.
Went to the game today. Got into stadium hour early to see how the team warms up. Can’t speak on past experiences because I was usually tailgating until mid first quarter but it was good to see the team organized and efficient during warmups. A lot of different drills going on with a clear plan. I got chills watching the video of past highlights before the game. The beer lines were ridiculous unless you have a terrace pass. Still lack of pressure on opposition qb. Not a good sign against a southern Utah level opponent.
Yo pretty cool against southern shitbag state but let’s be real this is the only guaranteed win in the schedule terrified of real competition with this group. Jesus Christ
“You’ve got this game well in hand, play that one lanky QB to set up a potential controversy and keep that one RB in and run him until someone hurts him”
James Rodgers: actually you should sit your star players to prevent injury”
Keeping Conor Blount healthy by setting him for the second half made sense.
It did, however, give the Luton Lovers the opportunity to claim the lack of O when he was in is due to the absence of: AP, Hernandez, and Bradford. Even Big Jim pointed out that Luton threw the best single pass of the day. The QB “controversy” isn’t close to being over. Sadly.
It’s pretty much over. Luton couldn’t move the ball at all with his arm against a lower division team. Blount would have got the offense over 50 in the third. Unless Blount gets injured, it’s his job.
hearing Jim Wilson, who should know better, talking about how Luton threw the single best spiral of the day was disappointing. As Angry has long extolled, the differentiating skill of good quarterbacks is keeping drives alive, or as the saying goes, moving the chains.
Defense was preetty terrible tonight. Missed a lot of sacks. Couldn’t get any pressure to help the secondary. Secondary actually played well but the d line let the QB scramble and make plays.
I think it was smart to to sit Blount in the second half. I think JS knows now that he’s our guy, and the Beavs are not in a position where style points matter. He wants to keep the better QB healthy for conference games and get the #2 some reps. Also this year’s theme is offense, offense, offense, because we have no defense.
he learned the lesson of GA’s misguided selection of Luton as the starter a year ago when that honor had not been earned. On the premise that Luton has some supporters in the locker room, Smith had the luxury of allowing on-field in real-game time for Luton show everyone that Blount is the best QB
I’m also continually amazed at how bad our coaching staffs are at evaluating QBs. Blount is clearly a better all around QB than Luton, yet they named Luton as the starter in the first game. Was it a strategic move by JS knowing the first game was a body bag game? We’ll probably never know, but if he chose Luton because he thought he was our best shot at winning, then we’re in for more QB issues in the future.
Some guys are better in practice than they are in games. Without having seen all of fall camp, it’s hard to fault the staff for that. IIRC both QB’s put up pretty similar aggregate numbers in the fall scrimmages.
Some guys are better in practice than they are in games. Without having seen all of fall camp, it’s hard to fault the staff for that. IIRC both QB’s put up pretty similar aggregate numbers in the fall scrimmages.
Was it a strategic move by JS knowing the first game was a body bag game?
That’s exactly what Marcus Greaves said recently on a podcast with Mama M. He cited McMaryion’s experience last season at Fresno State as an example. To be clear, Greaves didn’t claim this to be a fact, just his own take as to a possible explanation.
Despite my previous take, the “QB controversy” may actually be nearing an end. The GT article and JS comment that the QB plan is “going to be a little bit weekly” may indicate an official elevation of Blount is closer than previously thought.
Another transfer opportunity with related to our Nebraska connections has presented itself to OSU. Beavs appear to be going after 4* DE/OLB Addison Gumbs, who announced his intentions to leave Oklahoma earlier this week. He’s from Hayward,CA and was recruited heavily by Nebraska (and a ton of other teams) during the Riley regime
Addison isn’t unfamiliar with Corvallis. He did visit here(unofficially) back in 2016. He’s part of the 2016 class.
Just before Oklahoma’s 1st game this year he suddenly came down with a season ending injury amd then left the team, so he technically hasn’t played this year and could potentially be a medical hardship candidate. I believe he has already redshirted and played in 1 season, so he’s a 3rd year Sophomore who wouldn’t be eligible till next season. But I think he is definitely a candidate to land at OSU and be ready to go by next fall like Gebbia/Roberts/Kipper, and I think he would be a defensive difference maker if we do land him.
Do you think there is any buzz out there in general in the college football world that the Beavers have great coaches and the program is on the way up? Seems like the coaching and the potential to play sooner than later is attracting some of this transfer talent.
Different team in second half. Our offense was on the field most of the first half… our defense most of the second half. What happened? I don’t think the offensive game plan changed. Biggest change was Luton. The offense just lacked spark after half time. Defense secondary looked good through out but our defensive line wore down. If we are going to win games this year the key will be in keeping the offense on the field and to do that you will need Blount in as QB.
After half there were two three and outs, and the fumble. Luton was throwing to the 2’s and 3’s, fwiw; I would imagine he’s in better sync with the 1’s.
Decent crowed considering circumstances I would guess between 25-30K
O has some very good play makers and the coaching is considerably better than the GA era. Blount should be the starter period. He manages the game well, can make the throws and is a threat to run some. Not concerned about the 2nd half seeing that none of the first string WR played. We do need to get Pierce and Bradford back if they plan on winning more than 2 games this year. Jefferson is fantastic other than he need to make sure he secures the ball.
D. What I noticed last night is the players for the most part are in the correct position to make plays. The coaching is night and day better over the past couple of years. The issue is we lack speed / talent / and depth to make many plays. The D will be hard to watch this season just not enough talent.
Punting seems to be strong but our “weapon” of a kicker might want to make more than 50% of his kicks.
Team will be much more fun to watch this season. Baring injuries they could win 4 games. Going forward if we get the right players this program can be successful. The coaching is a HUGE upgrade. Also the lack of penalties shows this team is much more diciplined and pays attention to detail.
Choukair is in danger of picking up the obvious nickname if he doesn’t become A LOT more reliable!
I had the same feeling about penalties, and still do. However, it is a little surprising to note that the improvement is not quite as large as I’d have guessed:
**5p per game so far this season vs 7 last.
**59.5 yds/game vs 68 last season.
It would be interesting to see a breakdown of the type of penalties in the two seasons. Effort penalties vs lack of discipline ones.
I missed the 2nd half. We purchased a home yesterday and friends took us out to celebrate. Seemed more important than watching the halftime blowout. So, what did I miss? Curious why the D gave up so many points in the 2nd half compared with the first. Fatigue and lack of depth again? Did they let up? Etc
BeaverBill at 09:14 above has a lot of the answer.
With Luton’s inability to sustain drives the D was on the field enough to be hampered by fatigue and lack of depth. SUU’s QB was mobile enough to give a tired Beavs D fits.
Speaking of fatigue, Elu (according to radio) is only able to play 2 or 3 downs before needing a break. No surprise given how out of shape he has been; he has done a fair job though when he is in.
concur with OOB. with Luton at the controls the offense was on the field for a minute and a half for each of three possessions in third quarter. An already thin D simply got gassed.
I finished watching the second half. I think a lot of reserves were in, but a lot of missed tackles again. I thought the secondary played well, but I’m still a little stunned by how slow some of the players are on D. Tibesar has his work cut out for him. JS knows offense. I think his teams will be very competitive in three years. An early 2nd half drive stalled and Choukair missed a very make-able FG and the energy kind of went out. Very Beaverish.
The emphasis in recruiting seems to be on the defensive side of the ball so it looks like the staff has a plan instead of recruiting 42 receivers like Andersen did.
Went to the game yesterday, my only issue was I feel Smith failed to read the needs of the crowd. I understand his decision to pull lots of guys in the 2nd half with the score out of hand but I think it was a mistake. At halftime the parking lot was buzzing and I think Smith would have been smart to play the starters through the 3rd and keep the crowd into it.
The air really came out of the stadium in the 3rd quarter. It was a missed opportunity to me. If this team was coming off a bowl season than so be it but coming off a 1-11 season full of blow outs we needed to truly boat race someone and Smith should have done so.
Overall I am happy with what I am seeing, coaching is clearly there. Depth is a major issue but if this team can stay healthy and starts Blount I think they are capable of beating Nevada next week and winning 2-3 PAC games with an outside shot at 4 PAC wins (basing this on the idea that they continue to improve as the season progresses). Arizona, Cal, WSU are all vulnerable IMO and I am not buying Herm’s start at ASU yet nor does Colorado’s win yesterday make me think they can’t be beat.
Overall my prediction is that they do beat Nevada next week and than beat 2 of UA, Cal, WSU for a 4 win season.
Old man back in college brain side note: One of the cheerleaders probably had the most impressive six pack I’ve ever seen on a woman. It was distracting at times.
Oh jesus, no, that guy is human trash. And is pretty much not welcome anywhere in Bend.
But its not like I am blind. She was right in front of my seat for the whole 2nd half and it was amusing because all the Southern Utah players that weren’t in uniform spent the half chatting with her instead of watching the game. She was a beautiful woman. All I did was notice. There is nothing wrong with noticing a beautiful woman. My girlfriend was who pointed her out to me to begin with.
Can’t imagine JS (or any quality coach) ever factoring in crowd energy over maximizing the opportunity to develop players. Understand the perspective as a suffering fan but coaches got their mind on ball 24/7.
concur that Blount should have taken the helm for one or two possessions in the second half just to make sure some time was burned off the clock. Luton almost seemed to be putting time back ON the clock.
But as noted above, and as Jim Wilson said on post-game, Smith had the luxury of giving Luton some game time exposure. But as I maintained above, part of the (unstated) motivation was to mitigate any locker room dissension about whom to choose as starter. Blount has won this contest and I expect he will start next Saturday. If I’m wrong, we really do have a problem with the second set of coaches in a row who cannot evaluate QB talent
the lines were long, but at least they had the sense to ask a guy (me) with gray hair and a medicare card if I was old enough to have an adult beverage. That always infuriates me at other places
I see we ditched the chainsaw in favor of a double bladed axe when the team runs onto the field at Reser. Anybody know what the handle says? (Obscured i this pic)
Did they roll out with the American Flag like last year? I like the double sided axe. What would be really cool, is if the team got to swing the axe into a tree stump after every home victory to start a new tradition?
No idea. They beat Portland State in game 1 by a wider margin than Oregon did at 72-19.
But in week 2 they lost to Vandy 41-10. And Vany is traditionally a .500 or worse SEC team.
Vegas favor Nevada by 5.5. I think you’ve gotta like the Beavs chances, especially if Pierce and Bradford play and Blount is QB
I watched some of the first half of the hole game yesterday. They had a hard time running the ball against PSU. I didn’t look at the numbers cuz I really don’t care, but watching the first half their run game was not impressive. I don’t think it’s much of a testament to PSU’s defense as it was hole just sucking at the run game but Herbert was able to throw all over them.
Heavy doses of the new “President,” Jefferson. I hope Pierce is good to go and start, but with that injury, maybe be better to rest him.
Blount better be the starter. If the staff thinks Luton gives them a better chance to win they’re just lying to themselves.
If the staff plays it smart, they have a good chance of being 3-1 after AZ. One can’t write AZ off, especially with probably better athletes overall, a mobile QB, and OSU’s current secondary play, but they’re beatable in a home, league opener with a better crowd. If OSU does go 3-1, then pick ups wins against Cal and/or a CW victory, it would be meaningful progress.
I like the Beavs to cover the 4.5 point spread but not sure they win it. I would expect a high scoring game considering our defense. Haven’t seen the over/under yet.
Just watched AP injury in slow motion… I am not an orthopedic surgeon, but I would say at a minimum dislocated and out several weeks. Worst case scenario, reconstructive surgery on ligaments that were stretched and/or torn. Out for season.
Looked like a hyperextended elbow to me. I’m not an orthopedic surgeon either but I took a lot of classes in Langton Hall and the Women’s Building. Unfortunately, the injury will impact him more as a ball carrier than it would if he was a non skill position player. Hope he’s not out long. If it’s as serious as you say, at least he would be eligible for a redshirt. Barnes errantly said he was senior during his interview on the telecast yesterday.
Beavers vs. Arizona is a 1 PM kickoff on the Pac-12 Networks Saturday Sept 22! Day game! So hoping we’ll be 2-1 going into that game! It should be a good game.
With how badly Arizona has been playing lately, and if the Beavs are riding a 2 game win streak at the time, I have to go with Beavs getting to 3-1 by week 4.
Side note related to start times. OSU really should switch sidelines. The old side is in the shade in the afternoon while the new side is sun drenched.
Agree, I’ve been arguing this for years. We almost always play 1 to 2 September games at home where the sun is beating down on us while the visiting team is in the shade, and then we also choose to wear our black jerseys. It makes no sense.
Put the visiting team over by the students and let them make noise all game long too. Not to mention, the visiting team entrance and exit is already on the East side, so they wouldn’t have to cross the field during pregame entrances.
Arizona State recently made this type of change. The downside is the TV view is of the visitors sideline for most of the game. From a brand exposure standpoint this would hurt Oregon State.
Only two games in, but one against Ohio State and:
“Jefferson and Pierce, by the way, are the early leaders in Pac-12 rushing. Jefferson leads with 285 yards (142.5 per game) and Pierce is second with 259 yards (129.5), with Utah’s Zack Moss in third place with 216 yards (108.0). Pierce is averaging 11.8 yards per carry, Jefferson 9.5. .”
Very nice. One thing is clear, this staff is attempting to reestablish a balance in the offense and a run commitment OSU has not seen in years. Also, able to do it with more than one RB.
Maybe Nall should have stayed? : ) Regardless, with Pierce, Jefferson, and Tyler still in the wings, OSU is looking pretty good.
But Nall isn’t as good as either Pierce or Jefferson. 20/20 hindsight says he probably made a good decision.
It’s also nice to see:
1. Hodgins get used the way he should get used
2. Bradford is the player we thought he would be coming out of HS
3. Players like Smalls, Allen, Short and Bodden working downfield and getting rewarded
One thing I really like this year is the Oline and run blocking and how often they get to do it. I haven’t seen that kind of pop off the line in about a decade.
BUT, there’s some potential (D line) and a difference maker (Morris) missing due to injury…With Riechner, Morris, and a full suite of CBs, they’d probably crack 100 at least. It is also too bad one experience D lineman got so out of shape – was it Aydon?.
was it Aydon?
Indeed it was. But, the recent video of the team bowling in Bend hinted that he retains some athleticism. Radio says he gets gassed after 2 or 3 plays.
I don’t remember seeing it, but the box score says Christian Wallace got his first ever carry against SUU. He didn’t get much coverage before the season, but it looks like he’s RB3 with Pierce and Tyler injured.
Wallace was the last run before we took a knee. Baylor went out with some undisclosed injury, and he took it from the 9 to the 6 as we were running the clock out.
Vanderbilt HC Derek Mason on their 41-10 win over Nevada:
“This was kind of sloppy to be honest,” Mason said. “… Our best football hasn’t been played. I’m not being greedy. I’m just trying to ask our guys to grab what’s out there to be had.”
The only thing that I’m concerned about with this one is that it’s a road game. Why did we schedule a road game in Reno? Our schedule is horrible this year.
Sounds like he’ll be taking advantage of the redshirt rule this year? He would be back in time for the Cal game by that timeline. He would miss basically 4 1/2 games this season. Jermar Jefferson looks to be our starter for the next 4-6 weeks. Baylor or Wallace his backup? Hope Wallace gets more carries than his 1 this season.
I think you have the RS rule confused. You can play in no more than 4 games and still RS. If Pierce comes back by Cal and plays the remainder of the games, that will be 7 games played. No RS for him this year.
What I mean is, yes, he could come back, but the coaches might not try to bring him back too early…or if he re-injures his elbow when he comes back, he is able to still redshirt. Hence why i said it with a question mark. It was a question on whether he will definitely return for Cal, or if they wait it out a few more weeks and save him from re-injury. That’s the beauty of the redshirt rule.
I saw a comment from one of the local sites after game 1 that said something like
“seeing Blount outperform Luton in game isnt entirely surprising. Luton looked better overall during the summer, but he was playing mostly with the 1’s while Blount played mostly with the 2’s. When Blount played with the 1’s, he was the better of the 2 QBs”
This genius analysis came from media members who thought Luton was the sure starter all summer long.
The evidence was right there in front of them all summer and they still couldn’t put 2 and 2 together.
Getting tired of the “quarterback competition” for the starter. It’s obvious to the fans who’s the better quarterback. What I see is that Blount has the “it” factor much like Smith did. Something you can’t pull out of the stats that a good quarterback uses to win games or manage the games. He seems to have whatever it is and Luton clearly does not have it. Luton went in and the team crrashed. Three three and outs in a row for Luton. At that point they should have put in Coletto. Luton is a good practice player but not a good game time player.
So why do they continue with the charade? 1. Gamesmanship so the other team can’t prepare for just one guy. But that’s lame because OSU runs the same plays and Nevada will just blitz more with Luton. 2. Coaches don’t want to ruin the confidence of Luton. Whatever. 3. They want Blount to feel pressure to perform better. Not necessary. The guy will work his tail off anyway. 4. Riley’s influence. ‘ nuf said.
They should not have even played Luton Saturday. Too soon after a concussion. Too risky. I was surprised they even sent him out there.
…there’s little doubt that, with what we’ve seen from them the first two games, Blount deserves the starting nod against the Wolf Pack. …he scrambled four times for 27 yards against the Thunderbirds — and his patience in the pocket and decision-making has been good.
And, Luton doesn’t run as well as Blount, and he has a tendency to overthrow deep balls, which he did three times against the Thunderbirds.
If I remember correctly, Luton’s first DI pass should have been a 70-yard TD at CSU….WR was wide open, Luton overthrew him by 5 yards. You could have chalked that up to first-game nerves, but he throws behind receivers on shallow crossing routes – which is absurd with a 6′ 7″ QB who can see over the line and has his arm strength – and still overthrows deep passes.
Its odd that Smith, who never had “measureables,” seems to feel the need to extend the charade of “who’s-the-starter” based on Luton’s “measureables.” With Blount playing like he has, this team could win 4+ games, show progress, and encourage recruits and the fan base.
I paid close attention to Luton’s body language while he we playing the 2nd half Saturday. After bad plays his body language is horrible. He seems to hang his head when things are not going well and it’s zaps energy from the rest of the team. I understand he “won” the QB competition and he did not have any 1st string WR to throw to on sat but at this point the train has left the station. Fair or not this is not Luton’s team. I hope this staff does not loose the team the way GA did last year. That memory is still fresh to many of the players and if they force Luton on them this thing could quickly spiral out of control.
I don’t think you give up anything strategically by announcing your quarterback wheras you risk alienating the players with the “quarterback competition”. Not to mention losing the confidence of your fans.
That’s the reality. It’s Blount’s job to lose right now with Luton as the backup. Colletto is likely to redshirt unless something changes with the other 2 guys. Colletto is a good enough athlete to see the field at some point in his career. Hopefully, it will be at QB but he has the athleticism to play other positions.
I suppose if he learned to block and put on 50 pounds he could be a blocking back or a TE. But I would hesitate to let him play any position where he has to judge the flight of the ball in the air.
suggests Casey may return but not to the OSU dugout. The lead comment suggests Casey’s departure is the out-wash from the Heimlich affair. No one around OSU and Corvallis wants to discuss that much but my instinct tells me it’s a bigger factor than anyone has let on.
Good luck finding a more egalitarian and less compliant university.
If Casey were to leave for that, it would lessen him. I think it was a greater emotional toll that Luke doesn’t get to play baseball anywhere, despite him standing up for the kid. If he wants to wander that wilderness, good luck to him. It’s a petty complaint, given the hard lines drawn in policy.
Kendall has a couple follow up tweets to his column. One is a poll on whether Casey coaches in 2020 and the second a comment on possibly in the SEC. Aside from the salary, I don’t see the upside of Cassey going to the SEC.
Sounds like Jay Irvine had surgery today, so doesn’t seem likely we’ll be seeing him again this year. Guy has had a pretty long string of bad luck with injuries
And now Angie has a story out saying it’s official that he’s transferring to OSU.
He has a redshirt year to use while he sits and rehabs this season, so he’s be a redshirt Sophomore next year. Could play DE or OLB. I think he represents the highest rated recruit we’ve gotten in quite some time. Rivals had him around #67 overall in the 2017 class.
All sites had him in their top 100.
Nice “get” for the Sociology major! From OSU Sociology Dept:
“Our Vision:
To create engaged citizens, problem solvers, and ethical professionals who understand and explain how society shapes individuals and individuals shape society.
Our Mission:
The OSU Sociology Program:
1. Provides a rigorous curriculum and inclusive learning environment for OSU students, including unique opportunities for experiential learning;
2. Supports the continuous exploration of sociological knowledge with particular focus on social relations, inequality, the environment, and crime.
3. Serves the people of Oregon, the nation, and the world by informing solutions to current and future social problems. “
Shout out to this staff so far. Impressed with on field progress in 2 weeks and they are accelerating the rebuild exponentially by bringing in 3 top 150 recruits from the 2017 class. Beasting.
I think it has to help that the team doesn’t look like an absolute basket case this year. The offense is pretty well put together considering the QB situation and the defense obviously just needs some more big fellas. This team is well coached and doesn’t have that perennial basement dweller stench about it any more.
Nice work Nicebeaver. Not that we’ll ever find out but I’d like to know what other teams we’ve beaten out for our 3 transfers. You’d have to think that other teams were looking at Gumbs at least. Great job by the staff bringing in 3 starters.
I think going in our favor, we had several open scholarships which we didnt use. We also benefit from starting school later in the year with the quarter system, so guys have more time to get their transcripts in order and can squeeze in just before school starts. I was afraid he would join his brother at Arizona, except they started school in August, so it was too late.
Good points NB. Makes me wonder if the staff doesn’t max out the roster every year just for this reason. The number of openings this year can’t be helped but they’ll definitely have more control going forward.
Thought 1 on the QB thing. While I definitely think Blount has earned the job anyone think maybe keeping it an open competition is because JS knows the locker room and what happened last year and sees that some guys are in the Luton camp?
Thought 2 on the QB thing. Is it possible that JS doesn’t want to hand the keys to Blount too early because he wants to ensure that if he names Gebbia starter next year it won’t look like the new guy beating out the entrenched starter thereby again risking an Andersen situation?
I know we are critical here and thats the goal but I think JS has a plan at the QB position and for the program as a whole so for now I am gonna let this play out.
I have a hard time being critical/cynical of JS thus far after 2 games. The offense is night and day different from Riley, GA, and Hall. The OL is just plain Nastier than what I have seen in YEARS at OSU. I mean, averaging 6.6 YPC after 2 games is fantastic! We still have a long season ahead of us, but I also recall that JS said even though they would name a starter at the beginning of the season, both QB’s will play the first 3-4 weeks of games to solidify the starting role. I vaguely remember reading or hearing that in a presser earlier in fall camp. Blount will be the starter outright if and when he continues to manage the game the way he is doing currently.
Luton won the job in camp. Reporters who didn’t report but think they have credibility after the fact don’t impress me. Blount has been a gamer. His numbers aren’t all world, but he moves the chains.
In Luton’s first quarter at QB, he stalled. But he started to warm up pretty well in the 4th. He showed he can make throws Blount can’t… and that he didn’t even throw last year.
The only controversial part of it is that they’re both back-up quality P5 QBs. We should just play a two-headed monster all year, taking advantage of different abilities to keep opposing Ds off-balance. It’s not like we have anything to lose.
Come next year, we’ll have a starter and a capable back-up.
I see you mention Polk visiting in October but he is committing this Friday. Is that good or bad that he is committing before his OV? I was thinking if we were going to get him, he’d commit while/right after he has his OV with us.
Your guess is as good as mine. I was told by a reliable “source” yesterday morning that he is planning to visit Oct 6th, and then later that evening he says he’s committing somewhere this week. I think that announcement surprised several people. I noticed a few of our coaches started following him right after he announced that. Could be a last ditch effort to sway him?
Dont be surprised if the visit plans get cancelled though. These things change day to day, it seems
At what point do we admit that JS is not Riley and those critiques are unfounded? I’ll take these kinds of errors as opposed to bland coach speak. We’re are not good enough to worry significantly about bulletin board material.
I don’t like the hire of Riley, but I also have been saying that not everything Riley is bad. It appears that early returns are in and JS has taken some good from Riley (specifically two transfers) but hasn’t taken the bad (not one mention of finding that identity, beating teams we absolutely should beat, not saying we want balance and then passing 70%). I saw a bunch of chicken little on this site without any data and now people are more positive but don’t admit their name calling early were off the mark.
If you don’t like it because it could be taken (out of context) as bulletin board material, then I agree.
However, I don’t think it shows any sort of overconfidence on the part of JS. He goes on to say things like, “going to be a test”, “a challenge”, will “need our A game to come out with a win”.
His remarks certainly won’t cause the Beavs to slack off in preparation for the game. Bottom line for me here is that Smith is a low key, understated, factual sort of guy. A “no spin” approach, if you will.
Agree with all that, and yes, that’s why I don’t like it.
Can say all the same things without mentioning they’re not Ohio State. We all know they’re not Ohio State, and I’m sure Nevada knows they aren’t Ohio State. No reason to say it.
With his experience under Petersen he should know better. Here’s a guess; JS is casual and comfortable with the media because of the whole “return” thing, coupled with the recent history of GA. He knows enough to keep strategic plans close to the vest but is too casual to carefully avoid off the cuff remarks. He’ll change when a critical article which he deems unfair is published.
BTW, he also knows enough to instruct his assistants that only he will be speaking about injuries. I like that.
‘Hey fellas, did you see what JS said about us the other day? He said we’re not Ohio State! Can you believe it?! Each of us had an offer from THE Ohio State and turned them down, dammit! God Damn right we’re not Ohio State…We’d beat they’re ass! We are the Wolfpack…AAaa-oooooooooo!!!!!!!!’
I think he’s handling himself just fine as a first year coach. Personally if I got THAT shellacked by another team, I’d strike their name from my memory and my speech. It is innocent enough, but JS is so….nerdy, could someone really consider him the type to talk trash?
I keep hearing about 3 transfers that are amazing gets. BUT……I thought we had one before all of these that was also from Nebraska. Maybe a D-Lineman? I can’t remember. Anyone help me on this?
I guess OSU shouldn’t roll out the turnover lunchpail… where whomever finds the rock can put it… and the players can pretend that they’re going to keep eating?
Beau Baldwin, the guy many wanted hired, has started 2 different QB’s this year and offers these comments:
“It’s not anything new, and, at the end of the day, they’re another position player,” offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin said. “I get it. They are incredibly important. I don’t devalue what a quarterback means to a football team, but the fact that only one quarterback can mean something to the entire football team, that’s misleading.”
I finally watched some of JS’s press conferences. I like him, it’s not a bunch of coach speak bullshit. You can tell he’s happy to be here and he loves the game of football. He explains things straight forward. I have no idea how well he’ll do, but I’m rooting for him. If these transfers coming in are any indication, I think he’s respected in the college football world.
Personally, I bought into a lot of the GA coach speak but unfortunately there wasn’t a lot of substance behind it. JS on the other hand is very authentic even if he does sound a little nerdy at times. I loved JS’s comment about the entire team being Beavers and not my guys vs GA’s guys. I think it’s already evident JS’s offensive expertise is greater than GA’s defensive expertise was. It will be interesting to see what happens from here on out but it appears he has it going in the right direction. If JS can continue to produce results on offense the defense will hopefully follow like it did at Boise St.
That’s a good way to put it. The offense is far ahead of anything GA and his buffoons came up with. Recruit speed and get depth on defense and they will be ok in the future. JS was not spewing shit when he said he was impressed with the talent already here and you know he saw tons of talent up at UW. I for one did not think the Beav offense would be averaging almost 40 points a game after the first two games. They are going to have to outscore a team or two to get 4 wins. I also wish their star players would stop getting injured!
On a spiteful note, I hope Xavier Crawford enjoyed being on the field as his team helped Kansas end their 40 game road losing streak. Luck O’ the ex-Beaver?
With Kansas winning on the road, that leaves someone with the longest current road losing streak. I saw who it was earlier, but I can’t quite remember who it is.
Two of 3 of the ducks non conference opponents are in the “bottom” 25… The third team (Portland state) went winless in FCS last year and is so far winless this year…
first time in a long time that we are not on this type of list.
Football outsiders S&P+ has us ranked #80, up from #110 in preseason. trending up but a long way to go. Nevada has an S&P+ ranking of #88. We really need to win this game.
Better than a locked/secured briefcase handcuffed to a coach and they transfer it to the player to “secure the package”. It’s gimmicky and right up Taggert’s alleyway. I still say Beavs should use the new “Strike Hard” Axe on a stump after every victory and call it, “The victory swing”. The stump should allow for 13 swings before the stump splits in half…similar to the STIHL Lumberjack competitions.
I was totally unaware that this had occurred. Ok, lets leave wood chopping to the professionals. Why would you have a freshly sharpened axe in a locker room?! I can understand pulling it out on game day or practice, but not just leaving it in the locker room.
Regarding the Nevada game. I would not be overly disappointed if it was a close loss. GA went on the road against a non-power 5 with Colorado St. and got his ass handed to him (especially in the second half). Baby steps to me would be to give them a hell of a game. Win the game and I’m adjusting the trajectory of the program up again.
I would agree with this. I am hoping our defense can just play 4 quarters and not rely on our Offense to win games, but it’s trending to where the offense will have to rack up TD’s in every game especially being efficient in extending drives in the second half. I recall a lot of the 2000-2001 season games had a lot of back and forth in the first 2 quarters, and then the team ran away with it against lesser opponents once the offense wore out the other teams defense. I’m hoping that’s the model that will help us win games. As nice as long runs are, that can in turn wear down your defense if it happens after the opponent stalls after making a couple first downs. This team is still an unknown in regards to the middle of the row teams.
They played a perennial top 5 team out of the gate, and then a top Big Sky FCS team and boat raced them in the first half. It’s just hard to tell since they haven’t played a full game against equal competition.
Disagree. CSU last year was a much better team than Nevada is looking like this year. I don’t think anyone inside the program would be encouraged by a close loss in Reno.
Saw Nevada got handled pretty easily by Vandy. Gives me some hope for a 2-1 start to the season. But let’s focus on 1-1 first.
Oh, and GoBeavs!
I have to miss the game so i will rely on ABers to keep me up to speed.
Most of the PAC shitting the bed. Maybe we’ll be more competitive then we think
Ducks handling PSU as expected, but Nevada beat them more convincingly last week. I know, transitive property doesn’t apply, but seeing Nevada get held down by Vandy this week makes me think oregon is just an average team with a sweetheart of a schedule this year
Plus PAC North top to bottom will be stronger which doesn’t help our cause.
South outside of USC looks pedestrian.
Wazzu will suck until their QB gets hurt, and Leach looks around his bench the week before our game and discovers he has a walk-on QB he can play.
Rutgers-tOSU is making me feel better about our performance last week. It’s almost halftime and Rutgers even sniffed the end zone. 35-0. They just threw a pick as I speak. Rutgers isn’t great, but they have respectable talent.
The Colorado-#TPB game has been fun
And #TPB lose at home 33-28 in their first game under Frost… same score as they did under Riley.
Here’s a link for old times sake:
http://player.listenlive.co/52371
Frost’s press conference voice sounds like he downed a handful of Valium, sheesh. Mopey AF
Looks like they ditched the wide white strips on the black helmets. Look nice in person.
Black helmets orange stripe, black tops, black pants.
I love the solo orange stripe on a black lid.
It would look better if there were no logos on it.
Just saw Smilin’ Mike walking around the field talking with people…
Hopefully to the Southern Utah players
Saw James R. too.
Bill swancutt and d Anderson were at the game. Swanny looks like he could still line up. Nice guy. Mention he likes the direction of the program and vibe this season.
I know this opponent isn’t good, but we do look a lot better this year, which is impressive after losing so many players, etc. Blount is significantly better than Luton based on how I analyze QBs.
Sounds like they’re doing what they SHOULD against a lesser opponent, which is an improvement.
Damn I thought they got rid of the 3rd down dying cow sound
Wow, when was the last time we had a 17 point lead on someone?
Yo bitches. Watching.McM in person
Call my doctor.
On it
Not yet, you get 4 hours of McM before you have to call the doc for Angry
Is a proctologist OK?
Artavis gets injured just as Scott Barnes rambles on and on during his interview. Luck O da Beavs
Mentions finding an identity in that interview
What’s the injury report?
Radio saying elbow injury of some kind
Looked hyperextended
That’s what I was thinking. Hopefully nothing damaged too much but maybe sits out next week.
Utah down 3-0 to N. Illinois at the half. Anderpants joins the staff, and suddenly zero offense. Coincidence?
yes
It’s like we’re in bizarro world…ahead and getting crazy calls to go our way.
Why is the team taking more injuries against Southern Utah than Ohio State?
Luck O Da Beavs?
I would assume it has to do with speed of the game? Meaning because tOSU plays faster than the beavs, while SUU plays slower than the beavs and they tackle more awkwardly because of the speed difference.
I know it’s just a middle of the road Big Sky opponent, but this team looks like a better-coached group than we’ve seen in a while.
Blount doesn’t look like a world beater, but he’s solid and not making mistakes.
As long as the injuries don’t keep piling up, we’re going to at least compete in the P12
Went to the game today. Got into stadium hour early to see how the team warms up. Can’t speak on past experiences because I was usually tailgating until mid first quarter but it was good to see the team organized and efficient during warmups. A lot of different drills going on with a clear plan. I got chills watching the video of past highlights before the game. The beer lines were ridiculous unless you have a terrace pass. Still lack of pressure on opposition qb. Not a good sign against a southern Utah level opponent.
I know So Utah isn’t very scary, but it’s really a good sign how comfortable Blunt looks hanging in the pocket.
Jermar Jefferson is pretty good.
Young players getting some work and doing well
Is Jefferson going to be the next OSU “President?”
What happened to Pierce?
no one got it, Jack, but I appreciate your knowledge of American history
I guess Pierce was a POTUS like Pluto was a planet?
Beav defense is crap!
Official attendance 36.4K. What did it actually look like?
37.2K
Chainsaw didn’t help there….was the Inflatable Helmet part of “The Return” today?
No inflatable helmet. There isn’t any room for it I don’t think now that the team comes out of double doors behind goal post.
Is Luton in to confirm that Blunt is better?
Keep Blount healthy and demonstrate to everyone…Luton included…Luton is not the starter any more.
Pass rush and tackling are not looking good so far, even with the lead
Trent Bray agrees!
Do the beavs have any defensive takeaways yet this season?
int last week
Oh ok, missed that one
Blew up a trick play, defense still gives up 9 yards.
Nice stop on 4th and 1! That chewing out during TO had a little effect, I guess.
Yo pretty cool against southern shitbag state but let’s be real this is the only guaranteed win in the schedule terrified of real competition with this group. Jesus Christ
I just don’t want to see Luton playing when it matters.
I’m glad Jesus gave his input on the subject.
This illustrates why we need to build a wall… and have Jesus and his compatriots pay for it.
I suppose we could have tried to get the dregs of the Big Sky in for some patty cakes.
But apparently some lazy ass already had them signed up.
Has Houston improved from a F+ last week to a solid D so far today?
Fourth TD for Jefferson……SET HIM DOWN NOW
I think Mike Riley IS consulting Smith
“You’ve got this game well in hand, play that one lanky QB to set up a potential controversy and keep that one RB in and run him until someone hurts him”
James Rodgers: actually you should sit your star players to prevent injury”
Riley: shut the fuck up smack smack I love my gum
Keeping Conor Blount healthy by setting him for the second half made sense.
It did, however, give the Luton Lovers the opportunity to claim the lack of O when he was in is due to the absence of: AP, Hernandez, and Bradford. Even Big Jim pointed out that Luton threw the best single pass of the day. The QB “controversy” isn’t close to being over. Sadly.
It’s pretty much over. Luton couldn’t move the ball at all with his arm against a lower division team. Blount would have got the offense over 50 in the third. Unless Blount gets injured, it’s his job.
You know that, I know that, Angry and many others do as well. But, I stand by my assessment; the controversy isn’t close to being over……IMHO
Is Blount on scholarship yet? I can’t recall if he was.
Yes.
hearing Jim Wilson, who should know better, talking about how Luton threw the single best spiral of the day was disappointing. As Angry has long extolled, the differentiating skill of good quarterbacks is keeping drives alive, or as the saying goes, moving the chains.
Brent Brennen’s Spartans not showing much offense vs the Grinch-less Cougs. May have something to do with Brennan’s O-coord………..Kevin McGiven.
I hired the wrong fucking guys!!!
why
Is that the guy who likes to have the kicker on the field at all times because he’s the top scorer?
Defense was preetty terrible tonight. Missed a lot of sacks. Couldn’t get any pressure to help the secondary. Secondary actually played well but the d line let the QB scramble and make plays.
first line secondary played better, but the second line was bad. It was poor enough on at least one side that the third line made no difference.
It was pretty obvious which side that was. And if you think I’m picking on someone, it’s still not as much as tOSU picked on him.
Except for D Williams he was terrible again
For those who want to know, the banner on top of valley says go beavs.
I think it was smart to to sit Blount in the second half. I think JS knows now that he’s our guy, and the Beavs are not in a position where style points matter. He wants to keep the better QB healthy for conference games and get the #2 some reps. Also this year’s theme is offense, offense, offense, because we have no defense.
he learned the lesson of GA’s misguided selection of Luton as the starter a year ago when that honor had not been earned. On the premise that Luton has some supporters in the locker room, Smith had the luxury of allowing on-field in real-game time for Luton show everyone that Blount is the best QB
I’m also continually amazed at how bad our coaching staffs are at evaluating QBs. Blount is clearly a better all around QB than Luton, yet they named Luton as the starter in the first game. Was it a strategic move by JS knowing the first game was a body bag game? We’ll probably never know, but if he chose Luton because he thought he was our best shot at winning, then we’re in for more QB issues in the future.
Some guys are better in practice than they are in games. Without having seen all of fall camp, it’s hard to fault the staff for that. IIRC both QB’s put up pretty similar aggregate numbers in the fall scrimmages.
Some guys are better in practice than they are in games. Without having seen all of fall camp, it’s hard to fault the staff for that. IIRC both QB’s put up pretty similar aggregate numbers in the fall scrimmages.
That’s exactly what Marcus Greaves said recently on a podcast with Mama M. He cited McMaryion’s experience last season at Fresno State as an example. To be clear, Greaves didn’t claim this to be a fact, just his own take as to a possible explanation.
Despite my previous take, the “QB controversy” may actually be nearing an end. The GT article and JS comment that the QB plan is “going to be a little bit weekly” may indicate an official elevation of Blount is closer than previously thought.
https://www.gazettetimes.com/sports/beavers-sports/football/osu-football-notebook-blount-leads-beavers-to-offensive-explosion-in/article_621545ae-a24e-5278-ab26-72e0aa2791a0.html
My god those are ugly uniforms. The “Return” should be those hideous things going back to Nike.
Enhanced chainsaw noise!
Leach will get about 1300 yards passing against this D.
… each half …
OT, but is the Riley effect still haunting Nebraska? (Colorado game)
He is a “legend.” The guy on TV just said so. Who knew?
That was odd.
Another transfer opportunity with related to our Nebraska connections has presented itself to OSU. Beavs appear to be going after 4* DE/OLB Addison Gumbs, who announced his intentions to leave Oklahoma earlier this week. He’s from Hayward,CA and was recruited heavily by Nebraska (and a ton of other teams) during the Riley regime
He also has a brother who played JC ball, Chandler Gumbs, who plays safety for Arizona currently
He got bleeding gumbs….
Addison isn’t unfamiliar with Corvallis. He did visit here(unofficially) back in 2016. He’s part of the 2016 class.
Just before Oklahoma’s 1st game this year he suddenly came down with a season ending injury amd then left the team, so he technically hasn’t played this year and could potentially be a medical hardship candidate. I believe he has already redshirted and played in 1 season, so he’s a 3rd year Sophomore who wouldn’t be eligible till next season. But I think he is definitely a candidate to land at OSU and be ready to go by next fall like Gebbia/Roberts/Kipper, and I think he would be a defensive difference maker if we do land him.
Do you think there is any buzz out there in general in the college football world that the Beavers have great coaches and the program is on the way up? Seems like the coaching and the potential to play sooner than later is attracting some of this transfer talent.
I didnt get to watch the game, but did the shotgun snaps get better this week?
One low one that I remember that turned into a turnover after Blount took a bad thing and made it worse. Was Blount’s only real rookie move today.
There was another one that he turned into an incomplete pass by quickly chucking it at Jefferson’s back.
We’re still in danger of losing one TO every game because of poor snaps.
Officials made the wrong call on that play. No way Blount had possession in order to make a legitimate pass.
I only saw it live from the stands but I though Blount had possession, everyone around me disagreed
I thought he had possession too. play was right in front of me
Different team in second half. Our offense was on the field most of the first half… our defense most of the second half. What happened? I don’t think the offensive game plan changed. Biggest change was Luton. The offense just lacked spark after half time. Defense secondary looked good through out but our defensive line wore down. If we are going to win games this year the key will be in keeping the offense on the field and to do that you will need Blount in as QB.
After half there were two three and outs, and the fumble. Luton was throwing to the 2’s and 3’s, fwiw; I would imagine he’s in better sync with the 1’s.
Observations from last night.
Decent crowed considering circumstances I would guess between 25-30K
O has some very good play makers and the coaching is considerably better than the GA era. Blount should be the starter period. He manages the game well, can make the throws and is a threat to run some. Not concerned about the 2nd half seeing that none of the first string WR played. We do need to get Pierce and Bradford back if they plan on winning more than 2 games this year. Jefferson is fantastic other than he need to make sure he secures the ball.
D. What I noticed last night is the players for the most part are in the correct position to make plays. The coaching is night and day better over the past couple of years. The issue is we lack speed / talent / and depth to make many plays. The D will be hard to watch this season just not enough talent.
Punting seems to be strong but our “weapon” of a kicker might want to make more than 50% of his kicks.
Team will be much more fun to watch this season. Baring injuries they could win 4 games. Going forward if we get the right players this program can be successful. The coaching is a HUGE upgrade. Also the lack of penalties shows this team is much more diciplined and pays attention to detail.
Good observations, thanks.
Choukair is in danger of picking up the obvious nickname if he doesn’t become A LOT more reliable!
I had the same feeling about penalties, and still do. However, it is a little surprising to note that the improvement is not quite as large as I’d have guessed:
**5p per game so far this season vs 7 last.
**59.5 yds/game vs 68 last season.
It would be interesting to see a breakdown of the type of penalties in the two seasons. Effort penalties vs lack of discipline ones.
There was only 1 or 2 penalties in the first half. The rest came second half. At least our defense created the need for suu to be penalized plenty.
I missed the 2nd half. We purchased a home yesterday and friends took us out to celebrate. Seemed more important than watching the halftime blowout. So, what did I miss? Curious why the D gave up so many points in the 2nd half compared with the first. Fatigue and lack of depth again? Did they let up? Etc
BeaverBill at 09:14 above has a lot of the answer.
With Luton’s inability to sustain drives the D was on the field enough to be hampered by fatigue and lack of depth. SUU’s QB was mobile enough to give a tired Beavs D fits.
Speaking of fatigue, Elu (according to radio) is only able to play 2 or 3 downs before needing a break. No surprise given how out of shape he has been; he has done a fair job though when he is in.
concur with OOB. with Luton at the controls the offense was on the field for a minute and a half for each of three possessions in third quarter. An already thin D simply got gassed.
I’m a Blount fan, but Luton was playing with the 2’s (and maybe 3’s). One of the 3 and outs was a fumble.
I finished watching the second half. I think a lot of reserves were in, but a lot of missed tackles again. I thought the secondary played well, but I’m still a little stunned by how slow some of the players are on D. Tibesar has his work cut out for him. JS knows offense. I think his teams will be very competitive in three years. An early 2nd half drive stalled and Choukair missed a very make-able FG and the energy kind of went out. Very Beaverish.
The emphasis in recruiting seems to be on the defensive side of the ball so it looks like the staff has a plan instead of recruiting 42 receivers like Andersen did.
Went to the game yesterday, my only issue was I feel Smith failed to read the needs of the crowd. I understand his decision to pull lots of guys in the 2nd half with the score out of hand but I think it was a mistake. At halftime the parking lot was buzzing and I think Smith would have been smart to play the starters through the 3rd and keep the crowd into it.
The air really came out of the stadium in the 3rd quarter. It was a missed opportunity to me. If this team was coming off a bowl season than so be it but coming off a 1-11 season full of blow outs we needed to truly boat race someone and Smith should have done so.
Overall I am happy with what I am seeing, coaching is clearly there. Depth is a major issue but if this team can stay healthy and starts Blount I think they are capable of beating Nevada next week and winning 2-3 PAC games with an outside shot at 4 PAC wins (basing this on the idea that they continue to improve as the season progresses). Arizona, Cal, WSU are all vulnerable IMO and I am not buying Herm’s start at ASU yet nor does Colorado’s win yesterday make me think they can’t be beat.
Overall my prediction is that they do beat Nevada next week and than beat 2 of UA, Cal, WSU for a 4 win season.
Old man back in college brain side note: One of the cheerleaders probably had the most impressive six pack I’ve ever seen on a woman. It was distracting at times.
“It was distracting at times.”
Still hangin’ with Jay Reese?
Oh jesus, no, that guy is human trash. And is pretty much not welcome anywhere in Bend.
But its not like I am blind. She was right in front of my seat for the whole 2nd half and it was amusing because all the Southern Utah players that weren’t in uniform spent the half chatting with her instead of watching the game. She was a beautiful woman. All I did was notice. There is nothing wrong with noticing a beautiful woman. My girlfriend was who pointed her out to me to begin with.
Not to mention cheerleaders are literally there to be noticed.
Exactly.
Can’t imagine JS (or any quality coach) ever factoring in crowd energy over maximizing the opportunity to develop players. Understand the perspective as a suffering fan but coaches got their mind on ball 24/7.
They should, fan energy matters, it’s what creates a HFA
concur that Blount should have taken the helm for one or two possessions in the second half just to make sure some time was burned off the clock. Luton almost seemed to be putting time back ON the clock.
But as noted above, and as Jim Wilson said on post-game, Smith had the luxury of giving Luton some game time exposure. But as I maintained above, part of the (unstated) motivation was to mitigate any locker room dissension about whom to choose as starter. Blount has won this contest and I expect he will start next Saturday. If I’m wrong, we really do have a problem with the second set of coaches in a row who cannot evaluate QB talent
Oh and they need to add about 10 more beer stands, the lines were nuts. Do they not realize OSU alums like their booze?
It was smart keep the re-entry policy but I expect it will be gone next year.
the lines were long, but at least they had the sense to ask a guy (me) with gray hair and a medicare card if I was old enough to have an adult beverage. That always infuriates me at other places
I see we ditched the chainsaw in favor of a double bladed axe when the team runs onto the field at Reser. Anybody know what the handle says? (Obscured i this pic)
https://twitter.com/BeaverFootball/status/1038896057839546368?s=19
Start hard?
Never mind its and R not an A.
Looks like it says “Strike Hard” to me.
Stroke Hard
stroll
Stay hard?
Did they roll out with the American Flag like last year? I like the double sided axe. What would be really cool, is if the team got to swing the axe into a tree stump after every home victory to start a new tradition?
Jack Del Rio likes that idea.
Week 1 in the NFL, and Cleveland has a 0 in the loss column.
Str___? Hard lol
I’m guessing “strike”, but it is OSU, so you never know…
How good is Nevada?
No idea. They beat Portland State in game 1 by a wider margin than Oregon did at 72-19.
But in week 2 they lost to Vandy 41-10. And Vany is traditionally a .500 or worse SEC team.
Vegas favor Nevada by 5.5. I think you’ve gotta like the Beavs chances, especially if Pierce and Bradford play and Blount is QB
I watched some of the first half of the hole game yesterday. They had a hard time running the ball against PSU. I didn’t look at the numbers cuz I really don’t care, but watching the first half their run game was not impressive. I don’t think it’s much of a testament to PSU’s defense as it was hole just sucking at the run game but Herbert was able to throw all over them.
I am hearing Pierce will be out for an extended period of time. Hope my source is wrong.
Heavy doses of the new “President,” Jefferson. I hope Pierce is good to go and start, but with that injury, maybe be better to rest him.
Blount better be the starter. If the staff thinks Luton gives them a better chance to win they’re just lying to themselves.
If the staff plays it smart, they have a good chance of being 3-1 after AZ. One can’t write AZ off, especially with probably better athletes overall, a mobile QB, and OSU’s current secondary play, but they’re beatable in a home, league opener with a better crowd. If OSU does go 3-1, then pick ups wins against Cal and/or a CW victory, it would be meaningful progress.
I like the Beavs to cover the 4.5 point spread but not sure they win it. I would expect a high scoring game considering our defense. Haven’t seen the over/under yet.
Just watched AP injury in slow motion… I am not an orthopedic surgeon, but I would say at a minimum dislocated and out several weeks. Worst case scenario, reconstructive surgery on ligaments that were stretched and/or torn. Out for season.
Looked like a hyperextended elbow to me. I’m not an orthopedic surgeon either but I took a lot of classes in Langton Hall and the Women’s Building. Unfortunately, the injury will impact him more as a ball carrier than it would if he was a non skill position player. Hope he’s not out long. If it’s as serious as you say, at least he would be eligible for a redshirt. Barnes errantly said he was senior during his interview on the telecast yesterday.
I hope I’m wrong.
Beavers vs. Arizona is a 1 PM kickoff on the Pac-12 Networks Saturday Sept 22! Day game! So hoping we’ll be 2-1 going into that game! It should be a good game.
With how badly Arizona has been playing lately, and if the Beavs are riding a 2 game win streak at the time, I have to go with Beavs getting to 3-1 by week 4.
Let’s get to 2-1 first.
Perfect. Like the 1 pm start time. If they don’t let AZ’s QB have a video-game game, they should win.
I expect after watching Saturday’s film and seeing missed opportunities, defenders will start tackling better.
Side note related to start times. OSU really should switch sidelines. The old side is in the shade in the afternoon while the new side is sun drenched.
Agree, I’ve been arguing this for years. We almost always play 1 to 2 September games at home where the sun is beating down on us while the visiting team is in the shade, and then we also choose to wear our black jerseys. It makes no sense.
Put the visiting team over by the students and let them make noise all game long too. Not to mention, the visiting team entrance and exit is already on the East side, so they wouldn’t have to cross the field during pregame entrances.
“we also choose to wear our black jerseys” that’s for baseball in 100 degree temperature and high humidity.
Arizona State recently made this type of change. The downside is the TV view is of the visitors sideline for most of the game. From a brand exposure standpoint this would hurt Oregon State.
Brand exposure, plus it makes a difference when the weather turns cold.
Only two games in, but one against Ohio State and:
“Jefferson and Pierce, by the way, are the early leaders in Pac-12 rushing. Jefferson leads with 285 yards (142.5 per game) and Pierce is second with 259 yards (129.5), with Utah’s Zack Moss in third place with 216 yards (108.0). Pierce is averaging 11.8 yards per carry, Jefferson 9.5. .”
Very nice. One thing is clear, this staff is attempting to reestablish a balance in the offense and a run commitment OSU has not seen in years. Also, able to do it with more than one RB.
Maybe Nall should have stayed? : ) Regardless, with Pierce, Jefferson, and Tyler still in the wings, OSU is looking pretty good.
I was obviously thinking the same thing.
But Nall isn’t as good as either Pierce or Jefferson. 20/20 hindsight says he probably made a good decision.
It’s also nice to see:
1. Hodgins get used the way he should get used
2. Bradford is the player we thought he would be coming out of HS
3. Players like Smalls, Allen, Short and Bodden working downfield and getting rewarded
One thing I really like this year is the Oline and run blocking and how often they get to do it. I haven’t seen that kind of pop off the line in about a decade.
O rank after tOSU and SUU: 28
D rank: 128
Rank D…..
BUT, there’s some potential (D line) and a difference maker (Morris) missing due to injury…With Riechner, Morris, and a full suite of CBs, they’d probably crack 100 at least. It is also too bad one experience D lineman got so out of shape – was it Aydon?.
was it Aydon?
Indeed it was. But, the recent video of the team bowling in Bend hinted that he retains some athleticism. Radio says he gets gassed after 2 or 3 plays.
Did they say he was 387# or some shit? He’s always been a huge guy but that’s ridiculous. He needs to lose 40#.
I don’t remember seeing it, but the box score says Christian Wallace got his first ever carry against SUU. He didn’t get much coverage before the season, but it looks like he’s RB3 with Pierce and Tyler injured.
Wallace was the last run before we took a knee. Baylor went out with some undisclosed injury, and he took it from the 9 to the 6 as we were running the clock out.
Vanderbilt HC Derek Mason on their 41-10 win over Nevada:
“This was kind of sloppy to be honest,” Mason said. “… Our best football hasn’t been played. I’m not being greedy. I’m just trying to ask our guys to grab what’s out there to be had.”
The only thing that I’m concerned about with this one is that it’s a road game. Why did we schedule a road game in Reno? Our schedule is horrible this year.
Stats to show a sloppy game between Nevada @ Vandy:
Fumbles:
Nevada: 3 fumbles, 2 lost,
Vandy: 2 fumbles, 2 lost
INT’s Thrown
Nevada: 2
Vandy: 0
Penalties:
Nevada: 6-67 yards
Vandy: 6-44 yards
Total Offense
Nevada: 250 yards Passing: 216 Rushing: 34
Vandy: 468 yards Passing: 270 Rushing: 198
3rd Down efficiency
Nevada: 4-14
Vandy: 4-12
Ya, I’d say it was sloppy…more so by Nevada than Vandy. This gives me hope for our rushing attack and passing attack.
Unfortunately, our defense also has to play….
Why do you think I didn’t mention our defense in my “hopes” comment?
Injury update: Bradford gametime decision, AP out at least 4 weeks per Johnathan Smith
Sounds like he’ll be taking advantage of the redshirt rule this year? He would be back in time for the Cal game by that timeline. He would miss basically 4 1/2 games this season. Jermar Jefferson looks to be our starter for the next 4-6 weeks. Baylor or Wallace his backup? Hope Wallace gets more carries than his 1 this season.
The bye week falls just at the end of that 4 week timeline, which helps buy an extra week of recovery time while only missing 4 games potentially.
I think you have the RS rule confused. You can play in no more than 4 games and still RS. If Pierce comes back by Cal and plays the remainder of the games, that will be 7 games played. No RS for him this year.
What I mean is, yes, he could come back, but the coaches might not try to bring him back too early…or if he re-injures his elbow when he comes back, he is able to still redshirt. Hence why i said it with a question mark. It was a question on whether he will definitely return for Cal, or if they wait it out a few more weeks and save him from re-injury. That’s the beauty of the redshirt rule.
https://twitter.com/angrybeavs/status/1039282323273871360
I saw a comment from one of the local sites after game 1 that said something like
“seeing Blount outperform Luton in game isnt entirely surprising. Luton looked better overall during the summer, but he was playing mostly with the 1’s while Blount played mostly with the 2’s. When Blount played with the 1’s, he was the better of the 2 QBs”
This genius analysis came from media members who thought Luton was the sure starter all summer long.
The evidence was right there in front of them all summer and they still couldn’t put 2 and 2 together.
Blount > Luton
Getting tired of the “quarterback competition” for the starter. It’s obvious to the fans who’s the better quarterback. What I see is that Blount has the “it” factor much like Smith did. Something you can’t pull out of the stats that a good quarterback uses to win games or manage the games. He seems to have whatever it is and Luton clearly does not have it. Luton went in and the team crrashed. Three three and outs in a row for Luton. At that point they should have put in Coletto. Luton is a good practice player but not a good game time player.
So why do they continue with the charade? 1. Gamesmanship so the other team can’t prepare for just one guy. But that’s lame because OSU runs the same plays and Nevada will just blitz more with Luton. 2. Coaches don’t want to ruin the confidence of Luton. Whatever. 3. They want Blount to feel pressure to perform better. Not necessary. The guy will work his tail off anyway. 4. Riley’s influence. ‘ nuf said.
They should not have even played Luton Saturday. Too soon after a concussion. Too risky. I was surprised they even sent him out there.
Just name Blount the starter already.
Per Eggers:
https://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-sports/405729-303778-a-look-at-the-1-1-oregon-state-beavers
I guess that ability to throw the deep ball is only useful if you can throw it where a teammate can get to
If I remember correctly, Luton’s first DI pass should have been a 70-yard TD at CSU….WR was wide open, Luton overthrew him by 5 yards. You could have chalked that up to first-game nerves, but he throws behind receivers on shallow crossing routes – which is absurd with a 6′ 7″ QB who can see over the line and has his arm strength – and still overthrows deep passes.
Its odd that Smith, who never had “measureables,” seems to feel the need to extend the charade of “who’s-the-starter” based on Luton’s “measureables.” With Blount playing like he has, this team could win 4+ games, show progress, and encourage recruits and the fan base.
I paid close attention to Luton’s body language while he we playing the 2nd half Saturday. After bad plays his body language is horrible. He seems to hang his head when things are not going well and it’s zaps energy from the rest of the team. I understand he “won” the QB competition and he did not have any 1st string WR to throw to on sat but at this point the train has left the station. Fair or not this is not Luton’s team. I hope this staff does not loose the team the way GA did last year. That memory is still fresh to many of the players and if they force Luton on them this thing could quickly spiral out of control.
Someone should remind 9 that GA played this game last year and the team’s best QB transferred.
Smith is being coy with the media and Nevada. They know who their guy will be on Saturday.
I lean toward agreement here, just hoping he doesn’t carry it on too long.
While 9’r may be on the verge of a serious mistake in continuing the QB “competition”, he is handling the players he inherited with sensitivity to their experience with past HC’s, see 15:20 in the presser today: “You’re not just one coaches guy….we’re all Beavs here…”
https://247sports.com/college/oregon-state/Article/Oregon-State-head-coach-Jonathan-Smith-previews-Nevada-and-gives-an-update-on-the-team–121721001/
I don’t think you give up anything strategically by announcing your quarterback wheras you risk alienating the players with the “quarterback competition”. Not to mention losing the confidence of your fans.
Lost my a avatar there for a minute but it’s back now. Have to log in once in a while.
Blount? Luton? NO! They’re the last (awesome) guy’s QBs. Smith should put on his big boy pants and name Coletto the starter.
That’s the reality. It’s Blount’s job to lose right now with Luton as the backup. Colletto is likely to redshirt unless something changes with the other 2 guys. Colletto is a good enough athlete to see the field at some point in his career. Hopefully, it will be at QB but he has the athleticism to play other positions.
I suppose if he learned to block and put on 50 pounds he could be a blocking back or a TE. But I would hesitate to let him play any position where he has to judge the flight of the ball in the air.
Did 9 owe his parents some huge favor? Lose a bet?
Does Colletto have some superstud younger brother that will only go where his older brother goes to school?
Kicker?
Pretty good experience to play a half at Ohio State and still redshirt. New rules make it so 5 years of playing games will be the norm.
Beavs up to #119 in the Coaches poll.!!!!
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2018/09/10/ncaa-1-130-re-rank-alabama-and-clemson-swap-spots/1250997002/
And Nevada is 104.
But them I wouldn’t put much trust in ratings once they get past the top 20 or 25 — and not even them for sure.
But then I wouldn’t put much stock in any rating below the top 20-25 and it’s VERY early to be rating teams.
I guess I don’t need to say it 3 times…
You wouldn’t be saying that if we were #99.
Any D1 baseball subscribers on here? Rodgers has a new piece up about Casey’s “retirement”
https://d1baseball.com/columns/caseys-departure-sparks-intrigue/
suggests Casey may return but not to the OSU dugout. The lead comment suggests Casey’s departure is the out-wash from the Heimlich affair. No one around OSU and Corvallis wants to discuss that much but my instinct tells me it’s a bigger factor than anyone has let on.
Good luck finding a more egalitarian and less compliant university.
If Casey were to leave for that, it would lessen him. I think it was a greater emotional toll that Luke doesn’t get to play baseball anywhere, despite him standing up for the kid. If he wants to wander that wilderness, good luck to him. It’s a petty complaint, given the hard lines drawn in policy.
Kendall has a couple follow up tweets to his column. One is a poll on whether Casey coaches in 2020 and the second a comment on possibly in the SEC. Aside from the salary, I don’t see the upside of Cassey going to the SEC.
Sounds like Jay Irvine had surgery today, so doesn’t seem likely we’ll be seeing him again this year. Guy has had a pretty long string of bad luck with injuries
An interesting entry in the student directory is making the rounds today.
Addison Fred Gumbs shows up.
http://directory.oregonstate.edu/?type=search&cn=gumbs&osudepartment=&mail=&anyphone=
And now Angie has a story out saying it’s official that he’s transferring to OSU.
He has a redshirt year to use while he sits and rehabs this season, so he’s be a redshirt Sophomore next year. Could play DE or OLB. I think he represents the highest rated recruit we’ve gotten in quite some time. Rivals had him around #67 overall in the 2017 class.
All sites had him in their top 100.
He’ll be downgraded to a 3* because of the Oregon State effect.
Gotta be impressed with these transfers. Shows they want to get this fixed quickly and aren’t afraid to go get guys
Nice “get” for the Sociology major! From OSU Sociology Dept:
“Our Vision:
To create engaged citizens, problem solvers, and ethical professionals who understand and explain how society shapes individuals and individuals shape society.
Our Mission:
The OSU Sociology Program:
1. Provides a rigorous curriculum and inclusive learning environment for OSU students, including unique opportunities for experiential learning;
2. Supports the continuous exploration of sociological knowledge with particular focus on social relations, inequality, the environment, and crime.
3. Serves the people of Oregon, the nation, and the world by informing solutions to current and future social problems. “
Sounds like a game changer on D. Impressive film.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2017/addison-gumbs-10650
That offer sheet!
Shout out to this staff so far. Impressed with on field progress in 2 weeks and they are accelerating the rebuild exponentially by bringing in 3 top 150 recruits from the 2017 class. Beasting.
I think it has to help that the team doesn’t look like an absolute basket case this year. The offense is pretty well put together considering the QB situation and the defense obviously just needs some more big fellas. This team is well coached and doesn’t have that perennial basement dweller stench about it any more.
More impressive than the offer sheet is that he was a projected starter for Oklahoma this year
He plays pretty upright, get him 6 inches lower for some better leverage and he’ll be unstoppable. Good nose for the ball, nice pickup by Smith.
Nice work Nicebeaver. Not that we’ll ever find out but I’d like to know what other teams we’ve beaten out for our 3 transfers. You’d have to think that other teams were looking at Gumbs at least. Great job by the staff bringing in 3 starters.
I think going in our favor, we had several open scholarships which we didnt use. We also benefit from starting school later in the year with the quarter system, so guys have more time to get their transcripts in order and can squeeze in just before school starts. I was afraid he would join his brother at Arizona, except they started school in August, so it was too late.
Good points NB. Makes me wonder if the staff doesn’t max out the roster every year just for this reason. The number of openings this year can’t be helped but they’ll definitely have more control going forward.
At this rate you get a couple more transfers and the scout teams will be better than the #1’s
I was hoping just the QB alone would make the D better by having to play faster in practice.
Thought 1 on the QB thing. While I definitely think Blount has earned the job anyone think maybe keeping it an open competition is because JS knows the locker room and what happened last year and sees that some guys are in the Luton camp?
Thought 2 on the QB thing. Is it possible that JS doesn’t want to hand the keys to Blount too early because he wants to ensure that if he names Gebbia starter next year it won’t look like the new guy beating out the entrenched starter thereby again risking an Andersen situation?
I know we are critical here and thats the goal but I think JS has a plan at the QB position and for the program as a whole so for now I am gonna let this play out.
I have a hard time being critical/cynical of JS thus far after 2 games. The offense is night and day different from Riley, GA, and Hall. The OL is just plain Nastier than what I have seen in YEARS at OSU. I mean, averaging 6.6 YPC after 2 games is fantastic! We still have a long season ahead of us, but I also recall that JS said even though they would name a starter at the beginning of the season, both QB’s will play the first 3-4 weeks of games to solidify the starting role. I vaguely remember reading or hearing that in a presser earlier in fall camp. Blount will be the starter outright if and when he continues to manage the game the way he is doing currently.
I think you all are overthinking it.
Luton won the job in camp. Reporters who didn’t report but think they have credibility after the fact don’t impress me. Blount has been a gamer. His numbers aren’t all world, but he moves the chains.
In Luton’s first quarter at QB, he stalled. But he started to warm up pretty well in the 4th. He showed he can make throws Blount can’t… and that he didn’t even throw last year.
The only controversial part of it is that they’re both back-up quality P5 QBs. We should just play a two-headed monster all year, taking advantage of different abilities to keep opposing Ds off-balance. It’s not like we have anything to lose.
Come next year, we’ll have a starter and a capable back-up.
That being said, if I had to go with just one for the season, I would go with Blount because of Luton’s head. I don’t think it’s fully healed yet.
I’d be happy to discuss the realities of traumatic brain injury with those who apparently don’t know about it.
William Nimmo Jr is official visiting for the Arizona game.
I see you mention Polk visiting in October but he is committing this Friday. Is that good or bad that he is committing before his OV? I was thinking if we were going to get him, he’d commit while/right after he has his OV with us.
Your guess is as good as mine. I was told by a reliable “source” yesterday morning that he is planning to visit Oct 6th, and then later that evening he says he’s committing somewhere this week. I think that announcement surprised several people. I noticed a few of our coaches started following him right after he announced that. Could be a last ditch effort to sway him?
Dont be surprised if the visit plans get cancelled though. These things change day to day, it seems
Maybe he has his OV set up to he can visit as a committed Beav?! Thanks for the insight.
I don’t like that Smith disses Nevada and says, “They’re not Ohio State” 7:30ish mark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XpFhVvyr4E
I don’t think it’s necessarily a diss. I mean it’s not nonfactual.
No valid reason for a head coach to give another team ammo.
No real issues with Smith to this point, but that’s a mishap.
At what point do we admit that JS is not Riley and those critiques are unfounded? I’ll take these kinds of errors as opposed to bland coach speak. We’re are not good enough to worry significantly about bulletin board material.
He not Riley, but he hired Riley, and he talks like Riley.
Like Smith much more but those two issues are hard to ignore.
I don’t like the hire of Riley, but I also have been saying that not everything Riley is bad. It appears that early returns are in and JS has taken some good from Riley (specifically two transfers) but hasn’t taken the bad (not one mention of finding that identity, beating teams we absolutely should beat, not saying we want balance and then passing 70%). I saw a bunch of chicken little on this site without any data and now people are more positive but don’t admit their name calling early were off the mark.
If you don’t like it because it could be taken (out of context) as bulletin board material, then I agree.
However, I don’t think it shows any sort of overconfidence on the part of JS. He goes on to say things like, “going to be a test”, “a challenge”, will “need our A game to come out with a win”.
His remarks certainly won’t cause the Beavs to slack off in preparation for the game. Bottom line for me here is that Smith is a low key, understated, factual sort of guy. A “no spin” approach, if you will.
Agree with all that, and yes, that’s why I don’t like it.
Can say all the same things without mentioning they’re not Ohio State. We all know they’re not Ohio State, and I’m sure Nevada knows they aren’t Ohio State. No reason to say it.
“No reason to say it.”………BINGO
With his experience under Petersen he should know better. Here’s a guess; JS is casual and comfortable with the media because of the whole “return” thing, coupled with the recent history of GA. He knows enough to keep strategic plans close to the vest but is too casual to carefully avoid off the cuff remarks. He’ll change when a critical article which he deems unfair is published.
BTW, he also knows enough to instruct his assistants that only he will be speaking about injuries. I like that.
So what’s the point of saying Casey has warts?
It’s just a simple observation.
So what’s the point of taking a simple observation and making it a years-long federal case?
Your mom has warts and we don’t keep bringing it up.
Yeah I dunno… you really think that posted on the bulletin board would get Nevada amped up? I’d think most players would read it and agree.
‘Hey fellas, did you see what JS said about us the other day? He said we’re not Ohio State! Can you believe it?! Each of us had an offer from THE Ohio State and turned them down, dammit! God Damn right we’re not Ohio State…We’d beat they’re ass! We are the Wolfpack…AAaa-oooooooooo!!!!!!!!’
I think he’s handling himself just fine as a first year coach. Personally if I got THAT shellacked by another team, I’d strike their name from my memory and my speech. It is innocent enough, but JS is so….nerdy, could someone really consider him the type to talk trash?
I keep hearing about 3 transfers that are amazing gets. BUT……I thought we had one before all of these that was also from Nebraska. Maybe a D-Lineman? I can’t remember. Anyone help me on this?
You’re probably thinking about the Hawaii transfer, Brandon Kipper
Mel Kiper?
2019 class looking pretty good
Bob De Carolis heads to Santa Clara, does this leave a “Senior Advisor” role open at Michigan for Barnes??
https://www.gazettetimes.com/sports/beavers-sports/osu-athletics-de-carolis-heads-to-santa-clara/article_d43af540-2d37-5c86-b2da-921d345324bb.html
Cost of living will double……at least. I would guess he was shown the door.
Securing the bag? Really?
I guess OSU shouldn’t roll out the turnover lunchpail… where whomever finds the rock can put it… and the players can pretend that they’re going to keep eating?
I completely missed on this reply… meant to go with the dumb turnover idolatry article.
Bobby D is a quality bean-counter. He’s probably getting a bump in salary, some real work… and continued health insurance… for now.
A run-centric look at the Pac.
https://www.modbee.com/sports/article218233065.html
After the ancillary numbers, they get into some valid ones.
https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/sports/2018/09/11/nevada-football-rare-favorite-beat-oregon-state-beavers/1272012002/
Beau Baldwin, the guy many wanted hired, has started 2 different QB’s this year and offers these comments:
“It’s not anything new, and, at the end of the day, they’re another position player,” offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin said. “I get it. They are incredibly important. I don’t devalue what a quarterback means to a football team, but the fact that only one quarterback can mean something to the entire football team, that’s misleading.”
Only playing two quarterbacks? Small boy pants amateur. REAL coaches use at least four!
I finally watched some of JS’s press conferences. I like him, it’s not a bunch of coach speak bullshit. You can tell he’s happy to be here and he loves the game of football. He explains things straight forward. I have no idea how well he’ll do, but I’m rooting for him. If these transfers coming in are any indication, I think he’s respected in the college football world.
Personally, I bought into a lot of the GA coach speak but unfortunately there wasn’t a lot of substance behind it. JS on the other hand is very authentic even if he does sound a little nerdy at times. I loved JS’s comment about the entire team being Beavers and not my guys vs GA’s guys. I think it’s already evident JS’s offensive expertise is greater than GA’s defensive expertise was. It will be interesting to see what happens from here on out but it appears he has it going in the right direction. If JS can continue to produce results on offense the defense will hopefully follow like it did at Boise St.
That’s a good way to put it. The offense is far ahead of anything GA and his buffoons came up with. Recruit speed and get depth on defense and they will be ok in the future. JS was not spewing shit when he said he was impressed with the talent already here and you know he saw tons of talent up at UW. I for one did not think the Beav offense would be averaging almost 40 points a game after the first two games. They are going to have to outscore a team or two to get 4 wins. I also wish their star players would stop getting injured!
On a spiteful note, I hope Xavier Crawford enjoyed being on the field as his team helped Kansas end their 40 game road losing streak. Luck O’ the ex-Beaver?
That reminds me.
With Kansas winning on the road, that leaves someone with the longest current road losing streak. I saw who it was earlier, but I can’t quite remember who it is.
So the game is only available by internet feed?
ESPN3 from what I’ve read. One should be able to view it via ESPN + and they have a 7 day free trial. Going to sign up for it later this week.
Currently, yes. But with all the postponements of games on the East Coast maybe a spot gets opened up for an ESPNU telecast.
Two of 3 of the ducks non conference opponents are in the “bottom” 25… The third team (Portland state) went winless in FCS last year and is so far winless this year…
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/bottom-25-college-football-rankings-nebraska-north-carolina-are-stumbling-out-of-the-gates/
first time in a long time that we are not on this type of list.
Football outsiders S&P+ has us ranked #80, up from #110 in preseason. trending up but a long way to go. Nevada has an S&P+ ranking of #88. We really need to win this game.
OT: Slick Willy with the lame copy of Miami.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-state-seminoles/chopping-block/os-sp-fsu-football-news-0911-story.html
Better than a locked/secured briefcase handcuffed to a coach and they transfer it to the player to “secure the package”. It’s gimmicky and right up Taggert’s alleyway. I still say Beavs should use the new “Strike Hard” Axe on a stump after every victory and call it, “The victory swing”. The stump should allow for 13 swings before the stump splits in half…similar to the STIHL Lumberjack competitions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbBZj1qOgiY
1 Swing per game and the 13th would be the championship….if they ever get there.
Lets not….
http://www.espn.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1634325
I was totally unaware that this had occurred. Ok, lets leave wood chopping to the professionals. Why would you have a freshly sharpened axe in a locker room?! I can understand pulling it out on game day or practice, but not just leaving it in the locker room.
Damn, I wish Taggart had stayed at Nikegon!
Regarding the Nevada game. I would not be overly disappointed if it was a close loss. GA went on the road against a non-power 5 with Colorado St. and got his ass handed to him (especially in the second half). Baby steps to me would be to give them a hell of a game. Win the game and I’m adjusting the trajectory of the program up again.
I would agree with this. I am hoping our defense can just play 4 quarters and not rely on our Offense to win games, but it’s trending to where the offense will have to rack up TD’s in every game especially being efficient in extending drives in the second half. I recall a lot of the 2000-2001 season games had a lot of back and forth in the first 2 quarters, and then the team ran away with it against lesser opponents once the offense wore out the other teams defense. I’m hoping that’s the model that will help us win games. As nice as long runs are, that can in turn wear down your defense if it happens after the opponent stalls after making a couple first downs. This team is still an unknown in regards to the middle of the row teams.
They played a perennial top 5 team out of the gate, and then a top Big Sky FCS team and boat raced them in the first half. It’s just hard to tell since they haven’t played a full game against equal competition.
Disagree. CSU last year was a much better team than Nevada is looking like this year. I don’t think anyone inside the program would be encouraged by a close loss in Reno.
No way a close loss would be acceptable. This is a game we NEED to have. This is a must win for Jonathan.
The Colo state game was closer than it looked, we were ahead in the 2nd qtr and down just 10 early in the 4th quarter.
Nevada started slow vs Portland St. The Viks had the lead early and it was tied at 9 after the 1st qtr.
We need to have higher expectations than just to hang with these guys.