Home Football Arizona State Post Game Thoughts

Arizona State Post Game Thoughts

By
angry
-
400

Took a walk after the game and was thinking more big picture…seems the stench of Riley (and Andersen) is finally completely gone. I mean in the players having a losing mindset. These coaches have taught them how to win close games. The culture is changing. We even saw this in the loses earlier this year.

Regarding bowl game…unsure. WSU will quick pass us to death, but we’ll score on them. WSU should be -6 or so favorites. Oregon isn’t as good as their record, but we all know that’s a likely loss. +18 Oregon should be the line.

I was reading the pre-season thread, and I had us at 4 wins and wrote, “I think 4 wins should be doable to beat the line. After that, I’m not sure. If we get QB play there’s an argument for a bowl season.” Read the full thread here with some interesting predictions. NiceBeaver was also bullish, as were some others.

Smith could be a Rueck type coach. Big flaw is his recklessness and some personnel issues. It took injuries to the players he chose to be starters to get the better players on the field. Other than those flaws, he’s promising. It’s interesting people think I dislike Smith because I (rightfully) criticized him for blowing three games. That’s what a fan should do. So yeah I have disliked some of his decisions with personnel and the game management that has cost us 3 wins over 2 seasons (and almost cost us again tonight with that stupid 4th and 2 call), but overall I’ve liked the hire from the start.

Regarding Luton, that was the best game of his career and the first game I’d call “good quarterbacking”, and that’s not because of his stats but because he made good decisions, hit receivers in stride for the most part, had some touch, and just looked the part. He was fired up and showed some heart. He dropped back and slung it with confidence. He’s never put all of those things together and had a game like that. It’s pretty moot since the guy has two games left. If he’s finally grown to the point the game slowed down and he understands the position it’s a bummer it’s this late. But, I mean, go play lights out and get us to a bowl, Luton. To me, that he’s this serviceable is a testament to the coaching he’s receiving.

I thought the game plan and play calling were both great tonight.

Finally, good to overcome the home win drought this season so we don’t have to keep hearing about it. One less mental annoyance for the staff and players that could get in the way of progress.

400 COMMENTS

    • 1
      1

      Yeah, when I saw he was going for it on 4th and 2 from what the 40-45 yard line, I’m like WTF are you thinking. I mean it turned out okay but nearly as bad as Herm’s 2 point conversion call. Still, JS is learning how to coach as he’s only into this HC gig 22 games. I’m sure even the great HCs had their crappy decision moments at some point in their coaching careers. Sometimes you gamble and you shoot blanks and other times you hit it out of the park. Tonight it was more like a safety squeeze where the guy should have been thrown out at the plate. Bottom line is…it’s a solid win over a decent but not great ASU team. I thought OSU’s defense played pretty well again against the rush but their pass coverage on the home run balls was not very solid.

      Next week I think they beat WSU as WSU’s defense is not that good and OSU’s has been improving. Is all you have to do is play press coverage on the receivers at the LOS, give their receivers a bump at the LOS and knock them off their route. If you give them a 5-7 yard cushion, they’ll nickle and dime you all night long.

      I like the match up for our offense as we should be able to run the ball effectively and that will set up the passing game. In addition, we take care of the ball so we’ll see how things shake out, but I like our chances.

      Reply
    • 2

      This is one of the few times I have to disagree with Angry. On the just previous possession ASU had shown a big down-filed capability with #2. Yes, a game-winning field goal would require just one big 35-40 yard play by ASU to get in field goal position but two would not be out of the question. A punt could be blocked and returned for a TD and were Rodriguez to get it off it’s just as likely to go into the end zone as be downed inside the 10. Besides, OSU special teams had already given up a punt return TD. I have bigger qualms on the THIRD down play preceding that. The Beavs should have gone play action there and have Luton roll out with a high percentage pass.

      Reply
      • 3
        1

        That’s fine. I think playcalling around the possibility of a blocked punt or muffed snap is kind of strange, though. Those are both very rare, and if they happen you tip your cap and move on to the next game. If it didn’t work, and ASU got the ball with that field position, it would be another story. But since it worked it allows people to rationalize the call.

        Reply

    • Imagine something that didn’t happen? I have a head time beating someone up because his decision may not have worked. I would have punted and we probably lose. Nice to have a coach that is so aggressive.

      Reply
    • 1

      I could agree with that, so long as people don’t blame the post 2009 slide solely on Anderson. National commentators are talking about how Riley left the cupboard bare in Nebraska for Frost and Nebraska fans I know say the team went soft under Riley and it will take time to re-create the culture. That’s the dam thing about Anderson: he has clouded the picture relative to way Riley (really DeCarolis) let things slip.

      Reply
  4. 6
    1

    I think you’re on the wrong side of the 4th and 2 decision. Give them the ball back and they will get a shot at the field goal. I was yelling to go for it and it worked.

    Reply
      • 6

        ASU already returned a punt for a TD. Him bringing it back to midfield wouldn’t have been surprising. Then they pick up 20 yards in 4 attempts and we lose. I prefer the odds of picking up 2 yards and winning the game on our terms.

        Reply
        • 9
          1

          They could have kicked it into the endzone or out of bounds from where they were.
          The odds of ASU scoring with 35 seconds left are extremely low. It was a bad call that worked.

          Reply
          • 1
            1

            I agree Angry… with the clock and no timeouts, it’d have been tough for ASU… I would have preferred acting like you are going for it and taking the penalty

            Reply
          • 4
            2

            Bingo. You dont give ASU a chance to return it and kick the fucking ball out of the end zone or out of bounds.

            Had the ASU db not committed a stupid penalty it would have been a terrible call that could’ve resulted in a loss.

            Reply
      • 1

        exactly. I’d rather take my chances them having to go the length of the field with well under a minute to play than give them a short field. You never give a short field to the other team unless you’re behind and playing catch up. Tonight JS looks like the winner but it could have easily gone the other way and he’d look like a fool. I’d rather be the former than the latter so…..

        Reply
      • 1

        chances are a punt only gains 20 yards of field position. Angry: listen to me on this: punting there is what RILEY would have done, and did do in too many situations.

        Reply
    • 4

      I think kicking it would have been the best decision but honestly part of me was feeling their QB and that one receiver were on fire and as a Beavs fan I had many failure videos playing through my head during the time-outs. Just glad they won… winning heals many wounds.

      Reply
  6. 5

    Good win tonight as it represented program progress. It’s the kind of game they should win (home, ASU D weak against the pass), and its been a while since the program won games it could/should.

    There’s clear growth in this team. The defense is vastly improved from last year, and there’s a number of players playing team ball and making impacts. Its biggest defensive weaknesses now are depth and CBs.

    The offensive play calling is mostly very good and entertaining, and I’d say the O line is the weakness as they’ve struggled as they get into the thick of the conference schedule. I’d like to see OSU develop an aggessive, attacking line.

    Smith is reckless, and that will be frustrating if it continues. If he chalks it up to a desire to reward his players and show confidence in them as they make progress in a potentially losing season, maybe ok. But if he keeps “hitting on 17” when the team is better, and bowl positioning is on the line, then there will be big disappointments.

    Likewise, Edwards was kind of dumb to go for 2, especially with that play call. I can see thinking with a dual threat QB you can score on a D that might be getting emotionally tired after having stops and then giving up big plays on 3rd and 4th. But you tie the game, force OT, and then break them.

    Pretty entertaining game with coaches poor play calling and team TOs cancelling each other out. The Beavers are a team that is actually interesting to watch, both at the unit level and individual players (Hamilcar, Speights).

    Reply
    • 4

      Smith isn’t reckless. The chances he takes are calculated. Two other factors: he’s playing with house money–team has already exceeded expectations and he’s got more of his contract ahead of him than behind him. Which is to say, he can afford to take chances now that he might not when expectations are higher. ALSO, has anyone noticed that since the FG has been eliminated from the OSU repertoire, OSU has started winning. A lot of coaches start playing it safe (“well, if we don’t get a TD here we can always take the 3.” Smith didn’t have that option with Choukair, he learned to his regret, and the new guy is largely untested. In this respect, Smith coaches the way Chip did at Oregon. UO never had good kickers in the Kelly era and it seems they did pretty well on the W-L front anyway.

      As for Herm’s call: I go with the Jim Wilson analysis–good strategy, bad tactical play. Is ASU scores the two I have doubts Luton would have rallied to get a game winning FG in the 90 seconds or so that remained.

      Reply

      • Reckless haha. I think we all as a hole need to freshen up with Webster. He is aggressive.
        I think the whole point of this blog is to question though. If I think about that the context is better.

        Reply
  7. 5
    4

    You play to win the game. Herm going for it was the right call. On the road you play for the win. The play call itself was bad but not to go for two.

    Smith going going for it was dumb. Punt would have put ASU deep in their own side with no time outs. If he had no trust in the defense then so be it. Then the actual play call by Lindgren was terrible. Lucked out on that call.

    Reply
    • 2
      6

      Playing to win the game could be tying it, then winning it later. They had the kicking advantage in overtime. I thought he’d go for it, and it wasn’t as bad as Smith’s call. The valid reason for Herm to go was if he feels he can’t win the next two games. Then you go there just to try to win and get to a bowl game. Or he just got anxious and wanted that bowl eligibility tonight. It seemed forced.

      Reply
    • 2

      that play was right in front of me. It was indeed a penalty, though a hard one to call in a game changing situation. Fortunately, we got the call. It was also Karma for the Umpire completely missing the mugging of Togiai on the previous possession. Inexplicably the ref was looking downfield into the area the backjudge is supposed to supervise, thereby missing the play right in front of him. The back judge should have intervened but swallowed his whistle. I noticed the refs huddle up at the change of possession after the missed call forced the punt. I think they realized collectively that they had missed one.

      Reply
  10. 2

    I think the Beavs are going to play with some extra passion next week. When was the last time this team eas playing for bowl eligibility? I just hope they don’t psych themselves out since they aren’t used to playing with something on the line.

    Reply
  11. 13
    1

    It is a nice switch to be complaining about how the game should have been won rather than watching an uncompetitive team get boat-raced.

    Thank you JS for staying the course, taking the lumps and setting a foundation that can be built upon going forward.

    Big picture- a win at home, a winning record in conference, success in recruiting impact 4* guys through transfer portal, exciting/versatile play-calling, defense that leads the conference in sacks, play-makers on offense and defense, qb growth(!?!), young roster with talent, young coach still growing into the his HC comfort zone.

    Bandwagon is ready to start loading up with a new generation of fans. I was at the Cal game when DE broke through for a winning record after the long streak of futility. This has a similar turning the corner vibe. It has been about 10 years since the Beavs were truly competitive, but even then Riley had the 4 loss cap. So in reality, we are nearly a generation from DE level competitiveness. If JS can do in football what Rueck and Casey have done, How improbable & incredible could that be?

    Go Beavs!

    Reply
  15. 4

    I was hoping the WSU dumpster fire was going to continue today but it looks like they righted the ship against Furd. I think it’s going to be a tough mountian to climb to get the 6th win.

    Losing the Hawaii and Stanford games are really going to hurt 2 weeks from now. Does not take away from the growth and improvement we have seen this season (players and coaches). The part of this that will really sting is losing the extra practices that come with the bowl game. The extra practice time could really propel this team into next season.

    Reply
  16. 5
    2

    In summary:
    Herm’s call – if ASU can gain 3 yards on one play they slightly increase their chances of winning the game, if it fails, they lose the game.
    Smith’s call – if OSU can gain 2 yards on one play they win the game, if it fails they slightly decrease their chances of winning the game.

    I’m not complaining, but Herm’s go-for-2 call was horrible! Some of you talk as if he was going for the win if it had succeeded, which is totally not the case when there was still 1:40 left and the Beavs had all three timeouts (until they used one to prepare for the conversion). It would have made more sense if there were under like 20 seconds or so, then it would have been closer to all or nothing. Because even if they score 2 there, they now have to stop the Beavers from marching the field in 1:40 with 2 timeouts just to score a field goal to win, which is exactly the same thing they would have had to do if they had only gone for one. The only difference being if they score 2 and they stop the Beavers they win instead of going to overtime. But the risk of not making it is pretty much a guaranteed loss. Just didn’t make any sort of sense to me.

    Smith’s go-for-2 (yds) call was so totally the right call. First you give yourself a chance to win it on that one play by gaining 2 yards. If you don’t get it, you still have a good chance to stop them from going 30 yards in 42 seconds with no timeouts to attempt a game winning 43 yard field goal (their kicker’s longest this year). If you punt it to the endzone you give up the chance to win it on that one play and you still have to stop them from going about 50 yards instead in 35 seconds with no timeouts, plus you risk a botched snap, a block, or a big return.

    Reply
    • 5

      Here’s the difference between the twi calls.

      1. If ASU doesnt convert the 2 point conversion, they could still have onsides kicked it. Which they did. They also still had 1:40 and two timeouts. They still had time and options. Albeit low percentage options.

      2. OSU going for it was all OR nothing. They had no other options at that point. Dont get it and they give ASU a shorter field to try to gain for a game winning FG attempt.

      Both decisions were reckless. Smith’s was the more reckless of the two. Im glad it worked out but the odds say punt the ball out of bounds and give ASU a long field with 35 seconds and no timeouts.

      Reply

      • disagree Whiskey. ASU would not on-side if they merely tie; too great a risk of giving OSU great field position for a winning TD or (gulp) FG.

        Smith’s 4th down calculation is that he might only be gaining 20 yards of field position. if ASU can hit #2 but a twenty-five yard gainer (as they did the previous position) they can do it twice.

        Condolences to BEEG on the Gopher’s loss. Should have a good bowl game to go to down in sunny Florida.

        Reply
        • 1

          I always like to see the coaches play for OT. Get another snap, you never know what is going to happen (unless you have Choukair and then you miss the XP)!

          Two-point conversion success rate is 40%. XP success rate is about 97%. I don’t believe in momentum crap, it comes down to the statistical evidence. The players are elite athletes, they should be able to play a few extra downs.

          Reply

        • Re-read my comment. I wrote ASU could onsides kick if they didn’t get the 2 point conversion. Which is exactly what happened.

          Idk where you came up with them onsides kicking had they kicked the PAT and tied it.

          Reply
      • 3
        3

        It was an objectively bad call. Ask objective football fans or HOF coaches and it would be agreed a consensus bad call. People forgive it because it’s Smith and it worked, but a call working doesn’t mean it’s smart. Glad it all worked out but definitely recklessness that is a cause of concern. Coaches are being rewarded too much for “I just want to be aggressive and win” (e.g. Herm’s excuse)…cool, but pick your spots where the probabilities are with you.

        It was such a bad call I was sure he was just trying to draw them offsides, take the penalty, etc, which would have been a good call.

        Reply
  18. 1
    1

    Went to the game, and ended up getting seats right behind the Arizona State bench. Ended up being with some of the Arizona State fans, and one of them thought it was pretty pathetic we rushed the field after the game. I’ll admit to doing it, but mainly because will likely be my last Beaver football game for at least the next three years. For once, the breaks went our way (still don’t understand why Herm would go for two there), and the defense held when we needed it most. Time to get a win in Pullman and get back to a bowl game.

    Reply

  19. First STAT upload of the day.
    2018:
    1) Mike Weber – 186 yds 3 TDs. Next best 104 yds 1 td (Michigan State)
    2) James Fellia – 51 yds…260 yds on the whole season
    3) Toa Taua – 81 yds 1 TD. 5th best performance in 2018
    4) JJ Taylor – 284 yds 2 TD. Next best 212 yds 2 tds (Oregon) and 192 yds 0 tds (Colorado)
    5) Eno Benjamin – 312 yds 3 TD. Next best 185 yds 2 Td (USC)
    6) James Williams – 56 yds (78 receiving 1 td). 2nd best of the season.
    7) Patrick Laird – 193 yds 2 TD. Next best 116 yd (Stanford)
    8) Travon McMillian – 132 yd 1 TD. 3rd best of the seaon (2nd was 136 yd so don’t get too excited).
    9) Aca’Cedric Ware – 205 yds 3 TD. Next best 173 yds 2 TD (Arizona)
    10) Bryce Love – 90 yds 1 TD. 2nd best of the season
    11) Myles Gaskin – 135 yd 1 TD. 3rd best of the season
    12) Travis Dye – 199 yds 2 TD. Next best 115 yd 1 TD (California)

    2019:
    1) Chuba Hubbard 221 yd 3 td. 4th best so far (holy shit this dude is a slayer)
    2) Miles Reed 42 yd. 6th best this season.
    3) Duy Tran-Sampson 137 yd. 3rd best this season.
    4) Cameron Scarlett 92 yds. 5th best this season.
    5) Demetric Felton 166 rushing/recieving 1 TD. 2nd or 3rd best this season.
    6) Zack Moss 121 yd 2 TD. 3rd best rushing but he had 177 APY 2 TD (ASU) and 204 APY 2 TD (CAL), 141 APY 2TD (UW), 200 APY 2 TD (UCLA)
    7) Modster had this one but im just looking at backs. Christopher Brown Jr. 49 yd 1 TD. 4th best this season but 5th best if you look at APY. (Better than Oregon even)
    8) JJ Taylor 78 yd w/ 89 receiving. 3rd worst rushing game (TT 11 touches, UC 1 touch).
    9) Alvon Ahmed 174 yd 2 TD, Best Game so far
    10) Eno Benjamin 70 Yd 1 TD, 6th worst.

    Reply
  20. 2

    Here’s some of the Seniors that played their heads off last night.

    Elu Aydon – No stats but played atleast half the snaps and took up multiple blockers.
    Gus Lavaka – Gus had a great game in protection and definitely messed up some guys nights in the run game.
    Artavis Pierce – 16 for 63 yards and his first fumble all year (wow). Had a tough game but he saved our bacon with a couple big first down runs.
    LaMone Williams – Same story as Elu, busy in the trenches but no stats.
    Noah Togiai – 8 for 76 and a TD. Holy shit Noah had a good game, guy carried his team when we needed it. What a great memory for him to leave on.
    Blake Brandel – Great game in protection. Saw him plaster a LB on one of JJ’s runs.
    Clay Cordasco – This guy exceeded my expectations like crazy this season. Another good game in protection.
    Rodriguez – 6 for 262 and 43.7 yard average. Hes turned into a top tier punter and its not a tough arguement to say he is the best we have ever had. He should play in the NFL.
    Jalen Moore – 5 solo tackles and a break up. Not the best game of his life but I think all 5 of his tackles were in open space and saved us serious pain. This guy is a warrior that carried us on his back for the last two years (75 and 101 tackles) He has sat out with injuries this year a bit but mostly the LB and Line play has finally improved to the point where he doesn’t have to make the tackle every other snap.
    Shawn Wilson – Add in 3 more tackles. Like Moore this guy has been the only thing between the opposing players and the endzone for years. Definitely made an impact in his time and it might take some time to find someone to fill his shoes.
    Jake Luton – Best game he has had at OSU 288 yds 4 tds no int. Stats are nice but he kept his cool almost the entire game and showed his potential.

    Reply

        • The rollout doesn’t work in the NFL because of rule differences. The other reason why they do the end-over-end rollout in college is because its hard to find talented punters, but the NFL doesn’t have that problem because there only needs to be about 40 at any given time. The spiral punt requires a lot of skill to execute well, while the end-over-end is significantly easier to learn and master. D-Rod is a great guy and has turned into a fantastic punter for OSU, but we won’t be seeing him playing on Sundays.

          Reply
      • 8

        It is funny you are still mad about that. I mean Allen was more consistent but Hekker literally has GOAT upside to him. Tough to blame a coaching staff for picking the upside and impossible to blame Allen for going elsewhere, not sure you can really call that running him off though.

        Reply
          • 1

            What’s interesting is Hecker holds the record for the longest punt in Super Bowl history at 65 yards… Guess who’s second? Ryan Allen 64 yards lol… Riley couldn’t go wrong with this one

            Reply
      • 2

        I don’t think we’ve ever seen an OSU TE make the kinds of plays he made after the catch last night. In the first quarter, he came close to targeting a would be tackler and basically just head butted him out of the way.

        Reply
  23. 1
    1

    Luton not only completed a high percentage of passes (particularly early), he went to at least 6 different receivers. Continue that and WSU and UO won’t be able to stop the passing game by throwing everything at Hodgins.

    And was that the Togiai they see in practice? Finally, performed up to his frequently stated potential.

    @ WSU – I’d think Jefferson and Pierce could have big games and offset Cougs advantage over OSU secondary.

    @UO – I have read UO D-line is pretty good, with a FR DE that is seriously quick. If true, they might put Luton into duck and cover mode early. How about a FB to help out? Some screen passes? Can Togiai line up in backfield occasionally and help pass protect? Also, somebody make OSU WRs watch James Rodgers v. USC when Quizz had breakout game. Out of fly sweep look, James would just get in the chest of DEs and seal the edge for his little bro…

    UO’s RB is both quick and fast, and that’s going to be a headache for OSU.

    Reply
  24. 10
    3

    I agreed with JS to go for it. Eliminates blocked punt or bad snap. Punt likely would have netted 25 yard difference and asu could have got that in 10 seconds on 1 pass. At that point they have the ball at mid field with 30 seconds left and we would have all been saying “fuck, JS should have went for it”

    My 2 cents.

    Reply
  25. 5
    1

    I like JS’s reasoning for going for it, it was a chance to win the game and there are only so many of those in a season. I thought the play call was odd for such a high-risk situation. On the play before, it looked like if Luton had pulled the ball and kept it, he could have slow-motion walked for the first down. I think a QB with some hops can take the team to the next level. A slow pro-passer is still the Riley paradigm. I would like to see JS break out of that.

    Reply
    • 2

      ASU was close to blocking a couple punts, maybe that was a factor? A QB that can run would be sweet but not at the expense of throwing and decision making. But obviously the total package is tough to land.

      Reply

          • Yeah, IMO just having the threat be there as a running QB is all you really need. Luton actually held a read option last night though. I mean Tom Brady is slow as heck but if the guys are covered downfield and there is room to run he will go for it. To me it is less about having an athlete and more about having a guy smart enough to take what the D gives you. Of course having a guy that is a freak athlete and a smart QB is ideal, see Lamar Jackson tearing it up.

            Reply
  27. 2

    Luton QB Tracker Data and Trends (I gave up on tracking Daniels so I could drink beer and fold laundry):

    0-2 sec: 2/3 for 8 yd
    2-3 sec: 11/13 for 74 yd, 2 TD
    3-4 sec: 12/15 for 121 yd, 2 TD
    4-5 sec: 5/5 for 90 yd, 3 sacks
    5+ sec: 0/2, 1 throwaway

    Trends and factiods:
    1) He only threw away one ball all game, he was aggressive and for the most part superb.
    2) Before the first sack he went 13/15 for 176 yds and 2 TD. Directly after the sack he had a noticeable change in mechanics and we stalled on three straight drives and in that span he was 3/6 for 30 yds and 3 sacks total. All sacks he held the ball for 5 seconds before contact. He seemed to rebound after we did some designed plays. On the first throw of the next td drive he hit champ on a designed slant for 8 yards but Lindsay was by himself for an easy 15 with only 1 defender infront of him.
    3) This was his best game imo. He was composed, accurate and seeing the field for 3 quarters and won that game.

    If anyone wants the raw data or a picture of my notes let me know.

    Reply

    • I don’t know that there’s a direct correlation to the first sack. ASU also started getting a lot more pressure after that point…you’re the one with the notes; did he have less time to throw after that?

      Reply

      • No not really. Play calling may have been waiting on big routes. I went back and watched those series and after the sack he immediately starts dropping his eyes early and on the throw to champ he throws his head down during the motion and the ball comes out ugly and short.

        Reply
        • 1

          Granted it was a great victory, but if the Beavs had lost, we would be talking about another half of disappearing offense again. I believe it was less than 100 yards and the only touchdown was with the short field turnover. I don’t know if it’s a lack of execution or solid adjustments from the opposition?

          Reply

          • OL performance was much worse in the second half. More pressure on Luton from 4-man rushes and blitzes. We only really had a few positive run plays, and just on the TD drive.

            Reply
  28. 4
    1

    Curious why Minnesota and Oklahoma are so far behind Oregon in the CFP standings? All 3 are 9-1. All 3 have lost to a 3 or 4 loss team.

    The final 2 weeks and conf championships have some pretty big matchups coming, so I suppose it will all even out after the games are played. Just seems strange to have Oregon right next to Bama, when they are clearly not at that level, even with Tua injured.

    Reply
    • 1

      Penn State has an argument too. So many 1 loss teams right now.

      Also, Beavs are 8 pts away from entering the top 25 conversation this week. Too bad those Hawaii and Stanford games played out like they did. I guess they’re good examples to carry forward to next year

      Reply
    • 6
      1

      Same reason you still saw the Duck mascot in every college football commercial even during their 4-8 season. The establishment of the brand during the Chip Kelly years stuck. The national media wants Oregon to be an elite program. Herbert, who is good, not elite stayed in the Heisman conversation for as long as possible. Is it Phil Knight’s money/influence? I hoped Helfrich had killed off the program, but apparently the program is too big to fail.

      Reply

  30. Interesting stat: all of WSU’s 4 FBS wins are against teams in the bottom 20 in the country in pass defense. Basically, if they play a bad secondary, they win. If not, they lose.

    We’re just outside the bottom 20, but haven’t played WSU.

    Reply

    • Weeeellll, they lost to UCLA and Arizona state and they dwell in that realm and also to Cal, which has a mediocre pass d and no offense (their backup Modster had his best outing). On the other hand 3 of 4 of their wins came against teams scoring less than 22pts vs P5 teams (Houston is averaging 27.5 per game v P5; not really sure how they coug’d that one). Beavs by 6.

      Reply
      • 1

        OSU is 4-3 in Conference and 2nd in the North. WSU is 2-5 in Conference and last in the North. There’s an argument to be made OSU should be favored. WSU -6 seems right to me, and I expect the line to move a lot.

        Reply

        • It’s all about the matchups.

          The argument I keep seeing is “WSU has a bad defense.” So do we. WSU is basically just going to throw and we have a bad pass defense.

          So it becomes a shoot out. Who are you going to take in Pullman: Luton or the nation’s leading passer?

          Reply
          • 1
            1

            I’m going to stick to my original gut feeling, offensive shootout with turnovers deciding the winner. Their QB is really good but their receivers have a tendency to cough the ball up.

            Reply

          • My gut says WSU, but I’m picking the Beavs. WSU QB isn’t great, his stats are overblown by the system.

            Beavs get enough pressure to throw off the quick passing game’s timing, and jump out to a 2.5 score lead.

            Then we run the ball well and control the clock, and win by 10.

            Reply
  32. 5
    2

    Just back from a quick errand. Saw the strangest thing ever. There was a mini-van flying four OSU pennants from all four windows.
    Where did they ever come up with them and that idea? Do you suppose it had anything to do with winning a few football games this year? Will wonders never cease?

    Reply
  36. 1

    Anyone else notice the D lineman and rushing LBs breaking down and getting their hands up? I don’t know if it was the gameplan or they’re just learning but it was nice to see.

    Reply
  40. 1

    Another MR guy at Nebraska may be available.
    WR JD Spielman is rumored to have issues with Frosty the Cornman. Kid is a major talent from the Twin Cities.
    Dad is the Viking’s GM. Short, slot type guy with great wheels. He would be a grad transfer.

    Reply

  43. Was told in DM conversation that Travis Mackay is medically retiring. One more OL spot to fill.
    That position is going to be really short on experience next season. Nous, Clarke, Eldridge and Kipper will be about the only guys with any starting experience(i think Clarke started for Lavaka once this year)
    And Eldridge has had a tough time staying healthy for quite a while, so probably can’t count on consistent availability with him.
    After that, only a couple more guys have any playing experience at all.

    Reply

    • Maybe we can pull some in a n the transfer portal. I think there’s atleast 10 4 star guys. Even still two inexperienced guys and 3 experienced guys isnt weird for most teams. Gus and Brandel will be hard to replace quickly.

      I feel very good about the o-line coaching and no matter were going to have more mobile QBs in the future.

      Reply

      • Wow, I just reviewed our recent OL recruiting history. We really need to bring in some numbers to help with depth (it feels like this has been the case for the last 5 years).

        2020 (current)- 1 verbal
        2019- 3 verbals, 2 enrolled; 1 transfer (Eldridge)
        2018- 4 verbals, 2 enrolled; 1 transfer (Kipper)
        2017- 6 verbals, 6 enrolled (MacKay retiring)
        2016- 0 verbals
        2015- 4 verbals, 2 enrolled

        Reply
  44. 1

    We all know Nicebeaver wouldn’t blow his own horn, so I’ll just suggest you check the CBS poll results for the week just ended.

    One of three to pick 9 of 12, and that after a 4 of 12 performance the previous week!

    Recruiting guru, Score savant, and he still claims to work for a living!

    Reply
  45. 1

    Ha, i hadnt looked up the results yet.
    What’s messed up is my burner account is BigAssTrees and I use an alternative strategy to pick games with that account(pick the home team) and Big AssTrees is also one of the top 3 to get 9 out of 12.

    Reply
  46. 4

    As expected, Hodgins is a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff. The Tennessee kid didn’t make the cut.

    Rashod Bateman, Minnesota
    Omar Bayless, Ark St
    Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, LSU
    Antonio Gandy-Golden, Liberty
    Isaiah Hodgins, Oregon St
    Jerry Jeudy, DeVonta Smith, Alabama
    CeeDee Lamb, OU
    Michael Pittman Jr., USC
    James Proche, SMU
    Sage Surratt, Wake

    Reply
  48. 1

    There is a possibility that the Beavers will play in the Holiday Bowl if they win on Saturday. That would be the program’s most prestigious bowl berth since the Fiesta Bowl in 2001.

    Gotta win, though.

    Reply
    • 2

      I was thinking the 2012 Alamo Bowl was considered a higher tier bowl game than the Holiday Bowl?
      Could be wrong. Not sure where these things are even documented?

      Reply
      • 2

        For 2019:
        #1 College Football Playoff. Champion goes to Rose Bowl if not selected for playoffs. The Rose Bowl gets filled by a Pac-12 team if champion is in the playoffs
        #2 The Alamo Bowl versus Big 12 #2
        #3 The Holiday Bowl versus Big Ten.
        #4 The Redbox Bowl versus Big Ten.
        #5 The Sun Bowl versus ACC.
        #6 The Las Vegas Bowl versus Mountain West.
        #7 The Cheez-It Bowl versus Big 12 #6

        Reply
        • 1

          right now, these teams are bowl eligible:

          Oregon
          Utah
          USC
          Washington

          need 1 win to get bowl eligible:

          Oregon State
          Washington State
          Arizona State
          CAL

          best case scenario Pac-12 gets 9 teams to be bowl eligible. Worst case 7 teams make a bowl game.

          most likely scenario for each team:

          Beavs go 1-1 beating Washington State
          Washington State go 1-1 beating Washington
          Arizona State go 1-1 beating Arizona
          CAL go 1-1 or 2-0 beating Stanford and/or UCLA

          The Standings at that point would look like this:

          North:
          Oregon (9-0) (11-1) bowl game
          Washington (5-4) (8-4) bowl game*
          Oregon State(5-4) (6-6) bowl game
          Cal (4-5) (7-5) bowl game*
          Washington (4-5) (7-5) bowl game
          CAL (3-6)* (6-6) bowl game
          Washinton State (3-6) (6-6) bowl game*
          Washington State (2-7) (5-7) no bowl game

          * Cal beat Washington and Washington State this year. so if CAL wins out, they jump Washington in the North. If they go 1-1, they drop to 5th in the North.

          South:
          Utah (8-1) (11-1) bowl
          USC (7-2) (8-4)* bowl
          UCLA (6-3) (6-6)* bowl
          USC (6-3) (7-5) bowl
          UCLA (5-4) (5-6) no bowl
          Arizona State (3-6) (6-6) Bowl game
          Arizona (2-7) (4-6) no bowl
          Colorado (2-7) (4-6) no bowl

          *UCLA needs to beat CAL and USC to get second place in the south.

          Reply
    • 1

      From memory the Sun Bowl used to be #3 for the PAC and the Alamo used to be #3 (when we played it), Holiday was #2 forever and is now #3. So I’m not sure we’d beat the #3 bowl game.

      Reply
    • 1

      While the holiday bowl has diminished in stature, that’d be a nice achievement. I wouldn’t have expected it this early in “The Return.”

      Reply
    • 2

      my guess is either the Redbox or Sun Bowl.

      #1 Utah(Rose Bowl)
      #2 The Alamo Bowl versus Big 12 #2 = Oregon
      #3 The Holiday Bowl versus Big Ten. = USC
      #4 The Redbox Bowl versus Big Ten. = Oregon State or Washington
      #5 The Sun Bowl versus ACC. Oregon State or CAL or Washington
      #6 The Las Vegas Bowl versus Mountain West. Washington State or CAL or ASU
      #7 The Cheez-It Bowl versus Big 12 #6 Washington State or ASU or CAL
      At Large bids Washington State or CAL

      Reply

      • Does a 1 loss Utah get into the playoffs if they beat Oregon? I say no, because Oregon lost to Auburn. If Oregon wins the pac-12 they will be in the playoff discussion, but most likely won’t get in because of the 1 loss to Auburn.

        If a pac-12 team makes it into the playoff, then yes, BEAVS will go to the Holiday bowl.

        Reply
    • 1
      1

      Makes not scheduling a cupcake when playing in Hawaii (getting the 13th game) even more questionable. And the Smith loses. I’m not sure why everyone is assuming we get a 6th win. We’re going to be 3+ possession dogs in both these remaining two games…

      Reply

        • Should be -6 so we’ll see if it gets there.
          Also, in my comment above, I’m not sure if we’d get a bowl at 6-7 (would the PAC allow this?), but we’d get an extra week of practice for that 13th game. I think it’s stupid not to take advantage of that extra game when playing at Hawaii.

          Sounds like that Borghi dude was just pumped after a win and shooting off the cuff.

          Reply
          • 2

            It was a money thing for the 13th game. Would have had to pay 500k, maybe more to get some team to come. Plus all the ones we’d beat are going for the higher payouts in the sec, big 10. And an extra road game was not going to happen.

            And with no expectations of a bowl game this season, it made sense not to do it.

            Reply

          • Between attendance for that game and being bowl eligible right now (had we scheduled a cupcake), wouldn’t we make up that 500k and well beyond??

            An extra week developing young players is worth something, too.

            Reply
          • 1

            Only if making a bowl game was a realistic expectation would the extra game make sense. Barnes would have had to know that last year too.

            Reply
      • 1

        The 13th game would of had to of been a group of 5 or better to play a 13th game to count towards a bowl win. Reason being, you can only use 1 FCS win towards bowl eligibility; BEAVS accomplished that by beating Cal Poly earlier in the year.

        Reply

        • Ah yes, true. My bad. Still, could schedule that game just to get the extra practice. If you think you’re not getting a bowl game it’s a way to give young players an extra week of practice. I don’t know…just seems if you really want a winning program you do this instead of fretting about money. I get you have to consider it, but after the attendance and concessions, etc, it wouldn’t be a huge loss.

          Reply

          • FCS games aren’t a big draw, ala the Nichols State game a few years back if I remember correctly. Having 2 BYE weeks when we did was a lot more important than having a “Tune up SEC type game” late in the season. Imagine having to play a team right after CAL, but before Arizona? There were guys that needed to rest the week after CAL. Having two BYE weeks instead of 1 is a big advantage in of itself.

            Reply

          • True, two byes are nice, and we needed it with some banged up players.
            I guess it’s fine. I personally think a young team needs practice more than rest, but I get the argument.

            Reply
  51. 5

    “…seems the stench of Riley (and Andersen) is finally completely gone.”

    Hoping I don’t jinx things here, but its so nice Riley isn’t hanging around trying to appear relevant. He doesn’t need to be taking away from what Lindgren is doing quite well.

    Hopefully the progress makes Smith realize he doesn’t need to keep letting Riley return at his convenience.

    Reply
    • 1

      It also appears that Coach Smith is settling into having the program be his own. Meaning, he wants to put faith in his offense that they can get first downs in short yardage situations. e.g. 4th and 2 from the ASU 26 and converts to Senior Noah Togiai. I also counted how long it takes Luton to panic in the pocket. It’s at about 3 1/2 seconds. If he doesn’t get rid of the ball in that time, he’ll either find a way to throw it away, or curl up and take a sack regardless if he has 5 seconds vs 3 on that given play. He has a mental clock and it’s up to the receivers to get open within 3 seconds from the snap on pass plays. It also appears that Luton only has 2 options pre-snap who he will throw it to on any given pass play: 1st receiver, or check down to the TE. Anyone notice AP pass protection was really good at picking up blitzes? Jermar needs to work on his pass pro blocking and I think that’s a big reason the beavs have gone to a 2 back rotation. Using the pass pro of AP, but keeping the defense honest by giving AP the rock as well.

      Reply
      • 1

        AP is a fantastic blocker.

        I broke it down above but Luton is most effective when he throws 4-5 seconds after snap. You are correct about the 3ish s cond panic BUT that is only true after he has received contact. U til he gets hit he’s a rockstar. It takes him 2-3 series to get over the panic (improving).

        Reply
        • 1

          It was a pretty nice on the fly adjustment on Lindgren’s part to realize ASU was selling out every time JJ was in the game. Sucks for JJ to be used as a decoy but ASU’s run D was pretty impressive.

          Reply
  52. 4

    JS is now playing with house money. I said if he got north of four wins this year he would deserve COY consideration. Here we are. Our offense will need to be our defense by controlling the clock and keeping the Coug’s O on the sideline. Will the D get enough stops to keep it close? I would expect lots of trick/ gadget plays to try to get this win. Regardless how this plays out, this has been a successful season. If only the HI and Tree
    games had gone our way.

    Reply

    • Will the D get enough stops to keep it close?

      Beavs DB’s are gonna be tested for sure, my question is how much pressure will be put on the Coug QB.
      Cougs have only allowed 12 sacks so far (Beavs have allowed 23) but, neither of those offenses has faced Hamilcar Rashed Jr. or Avery Roberts or the rest of the Beavs front seven.
      Making the Cougs QB look like the bad Luton will be key on defense.

      On the other side of the ball, Cougs pass D ranks slightly worse than ASU at #118, making chances good that we see the good Luton on our side.

      Reply
      • 4

        They’ll have to get creative with some zone blitzes and coverages to try and confuse the qb and hopefully get some picks. It seems from what little I’ve seen from the cougs is that teams tend to play coverage and not blitz too much.

        Reply

      • The bubble WR screens ASU ran against the Beavs were ineffective. With that said, I don’t see a lot of 5+ man blitzes and stunts coming from the front 7. I see more of a defend the pass first and then look for run. This will eliminate the WR from getting over the top of the DB’s and such. Basically, make WSU beat us with the run. 70 yards a game rushing average of 10 running plays to 63 pass plays. Our defense is good enough to stop their running game.

        Reply
    • 1

      The path to a win really doesn’t necessarily need trick plays nor time of possession. WSU defense is pretty bad. Worst in pac12. Beavs are 7th in yards per game. Just a couple wrinkles will work.

      It comes down to execution and protecting the ball.

      WSU has lost every time they’ve turned the ball over more than the opponent. Can they force the wsu qb into bad decisions? Don’t expect many sacks. Most he’s been sacked in a game is twice. But he’s not a runner so tibs can get creative with his pass rush.

      Beavs will need to convert the majority of their drives into touchdowns. Ideally they gash wsu on the ground. But if they don’t have a guy who can cover Hodgins, they should call his number all day.

      They path to a win
      While not something you’d think about, but Beavs need to hold wsu rb in check. If they can run the ball, it makes their offense very good. Keep their offense one dimensional.

      The pass rush needs to be creative, get pressure with just 4. Get into throwing lanes. Wsu will throw 50 times so any batted down or tipped passes will go a long way. Defense can’t break. Wsu didn’t punt vs Stanford.

      As always, need to score early and often. Just like vs AZ. And stick to the game plan. If Beavs fall in a hole early, don’t automatically go into catch up mode. Keep the offense balanced.

      I would think this has all the makings of a shootout. Hard to see the beavs making a large comeback win. But I would have confidence Beavs can win if it’s close throughout. Wsu hasn’t fared great in close games this year.

      Reply

      • Agree, especially keeping the their running game in check. With the exceptions of Houston (WSU -1 TO) and UCLA (WSU 6 TO’s) when wazzu wins they put up more than 100y rushing and losses <65y.

        Reply
    • 1
      1

      BEEG is right on the mark. The key to an OSU victory is limiting the number of opposing possession with long, productive, td-scoring drives. Now, it will be said (it WAS said after the Oklahoma State game) that if WSU runs away with a high score and big win that the Defense was responsible for that blow -out but, as the Cowboys case study shows, it was the lack of productivity on the Offense that kept putting the Beav defense in an exposed position. Mr. Tibbs has shown that unless his squad is put under extreme duress it will give the Beavs a chance to win.

      Reply
  53. 7

    One of the best things about this relatively quick turnaround of the program by JS is the media has finally dropped the ra ra Riley narrative. No longer do we have to hear ad nauseum how stupid it was for OSU to let him leave and how lucky we were to have him. He’s finally fucking gone and not coincidentally he’s out of coaching altogether.

    Reply

    • Borghi says that won’t happen.

      “We’re going bowling,” the WSU running back said after the win over Stanford. “I can guarantee that because we’re going to win next week.”

      This should be posted on every locker at the Valley Football Center. I’m hoping the beavs dig deep and put all the best performances of the season together and get this win. They have exceeded my expectations this year and I hope they can get it done, they deserve it.

      Reply
      • 1

        I guess we don’t call Smith “niner” anymore, cause Hamilcar wears that # as well? I digress.

        I like Smith’s public take on the “bulletin board” stuff. He says motivation has never been a big factor, “we are all motivated”; the important thing, he says, is preparation and execution.

        Wonder if he downplays it when the public isn’t around.

        Reply

        • Don’t add fuel to the fire. Let your play on the field dictate the outcome, not your post game interview the week before the outcome. JS is humble enough not to go after another team’s players’ comments, but I too would expect him to use it as saying, “Hey, they want and expect this just as much as we do. So we need to prepare, execute, and put our best foot forward. Let’s go out and win this thing!”

          Reply
      • 1

        Max “Broadway” Borghi?!?

        I like how effective he is at his job. Looks like a NE Patriot utility guy out there….Don’t mind the confidence either.

        But, tell the OLine they better be prepared to block for JJ and Pierce all day…the Beavers have been playing pretty well on the road….who knows.

        Reply
    • 1
      2

      Who makes good beer in Corvallis? I’ve tried a little of Flat Tail, Block15 and Sky High so far, but I don’t make it into town very frequently and never know where else to go.
      Of the 3, I liked Sky High probably the best so far for food and beer. The 3rd level outdoor seating was nice. Haven’t tried the food at Block15 yet.
      Flat Tail has been the most ‘meh’ of the 3 so far, in my opinion.

      Reply

  58. Honest question,

    I know you’re not supposed to tweet directly to recruits / players, but would it be tacky to reply to a tweet in which players are tagged saying something to the effect of “I hope they return for their senior year”

    I know it’s selfish of me as a fan to hope someone comes back for their senior year…

    Reply

    • Social media is open season. You can tweet at anybody you want. The NCAA has no ability to punish you, the school or the student athletes if you interact with them on twitter, so they don’t police it.
      Even Coaches can interact publicly with recruits, to a certain extent.

      Reply
      • 1

        Or Iowa st.

        The biggest thing that can help is the PAC 12 winning their big non con games. Win at least half of the games vs ranked teams. Raising the conference up means more teams into the tourney. Good for Beavs. Last time the pac12 was strong, the Beavs got a bid.

        Reply

    • Yeah, I mean the pac12 should help out and not have wsu play at home that weekend unless it vs UW.

      On one hand it’s an advantage with possible cold cold weather. On the other, students are long gone by Friday night. And anyone who is traveling out of town is gone as well.

      I don’t think it’ll result in any advantage. Maybe wsu won’t benefit much when momentum swings their way with a small crowd. That’s all I can see.

      Reply
  64. 7

    Whatever you think of Luton, you really should read Eggers story on the “comeback”.

    To me, Eggers once again proves he is what a beat writer should be. We see more in depth content from him than the others who attend coaches weekly press conferences and then pass along little beyond the “company line”. Along with the Beavs, Eggers covers the Blazers, an occasional musician, and much more. We don’t need no stinkin’ big O!!

    https://pamplinmedia.com/pt/12-sports/444109-358917-luton-comes-full-circle

    Reply

  65. Was just thinking about the last time we had a new coach take the Beavs from the basement of the Pac to a 5 win season in year 2, that coach got hired away by the San Diego Chargers.
    How the F did Riley turn 5 wins at OSU into an NFL HC job?
    There’s no chance Smith could have the same opportunity this offseason, right? What if he somehow gets 6, 7 or 8 wins?

    Reply
    • 2

      It’s because everyone on the country thinks you can’t win at Oregon State, so if you win 5 games then you’re a freakin miracle worker. What do you know, we got another miracle worker.

      Reply

        • Darn, potential big piece. I’m very concerned about o-line next year. It seems like the LB/D-line spots are starting to get some good depth but on the other side of the ball it isn’t happening.

          Reply

          • Yeah that sucks but it seems like we are getting huge DE. From the way we have played the positions this year it seems like we more or less play with 3 huge DE/3 small DT to clog lanes and take up blockers. Having one giant to anchor it is nice for sure, will miss Elu.

            I think we just missed bad on O-Line recruiting this year. Some coaches space out big classes of O-line by a year but it would still be nice to get alteast 2 on an off year to make up for retirement/injury/transfer. Hoping we pull some guys from the portal for depth.

            Reply

          • Wonder if Jeremy Reichner coming back 1 extra season played into it?
            JC guys need immediate playing time since they have a short window remaining in their careers and maybe he thinks we have too many bodies to compete with next year?

            Reply
          • 2

            There’s no reason we can’t still pick up someone late in the cycle. HS kids are still growing, so there are plenty of OL’s who start out undersized and under the radar (or just plain under the radar like Lavaka).

            Reply

    • Riley hds an established track record in the CFL and connections from his time in the WFL or whatever it was called (plus the fact that he was part of the Robinson coaching tree from his USC days).

      Reply

    • I’m glad you brought this up NB, because Smith’s break-through season is FAR more impressive than Riley’s. The latter had 3 non-conference wins (Nevada, Baylor, Utah State (away), plus Stanford (away), and Oregon, while JS has FOUR conference wins, three of them on the road.

      Reply

      • To compare Sagarin Rankings for the teams we’ve beaten

        1998’s five wins:
        Average- 71
        Median- 70
        Highest- 25

        2019’s five wins:
        Average- 84
        Median- 58
        Highest- 47

        In ’98 we beat one bad team, three below average teams and a good Oregon team. So far this year, we’ve beaten a bunch of average teams and one really bad team.

        Reply

    • Vernon got some extended play last night, but Hunt looks just a bit better. Both were good on defense, lots of hustle. It would be great if they could coexist on the same roster, but with modern transfer rules… who knows?
      Lucas will be a star, but he still looks a little lost at times.
      The team really needs an identity for situations when Kelly gets in foul trouble. Once he went on the bench in the first half, they went into a funk. But, that is what the early game combinations are for.

      Reply

      • I’ll never forget, I was at Valley River Center (Eugene Mall) one Christmas past and Mike Hunt was being frantically paged by the customer service lady to meet his party at the food court. That made my holiday season!

        Reply
    • 4
      1

      Have you been watching the games? Here has turned into a fairly reliable glue guy. Making important points and he actually shut down the best scorer from UCSB. His length was giving the guy fits. Actually both Reichle and Hollins were big in this game for keeping the momentum.

      I haven’t been a huge fan of either but this year they have settled into a nice role.

      Reply
      • 3

        Hollins had an incredible three or four-game stretch when he was a freshman where he averaged about 15 points a game in league play and was all over the court. Seemed like WT started fucking with his playing time after that and he’s never quite been the same since. I hope he is starting to return to form. He looks like a great player.

        Reply

  74. For NiceBeaver or anyone else following recruiting: with Bankston off the board, who are the top remaining targets left? I know about the JC DB’s, the JC QB and the transfers…anyone else?

    Reply
    • 2

      I think the main positions remaining are what you mentioned, primarily, but also:
      OLine. We lost Peacock. Probably replacing him with Wright, but we’ll need more OL via JC or transfer. We’ve been pretty quiet with JC OL recruiting but I know we’re looking.

      I’m also a little concerned we could lose one of our JC DEs now that we have the Auburn transfer on the roster. Lemon and Shippen are current verbal commits. Lemon still appears to be on board but Shippen has been pretty quiet.

      I think we’ll see a longsnapper and punter brought in but unsure if wither will start out on scholarship.

      Also, ATH is a positionless position that we have a couple of guys we’re recruiting.

      As far as names, I’d have to compile a list but dont have time currently

      Reply

      • Is playing time a huge concern at DL? We rotate about 9 guys a game at that spot and 2 or 3 are graduating. Not sure if Reichner will be back on medical.

        Reply

          • …but that unit isn’t exactly setting the world on fire. If the JC guys can’t crack that rotation, they’re probably better off somewhere else…

            Reply

          • Idk, Skelton gets 10+ snaps a game lately too. Seems like anyone who has a smidge of competitive spirit would be fine with those odds.
            Hoping Bennett makes a splash last year.

            Reply
      • 1

        I see Shippen via twitter doesn’t seem to post much and still lists his commitment to the Beavs. Maybe he is a mature college kid that isn’t after the recruiting attention like some others?!

        Reply

      • Forgot TE. Overman and Yary are the top 2 options, but we just offered another, who is a San Diego State commit currently.
        We definitely need another TE after Smalls went to the portal.

        Reply

  75. OT: Anyone here good with drywall work? I am doing some work on my own as a novice this weekend and could use pointers. Email me (contact button) if you’re skilled in this. Thanks!

    Reply
    • 2

      What do you want to know?

      Its not overly difficult but takes some technique and is also time consuming. Which is why it costs too much to have a pro come do it for you. Corners are the most difficult. Texture doesn’t hide everything and if you use shitty materials youll be doing the job again in a few years.

      DO NOT use mud tape that is mesh. Use solid tape and get it damp first.

      Im too lazy this morning but you probably have my email. Feel free to email and ax questions.

      Reply

    • After rewatching the WSU-Stanford game, I would agree with this. The biggest unknown variable is attitude. If the Beavs come out seriously fired up on defense then they could rattle Gordon’s confidence.

      Reply
        • 1

          The Beavs were down by 5 last year against the Cougs at the end of the third with a terrible defense. Given the defensive improvements and depth I see it being much closer. I also expect the defense to produce a turnover or two. Beavs have produced at least 1 turnover in 5 of 7 conference games. Turnovers are becoming common for the defense. Sure they have a good passing game but they haven’t been nearly as consistent this year. In conference play this year they have scored over 40 points 3 times. Scoring 40 points really isn’t that tough anymore. Even last year their offense didn’t score a crazy amount of points. They won games in the 20’s and 30’s. If anything, their defense is worse this year making their offense have to score more points to win games.

          Hopefully the Beavs offense can keep clicking and keep their offense off the field.

          Reply
    • 2

      @Nice, saw above about Reichner. Is he confirmed back next year?

      There was a Smith presser the other day, he indicated Reichner was coming back.

      Reply
  79. 3

    Saw Bradford will sit out this week. He’s played in 3 games so far so only has 1 game left if he wants to use his redshirt this season amd come back next year.
    As much as I get wanting to play in state in the Civil War, I think he’s more valuable to the team this week as they try to earn win #6. Too bad. We could have used him. He was pretty important to the W vs ASU

    Reply
    • 1
      1

      Yeah, Smith was not very strategic with Bradford. He should have sat out the Washington game so he could play the last 3 games with continuity. But I suppose someone could argue that the Washington game was important to get Bradford back in the groove and contributed to his performance against ASU.

      Reply

    • Smith has hinted, in the last few weeks, about possibly holding Bradford out for WSU, sounds like the decision is pretty much made now.

      Does this say anything about Smith’s view of the teams chances vs WSU and vs UofNike?
      Is this actually a decision driven by Bradford’s desire to play in the CW?
      Or, is it straight up as simple as having Irish and Lindsey available?

      Without being in the locker room, or inside JS’s head, it’s all just speculation.

      Reply
  81. 1
    1

    Way off topic: has or will the co owner of the Bucks, Wesley Edens, who is also a co owner of aston villa who also is an OSU alumni be the savior in getting the East side expansion financed? I’m surprised we don’t hear more from him helping out but maybe he puts his money into academics and doesn’t like Barnes.

    We need him to help us level the playing field.

    Reply

    • It’s been rumored in the past that he privately contributed to the Valley Football Center remodel, but for whatever reason he wanted to remain an anonymous donor. Also dont know if there’s any truth to this.
      Somebody needs to get his daughter interested in OSU. That will get Wes more involved.

      Reply
      • 1

        I see she wants to buy the Knicks. Corvallis is pretty much the same environment but she could watch east coast sports 3 hours earlier. Any single guys on here looking for a well off lady??

        Reply
      • 1

        I doubt he’s going to be a major contributor. There’s no return on the investment. Rich guys donate to college for access and putting their names on things. Not for pride in the school. So if OSU wants him to donate, they’d have to rename the stadium for him.

        Reply
  86. 1

    Looking at the Pac12 standings, if the Beavs can find a way to win tomorrow, they will be guaranteed to finish ahead of Cal, WSU in the North. If the Beavs win and UW and/or Stanford lose, Beavs would be guaranteed to finish ahead of those teams as well, regardless of the Civil War outcome. I’d say the stakes are pretty high tomorrow not only because of bowl eligibility, but also overall conference standings.
    Lose tomorrow and the Beavs stand a good chance of finishing among the bottom 3 in the conference. Win and they would likely finish around the middle of the Pac with tie breakers dictating bowl game draws.

    Reply
  89. 1
    1

    45-42 Beavs. Gotta run the ball well and then commit to it. Convert on 3rd and short. No special teams mistakes. 2 sacks. No TOs but force at least 1. We’ll kick a fg late to go ahead 45-35 and then recover onside late to run out clock. Leach runs after officials as time expires. Bring on the Ducks with house money

    Reply
  91. 1

    Luton stalls on two drives. Defence forces two field goals. AP and JJ go over 100 again, hodgins gets 2 td, Lindsay breaks 100 for the first time at OSU, 1250 total yards.

    49-48 Beavs

    Reply

  92. Anyone think ASU might get an upset today? Two coaches with questionable judgement, maybe Herm is due. His FR QB is impressive. If they key in the run?

    Reply

  94. PHIL STEELE REPORT (WEEK 13):
    #37 Oregon State at #42 Washington State
    Last time here WSU finished with a 491-354 yd edge in the 52-23 victory (-21). Wash St has won 5 in a row (avg MOV is 16 pts). Last year WSU trailed 30-28 3Q, but then led 56-30 (530-497) with OSU going 65/4 for a TD with :35 left (+17). Wash St is in a Stanford/Apple Cup sandwichbut it is their home finale and they need a win for bowl eligibility. Oregon St has been amazing this year as they have pulled off road upsets of UCLA, Cal, Arizona and Arizona St this year! OSU still has a shot at a bowl and QB Jake Luton is hitting 63% with a 23-2 ratio. Wash St QB Anthony Gordon is hitting 71% with a
    39-11 ratio but the Cougars have faced a tougher schedule than last year. They had 4 P12 road games last year and only one vs a team with a winning record. This year they will face 5 P12 bowl teams on the road and are just 2-5 so far in P12 play. The visitor is 9-4 ATS in this series and Oregon St has the defensive edge allowing foes 34 ypg above their season avg while Wash St allows 121 ypg above in P12 play. Oregon St has taken on the slightly tougher schedule (#44 vs #57). Could it be yet another Beaver upset?
    FORECAST: WASHINGTON STATE 28 OREGON STATE 23

    POSITION BY POSITION EDGES:

    WHEN OREGON STATE HAS THE BALL
    Oregon State QB/WR vs Washington State DB’s: ORST +1.54
    Oregon State RB’s vs Washington State LB’s: ORST +1.17
    Oregon State OL vs Washington State DL: AZST +1.01

    WHEN WASHINGTON STATE HAS THE BALL:
    Washington State QB/WR vs Oregon State DB’s: WAST +3.15
    Washington State RB’s vs Oregon State LB’s: ORST +0.84
    Washington State OL vs Oregon State DL: ORST +0.02

    MISCELLANEOUS:
    Special Teams: ORST +0.30
    Kicking: WAST +3.23
    Coaching: WAST +2.15

    POSITIONAL EDGE AWARDED TO: WAST +3.66

    Team Stats (ORST-WAST)
    Projected Rushing: 163-103
    Projected Passing: 265-472
    Projected Yardage Total: 428-575
    Projected Final Score: 33-45
    Experience Rankings: 7-100
    Team Schedule Strength: 45-57

    Las Vegas Line: Washington State by 10.5
    Las Vegas Total: 76.5 Points
    +/- Ratings: Washington State by 11.0
    Game Grade: Washington State by 12.0
    Computer Yards: Washington State 575-428
    Computer Points: Washington State 45-33

    Reply

    • His 200 something on us is only his 4th best game I think. I’m excited for that game next year, our D is going to be so much better than the first matchup.

      Reply

    • Hollins waking up and playing solid this year. Ethan is still an I consistent mess. Wasn’t expecting him to go backwards at this point. No minutes for Vernon.

      Reply

  99. Aunt Patty will figure out a way to steal a heartbreaking 4th quarter win. He needs to stay alive in the 2019 revolving door of coaches. His stock is down a bit, but three more season ending wins are critical for him to escape Pullman. Cougs 52-45.

    Reply

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here