I asked this eloquent and deeply philosophical question on Twitter:
If you make progress (recruiting, size, athleticism, etc), but then take a giant dump on your progress (degenerate gambling on every 4th down, etc), did you really make progress? #GoBeavs @Coach_Smith
But seriously, despite some positives from last night, this is what stands out the most. Smith hasn’t made any progress with in-game management, risk profile, intuition or a feel for odds and probabilities, etc. He also had two incorrect players on the field: Noyer at QB was obvious for all to see, but Champ to me was another problem. I saw the defenders lift his leg and laugh at him at one point. He is just too small. Yeah, one nice catch, but where is Harrison or any of the other dynamic, large, 4-star WRs?
For me Smith’s in-game decisions were once again the glaring problem. It has been an obvious problem since early in his tenure, but there were always excuses. E.g. “no depth at D so he had to go”, but now we have depth, and the D played pretty great all night. It’s pretty obvious to me Smith just likes to gamble on the risky outcome, even if the odds of winning are better with the less risky play. The other problem is he couldn’t ID that Nolan was a much better option to win this game than was Noyer. There is no way this just showed up on game day. The coaches even commented in some Sedge videos they needed Noyer to clean some things up, and when Lingren was pressed he said something like, “just the basic plays have confidence throwing them” or something like this. So what we saw last night was happening in camp. This is some weird recency bias playing out. Because Noyer had a few good games at CU, there was bias toward him. That’s a bad sign if your coach is succumbing to bias rather than results in the present. Also they only seemed to factor in the positive bias and not negative bias (i.e. his brutal TD:INT ratio).
Positives were the players looked appropriate size, we did have some depth, we pressured the QB, played decent vs the run, and found our short-term QB (a day late, a dollar short, as if the Beav way). Bradford looked better than ever. Lindsey was a big positive. Ma boy! Lowe looked decent, though he lacked vision on a few runs and ran right into the defender.
Some negatives were mentioned above but also Fenwick not getting carries – we have an SEC RB who averaged over 5YPC in that conference. Give him touches. Baylor ran for 2.7, so there wasn’t really an excuse.
There were more both positive and negative, but you guys can fill those in. These are the obvious ones that stood out to me and remain with me this morning.
Smith is the cap on this season. We talk about Cristobal capping the Ducks with 1-2 losses, Smith is worse.
I wish a reporter would ask him if he plays the lottery games for investment purposes, then ask about his 4th down calls and strategy v. gambling.
Jonathan “Scratch Ticket” Smith fits him well.
Yeah, we don’t need to take those risks anymore. Lean on the defense.
The “Willamette Riverboat Gambler”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7hx4gdlfamo
A riverboat gambler sounds too cool. He’s the guy at the all night market, buying scratch tickets, scratching them off in the parking lot…
Dotty’s. One of those Oregon Lottery “delis”.
We’ll just call him Dotty.
Let’s get some votes on these names!:
Dotty, The Willamete Riverboat Gambler
Dotty, The Willamette Motorboatin’ SOB
Dotty, The 4th&1 One Trick MF Pony
Dotty, The Little Yard That Could-a(Shoulda, Woulda)
Scratch, Your Eyes Out It’s 4th&1 MF
Scratch, The Itch
Scratch, Game’s Over
Scratch, Lotto Sucks, Back To The ATM!
(RIP Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry)
Scratch your eyes out is pretty good.
All good points angry. The 4th down BS, although exciting, is not paying off — especially in that situation with momentum of recent scoring and what should have been a punt deep into Purdue territory. I can’t remember if Purdue ever sustained a long deep drive, maybe two positions…? FG and TD, the rest short field gifted to them. Noyer should have been replaced at half time or before….JS way too late to pull the trigger on that IMHO.
That INT by Noyer was just plain awful. Could have been a FG at worst. Should have been replaced then and there.
It was one of his best placed balls from the pocket, easy to catch, good spiral.
I think the third down pass play call prior to when Colletto was stopped on the 4th and 2 was really suspect. The play call would have been OK if we were going to punt. But if you’re 3rd and 2 in 4 down territory, halve the distance. Don’t try to get it all in one chunk with low probability of success.
Just dump it in the flat or run it. Even a TE delay. Not a long throw with a qb who is struggling to hit within 5 yards of his target.
….or pick the lowest percentage play in the playbook hoping to surprise your opponent! These are all cases where JS is waaaaaayyyy too cerebral at times….again, pick the high percentage play even if boring….QB sneak with Colletto?
It was an odd sequence, I guess overconfidence in being able to pick up the first down on 4th and 2. I think it was the first time Colletto has ever been stopped. Purdue’s secondary was disciplined on both the pass plays.
Also, I keep thinking about how once Nolan stepped on the field, how the offense started clicking. Seemed like a Smith offense again. I don’t know what it was when Noyer was out there.
mckalk: “I don’t know what it was when Noyer was out there.”
That’s easy…it was a shitshow!
It’s interesting, there were apparently some pre-season comments by Lindgren about Noyer needing to learn the offense that Angry mentioned in his Nolan versus Noyer post. No shit, to that also. Noyer looked like he didn’t know the offense.
But how on Earth do they conclude he’s the best option? These people who say coaches see players in practice so they always know who the best option is…no.
What was the story? Lindgren recruited him? I don’t know if Noyer ever directly played for Lindgren. The only time I paid attention to Noyer was last year’s Alamo Bowl and he was awful. Another mystery is how he was 2nd team P-12? How do you make all anything when you throw more interceptions than touchdowns?
I think Flemings is an anchor for the offense and it makes the game 10 vs 11 because he isn’t a serious threat for any blocking, recieving, returning or decoy.
I’d rather put the larger recievers out there and run to the edges using them as blockers at least.
Scrath-Ticket Smith is pretty funny and too accurate at this point.
I think the defense will get even better, and I’m still hoping for VIdlak. I’ve seen Nolan enough, and NOyer is a huge disappointment.
Camp coach-speak and players saying all of the cliches are always exposed once Beavs play actual games. Every year we see the same types of positive quotes about how guys are improving and competing blah blah. It never translates into a sharp, disciplined winning effort. JS may be building a winner but he needs to now adjust what he is doing to be a steady captain of this ship.
Oregon is the only north team to win yesterday…
“Coaches” started Ryan McCants over Quizz after camp.
Do they have any pass plays for the TEs? UCLA used the same drag route 5 times against LSU and gained about 140 yds by doing it.
WHy not go back to the toss sweep until they stop it? What about Lowe and Lindsey on misdirection and reverses? I think for all of the gambling, they could’ve just opened the playbook on running the ball more creatively outside the tackles and it may have succeeded.
JS said in post-game that the Beavs didn’t really adjust to Purdue stacking the box against the run. Why not?
If the DE is constantly in the qb’s ear, try a screen maybe to his side? Was Noyer in shell-shock after the first series and couldn’t adjust? Noyer needs to go straight to the coaching staff and be a grad assistant at this point. Horrible game with only Karlafkis ever really tackling him. What about the O-Line that was supposed to be the strenght of the team?
Was rewatching this morning and Noyer drops about 5 feet deeper than Nolan and doesn’t step up into the pocket. This is murder for the tackles. If you don’t collapse that angle it’s a straight run at the qb. If the tackle drops back too fast to cover that angle the DE or an LB have a huge hole to jump through on the inside.
As soon as Nolan came in pass pro improved a ton just because he stepped forward into the pocket which collapses the defenses attack options.
That’s exactly what happened over and over. Noyer was throwing off his back foot and always non-set. I don’t really blame the line since he was playing schoolyard QB.
RBs only ran the ball 16 times and it clearly wasn’t part of their game plan from the beginning. Fenwick with 1 attempt? Baylor avg 2.7 yds a carry gets more touches than Lowe who avg 4.5. Felt like a weird offensive game plan in general and it def didn’t help to have clearly started the wrong qb.
The only offensive “identity “ was going for it in 4th, anytime, anywhere. Nothing else consistently established. The TEs didn’t show up that I can recall. I thought they’d be a strength?
From what I saw the identity should be getting the ball to wideouts quick and in space. Lindsay and Brandon are definitely dangerous in space.
4 catches by the TE and 1 was the trick play. Also don’t recall seeing Harrison play at all. How is he not getting run time over Champ? Lots of questions unfortunately and our O is going to need to score a lot of pts again to win.
Teagan had the long catch from Lindsay. Musgrave showed up but not in a good way. He really struggled blocking.
There are glaring issues all over the place.
It appears that game planning is disconnected from player talent or ability to execute. They spend months with the players, the staff should know strengths and limitations and plan accordingly. I see very little plan that executes to the strengths. The inability to execute a basic plan is indicative of poor preparations long before game time.
While I have no insight into planning between coordinators and coach, strategic thinking and planning prior to games and during the game have plagued us with this staff, that is on the head coach.
As much as I want to be a Beaver believer, my impression is we will struggle to achieve mediocrity. While my expectations aren’t that we will win a National Championship anytime soon, my hope now is that our name doesn’t become synonymous with shitty game decisions and poor execution like WSU.
I agree that Noyer was bad and Nolan was much better but to say it was obvious before the game simply isn’t true. From all the reports Nolan was throwing ints and had terrible completion percentages. He came on late but obviously wasn’t enough for the coaches to start him. Although Noyer was bad it wasn’t all on him. There was no run game and they never adjusted to Karlaftis by doubling him or using a screen to take advantage of his aggressiveness. The play calling was pretty bad too. Who thought it was a good idea to throw Colleto the ball? Saying Fenwick should of got more Carrie’s because he averaged 5.0 yrs a carry elsewhere and Baylor was getting 2.7 doesn’t make sense. It was the lines fault and Fenwick was stoned just as much on his carries.
I do think this team will get better as they have every season under Smith as it goes on. This was a tough game to start with but now they have a chance to rebound against a couple of lesser opponents before league play. I think they cam still possibly win the north if they get better QB play. I really hope Gebbia can get better this season and this isn’t a lingering issue that continues to keep him out. Is there a chance Gulbranson can play this season? It’s pretty disappointing they couldn’t find a better qb in the transfer portal when some teams were grabbing multiple guys and that’s really what seems to be holding this team back.
I thought the defense looked better and they played well enough for the team to win. There were too many times when they just blew coverages and there was nobody within 10 yards of the receiver. I don’t think Tibs was failing to adjust to covering the TE I think guys were just blowing coverages. The pass rush was better and I thought there were several missed holding calls where the rusher would get past his guy and then get his shoulder ripped back. Tackling needs to get better. Sharpe’s missed tackle on the Horvath TD was fuckin embarrassing. He was staring at the ground and lunged. It was like he was hoping to make the tackle.
Noyer, Musgrave, Kipper were all awful and champ is too small. A guy can be 3 yes behind him and just put up his arm and take away the window for the ball because he’s just too short.
Regardless of whether Noyer was better in camp or not, it was obvious he was not playing well and Jonathon should have pulled him at the half or even sooner just to try something else. JS also needs to use more common sense on 4th down, we can’t go for it on 4th and short every time from every point on the field. If it doesn’t work the consequences can be severe. Purdue decided against a long field goal in the 1st half and punted and pinned us inside the 1, from which we wound up punting out of the end zone (not the best kick) to give them a short field which they then scored on.
Its a shame because Purdue didn’t look like an awful team but one that we should have been able to control. It looked early on that we might be able to run on them but it seems the coaches didn’t have confidence in the running game and they had Noyer trying to throw, without much success. The deep throws on a number of possessions on 1st down without success also helped to tighten the field up and limit our play calling on 2nd and 3rd downs.
Its a shame, that game was winnable.
…the coaches didn’t have confidence in the running game
Gotta wonder why. OL supposed to be a strength, common belief is it’s easier to run block than pass protect. Baylor, Fenwick, Lowe….all deserved more touches. Take pressure off QB by more rushes. What am I missing?
39yds per half……sheesh!
Purdue was loading the box so they were attacking away. Unfortunately they didn’t consider if they could actually execute. Sometimes you just need to run some quick slants, flats, screens, draws and counters right into the teeth.
Unfortunately they didn’t consider the success of sweeps or the value of counters and, even, draws.
Yeah sweep got stopped once and they just stopped despite having two good ones. No draws or screens at all that I noticed. I don’t think we ran any counters either.
Ya I think when you have quick athletic receivers we should’ve been try more WR screens. Also should’ve tried to hit lowe on a screen and use their aggressiveness against them. This was a weird game for Lindgren who usually calls pretty good games. Them stacking the box and then the QB missing open receivers didn’t help tho.
Don’t think I can disagree with a single point you made. For me this game would be a giant positive if this was year one or two of Smiths tenure. It is highly concerning that he doesn’t seem to be learning on the job at all. In year 1 or 2 it can be justified but to show such limited growth as a coach is concerning. Smith is trending to the new Riley. A guy that understands Corvallis, finds some under recruited gems here and there, willing to work hard to mitigate the disadvantages, but then on game day the personnel decisions and coaching decisions handicap the team. Then again peak Riley was not terrible, he was a few bad bounces away from doing something big but is Smith even going to reach peak Riley level? Hard seeing that as anything more than his ceiling at this point.
Hi Boys…. Long time no talk. I promised myself to lay off until the first game. Got damn sick of the political crap. So now back to normal, commiserating over a season opening loss. Nice to be back on track. Carry on.
PBH, wannabeav, BeavGirl, nice to see the return of so many regulars; and the addition of VerySad.
What is it about the beginning of FB season that brings y’all back? Can’t be the usual first game results; maybe angry’s not so subtle opinions?
Misery loves company?
And Scotty!
Question though, where’s Jack?
Thanks OOB. What would fall be without football banter? It represents everything normal about life. What was the old ad campaign about “breakfast without orange juice?” What is fall without football?
This will be interesting year. JS is slowing advancing the program but still needs a break through year. I’m not sure this is it unless the PAC-12 is weak, as the first week may have suggested.
It feels like Smith/Lindgren are chasing the elusive Sportscenter highlight reel appearance.
The program would be better served by a boring win than a flashy play on SC though.
Got to let Nolan start next week if Gebbia can’t go
Yup. Noyer shouldn’t see the field again unless Gebbia, Nolan and Vidlak are out.
With Vidlak as backup
Shouldn’t be a question. Give him the 1st team reps this week.
Hopefully
Will the Beavs face a better DE than Purdue #5?
If Thibodeaux is healthy then yes. Utah and USC definitely have some talent.
I caught a tweet that KT went out with an injury yesterday and didn’t return to the game. Not sure if that’s accurate or not and if it’s serious or not.
I don’t think so. And that’s not throwing shade at KT from UOfO. #5 was a game changer. Reminds me of a JJ Watt type player
That’s right SC might have a guy. I haven’t seen him play yet, so I will change my answer to maybe SC. I personally don’t think KT is a good as that kid. KT is fast but I do think he has more hype than he deserves, based on on field production that is. I don’t even remember him playing in the civil war, very little impact
Idk, ducks were killing Fresno until he got hurt. Guy is pretty impressive. I would categorize it as is there a DE that we HAVE to double team. I would say KT qualifies even if he’s not as good as the Purdue dude. Why do all the best DEs have hard to spell last names this year.
He’s (KT) projected to be the first DE taken in the draft, like a top 5 pick. Maybe #1 depending on the team and it’s needs.
Ya I don’t know why Chris thinks this guy is better than Thibodeau. He was very disruptive in the civil war too. Kipper tends to really struggle in pass pro so he probably helped make him look better than he is also. The Washington game last year he got worked by the poly kid I can’t remember his name tho.
The reason I’m not super high on him is I haven’t watched a game that he was a difference maker. Not aging he isn’t but that Purdue kid dominated us last night. I don’t remember KT making a single play in the civil war. I could be wrong.
Personal opinion he I still riding the recruiting #1 player wave. He likely will be drafted higher than the Purdue kid based on speed etc.. but I’m 5 years I bet this Purdue kid is a better nfl player.
KT reminds me of that Dion Jordan a few years ago. He went #3 or something, and has not been worthy of that pick from day 1. But my 2 cents. I would trade down and get more picks and the Purdue kid if I was a gm
Among the many head scratching moves, any idea why colletto was on kickoff returns? Need at least a threat back there.
I have no clue at all. It makes no sense. Maybe everyone else on the team is scared and crazy legs don’t fear nothin
Probably stating the obvious, but Purdue seemed like a better-coached team. They just kept kicking it to Colletto’s area, so no risk of a big return. I’m assuming he was back there as part of a blocking scheme that never materialized.
He is the guy just ahead of champ that lead blocks. They kicked a shorter kick so he caught it. He should’ve called a fair catch and got the ball at the 25. They should really call a fair catch most of the time. Usually don’t make it past the 25 and you always have a chance of a penalty or fumble or even an injury. Lowe or lindsay or another fast player that weighs more than a middle schooler should be returning kicks also.
Awful.
@beav in oh. Can you look up the pff of edge and DE we are facing? Pretty sure KT on the ducks is highest.
PFF ratings are horrible.
Best grading system we have.
Well it’s pretty much the only one but I think you’re better off going off of your own eyes than that. They had a bunch of our DL ranked high last season for instance and we all know that it was a huge weakness. They just never seem to make sense compared to what you actually see and what’s produced.
I don’t have that kind of time. Can’t watch all our opponents.
I definitely think chance earned the start next game unless Gebbia is healthy to go. I will say that Noyer is much better than he played yesterday tho. I watched Colorado’s highlights from last season and he can be very accurate and has a nice deep ball. That said I think he’s a streaky player and you don’t know what Noyer you’re going to get and that’s clearly not what you want in your starting QB. Really wish Gulbranson was healthy as I think he has the best arm of all the QBs. We have all this speed at receiver and nobody that can seem to complete the deep ball. Whenever they do the receiver always has to wait on it and gets tackled as opposed to being hit in stride for the TD.
Would be nice to utilize our size at wr too. Harder to throw those deep balls when your targets are 5’10 or shorter. Would’ve that 4th and 2 play had better success if you have a 6’1″ or taller wr like Beason, Harrison, Tongue, Dunmore or Valisin (spelling?) In that 1v1 situation?
Nolan made the wrong read on the play TE was Wide open on a out route. He had some pressure but still . Wide open like Purdue tight end open
Did Colorado have Noyer using his mobility at all? Would have been nice to at least make the defense think twice that we have a running threat at qb.
They had a few designed runs but mostly he would just scramble. He didn’t really try to scramble at all yesterday which was a little surprising considering how bad he was throwing it.
I agree a taller receiver would’ve had a much better chance that corner just totally eclipsed champ. I think that they totally thought that they’d have them completely fooled and he would be wide open.
Select PFF grades from last night (60ish is like an average P12 starter, 70ish will get you some kind of All-Conference honor). Anyone not listed was ~60. Just looking at these, it says the defense was good enough to keep us in the game, but Noyer sucked and the running game was forgettable.
Offense
Noyer- 33 passing
Nolan- 83 passing
Lindsey 75
Bradford 69
Beason 69
Musgrave- 46 OVR (pass blocking really brings down his average)
Eldridge- 50
Levengood- 68
Kipper- 66
Defense
Austin- 65
Oladipo- 65
Hughes-Murray 68
Sharp 50
Saluni 50
Franke 65
Skelton 70
Lolohea 73
Sio 66
PAC-12 QB passer ratings (no running impact included, obviously opponent matters):
North
Nolan 83
McKee 82
Garbers 62
de Laura 61
Brown 57
Morris 45
Noyer 33
South
Brewer 90
Slovis 79
Lewis 75
Plummer 66
Daniels 61
DTR 60
I don’t understand how kipper even got 66. He was awful and I think he had a false start.
Not positive, but I think because they average out every play, a few big screw ups can be offset over the course of the game. You usually only notice OL if they have a really good or really bad play. I like PFF because they grade every play and I can’t watch every player on every play.
Franke looks like he has really
Bulked up
He gained 31 lbs in the offseason. That’s like a 3 year old.
Curious if Jim Wilson made any tactful, constructive remarks about Smith’s decisions putting his team in bad positions?
Something else I forgot to mention…well, sort of touched on it with the Nolan/Noyer stuff, but Purdue’s head coach apparently had a QB battle, and he definitely seemed to pick the right guy. That Plummer guy was very tough and efficient. It just stood out to me that the coach who picked the right QB from a Fall battle won the game.
Noyer looked bad in the footage we got to see (sounds like he played that way yesterday). Nolan never stood out throughout fall camp (Vidlak seemed to get way more praise). This was clearly a pick your poison scenario with Gebbia out.
The scary thing is that Gebbia wasn’t the clear #1 in camp over Noyer.
He would’ve been fine with either QB. O’connel played a lot last year and won the job ahead of Plummer but he’s slow and Brohm wanted a more mobile QB.
Thinking about how the aggressive play calling has come full circle. Like some of you have commented, looks like JS is playing not to lose, or doesn’t have the confidence in the defense. You can lose games by being too conservative (punting on 4th&1 in opponent’s territory, running plays to milk clock with lead, vanilla offense). Is JS trying to innovate something new? Thinking too far outside the box? Just bad luck at the rollette table? It’s 16-14 with tons of time left on the clock….why so desperate? Would love to hear his take on the decision.
I think he does a presser Monday.
We should come up with some questions to send one of the media guys like Daschel and hopefully he’ll ask on out behalf and get some of the answers that we want.
Good idea.
I mean there are certain ones like why is Champ playing ahead of more physically talented players that he won’t ask and Smith won’t answer but I think we could probably get some answers and it might actually be productive as it could make Smith wake up to things were seeing.
I want to know why Karlaftis wasn’t doubled when he was the only one getting consistent pressure.
Why didn’t they run more quick screens to the receivers when the qb was struggling and they couldn’t protect the qb and they would get about 10 yards a pop.
Why is Colleto returning kicks
He isn’t is he? He’s the guy just ahead of champ that’s the lead blocker. He just caught it when they kicked short and should’ve been calling a fair catch.
Kind of? Champ is lined up far right and Colleto far left. Champ lines up at the goal line and Colleto around the 10. It’s really weird.
Why not let him be one of the up men and hit someone and have two return threats back there (not Champ).
Yeah it should be the two fastest guys on the team with good ball security.
Good idea, then he’d have a shot at being MVP for all three phases of the game.
EDIT: meant in response to objcritic
That would be too smart. This is Beaver football…..remember?
Daschel is just an ass kisser, don’t get your hopes up.
Well I said him as an example it could be someone else.
Doubt the group at the G-T would be much help, maybe Eggers?
Seemed to me that Daschel jumped on the Noyer bandwagon quickly. I take his analysis with a heaping grain of salt. We are just fans, not insiders like Daschel.
You spelled salt wrong, in Noyer’s case it’s spelled s-h-i-t!
Maybe he’s an ass kisser, but why not put him to the test? He asks for questions for his Friday Mailbag piece (of course he picks which ones to answer).
He did pick against the Beavs yesterday.
https://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/2021/09/some-oregon-state-bright-spots-on-a-disappointing-night-back-to-drawing-board-on-qb-9-takeaways-from-beavers-loss-at-purdue.html
text questions to the joe beaver show…if they are good John Warren will ask them, if he has the chance
What will Dave from Tumwater ask about?
What would you think if Smith decided to go with SN at QB vs CN against Hawaii?
I think it’s likely. You don’t completely throw a guy away after 1 game. I watched Colorado’s highlights from last year and he’s much better than what he showed. That being said I’m fine with starting Nolan too but I just don’t think it’s a given from this last game. They took Karlaftis out and were letting up some and playing with the lead towards the end when Nolan was in. Not to say Nolan didn’t perform well and maybe earn the start next week. I imagine they will watch the film and evaluate over the week who will start. Its unfortunate that Nolan didn’t do well enough earlier in camp to earn the start originally. He came on late and played well yesterday so he could be hitting a stride and things are clicking. Maybe they should just ride the hot hand. Whoever it is should be on a short leash and be pulled earlier if they struggle. Should be a confidence booster for whoever it is. If they can’t have a good showing at Hawaii were in trouble.
OK We have all listed what we think went wrong yesterday. the bottom line is we got out coached and that is end of story. Smith cost us a winnable game.
It really doesn’t need to go any further. Smith wants to stand out and make the game about him. i think we can talk all we want about offense and defense
but truth is Smith screwed up. Everything you all have mentioned is true. It all points to coaching.
Smith didn’t lose us this game. QB play did. It’s obvious why he went with Noyer. Noyer has the better throwing motion and is quicker with his decision. However it’s apparent he couldn’t get it done in the game. This team is gonna be just fine. Not concerned one bit after the opener. Next week will answer a lot of questions for me.
Agree home openers can be very deceptive. One game doesn’t mean the team sucks or Noyer. Yes he sucked but Nolan had a game or 2 like that last year and then went on to have way better games. Sometimes guys are just off or rattled like in basketball when they can’t buy a bucket. Like I said above I’ve seen him be very accurate at Colorado so it’s a real head scratcher why he was so bad but you could see a flash here and there like when he made the nice throw to lindsay on the run. The team will have 2 games to get it figured out and get rolling for pac12 play. We lost to an up and coming big10 team not like the other north schools who lost to lesser opponents at home. We’ll know more after the next 2 games. Hopefully Gebbia can get healthy tho because we know he can win games for us.
Exactly… No one is factoring in being on the road week 1 in front of fans for the first time in two years. These things do matter. If they had any sort of offense in the first half, they wouldn’t be in a situation where they consider going for it one 4th down. It will be telling how they play going forward. I am with you, I don’t put much stock in week one performances.
The concern I have the continuation of losing games that could have been won by the beavs. Why can’t they be the ones to win an ugly one? They had plenty of chances. We don’t win first games of the season. Why is that? That trend needs to stop. If we are playing Ohio state to start the year then yeah it’ll be a loss but thsts not the case.
Wish we had McKenzie Milton right about now.
Field General.
OSU hasn’t had a QB like that ever. He just does it all. It’s amazing what he’s doing right now to Notre Dame, totally changed the game.
Just got home from West Lafayette and a couple thoughts,
Crowd wasn’t a factor, there was no organization for the crowd to get loud on third or 4th down. As cheesy as the chainsaw is, Purdue could have used something, 54k were shockingly quiet.
OSU used no tempo until Nolan was in late, it seemed OSU subbed on every offense play which allowed for Purdue to match personal. First TO of the second half was because the ump was not allowing a snap because Purdue was matching personal.
Front seven looked better, but I’m curious how they will perform against a back with some wiggle. They sold out against the run most of the game and got burnt on play action thru out. On the final 4th down, I told the Purdue fan next to me, play action to #87, I knew it, I just don’t know why the defense didn’t.
Nothing to add about JS, I’ve agreed with Angry on this for awhile. Only positive I have to say about Noyer is after he was bench he did show leadership by not Sulking and was active on the sideline.
OT: https://www.kerryeggers.com/stories/canham-looking-at-what-we-have-back-and-coming-in-im-excited
Thanks for the link.
In the “water is wet” category: “OSU hurlers also topped the conference in hit batters (83), combined walks and HBPs (325) and wild pitches (64)”, but OTOH “The pitching staff finished first in the Pac-12 and ninth nationally with a 3.48 ERA and also led league in opponents’ batting average (.215), fewest hits allowed (427) and strikeouts (611)”
Canham seems somewhat OK with the HBP, saying:
Some (HBPs) were (the result of) working with (the pitchers) to get them to pitch inside. Sometimes HBPs are going to happen. It’s also tied into trusting your defense, and we had one of the best fielding teams in the country.”
At least Canham did include “win the free base war” in his estimation of what is needed most to improve next time around.
We’ve lost like half the team from last year. Holy shit. Hadn’t heard Casey, Ober and McMahon have decided not to come back. 4 xfers and what 9 or so lost to the bigs or no more eligibility as well. This upcoming season…could be interesting.
Yeah if I made a list of players to stay it would have had Claunch, Ober and Armstrong on it. Lots of pitchers moving on.
IMO…Chance should start
Yep, he should have been the starter all along IMO. funny thing is, Smith never called me and asked for my opinion. I’ll continue to wait for his call before Saturday’s game.
ummmmm … just don’t hold your breath.
How cool was that play by grant to strip and steal the ball on that fake field field goal??! Yeah they got burned on it but that was amazing. Had to throw out a positive from last night.
Definitely prevented the score from being considerably worse.
Seemed like Nolan tends to throw high(?), he needs to correct that it it’s an INT and/or receiver vulnerability issue. Plus, well, if they’re going to play Champ…
Yep, a lot of high balls from Nolan last night. Significantly reduced the chance of YAC, and makes the receivers more vulnerable to a hard hit.
But Nolan also has a pretty good pump fake. That helped slow up the LBs a few times. If he gets reps with the 1s this week and he actually starts, he should settle down and get the ball down. But I don’t have much confidence in Smith actually starting Nolan next weekend.
Nolan was throwing burners too.
Washington transfer jake haener had a good game for Fresno against the ducks. You would think that OSU could’ve got him to come to Corvallis. I saw a guy predicting the beavers season and thought they he really thought they would’ve tried to upgrade the QB position and that Noyer was a very meh pickup at the position. For all the transfers that they’ve picked up QB is obviously the most important position and they really didn’t do much to upgrade it. I’m glad they got Noyer as he adds depth and experience but obviously he has the potential to have some off days. So many other teams have gotten big time transfers you would think with Smith and lindgren and the offense they could lure someone good that wants to get ready for the pro level.
Nicebeav or anyone do you know if they really pursued any QBs besides Noyer in the transfer portal?
What I have heard is we weren’t looking for any transfers until Gulbranson got injured. Then it was a rush to get best available to town immediately.
Until that injury we had a pretty full QB room. Even if Gebbia didn’t make it back we had Gulbranson (looked like heir apparent in the spring), Nolan and Vidlak.
Credit to Nolan for sparking the Beavs, but if you see even the passes he connected on, they weren’t exactly “in the numbers.” Even on the fourth down play if he led the receiver properly and didn’t underthrow it, the Beavs would have won.. Again, check the highlight tape.
When your options are 15 yards off or 3 yards off…
Nolan has been sailing his throws high since Utah last year. He winds up and slings it like Uncle Rico every time…I’d like to see if Vidlak has the “it” factor these next 2 games..
There is a reason the coaches had Nolan as third string but now the coaches see he is better than Noyer in a game. But it was vidlak getting a lot of the praise during camp and I’ve heard he is who the team is most impressed by. Seeing the size of vidlak when the was on the sidelines Saturday I worry about an injury if he takes a hit or two.
Agree. RS and let him put on some good weight.
I’m always late to the commenting party but I like to get home and watch the recorded game again first so I don’t repeat what others have mentioned ad nauseam.
For a full house that stadium wasn’t loud at all. Reser is louder when half full.
I think Noyer could’ve helped himself by not dropping so deep. This seemed to put him right in the path of the rusher several times, and make it very difficult for his blocker to make the block when motioning down the line.
Our receivers Lyndsey and Bradford running out of bounds 3 times is concerning, especially when they get flagged and act like they never knew that rule existed. Lyndsey got away with his, but all 3 occurrences were our fault.
Noyer may be given a bit more favoritism from the staff due to being Oregon-born, and the known program benefit that can bring if he’s successful.
Also, when he was benched, from my vantage point I could see that he was still engaged and very supportive of his team. But I still say start Nolan, and go up tempo next game.
If Noyer starts, call plays that make him throw on the run when he’s proven himself far more accurate.
Even if the 4th qtr 4th down call worked, we should be calling coaches out for that kind of carelessness.
Spot on^*^^^
Anyone know what Gebbia’s status is for this season? I think the Beavers could have beaten Purdue with him.at QB had he been healthy.. Is he close to bring ready to go?
No
Can anyone find the replay of the Grant interception and post it here please?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XOZz4Mj7rgk
At about the 10:55 mark.
On that 4th down call it looked like chance had his mind made up that he was going to throw it deep. The RB probably would have gotten the first down but there was a TE that was wide open and probably scored a TD or close to. The thing with play action is it fools the guys responsible for the run. CBs if they’re manned up like he was are staring at their guy not the backfield meanwhile the TE was wide open because it worked on the LB or S that was responsible for him. It makes me wonder why chance went for the home run instead the safe first down and possible TD. If you look at it from that perspective it wasn’t nearly as bad of call and would’ve worked.
Rewatched and the TE probably doesn’t quite score but definitely gets into the redzone.
One thing that gets lost is that the team huddled before the play call which also allowed the defense to get set and line up properly. If Nolan would have hurried to the line with the defense scrambling, that long play had a lot better chance of succeeding. Lindsay got tackled at 8:48 on the 3rd and 7 play. The 4th down play snapped at 8:21. You can’t catch a team off guard when you allow them 27 seconds to properly align.
Also, the TE was open in the flat. I think it would have been a short catch but enough for the first down. The TE was running towards the sideline and probably would want to ensure the catch before thinking of trying to get any more yardage.
RB was in the flat TE was on an out or drag like 10 yrs deep I would have to rewatch but if he just went to him right off the bat he would’ve had plenty of time to secure the catch and head up field. If you look at it as the play was supposed to go there then the play call worked. Hindsight Nolan should’ve checked down and took the yards but you have a young inexperienced QB in a high pressure situation.
The thing with hurrying up is its a bit of a catch 22 in that sometimes you’re not prepared or false start. I don’t think they were trying to catching them off guard as much fool them with the play action. Obviously off guard is nice and wouldve probably resulted in a completion.
Rewatch the play. It was PI. Trice had to grab Lindsey with his left hand and yank Lindsey back to pull himself up far enough to deflect the pass. About the 16:40 mark.
I think 3 factors contributed to this loss…
1) coaching – I don’t think we’re utilizing our talent properly. Noyer starting, Champ starting, not committing to run, not committing to field possession opportunities, putting defensive in tough positions.
2) QB play – this teams will never get over the hump without a star/difference maker at QB.
3) Defensive front – our defense will continue to range from average to poop until we can consistently move the pocket especially on 3rd down and in 4th quarter. Purdue quickly adjusted to our early game pressure and played to protect the ball. I think they could have easily scored 40 and I think our defense is going to be a weakness as the year progresses.
I predicted 4-8 because of coaching, QB and D-line. Based on what I saw game 1, 4-8 seems about right. JS has many of the pieces in place to complete but the 2 most important positions QB & DL aren’t good enough to mask the coaching issues.
Starting Noyer isn’t the equivalent to starting champ. Noyer has all of the physical tools and has shown he can be an effective pac12 starter and lead his team to a lot of wins. The fact is Nolan played like shit until the last week of camp and didn’t win the job. Yes Noyer played like shit and didn’t have a great camp either but he beat out Nolan nonetheless. He should’ve pulled Noyer earlier tho. Noyer wasn’t given much help with pass protection and the run game either. The play calling didn’t do him any favors either. Champ just physically isn’t a D1 player and he holds the team back. He can’t block as effectively and can’t fight off a guy for the ball. The only time he can do anything is if he’s wide open and that just isn’t often enough.
I think it’s fine to be upset about the play and coaching but I don’t think it’s time to hit the panic button yet. They have 2 very winnable games to get things figured out and get better heading into league play. They’re very much in it for the north as of right now. This staff has shown they can coach up the team as the season goes on. If Gebbia can get healthy for pac 12 play I think they’ll be in a good spot.
What the biggest factor was IMO was Noyer’s ineffectiveness which obviously we all saw but it was a domino effect. Purdue was then able to stack the box and the offense couldn’t move the ball and stay on the field. In turn the defense was on the field a lot more and got tired and wore down. If Noyer was able to execute at the least they could’ve changed field position and let the defense rest and that’s if they didn’t score. It would’ve forced Purdue to take a man out of the box or continue to get beat in the passing game. I don’t think they adjusted to the pass rush as much as the team got tired from being on the field so much.
I think they’ll be a better team heading into Hawaii. By the time USC rolls around I think they’ll be a different team.
No panic here… it is what it is. The QBs on this roster aren’t great. It will continue to hold us back. Whether Noyer should have started or not isn’t the point… he did, it was JS decision and it appears to be the wrong decision. The fact that Noyer, Nolan, Vidlak are our best options is more of the point.
I would disagree field position was Noyer’s fault. Coaches had every opportunity to flip the field on multiple occasions.
Agree, next 2 games are wins… I would think. Then it’s 1-2 wins in conference. 4-8 unless Vidlak is special. Gebbia isn’t going to make that much of a difference. No panic, just reality.
Two thoughts in response:
1) There is no guarantee Gebbia would be immediately solid if he were to return. So I agree he isn’t likely to make a huge difference. Many here seem to assume he’d be a significant and immediate upgrade, I’m not so sure; long run…very possible, short run…a crap shoot.
2) I would also think the next two games are wins. Then I could see 4 or 5 wins in conference, still expecting a bowl.
Hope you’re right. I just don’t see that many wins in conference.
Just remember it’s one week. We got whooped by a new coaching staff and a freshman qb in week 1 last year and looked way better later. Granted we didn’t win a lot of games but were in them and could’ve won and also beat Oregon. I would bet by the end of the season this team is far better than purdue is at that point.
Seems doubtful that Noyer knows the whole playbook with so little time in the program. That could be a major difference in the play calling between Noyer and Nolan. They may have wanted to make adjustments but we’re limited by what he knows.
There is no way he doesn’t.
presser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MDqGpN-NhU
No remorse about the 4th down call. They got what they wanted, the DB just made a better play.
Pretty apparent Gebbia will not play for a few weeks.
Sounds like Jones could return vs HI
No questions re: targeting?
Has coach Blue nearly eliminated PI’s? Seems so.
Well to be fair thevguys were wide open half the time.
Yah, hard to interfere when you’re playing 7 yards off the receiver.
There was one PI called in the game and that was offensive on a pick play. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t PI. We PI with Bell in the endzone and it wasn’t called. Purdue DBs didn’t ever look for the ball and was all over the OS WRs. That 4th down play was obvious but at that point the refs had set the tone.
OSU shows up in historical context of UW’s loss to Montana State:
“Montana was the first non-FBS team to hold a Pac-12 opponent under 10 points since Grambling State beat Oregon State 23-6 in 1985. …”
Yeesh. Was that the same year OSU beat UW in SEA when OSU was like 35-38 point underdogs in that game?
I wonder how the line UW-MSU compared to OSU@UW that year.
Was thinking back to the open scrimmage a couple of weeks ago. For those is us watching live, neither Noyer nor Nolan stood out at all. FWIW, Vidlak looked like the best QB out there that day. Noyer was probably second and Nolan was the worst of the three that day. That being said, Nolan sounded like he improved from that scrimmage. But I don’t think anyone can definitively says that Smith chose the wrong QB to start tue Purdue game. Easy to say with hindsight, but from the scrimmage, there was no way you could say that Nolan should have started ahead of Noyer for Game 1. That being said, I think Smith should roll with Nolan for Hawaii. The OL is not as good as everyone thinks it is. I think JJ elevated the status of that line last year more than people give him credit for. With an average OL, you need a player who can make plays with his legs as well as pocket is going to break down. Nolan seemed to be more decisive in his decision making but also gives us a better chance to extend plays if the original play breaks down. The threat of the QB run may keep the defenses a little more honest.
I agree with you in the fact that Smith wasn’t wrong giving Noyer the starting job. From the body of work he say through camp he put the best qb in. In hindsight it’s easy to say it’s wrong because chance came in with house money and looked pretty good with Karlaftis sitting. He also threw the date sealing pass although I dont blame him for that.
Maybe the offensive line isn’t as good as we thought it is but they were also stacking the box and without the qb making the throws to punish them they were able to keep doing so. But I do agree that Jefferson may have been even more valuable than a lot of us realized. I think we all know he was specail. I did and maybe still do think that the Oline can make a talented *not DJ talented) backfield look good. Laste year the Oline was terrible against WSU and then dominated UofO. That’s a big shift in production, improvement and against a lot higher level of talent. I think we all trust in coach M by this point and I would think he’s not pleased with last weeks performance and they will get better. Did him not physically being able to be there as much effect things? IDK but it is a question. I think a lit of this is that this staff has shown the inability to start off strong but a good ability to adjust and get better. We’re just all ready for them to figure out how to start off better and quit making the same mistakes.
Wasn’t Nolan the #1 QB recruit out of JC ball? After a year on the team, I’m surprised he couldn’t have a clear showing as at least the #2 QB. His high throws are risky and present a problem.
I didn’t see Gulbranson play at the end of last year, sounded like he could throw well. If he were healthy, would he likely be ahead of Noyer and Nolan?
Throwing high happens a lot when guys are nervous/excited coming into a new situation. I’m thinking of tOSU QB Stroud’s performance against Minnesota: he was overthrowing everything in the first half of his first career start, but settled down in the second half. Nolan had less than one half to pull things together (granted, it wasn’t his first career start, but I’m sure the adrenaline was going more than usual).
Also, regarding Nolan’s ranking: his JC highlight film was entirely composed of him scrambling and throwing deep go routes. I think his ranking was based on his raw physical tools and stats more than throwing ability.
Week 1 results can often be misleading. I always go back to the Fiesta Bowl season. OSU was lucky to beat E Washington 21-19 in game 1 that season. And this was one of the nest teams in the country at the end of the year.
I guess the takeaway for me is to schedule your easiest opponent in week 1, to get the rust off and have the best chance to walk away with a W.
No sense in starting with a non con game vs a P5 team in week 1.
Week 1 results can also be a warning sign about how the rest of the season is going to go, like our 2011 season-opening loss to Sacramento State.
Losing at home to sac state is definitely more worrying than on the road to Purdue.
Be nice to start having game 1 with a 20 pt margin though.
I was at both of those games and the Purdue game was significantly better than the Sac State game.
I’m pretty happy with our schedule over the next 7 years. Opening games are BSU, @ SJSU, Idaho State, Portland State, Sacramento State, Portland State, Portland State.
BSU and @SJSU are the only games that should be competitive at all. Should be the norm to start 1-0
I’m hoping week 1 results in our Pick’em are misleading this time around!
Madison entered the xfer portal.