UCLA @ Oregon State (Game Thread)

Cal will beat Utah today.

Clear pull of Boldens shoulder on that deep pass. Of course no call to favor Beavs.

So Oregon, USC, Louisville, North Carolina all undefeateds look like could be losses today, will they all be ranked in front of OSU still if Beavs win?

Utah and UCLA 2nd half reffing mirrored each other almost ridiculously close. Beavs were in control and ready to shut the door in both games, but a punt call/no call occurred to give the opponent life. Utah was the flag on roughing the punter by Reichle but he acted like he tipped the ball, UCLA was the non call on the OSU punter getting tumbled while in the air. These calls were both followed by egregious flags on OSU, roughing the passer, mystery pass interference etc, followed by a series for the opponent filled with enough flags to move them down the field and have a shot to get back into the game. This type of series doesn’t happen to OSU during the course of any other games, but it happens when they are on the precipice of going up 3 scores and icing both games? I’ll call conspiracy on it and expect it won’t change, and liely gets more obvious if the Beavs close in on a conference championship.

JS must be prepared to go ballistic on these egregious calls. He has to force the PAC12 refs into an openly contentious situation if they keep making such flagrantly bad calls. Hopefully the Beavs continue to win and the stage gets too big for them to do this nonsense to the Beavs. It has been the case for decades that the Beavs have to deal with not just inept officiating, but also a sense of crooked officiating in certain situations and against specific teams.

Game Recap:
– Offense
DJU is the guy we hoped he could be at this point. His TDs to Veiling and Bolden were magnificent and far beyond what BG could have done, and thank goodness Nolan is a distant memory. DJU has good pocket presence and did a nice job sliding away from the rush for key plays. Only 2 throws were questionable but he got away with them. Martinez is a load and had great ball security. UCLA was standing guys up and ripping at the ball the whole game.
Fenwick looked like his rear was on the ground before the ball was stripped, but no review on turnovers? I thought every change of possession was reviewed during the break. Bolden is electric, Gould made some great catches and didn’t fumble either when they were ripping at the ball.
Veiling will be a star. Chiles will be a star.
Lindgren needs to figure out how to milk the clock by his play calling. A fly sweep might be a nice option instead of running into a wall or throwing deep, if you’re trying to keep the clock moving…

-Defense
Bray’s defense felt like they weren’t tackling, but the stats show they did do a pretty good job containing and getting turnovers. Also, Schlee didn’t last long in a physical game as the main running qb. Beavs made him feel some pain. Moore looked broken mentally after the pick-6. Jaden Robinson had a couple of nice break-ups and looks really good on the outside. Arnold had a nice game. Cooper looked like he was playing on one leg but made a great break on the pick-6. Mascarenas seemed to be everywhere. Hart is erratic but makes huge plays periodically. Overall the defensive showing in the first half was so effeective in rattling Moore, that UCL just abandoned the pass for most of the 2nd half. Schlee was the only way they moved the ball efficiently, but he was hurt by the 4th quarter. So I’d say the plan worked and the Beavs were up 2 scores for most of the game. Sometimes in the flow and feel of the game, things seems out of sorts and frustrating but in this one, I think the Beavs looked pretty good, and they team depth is beginning to show.

Special teams-
They played great, 3 field goals, great punt coverage, Gould with a nice punt return, no turnovers, no blocked punts, all touchbacks on kickoffs, good coverage for kickoffs etc.

Coaching-
Maybe Smith is beginning to appreciate the steady hand of risk management. We didn’t see anything wildly out of line or too aggressive for the situation. Taking the 2 field goals early was good to see, and an improvement from last year at Washington. You need to get points early because you don’t know how the game may develop. I think UCLA’s defensive reputation forced JS to not go for it on 4th down, which was nice to see some adjustment in that philosophy.

-Penalties
Bloomfield alone had 4-5, pretty tough facing that aggressive dline, but the Oline limited hits on DJ. No PI penalties this game, which is a switch. The game was littered with false starts and holding penalties. Many of the holding penalties weren’t shown on replay so who know with those refs. Most of the penalties were thrown on the late 3rd/4th quarters and I am suspicious about some of those anyway. UCLA dline is explosive and it makes sense for some false starts, but Beavs holding on normal runs plays seems to be a stretch for how many times they were called.

Overall great win, with a lot to work on, yet another 2 score win by the Beavs. So far this year we have won big over SJSU, Cal Davis, and had the pleasure of worrying about 4 wins that seemed to be in doubt but all 4 games the Beavs controlled throughout and won by 2 scores or more. This is uncharted territory for most Beaver fans. DJU is getting better each week. The defense has some injuries that have been limiting them, but the bye will help. Coaching is growing, Lindgren is opening the playbook game by game, (still waiting for misdirection, fly sweep stuff) and we have a reliable kicker.
Reser looked electric and I would have loved to be there again. Fox announcers are horrible and didn’t really want to admit that OSU had the better team for most of the night. GO BEAVS!!