Home Football Stanford @ Oregon State (Game Week)

Stanford @ Oregon State (Game Week)

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It’s weird to think we have 3 Pac games left in our history. It feels like the season just started.

Anyway, Stanford has been playing better lately, but if we zoom out big picture, they’re a program in decline with 4 straight losing seasons and a max of 4 wins per season in that time frame, whereas the Beavs are the opposite. Beavs at home. You have to love the Beavs in this game even factoring for Smith costing them 7 points, which he will do, and then he’ll chase those points, leading to a weird final score.

30-14, Beavs.

326 COMMENTS

  1. 3
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    Biggest concern with this one is Stanford’s pass-heavy offense and our beat up secondary. We managed Colorado’s passing attack well enough (with the D’s lowest PFF grade all season) and we’re out home, so the only concern here would be getting caught looking ahead.

    After the Colorado game, PFF has us ranked as the 3rd worst tackling team in the country. Only Memphis and UCONN are worse. What the heck happened after last season???

  2. Stanford has a knack for uglying up a game. Number one objective should be to avoid turning the ball over. If the Beavs play straight up and solid they should win 90% of the time. Start giving away freebies and it throws everything up in the air.

  3. 1
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    It will be a travesty if we win this week, and College Gameday doesn’t come to Corvallis for the UW game, a possible top 10 matchup. The only other somewhat interesting match that week is Georgia vs. Tennessee, but we all know how that will go, and they will have gone to a Georgia game this week already.

  4. Check out how little respect Grinch had from the USC players. Nobody listened to him and they leave him hanging when he tries to pull the team together before they hit the field at the end of the timeout.
    Gotta think they’ll be more responsive this week now that Riley has removed him.
    Oregon should still roll USC, but it could also become a shootout where 1 or 2 defensive stops makes all the difference.

    https://twitter.com/jhallito/status/1721197516920868965?t=Cv-jjHh0hKYgROxmi80ELw&s=19

  5. Really don’t see the Beavs covering 21 in this game. Stanford still plays the same style they always have. Pro-style, physical and fundamentally sound on the lines. They just don’t have the elite skill position talent they used to. It won’t be easy for the Beavs to just bulldoze them with the running game like they can against some teams. Will need to execute offensively in both the passing game and the running game and not make sloppy mistakes. Stanford’s offense is anemic but our poor tackling worries me. This has all the makings of a one or two score game IMO.

    • I agree. Game will be shorter, less total plays ran. Each point could make a huge difference. Similar to Colorado, Beavs won’t cover the spread but should win easily.
      28 – 21 Beavs

  6. 2
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    Washington @ Oregon State
    4:30pm on ABC

    There was little doubt in my mind about College Gameday coming, but this all but confirms it as long as both teams win this weekend.

  7. 1
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    A lot of eyeballs saw OSU this week vs Colorado even with the super late kickoff.

    ESPN put out a highlight reel from the game, it has over 800K views. That’s more than the combined number of views for all of the Beavs previous games. Obviously that’s the Deion effect but it could push up the perception of the Beavs as a very good team nationally.

    Also – gameday is pretty unlikely to come to Corvallis. It’s all politics. It would start the national conversation of why the Beavs are not in a Power 5 conference. It’s a question that can’t be ignored anymore because they interview coaches and players of the host school. Pat McAfee would probably take the Beavs side. He was a pretty big fan of OSU at the Vegas Bowl and has tended to pick the Beavs in the gameday picks.

    • I want to know who are the derps that flock to watch a 4 win Colorado team’s highlights just because Deion is there?
      Is it like Duke basketball, where everybody who doesn’t love them, absolutely hates them and wants to see them lose?
      They’re a bad team.

      • I think that is exactly what it is. His charisma creates more people that root against it, but a lot of people jump on board to defend it. Creates a lot of back/forth and definitely more people rooting against, but can’t look away

  8. 3
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    I see no benefit to BSPN being here, except mcAfee’s fat melon will be close enough for me to bean with an orange.

    Those fucking dorks should not be making money on the backs of the programs they are trying to kill.

    If they do come I may have to print corroplast signs with some thoughts on the cast of that shitbird show.

  9. I wonder if Stanford and cal still have the ability to back out of the ACC. Their 30% share for the next 7 years is a horrible deal for them. They’re going to be getting $11 or $12 million per year. Cal will get maybe $8 million more from UCLA alimony money but still their athletics will be in a bad spot for years to come by running that deficit and having to play half their games 2,500+ miles away from campus. You’d think if they took the time to look the deal over again they’d take a different path.

    • Stanford has entered the transfer portal: “All the love to the ACC! We’ll always appreciate the opportunity you’ve given us and never forget you! That said, we’re taking our talents to…’

    • They have very rich alumni that can help them out. I think during the pandemic they were about to cut several sports but alumni stepped in and saved them. Travel costs will definitely up the budgets but not to crippling levels.

    • Stanford doesn’t need the money, the size of their endowment ($36B) is large enough to fund the program without outside funds. TV $$ are nice but not required at Stanford

      • True they’ve got wealthy donors but they just asked for a lot of donations in 2020 in order to save 11 sports teams and they can’t just do that every couple years. Wouldn’t surprise me if some of Stanford’s sports go onto the chopping block over this disaster of a deal. Going from $37 mil per year in media revenue down to $11.5 million is going to have an impact and that doesn’t even take into account an increase in travel costs by $15 million (according to UCLA anyway). They’re in a $40 million hole per year for 7 years that’s gonna hurt.

  10. Looks like for the Stanford game quite a few sections still have some ticket availability. I expect it will be relatively full, and a good home field advantage again. Perhaps fans are starting to appreciate just how little PAC football remains, as Angry pointed out, and will start buying up tickets this week.

    For UW game, the site says reserved seating is gone, and SRO tickets are available for $99 with an $8 fee. The team is going to need the crowd in that one…and a healthy secondary.

    • I bought tickets for friends the other day, I would guess there’s only a couple hundred tickets available if that. Only a couple sections had rows of seats open mostly in the club section on the east side.

      With weather showing rain but not cold, should get to a sell out. Or with standing room only, it’ll exceed listed capacity.

      Hopefully all the people who bought up the UW tickets are not all Husky fans. Would hate to see a large contingent of Husky fans at the game.

  11. Some interesting notes:

    “Oregon State made its 16th consecutive appearance in one of the two national polls, a school record.”

    “The Beavers are a 21½-point favorite (courtesy of Caesars) over the Cardinal. Oregon State (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12) has been favored in every game this season, joining Washington among Pac-12 schools.”

    That spread seems crazy high to me. Have they not watched Smith?

  12. 3
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    Just watched the highlights of the OSU@CU game. Man, those announcers are annoying. The postive adjectives thrown around for Colorado frequently, so few for OSU. Fenwick’s fumble, which looked to me like it was caused by running into his own teammate was an illustration of “just how physical this Colorado defense is!” Which physicality was not mentioned when Martinez ran for yards and carried people with him…

    DJ’s deep out throws often looked to me like they’re ripe for the picking, but they get there. Hope that continues!

    As someone else pointed out in the last thread, giving Chiles the 3rd possession of each game is not strategic. It allows others to plan for it, and it does not respond to the context of game flow. I’d actually like to see Chiles get 2-3 series v. UW and @ UO, because he’s such a weapon. Make his use less predictable, and move beyond the development aspect to the strategic attacking aspect.

    A couple of years ago Angry talked about a 2-QB system. I’d like to see some formations with both DJ and Chiles on the field…

    • They can probably get away with doing the same script against Stanford although it isn’t my preference. Against UW and UO I feel we need to throw the kitchen sink at those games. I would go full time DJ with a short leash. If DJ looks off at all, put Chiles in right away. And keep him in if he plays well. If the Beavs lose to UW I would just start Chiles against the Ducks. Would have nothing to lose at that point and probably need to do a variety of things outside the box to win that game. Ironically Smith’s gambling ways could actually be what wins us that game if we somehow pull off the upset.

    • The mentioned Fuaga and the physicality of the oline many times. Definitely mentioned it wearing down Colorado’s dline in the second half.

      and I’ll say it again, go back and watch the highlights but only watch Fuaga. So many guys getting knocked down by him.

    • I’m sure there’s a rationale for Chiles always running drive #3. This staff has a tendency to over-think things, not under-think. Maybe they feel it gives them another scripted drive because the offense runs so differently under him? Who knows?

      • Could be that giving Chiles the third drive is meant to mentally prepare DJ. That way, there is no reason for DJ to feel his performance is the reason Chiles is coming in. But, the same thing could be accomplished if the pre-game plan was to make the switch at a different point in the game.
        It’s gonna be interesting to see how DJ performs in these two games back in Reser, I’m expecting him to have two of his better games to date.
        I also agree that the Chiles series(s) could be used at different points just to throw a little curve at the opponent.

  13. Stanford is ranked 121 in the country in defense, giving up 442 YPG, 6.3 yards per play, 34 ppg, 313 pass yards per game, and 127 rush yards per game. With 20 sacks and 5 INTs on the season.

    On offense they’re averaging 361 yards and 21 PPG.

    And they’re unvictoried at home! They won their three games on the road, at Hawaii, at Colorado, at WSU (10-7 final score last week). At least they have back to back travel, Pullman and Corvallis…

    In total D, UW is #100, OSU #34, and UO #18…

    • They’ve had an odd season. Holding WSU to 7 in Pullman is fairly impressive regardless of WSUs struggles. Maybe they’re starting to figure something out on that side of the ball.

      • Wsu looked like a completely different team. Completely out of sorts, like they’ve given up. Guys out of position, balls throw everywhere but to receivers. It’s unbelievable, definitely not the team we played.

        • WSU really jacked up the whole season. It would ok if they had gone onto win 8 games after beating OSU, but typical Cougs play OSU like it is their Super Bowl and then the rest of the season is a free fall. I’m the interests of the future of the conference, WSU should have dropped a few of those miracle catches and Dickert should have just punted instead of the backbreaking fake punt. So frustrating I’m hindsight how unprepared the Beavs were and how amped the Cougs were for that game.

          • If OSU’s D shows up in the first half and both @ WSU and @ UA include smarter play calling, OSU is at least 8-1, maybe 9-0…

            Some of those first half WSU possessions looked like Mark Banker was coaching the OSU D….not in place in time…

          • It was bizarre how unprepared the defense was against Wazzu, but then they throw the fucking ball all the time so how hard could it be? Plus they really stuffed Wazzu last year.

          • If it makes you feel better Wazzu’s 28 year old offensive coordinator outsmarted Bray.

            Beavs smokes Wazzu by three scores if this is a late October game.

    • Shame no interviewers/pundit push the narrative that OSU belongs in a power conference. It’s hey good for you that you’re doing well under the circumstances. I get why JS doesn’t do it since it’ll just sound like whining or sour grapes. Dickert got that push back when he tried.

  14. 3
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    Looks like this extra rainy weather will continue this weekend, which would likely impact the ability to throw the ball around.
    Fine by me, love a good November slog fest(as long as my team is winning)

  15. Tinkle’s Tots really giving Linfield a whooping.

    Have the stars properly aligned for him to finally have a team of guys that are “bought in”?

  16. Dickert says they can’t ignore how far behind WSU is with NIL. “OSU has us by 10x, Arizona by 20x and Washington and Oregon are on a different planet.”

    Nice to know we’re at least doing better than WSU.

    • Maybe WSU really should go to Mountain West haha. Need some regulation on NIL though. It does us little good to be 10x better than WSU if the big boys truly are in a different stratosphere.

      • Not really, because we’re showing it can be done. Leipold is doing the same at Kansas.

        Wazzu should have a broad enough fan base to boost NIL.

        • We’re still in the very early stages though. Unless some kind of NIL cap is put in place it will become truly impossible to compete (At least for a championship).

          • That actually opens up a whole other conversation. IMO, it’s inevitable that the players will eventually become employees, and will unionize. Can’t come fast enough IMO because it will provide a mechanism for transparency across the market, an avenue for players to actually be paid what they’re worth, and a rules based system to be implemented that can address the transfer crazyness, impose a salary cap etc.

  17. 2
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    Funny, we were just talking about this topic yesterday. A court trial is starting today where the NLRB(National Labor Review Board) is accusing USC/PAC12 of miscategorizing football/basketball players as student athletes, when they should be considered employees. Could end up blowing up college athletics all together depending on the outcome.

    Now watch the Pac12 will lose and be required to pay decades of damages, shortly after OSU/WSU are awarded the sole ownership of the Pac12 conference. Luck o the Beavs on a whole new level.

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2023/11/07/ncaa-pac-12-usc-student-athlete-misclassification-trial/71483085007/

  18. So apparently Lincoln Riley had to ditch his “Mark Banker” of a D coordinator.

    USC falls out of top 25, has a new D coordinator. I hope it motivates them to an upset, but I expect UO to steamroll them.

    Nice to see Utah so high, and UA moving into top 25.

    UCLA also falls out of top 25, so both Southern Cal “bluebloods” are out of the Top 25, yet OSU doesn’t deserve to be part of a P5 conference? I know its all about tv markets as opposed to competition, but this development is worthy of a thoughtful commentary in some major publication…

    • USC offense is still super dangerous. Could be a shootout. Ducks will score 45 minimum but if Caleb gets hot he can keep USC in the game late. Then anything could happen.

  19. While storming the field may be overdone these days, given OSU’s uncertain future, relatively high ranking, and the end of the PAC, I’m all for storming the field if/when the Beavers beat the Huskies. Last PAC game ever in Reser….

    • When I went to the Utah game this year I got a parking pass for $50 off stubhub and the lot was relatively close just northeast of the stadium near the child care center. Worth checking there or Craigslist maybe if people still sell passes. Lots of Portland area folks that will sell tix and passes for night games due to the drive and they just want to get rid of them.

  20. Really need to hope that Utah can beat Washington this week. If not it’s going to be hard to overcome the refs when we play them because you know the refs will be trying to get them in the playoffs.

  21. We’re primed to get a top 10 ranking with a win this weekend. Teams ahead of us likely to lose are Penn State vs. Michigan, and Ole Miss vs. Georgia.

    • Penn state would have two losses against top ten teams. Beavs two losses wouldn’t be nearly as good. But I don’t know who they’ve beat.

      • If Penn state gets their doors blown off at home they’ll drop 4ish places. If they keep it close I would think they stay ahead of us. Ole miss probably around the same.

  22. From hank at the Stanford blog:

    Hey, angry. I haven’t been doing my usual game previews this year, but I can answer any questions you might have about Stanford. Your readers have always been so nice that I’ll miss that interaction. Anyway, let me know.

    You guys have any questions for him?

  23. 4
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    Was just thinking, if OSU and oregon both win their next 2 games, Gameday could be in the state oregon for 2 weeks in a row.
    Also, I dont even watch Gameday and dont really get the hype around that show.
    I guess its cool to see your campus on tv, but the show itself isn’t worth waking up to.

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      Gameday has just been around for so long that it has become stale. At this point pretty much every program has had Gameday come to town before so it doesn’t have the same special feel it once did. In terms of the show’s presentation it’s fine but still basically the same old template. The excitement is just gone. Gameday is essentially Survivor, American Idol, The Bachelor etc. at this point. Corporate will ride it ’til the wheels fall off but don’t expect anything original to come of it.

      • Gameday hasn’t been to Corvallis in 13 years. However you want to spin it being a “stale” program, it’s a big deal, good exposure for the program, and it should be packed at the filming.

        • Sure, I mean….there’s no downside to Gameday coming to Corvallis. I’m just saying the impact is less than it used to be. I think in the past it would be the type of thing that could increase a program’s momentum and actually impact recruiting. Under the new NIL regime, the impact is blunted considerably as players will just follow the money.

          • The downside about Gameday coming would be Duck fan stealing Lee Corso… or his head.

            After the last event, I was talking to a certain person in the AD, and the comments about some of the talent were pretty funny.
            One joke that was shared:
            Erin Andrews is hot. Just ask her.

          • Erin Andrews, lol…the owner of the local dutch Bros franchise was so hoping to meet Erin Andrews when gameday was here he opened and worked the store on Harrison hoping she would get some of their shitty coffee on the way into town. Weird.

            The idiocy of elder abuse trotting out Corso for his schtick is only surpassed by the wwe antics of the man child in the wife beater.

            They can all fuck off, them standing on the corpse of the pac while publicly spitting in our faces and generating revenue is something I have no interest in supporting.

  24. 1
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    Stanford game is a sellout per OSU. Standing room only tickets available. Will probably look like it’s not full because so many people like to stand and watch instead of going to their seats and there are plenty of good places to do so now. Weather looks like some rain, should be a ground and pound type of game with play action mixed in a lot.

    • So you’re telling me we’ll see a pass-heavy gameplan in the first half with a reluctant shift to running when it’s close in the second half?

      • It’s kind of an interesting call strategically. I do think if the Beavs go pass-heavy they would have a chance to blow the doors off Stanford if they are actually able to execute. The run-first/balanced attack would still favor them but any time you limit the number of possessions the game will inherently be closer and you are always one mistake away from being in serious danger.

    • Traffic on I-5 has the potential to be terrible Saturday. Head to Corvallis early.
      Rainy day with Beavs and Ducks both playing games (Beavs at 2:30, Ducks at 7:30)
      Hopefully duck fans won’t head down till after the Beavs kickoff, but there should be plenty of crossover with the tailgating oregon fans.

    • UO had said for years that OSU was no longer a rival (benchmark) because of their dominance over OSU for several years and that UW had become their rival. The media/B10 is already marketing UO/UW as rivals.

      OSU has defeated UO 2 of last 3 though, but hasn’t won in Eugene since 2007(?). Guarantee UO wants a beatdown and to pad Nix’s stats.

      Time for Smith et al to end another negative streak….will be very difficult.

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        Unless DJ looks really good the next couple weeks I would start Chiles. I’d be looking for any excuse possible to switch to Chiles sooner rather than later since he raises the ceiling. It’s totally possible that would backfire, but there just seems to be a cap on what DJ can provide. Adding the true rushing threat of Chiles, especially if the Ducks aren’t gameplanning for it……could be the outside the box move they need to make.

        • That would be a difficult place to start. DJ has experience with big games, big, loud crowds, and will be facing his “little” brother who will be trying to sack him. I suspect DJ will be pretty motivated facing his brother and with family in the stands.

          I do think Chiles should get more than one series.

          I’d also like to see Kelze Howard gets snaps v. UW and @ UO. Someone said he’s been “practice player of the week” multiple times. He could surprise as a pass rusher and allow OSU to mix things up some more. Angry’s rating:

          “Kelze Howard, 5* – Again, why only a 4-star? The OSU down bump. USC, Michigan, Oregon et al offers. Even better, on film he’s a complete monster. He looks like Lawrence Taylor just completely destroying the backfield. Sure, they are highlights, but you can see on film he has intensity and thrives off making those negative plays. Even the way he lines up. He is fidgeting just waiting to get to the QB. Total monster. Great in the run game on film, too. Complete player. Should play next year barring any setbacks or problems learning the defense, but physically, he is ready.”

          Is Hickle out with injury?

          • True. As I mentioned, it could backfire spectacularly. I’m also fine sticking with DJ as long as he remains solid. I really don’t believe he has the talent to win that game in Autzen though. Chiles would probably only have like a 10% chance. But who knows, he could catch everyone by surprise lookin like Lamar Jackson out there. Something very out of the ordinary will need to happen to win that game.

      • Yet their streak against UW was longer, including a year when the only Pac team to ever go 0-12 occurred.
        And I say that, knowing Joe Avezzano existed.

        This attitude toward “rivalry” is contrived in this sport–especially this sport. Their better reasoning would be that UW has a bigger media market, and that’s why the Phils glom onto them.

    • I would say this had a significant impact on how the Cougars played the Beavers this year. Both teams went into that game with the mindset of them being the last two teams in the conference. The Cougs had to show the country that they could beat the Beavers in order to be respected and show they belong in a P5 conference. The Beavs were playing for similar respect, but didn’t have to prove as much after what they did last year and their current trajectory. If the Beavs had felt the same sense of urgency, they would have beaten the Cougs.

  25. Is WR Montrel Hatten making any noise in practice? Listed at 6’1″, with great hands, seems like it would be good to warm him up v. Stanford and let him play out the season without losing his redshirt

    • Seems like he’d really have to be killing it in practice to warrant time over any of the 6’2″ guys who have already had very minimal game time so far.
      Even with the shorter speedsters in the WR room, it seems like the targets provided by Noga, Munyagi, and Valsin aren’t being used to full advantage.

  26. 1
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    Starting to plan for UW game. Are there recommendations for a great dinner friday night and breakfast Saturday?

    Will have minors with us, so it may limit choices…

    • I took my kids to the SkyHigh brewpub downtown a couple years back and it worked out well. They could be pretty busy on a Friday night so you may want to get dinner early

    • Friday nights are tough.

      I have yet to hit up Murphy’s since they relocated downtown. Anyone tried them out? They used to be the place to go for your standard meat fix.

      • Friday night dining downtown is an absolute bear, plan accordingly. And Corvallis doesn’t really offer any great dining experiences but plenty of functional options.

        Everyplace will be jammed. If you can keep the kids up later some of the OSU band loops through several places downtown after about 9.If you want to get the up close band experience in a ridiculously small venue it’s pretty fun.

        We have family coming to town for the holidays and extended their stay to attend the uw game, niece is a uw PhD student. We’ll be downtown though as my band nerd kiddo’s last home game and she’ll be doing bar band.

        Dinner…
        Murphys is a good option, owner often behind the bar, food good.

        Block 15 and Skyhigh typical brew pub fare . Skyhigh has rooftop deck although may be closed by now due to colder weather but if open has cornhole and great views. Skyhigh also has complete BS order from app at tables which chaps my ass but some people don’t mind

        Angrybeaver…OSU sports bar theme

        Taco Vino while good it’s a bit over hyped and always smashed

        Brass Monkey is really great but small, kitchen is cramped so slow but also next to Sugar Js fantastic ice cream

        Bo & Vine is good burgers

        Castor more upscale …service like everyone in town though is hit or miss

        Breakfast…
        Wisecracks way over hyped and always slow shitty service

        Sharon’s best bang for your buck and professional servers

        Bodhi is really good

        There’s always Tommy’s also

        Could probably come up with a few more if you have a preference

  27. locked on big12 has update, waiting for lawsuit results. He still thinks beavs and cougs will join, odds have increased some. Nothing concrete

  28. When does the bowl game revenue show up for the 203 bowl season?
    Curious how that money lands in the conference timing wise. Is it after the 10 teams leave? If it is, wouldn’t it be in OSU’s best interest to see Oregon amd UW both get into the playoffs, regardless of how much that would suck to watch?
    That’s alot of extra potential revenue if it somehow was only received by the 2 conference teams.

    • This is fair:
      “Yes, I’d love to see everybody get the ball,” McCarthy told reporters. “But when you throw for (374) yards and you got to come in here and answer questions about someone not getting the ball, I mean, come on, I don’t think that’s a real evaluation.”

      Prescott has a rapport with the other receivers. Yes, Cooks is a decoy. And it’s working.

      Go ahead and put your fourth best defender on him, since he’s the fourth or fifth in production. See how that goes.

    • Never envied any WR having to run a long developing, crossing route over the top in professional play.

      The hits they take doing that were always brutal.

  29. 25

    Hey, everyone. Here are my thoughts on the questions posed up above…

    • The ACC. Let’s just get this out of the way — everyone knows that the breakup of the PAC-12 is more than just a tragedy, it was a completely avoidable tragedy. Once the Jenga blocks began to fall away and we were down to four teams, Stanford fans were thinking about three options — the ACC, the Big 12, and the Big Ten. When the ACC agreement was announced, fans were generally happy, but (I think) only because it was the least awful of three nonsensical scenarios. At this point, most fans are looking forward rather than back. When the 2024 ACC schedule was announced a couple weeks ago, most of the fan reaction was about the teams we’d be playing, not the cross-country travel. It’s going to be awful. What I can’t wait to see will be the Pac-12 Championship game. Expect ESPN or Fox or whoever’s carrying it to fill the broadcast with nostalgic looks back to great moments in Pac-12 history, which will be kind of like John Lennon’s assassin getting weepy of an old Beatles record. Personally, I still feel the same emotional connection to Stanford sports as I have for the past thirty years, but I do know some fans who have had enough. There’s always been a bit of tension between how people feel about the University and the athletic department, and for some people this is a bridge too far.

    To the game…
    • This has probably been the most enjoyable 3-6 season imaginable. The struggles over the last two years under David Shaw have been well documented, so three wins at this point in the season is probably what optimistic fans might’ve hoped for. The talent gap between Stanford and its opponents this year has been staggering. I went to the Stanford-USC game this year, Week 2, and I can’t recall watching too many college football games featuring a wider talent discrepancy, certainly not a conference game. As noted in the comments above, the transfer portal was not kind to the Cardinal. I won’t go through the entire list, but here’s one thing that will tell you all you need to know: there are currently six former Stanford offensive linemen starting at major programs, including TWO at Michigan (center and tackle), one at Oklahoma (left tackle), one at Central Florida, and one at Cal. Last year’s starting inside linebacker transfered to Virginia… to play lacrosse. Entering this season there were only three known quantities — All-American kicker Josh Karty (who has been great), defensive end David Bailey (who has been mysteriously quiet), and tight end Ben Yurosek (who has been injured).

    • Given all that, what Coach Troy Taylor and his staff have done has been amazing. With an incredibly young roster Taylor has begun building a program that can be competitive and will likely be consistently in the top half of whatever conference they’re playing in. The offensive system is completely different from what we’re used to seeing. I think Taylor would eventually like to see more balance, but with a woefully inexperienced offensive line, the running game has been non-existent. The leading rushers are the quarterbacks, and we’re not talking about Michael Vick or Lamar Jackson. The rushing attack is so spotty that last week we saw formations with the passing quarterback (Ashton Daniels) and the running quarterback (Justin Lamson) in the huddle at the same time. There was one trick play, but more often Daniels just handed the ball off to Lamson as if he were a running back.

    The receivers, however, are talented. Sophomore Elic Ayomanor had 294 yards receiving in the preposterous comeback win over Colorado, and all of that came after halftime. (I’m not sure of his status for Saturday.) Freshman Tiger Bachmeier has also opened eyes.

    A few weeks ago I would’ve said that the defense was a huge liability, because it was, but we’re seeing lots of evidence of improvement lately. They were able to play well (honest) against Washington, and they held Washington State to just seven points in a “slugfest” last weekend. It’s been fun to watch their growth over the season. Even so, the defensive line is questionable. (Again, very very young.) Washington State wasn’t able to run on them (four total yards rushing), but the run defense remains a concern, especially on a day when the weather won’t be conducive to passing.

    If Stanford is going to have a chance to win, they MUST control time of possession. This isn’t a team that can score quickly, and contrary to what Colorado fans might tell you, this isn’t a team built to come from behind.

    So if I were game-planning against the Cardinal, I’d try to spread out the defense. In the first half of the Colorado game, as they were building their 29-0 lead, it was clear that the Stanford defense just didn’t have the athletes to contend with the Colorado speed. If the Beavers run standard sideline routes or post routes, the Cardinal defensive backs will have a chance to make plays. But if they’ve got some fast receivers and they can get them the ball in space or on shallow crossing routes, they’ll find success.

    The best thing about this Stanford team is that they’ve made me believe again. I believe they can beat the Beavers, I believe they can Beat Cal, and I even believe they can beat Notre Dame. Will they finish 6-6 and get to a bowl game? Almost certainly not, but they’ve got a chance in each game. Last season there were several games in which I knew they had no chance.

    That’s about it from here. I’ll check back to see if there are any follow ups.

    Finally this. I truly hope that these two teams find a way to play each other again, whether the conference comes back together or not. I always hoped to get up to Corvallis one day for a game, and that’s still my hope.

    • Interesting all of their wins this season have been on the road. OSU is 15-1 at home the last 3 seasons, and the stadium should be fairly loud Saturday.

  30. 15
    1

    It still sort of blows my mind that two schools of such renown and prestige ran around begging for table scraps from the ACC, instead of being staid in their position and building something better from the leftovers.

    That was my only real disappointment with Cal and Stanford. I did not realize they were that insecure.

    • And that they’ll be receiving less than $12 million in media revenue for each of the next 7 years while I believe our windfall coming will be in the $150 million range for each of OSU and WSU, much higher than has been reported so far.

      • 1
        1

        That they just missed on the numbers is more awkward than anything else.

        I get UO and especially UW and USC to have the hubris to try to game centuries of at-will contract law, but Stanford?

        It doesn’t make sense.

  31. After Idaho State, Boise State and Purdue, our 8 additional 2024 games we will probably a split of these available opponents. Split up with WSU.

    Cal
    Utah
    Washington
    Illinois
    Utah State
    UNLV
    Hawaii
    Rice (both could play Rice)
    Houston
    Wake Forest
    Syracuse
    UConn
    UMass
    Louisiana
    Kennesaw St (FBS beginning in 2024)

  32. Shedaur Sanders has a youtube channel and posted a 30 minutes video about the OSU game week.
    It’s a great chance to get a behinds the scenes glimpse into the life of a student/athlete. All of the time involved with classes, studying…..naw, i’m just kidding, there’s no school happening here…
    Also, gotta love that every play from the game is a Colorado highlight. You’d think they won in a blowout

    https://youtu.be/Cbg_M96EOmc?si=PgnQV5kXO00qQGVK

  33. First test of the future for OSU athletics happened yesterday as it was signing day for everyone but football. Teams signed a bunch of players but unsure of how many they lost due to PAC12 going away. Baseball looked like they got a pretty good class.

    • If pitching has health on their side this year, this could very well be Mitch’s best shot at Omaha. Lot’s of talented new guys as well as transfers, plus Bazzana is looking like a 1st rounder if he stays on a similar trajectory as he was playing this offseason in Cape Cod

  34. 2
    8

    It’s not talked about enough just how poor our WRs are at getting open or actually catching. Once they have the ball they’re dangerous. Not just the WRs either. I can recall Velling, Martinez, and Fenwick all having so pretty bad pass drops, some that could have changed things in our losses.

  35. Bill Farley has posted a new round of court documents(the final filings before the trial starts next week)
    It’s OSU/WSU rebuttle to UW from last week.
    Funniest part to me is how often UW’s president Cauce is directly conflicting her statement she made last week that the conference never informed her (as board chair) that they had removed UCLA/USC from the Pac12 board. Turns out her sworn statement was easily disproven. Repeatedly.

    Anyway, lots of good stuff in there is you have the time to scan through the documents. The formatting is off, so you have to lock you screen to be able to read the documents in landscape mode.

    https://billfarley.substack.com/p/osu-and-wsu-fire-back-at-uw-and-pac

    • Holy cow the PAC-12 is sitting on $420 million in this year’s distributions ready to be mailed to all 12 schools in December. It would be even more except the board allowed comcast to reduce their 2023 payment by $70 million due to comcast overestimating their subscribers for 10 years and they requested a rebate.

      The bylaws specifically allow for the board to levy penalties against schools that are leaving, so technically we would be within our rights to penalize how we see fit—why not penalize $420 million? This seems to be what UW thinks we will do.

      So $420 million plus future payments from college football playoff payments plus ncaa basketball unit payments plus more media revenue thru July 2024 plus pac 12 reserve funds plus other assets of the conference = maybe $600 million or so. $600 million split two ways is a nice chunk of change.

      What a find to get the instant message from kliavkoff to canzano right after the five schools left———“we now have 4 board members”

      • I’d imagine no money goes anywhere till the board matter gets figured out, or the Pac12/Pac2 settle in court.
        And then whatever OSU/WSU do with the money from there will be within their rights, but could also lead to any of the other 10 schools suing them directly if they think they aren’t being treated fairly.
        The fun thing to watch is how desperate teams will get to receive that December payout as it gets delayed.
        Desperation will start to set in and i think they’d be smart to settle at that point.

        Also, Canzano actually comes off looking pretty good in all of this, because we see proof of him actually doing reporting work, and there’s no other proof of other reporters showing up in any of the discovery up to this point. His messaging with GK could make him a witness in this case.

        • I think we should go for blood and also sue USC directly because there is word out there that USC torpedoed deals that would have greatly enhanced the conference at the same time as they were planning their own exit from the conference. I blame USC for all of this because of their feeling that they should get a bigger piece of the pie than everybody else.

        • We need to prepare for the eventuality of a settlement. Always important to remember that what is fair and what is the law are often different. Even if the OSU/WSU case is iron clad, the other schools could draw it out in litigation for years. Even if OSU/WSU were to ultimately win, the cost of fighting it for that long would likely exceed what they can get by making a deal soon.

      • 5
        1

        Other than taking court costs out of it, we need to be the adults in the conference.

        As long as they continue producing content, they get equal shares. Once that ends, they get whatever their new conferences have promised them, and nothing more from us.

        • It is interesting how the narrative has flipped from “the 10 teams do not have a board seat and should mot be allowed to disolve the conference”
          to
          “the 2 teams should not be allowed to handle the Pre-August 2024 revenue streams”

          They managed to flip the conversation to make it sound like OSU/WSU are the ones acting nefariously, when this whole court case started because they tried to hold a vote to disolve everything (including future revenue) in the first place.
          This is why the OSU/WSU legal team always adds the disclaimer “we did not bring this upon ourselves….”

          • I think it’s an important distinction, because the 10 teams leaving did put themselves in this situation when they had the opportunity not to.
            The 10 teams are like Plexico Buress shooting himself in the leg at the club, while OSU/WSU are innocent bystanders catching strays.

        • Interesting the email in the discovery that show suggestion from the 10 was to take 10%-15% of USC and UCLA’s revenue since they were no longer participating on the board or contributing to any long term conference planning. Seem punitive but if OSU and WSU truly have extra effort or cost in 2024 associated with keeping the conference alive due to the 10 departing, a fee does make some sense.

  36. PHIL STEELE REPORT

    Home team is just 2-4 SU but 4-1-1 ATS since ’17. Favorite is 12-1 SU but 7-5-1 ATS. Last year Stanford (+5) had gone 7 games without leading but scored a TD on the opening drive and Stanford led 17-7 at halftime and 24-10 in the 4Q. Early 4Q Oregon State on 4&8 got a 21-yard TD pass but the two-point conversion failed. They punted then went 66/3 for a TD but the 2-point try was NG. Stanford drove 49/11 to kick a 46-yard FG and with :58 left led 27-22. Oregon State on 1st and 10 had a pass caught by Harrison between two defenders at the 35 and he raced for 56 yards and an unlikely TD and winning score, 28-27 with :13 left. Stanford is 11-2 SU & 8-4-1 ATS vs Oregon State since ’10. Last time here (‘21) the Cardinal (+12’) were outgained 475-230 as they trailed 14-0 at halftime & 35-7 in the 4Q before scoring a TD with 6:25 left but Oregon State ran out the clock on the Stanford 19. Oregon State opened 6-1 with a road loss at Washington State. They were upset by Arizona on the road. Last week Oregon State led just 7-3 when Colorado at their own 4 threw two incomplete passes, taking up :27, and punted, and Oregon State got a 28 yd PR to the 20 with :22 left and a TD pass to make the score 14-3 with Oregon State holding a 191-52 yard edge. Shedeur Sanders had 41 yds at halftime. Oregon State went 85/12 for TD but their 2 point conversion try was fumbled and returned for 2, 20-5. Oregon State went 66/8 for FG and led 23-5 with Colorado last two possessions driving 75/9 for a TD and 75/9 again for a 2nd TD with 1:42 left for the backdoor cover, 26-19 with the Beavers holding a 418-238-yard edge. QB DJ Uiagalelei is hitting 58% with a 18-4 ratio and the Beavers have a strong run game (188, 5.2) led by RB’s Damien Martinez and Deshaun Fenwick. The D is holding foes to 42 ypg below their season average. Stanford is in a rebuilding year but upset Colorado despite trailing 29-0 at halftime. They had lost to the Big 6 teams on the Pac-12 (see July 27 blog at philsteele.com) by 46 to USC, 36 to Oregon and 35 to UCLA but then almost upset Washington in a closer than the final score 42-33 home loss. Last week on a wet ugly night, Washington State led 7-0 at halftime with a 188-48-yard edge. Stanford drove 53/7 for a TD (after int). Washington State 9/7 (after int) missed a FG with 11:56 left. Stanford drove 61/12 for a 31 yd FG with 5:56 remaining. Washington State punted. Stanford drove 22/10/5:03 to run out the clock in an upset win with Washington State holding a 245-217 yards edge. Washington State was without their top two RB’s and their #3 RB had 13-34. Oregon State does have titanic battles vs Washington and Oregon on deck but they are a Big 6 team and my computer has them 39-13 and my AGG has them by 24.2. Oregon St is 16-1 SU and ATS at home in Reser Stadium the last 17 games. Stanford is 7-15 ATS as an AD the last 7 years.

    #12 OREGON STATE 38, STANFORD 10

    COMPUTER FORECAST (STAN-ORST)
    Rush Yards: 62-208
    Pass Yards: 200-274
    Total Yards: 261-483
    Score: 13.1 – 38.8
    EXP: 8-38

    VEGAS LINE: Oregon State by 20.5
    VEGAS TOTAL: 54.5 Points
    +/- Rating: Oregon State by 22.3
    Game Grade: Oregon State by 24.2
    L4W Game Grade: Oregon State by 20.6
    Last Met Line: Oregon State-11
    Last Met Score: Oregon State -7
    Points Per Yards: Oregon State by 15.9

    PAC-12
    #5 Washington 30, #18 Utah 24
    #6 Oregon 52, USC 30
    #21 Arizona 30, Colorado 23
    UCLA 23, Arizona State 13
    California 33, Washington State 30

    NATIONAL
    #1 Ohio State 44, Michigan State 3 (COMPUTER BEST BET: Ohio State -31.5)
    #2 Georgia 37, Ole Miss 24
    #3 Michigan 20, #10 Penn State 18
    #4 Florida State 34, Miami FL 24
    #7 Texas 33, TCU 23
    #8 Alabama 34, Kentucky 13 (BEST BET: Alabama -10.5)
    #11 Louisville 38, Virginia 10
    #13 Tennessee 34, #14 Missouri 24 (COMPUTER BEST BET: Tennessee -1.5)
    #15 Oklahoma State 38, UCF 28 (BEST BET: Oklahoma State -2.5)
    #16 Kansas 38, Texas Tech 30 (BEST BET: Kansas -3.5)
    #17 Oklahoma 38, West Virginia 21 (COMPUTER BEST BET: Oklahoma -12.5)
    #19 LSU 44, Florida 34
    #22 Iowa 13, Rutgers 10
    #23 Tulane 34, Tulsa 10
    #24 North Carolina 30, Duke 13
    #25 Kansas State 37, Baylor 13

  37. Looking at the weather tomorrow, it’ll be cold and wet. Supposed to be rainy in the morning and then let up near game time. Probably pick the under and against the spread with both teams keeping in on the ground. Stanford has improved through the year and will probably keep it close at halftime.

    Beavs do need style points at this point in the year though. Close games vs perceived very inferior opponents get dinged. With the game on the PAC12 network, there won’t be a lot of voter eyeballs, they’ll just be looking at the boxscore on Sunday morning.

    I think Utah is going to give UW a game, I checked the weather for Seattle. Rainy and windy. Conditions not suitable for UW’s passing game.

    Hard to say if the Beavs could pass Ole Miss or Penn St if they lose since all of their losses will be teams in the top 10. Blowout losses would send them down a ways.

    • Eh, style points really only matter for the CFP which the Beavs are out of. If they just win, however, they can still win the Pac 12 title which would be incredible. I guess you could argue though that if they aren’t capable of adding some style points against Stanford they probably aren’t beating UW or UO. I expect the Stanford game to be relatively ugly and the Beavs not getting much national props for it. But they should be able to give UW a hell of a game. Always at least a puncher’s chance in the CW.

      • Recent WaPo article lists the Beavs as the best shot to be the first 2-loss CFP team if they can beat Nike/UW a combined three times and get some help.

        It’s far from likely, but it’s better than no chance at all!

    • I agree that Utah is gonna give UW a game. Lindgren/Smith may learn valuable lessons about the UW defense vs ground game.
      COUPLE QUESTIONS:
      -Do ya want a UW win or loss tomorrow?….how will either impact the Dawgs for next week?
      -What may be learned from the USC @ nike game?……any chance Caleb carries SC to a win?

      • 1
        2

        I would love to see Utah win and if the weather affects the dogs passing game then the chances of that upset becomes more likely. No way the huskies rush for 200+ against the Utes. At this point in the season the huskies are going to be focused coming into Reser no matter what happens this saturday.

        As for the zeros and USC. I do not think it is all coaching issues or scheme in regards to the Trojans defense. Change the coordinator? That’s fine but I think they are lacking in talent on that side of the ball and the ducks win a shootout. Hope I’m wrong but…..

  38. 2
    2

    Setting up to be Lingren’s wet dream for Saturday, weather be damned. Stanford has a bad secondary and it makes sense that BL will throw the rock regardless of wind/rain and rb success. Stanford has been playing much better the last few weeks but this SHOULD be a game the Beavs manhandle. Control the clock via the run game and utilize play action…should be the recipe for success. However, we know that we like to take the road less traveled, gamble like crazy and shy away from the stuff that’s actually working. Despite all of this, Beavs should win this game if they can get better tackling in the secondary.

    My question…what’s the over/under for BL to throw on 1st down? I’m thinking 8 is a solid line to start with. Go beavs.

  39. 1
    6

    If the Beavs are gripping about injuries, what do you think UW and Oregon think if either qb goes down? Utah should get to Penix a few times and I expect he will come into Reser a bit beaten up, along with the rest of them. Let’s see if Whittingham can give a nice template for beating the Huskies.
    USC is going to be pretty amped in the first quarter/half to prove they are better without Grinch. I expect Nix may get hit or injured at some point in the Coliseum because USC plays that way when they know the season is on the brink of disaster.
    Perhaps both UW and Oregon get wins but they will both be in recovery mode for the next week.

    Both Ducks and Huskies are a qb injury away from being outside the top 25. And that is what they have to look forward to next year.Lol

    Next year OSU will March right into the 12 team playoff with another double digit winning season and a “PACX” championship while Ducks and Huskies will be trying to stay above .500 and traveling east 4 times each to get beat in unfamiliar stadiums.

    • Penix has taken some big hits in recent weeks. He’s a tough dude, stands in the pocket and takes it….but it has impacted his production in recent weeks. He looked like a sure-fire Heisman winner earlier in the season, now I’m not so sure. I think he does win it if UW goes undefeated though. Point is, if Beavs can get home on the pass rush on a regular basis then Penix can be neutralized. He isn’t that great of a runner.

    • 2
      1

      Trojans play at Autzen tomorrow, not the Coliseum. Regardless, they should be able to keep it within a score or two.

      Hopefully the weather is miserable tomorrow in Seattle.

      • Key to that game if SC wants to have a chance will be turnovers. Although their defense is awful it isn’t completely devoid of talent. If the game is a shootout a couple big plays could be enough.

      • Yeah he is willing to help out any player/partner by taking a child in instead of murdering the child through abortion. What exactly is wrong with him doing that? Come on.

        • He can do what he wants in his personal life but a 60 year old male football coach proselytizing to women about what they should be doing with their own bodies is beyond cringe. Also, gtfo with “murder”. You’ve outed yourself as a completely unserious individual. That’s typical of fundamentalists though. Critical thinking isn’t a strength.

    • 3
      1

      Harbaugh may be so competitive he can’t turn the switch off and even be cordial. He couldn’t beat OSU straight up the first several years. I’d guess he has known about everything going on at all levels since he took over at Michigan. His success began after they began the cheating.
      Harbaugh will get run out of the Big10 because the entire conference has too much at stake to be labeled as harboring cheaters at their flagship programs.

  40. 0
    1

    Groundhog Day with MBB. Going on eight minutes without a basket against Troy, pissed away an 11-point first-half lead. Maybe they get it together in the second half? The sad thing is, I don’t think the Beavs have the finances to put Big Tinks out of his misery.

    • Defense is pretty good and that will probably be the case this season but offense once again has zero creativity, zero movement. Every possession is either a drive to the basket or a post up. There’s never any easy shots and just hope someone bails them out with a contested look. This is 100% a coaching issue. I actually like a few of the players and their skill sets but the coaches just handcuff them and their development. At least Tinkle will jump around and scream on the sideline and make people think he is attempting to coach.

  41. Tyler Bilodeau should take no less than 15 shots a game. A big man that can stretch the floor, score on the block and drive to the rim is basically unstoppable. Every possession that sees a post up for Ibekwe/Marial is a lost possession. Setting a high PNR well behind the 3 point line for Pope-Bilodeau is unstoppable as it will open up the driving lanes for Pope that he isn’t getting with how clogged the lane gets when they post up Ibekwe. It’s baffling a college head coach cannot see this

  42. 2
    1

    Looks a lot like more of the same from men’s basketball ball. Brutal to watch. Tinkle has to be loving this realignment mess since it ensures him at least his last year of contract regardless of how awful they do this year. Gonna be a long 2 months to get to baseball season once football wraps up.

    • Up 5 with a chance to go up 7 with about a minute plus left, and in a matter of seconds they commit more turnovers, give up a three-point play and Bilodeau fouls out. Up 1 and at the foul line with 6 seconds left, but it’s a 1 and 1.

  43. 3
    1

    Beavs trail 72-70 with the ball with about 45 seconds left in OT. Have blown a 4-point lead in OT. This announcer is calling it as he sees it, hard on the Beavs offense. Calling it lousy at times. I think the guy’s name is Mike Roll? I didn’t quite catch it.

  44. It is insane how secure Wayne Tinkle’s job is. This team can’t run a basic offense. Can’t catch in bound passes. Team is up 3 late and not only doesn’t foul but gives up a wide open 3 for the tie. He can run a clinic on everything a coach shouldn’t do during a game and it happens game after game. Zero improvement from year to year, even with several returning players. Nobody shows up to the games at Gill and that ain’t changing any time soon. A completely irrelevant program

  45. Brett McMurphy:
    Industry source compared new Big Ten commish Tony Petitti to Pac-12 commish George Kliavkoff. I don’t believe it was meant as a compliment

    • On the bright side, perhaps only 1 more year after this one. Takes us 2 OT to get 80 pts. This offense is so bad. Really speaks volumes about GP2 being able to have success despite 0 offensive philosophy by WT. Akano was 5-16 and Pope was 5-18.

      Also, it’s nearly impossible to keep up with this roster every year. Looks like we have 4 guys from last season that returned? Which was essentially the same situation last year too. This program is like a Benny Hill show.

      • Beavers have 9 players returning from last season. Only one who hasn’t played yet is Michael Rataj but he’s out for a bit. Their entire starting lineup played last season and 4 of the 5 played quite a bit. That’s what makes Tinks look so bad. It shouldn’t still be this awful offensively but there is seemingly no bottom with him

    • All rosters look bad when the coaching is so piss poor. Bilodeau is all-conference caliber big man. Christian Wright looks fantastic. Driving to the rim at will and finishing and very good defense. Thomas Ndong flashed some really good defense and a nice perimeter shot. However, when the coaches don’t put players in position to succeed, they look lost. Pope is at his best when he’s driving to the hoop and he really only got a legit shot to drive in OT when they had 1 big and 3 perimeter players around him. No surprise that’s when he looked his best. They played Ebekwe way too much and he clogged the lane all night. This is bad coaching and it makes the team look untalented. Are they as talented as Arizona or USC? Definitely not. Are they talented enough to blow out Troy? Absolutely. Wayne has actually brought in some underrated players but his putrid offensive system harms their development. A better coach and we’d be talking about how sneaky good they are. That’s what’s frustrating. You can see what they could be but because of Wayne, we’ll never know their potential cause they have to play hero ball all night to make up for how outmatched he is from an X’s and O’s standpoint on a nightly basis

      • I haven’t watched any of the shit show this year and don’t plan to.

        They’ll never repeat that elite 8 run. Best we will probably ever see.

        I prefer to remember the good times.

        Beaver basketball is dead to me.

  46. It’s amazing to me that Tinkle had success at Montana. I don’t know any facet of the game his Beaver teams have been very solid in. Shooting? Defense? Steals and limiting turnovers? Nope. Recruiting non-blood relatives? Keeping players around? Nope. I don’t even know if you can say his OSU teams have been fundamentally sound.

    • This is what I don’t understand. Year one under Tinks was pillow ball. That team wasn’t all that talented either imo. But they played defense. And won 17 games.

      So what gives?

    • Tinkle’s etch-a-sketch act during time outs reminds me of Banker’s hand gestures. Ignored because they mean nothing. Same for his sideline antics.

  47. At least Cal is still in the conference. If the Beavs end up ine the MWC, they’d still be only the fifth or sixth best team there. Hopefully.

  48. It is incredible to me that anyone expects something different from Tinkle after so many years. He won the lottery twice in his 10 years by somehow making the NCAA tournament.
    Beyond those miracles, he made a Craig Robinson into an entertaining bunch, and ran off more talent than seems possible because they upstaged his chosen starters.
    Tinkle has a proven track record of recruiting decent talent and ruining that talent by game 7 of their freshman year. These guys come
    Into the program with some fundamentals and game awareness, which is obvious by how they play during early non conference games.
    Soon enough the talented freshmen will be benched and anyone else showing promise and fundamentals will lose playing time. And because it will make no sense to sensible players, they will plan to transfer just as so many have each year.
    Tinkle doesn’t mind the turnover because it creates the built in excuse for his next losing season in which he has the terrible task of blending all of these new players again.
    He plays the part of a big sweaty hard working coach who gives maximum effort but the team just never rises to his efforts. Which he generally points out.

        • “The CFP board of managers is composed of 10 FBS presidents and chancellors and Notre Dame president John Jenkins. The Pac-12’s representative is Washington State president Kirk Schulz, who could single-handedly prevent the change in format if he wanted to.”

          This is the single largest piece of leverage once the court case is decided because this isn’t inflight between PAC 12 school this impact everyone, networks included.

      • not only Schultz but the AAC and Moutain West won’t vote for that either if, as the story reads, there’s not a guaranteed spot in the 12 for the top ranked G5 team

  49. Angry is gonna love this.
    Mike Riley is back with the team today, as honorary team captain.
    The halftime ceremony will be to introduce the OSU Hall Of Fame inductees, which Riley is part of.
    Hip Hip!!!

  50. 2
    1

    So what wins in the PacX help the Beavs today?
    I’m guessing the following:
    Colorado over AU
    UU over UW
    WSU over Cal
    UCLA over ASU
    SC over Oregon
    Beavs big over Furd

    What say you?

      • Reminds of a Beav game I was watching at Szabo’s years ago. I’d been sitting at the end of the bar watching the entire game, ordering food and drinks the whole game. Halfway through the 4th qtr I get up to use the bathroom and I come back to another couple sitting at my space and the TV channel changed.
        I politely ask the couple to move, but my beer was gone and they insisted they stay. I ask the bartender what’s going on, they said “we thought you left”. I left to pee and even had a full beer in front of me, and hadn’t paid my tab yet, and they thought I left?? They refused to give me my spot, or even change the channel. I missed the rest of the game. I should’ve just walked out without paying, but I’ve just boycotted them ever since. I should get over it someday.

  51. This is why PSU will probably lose today. Franklin (JS) has no idea if they need to be within a field goal at this point in the game. Just play the game straight until about 8 minutes left and then make decisions like going for 2 based on time and score. Most of the time, you don’t need to do anything out of the ordinary.

    • Right. Now if they score a TD they have to go for two. Also, your team only practices so many two point plays, so you’re limited on what you can call.

  52. Hilariously bad qb play for Penn St and Franklin is a horrible coach too.

    If Beavs are lucky enough to play Penn St in a bowl game, chalk up a win. They are a huge top 10 fraud.

  53. The loss to Arizona bothers me more than the loss to Wazzu. They were outplayed by the Cougars and deserved to lose. Against Arizona, they beat themselves in every way possible and still had a lead in the 4th. They had no business losing that game. If that game is at Reser, Beavs win by 2 touchdowns. Arizona has looked very unimpressive against a team the Beavers physically dominated for 3 1/2 quarters. That loss gonna be a huge what if moment this season, especially if the Beavs find a way to beat Washington at Reser

  54. 2
    1

    This Colorado-Arizona game shows how much the coaching staff needs to figure out the road issues. Colorado moving the ball at will on Arizona’s defense. Beavers should have done this, too, but missed so many plays. They truly beat themselves. That’s gonna be a loss that’s gonna disgust the fan base, especially once the season is over

    • Both the wsu and Arizona are bad close losses. Arizona is a solid team but the wazzu loss hasn’t aged well. If we played them a week or two later that would’ve been a win. Regardless these should be the close games that they win now this far into the smith era. It’s the same story as last year losing close games instead of winning them to make a great season.

    • 2
      1

      Huge difference on the road. CU has easily scored as many points in one half as The Beavs did for the whole game. Wazzu and Arizona are just bad losses at this point that unfortunately put a special season on ice.

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