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Civil War Thoughts

211

I feel better writing about this game after having a few days to think about it.

The loss doesn't bother me that much since the Ducks are the better team.

What bothers me is that Riley had a much improved team this year and lost by almost the same margin. The gap hasn't closed at all. With better defenders and/or defenders a year older, Mark Banker made no progress in slowing down the Ducks. It's the same ol' where they can scheme pro style offenses or mediocre option offenses. The quotes in the paper leading up to the game bothered me, too. Does Georgia Tech's coach imply they have to play a perfect game to beat Georgia? Did Mike Leach say the Cougars had to be perfect to beat Washington? Does Oklahoma State feel so inferior when playing Oklahoma? That's what bugs me–the inferiority complex. The confidence this year was all a sham that was exposed on Saturday (and via the quotes leading up to Saturday).

Read this Langsdorf quote:

"We've had to hang in there and win a lot of games late," Langsdorf said. "We want to keep this game right where we want it and win it in the fourth quarter."

Why even put that thought in a team's head? Why not win it the game in the first quarter?

And Riley:

"You have to be perfect on (defensive) assignments all the time, but especially against Oregon. Then, fundamentally, you have to do some of those simple things that are hard to do: tackle in space, and make sure you have responsibility in the gap and responsibility in the option."

Perfect? That's giving the Ducks too much respect, don't you think? Quotes like that turn respect into palpable fear. Players sense these things. Beavs played slow, indecisive, etc. Their mindset is all wrong in these big games. That's what bothers me the most.

211 COMMENTS

  1. I understand the things you mentioned that bother you and I mostly agree, but if the Beavs eliminate 3 out of their 6 turnovers we could very likely have seen a last-play-of-the-game game.

    I see getting a lot more traction on focusing on those 6 mistakes when trying to improve the team. We’re not changing Riley or his staff so get used to it.

    • I would say the same except that the TO’s I would want to lose are three that mattered, not just any three… the INT that Colin Kelly gifted them at the 20, the muffed kick and the muffed punt.

    • A lot of times turnovers are the result of nerves. When you see an anomaly, like 6 in one game, I think it’s mental at that point. Of course, there is no way to prove this. I just sensed tight play and then in reading the quotes, I sense coaches giving so much respect to Oregon that it implies fear. Almost softening the blow before it happens. So yes, turnovers ruined the day, but were turnovers legit or the result of nerves? I think mostly the latter, and if so, it comes back to mental preparation for these big games.

      • Good points except 5 of the turnovers happened in the second half after they had pulled to within 3. I would think nerves are gone by then.

        You bring up something that I was going to write about a month or so ago and that is Riley’s comments on upcoming opponents.
        He, like many coaches, will always build up their opponents in the week before their game. Most of the time I write this off as coach’s speak. But Riley seems to do it to such an extent that I really do wonder if his players believe it. Nichols St for example, he will probably say something to the effect that we can’t sleep on these guys, they’re hungry for a big-time win, they’re poised so we have to be diligent, etc. When in reality, our 3rd stringers should beat them by 40.
        This mental aspect of coaching is very interesting to me. I like Chip Kelly’s approach of preaching about a faceless opponent.

    • While at the game, one of the obvious problems i noticed was the whole approach to the kicking punting game. All year they’ve been having Romaine kick the ball out of the end zone, but Saturday, they decided to kick to the Oregon return man, which often times set up a shorter field than if the ball had simply been placed on the 25 yard line. If you let Oregon past the 50 yard line, you’re almost guaranteed to be playing 4 down ball, but keep them further away and you have a good shot at 3 and out with a punt. Instead, we let them start repeatedly close to the 50 yard line meaning we were playing 4 down ball.
      On top of that, the return game was garbage. Players were taking chances on returning the ball when they should have let it bounce into the end zone and start on the 25. Not sure if that was what they were coached to do or if the players were trying too hard to be heroes, but the result was bad field position, or turnovers (which led to Oregon short fields again, and eventual scoring opportunities.) Those return game turnovers were real killers and led to the game snowballing out of control quickly.

      • Special teams were a joke. And it’s not like they just fell off a cliff either. All season, our PR has pretty much just been a designated fair catcher and our KR’s have taken high kicks two yards deep to the 15 a lot.

        Watching Shanky with the Rams (and the reigning Ray Guy Award winner at LaTech), I’m wondering if Romaine is really an All-American K who just has Read as a coach.

        • Kostol has been pretty good this year, so not sure what Shanky’s problem was. The shanks were generally when he would attempt a rugby punt, so maybe the coaching can be blamed for not recognizing that problem before attempting it in the games.
          Romaine actually wasn’t terrible this year. I think he ended the season with the Pac-12’s top field goal %. The strategy on kickoff is the huge question though. Does the special teams coach get blamed for that?
          I did like that Kostol punted away from the return man on most occasions, but why didn’t Romaine have the same strategy on kickoffs?

          • Romaine got a touchback 47% of the time this year, it’s not like he gets a touchback every kick.

            He had 2 kickoffs that didn’t end a half, they went 63 and 58 yards, an average of 60.5 yards. His season average? 61.5 yards.

            You guys often want to complain about something so badly that you refuse to look at what actually happened.

          • How many punts or field goals were blocked? When did they ever pressure any kicker? How many taclkles on kickoffs inside the 20? The kicking game isn’t just long returns for touchdowns. Its all about forcing mistakes for long returns, forcing mistakes for shanked kicks, and generally gaining field position thru superior overall special teams play.The Beavers have good kickers and returners. But how can anyone in their right mind position a backup de directly in front of the deep returners when they have 4-5 viable tight ends whose job it is to catch. They just do not play extremely hard on special teams. Not bad and not good.

          • Maybe the return game was just a microcosm of all the things that went wrong last Saturday. Beavs come into the game ranked 3rd in the conference in KO return coverage and the ducks were ranked last in KO returns yet the Beavs gave up big returns in the first half. The other point is that the duck kicker only had 13 touchbacks in 100+ KOs so the Beavs should have been prepared to handle the KO. Just poor execution all day long.

          • We’re looking at the play calls. This is a kid who would put it five yards past the endzone on the fly from the same spot in high school 95% of the time. We’ve seen him do the same here. He is being instructed to kick it higher and with direction in order to set up kick defense to put the receiving team at a disadvantage. That design not working is our complaint. That you point out it has been done all season only enhances our argument.

      • Not sure how apparent it was on TV, but on the Wheaton punt muff we only had 10 players on the field until the last second when the sidelines were blowing up in panic.
        The punt that the ducks failed to down near our goal line we only had 10 players on the field, no return man whatsoever.
        Both plays the crowd was freaking out about no return man being on the field.
        As others have stated, between these mistakes and having Lettuce kick it short is on the ST coach, otherwise I’m reasonably happy with the performance of our kickers.

  2. I agree also. Riley is blaming the players, when imo, he hasnt schemed it so they can succeed. Or he hasnt recruited enough speed to get the job done.

    But all season we talked about putting it all together, and seems to me if our offense had had even a good day, we could have make it very close. Too many turnovers. Too many opportunities for UO on offense.

    Its still on Riley, imo

    • I haven’t spent much time reading the Oregon sports pages but I doubt any of them are criticizing Riley et al. for anything. Contrast the LA media turmoil about Kiffin’s play calling in the Notre Dame game. Granted, that is a specific instance but Beav writers seem to think it’s their job to soothe any circumstance.

      • Not the same situation. The Trojans are 7-5 and unranked after starting the year ranked #1. The Beavs are 8-3 and ranked in the top 20 after starting the year unranked and projected to finish in the bottom 1/4 of the PAC-12. The Beavs season has been a success where as the Trojans season has been a massive disappointment.

    • I agree that we are stuck with Riley and his flunky staff, but we don’t have to like it. So deal with that.
      If you took the time to watch the UW/WSU and Stanford/Oregon game, both WSU and Stanford players, while big underdogs, played tough and really wanted the win……..and got it. I doubt that their perspective head coach or their staff said statements as lame as Riley or Langindork.

      Preparing a team for a game, especially one like the Civil War or other rivalry game it is important to get the player’s mental state hyped as well as their ability to play at their peak. When these two factors come together the result is confidence. By the way, players were getting very frustrated in 2nd half, as I watched their expressions and body english as they left the field.

      If we get Alamo bowl, I will be on my way to San Antonio.

      For all you idiots who post shit ass comments on my posts and lode them up with bunch of – marks, I can believe Mike Rile (Barney Fife) and his has been cronies are keeping the Beaver football program from attaining greater success and at the same time support our players and team. I actually feel sorry for them playing under MR.

      • Heard that besides trying to poach Dowling from UCLA we had Sean Harlow at the game as well, this time as an official visitor. I wouldn’t mind poaching both. We were close on Harlow before he went puppy, so we might still be in it for him.

        I also didn’t see the kid, but there was supposed to be another JUCO DT visiting as well.

        • Was just going to type that. I wouldn’t bring a recruit in to watch a game I didn’t think we could win. This season, as good as it was compared to last year, was a failure on the big stage which will probably hurt us in recruiting (I hope I’m wrong).

          Bring recruits to games like Nicholas State and WSU. The civil war is a huge gamble… win and it pays off big for recruiting. Lose and it hurts more then any other game.

          • I disagree. The recruits know that Nichols State and WSU are woeful football teams so a big win there doesn’t mean much. The intensity of the team and crowd at the civil war game I think would impress the recruit more, win or lose.

          • No, I seriously disagree. You say don’t bring recruits to games you don’t think you can win? If you don’t think you can win then there’s the door.
            Debacles like the Sac St loss notwithstanding, there are much bigger factors to recruits than the outcome of the game. Weather, camaraderie with other players, and chance to get on the field early are a few bigger factors.
            The show ‘Talkin’ Beavers’ has done a great job at asking players what made then decide to come to Corvallis and the overwhelming answer has to do with the host players taking them under their wing and giving them the straight story about the town and coaching staff.

  3. Watching the game at Reser on Saturday, it was clear from the start that Mariota was having a tough time throwing the ball accurately, especially on the longer routes. We needed to make an extra effort to shut down the run, and to make Mariota beat us through the air. Obviously, we didn’t do that. Instead, we let Oregon pile up 430 yards rushing, with Barner and Thomas averaging over 7 yards per carry.

    As far as I’m concerned, that is on Banker. It reminded me of that notorious performance against Utah last year, when the Utah coach called out Banker after the game for failing to stack the box.

    The turnovers were brutal (especially the special teams turnovers), and exposed OSU’s fragile confidence against the Ducks. But — bottom line — the Beavs were never going to win a game where the opponent’s running backs averaged 7+ yards per carry and racked up 430 yards rushing. Seems clear by now — after years of trying and failing — that Banker can’t fix this problem. The Beavs need to find someone who can. Or so it seems to me. Is that asking too much?

    • And let’s be honest, the Huff catch that wasn’t a catch and the muffed kick put our defense on the field far longer than they needed to be there. Then they make a stop and get a muffed punt.

      Ugh!

    • I saw an interesting breakdown on another site showing the average points given up to Oregon by every team in the conference over the last four years, and even with the poor Beav teams fielded the last two years, Beavs were just above the middle (#5 I think), and every team is giving up alot of points to them. This is not a ringing endorsement of Banker, but the question you pose is one that every single team in the conference is asking themselves (except obviously Stanford). I am not sure what to do about the Ducks, but food for thought.

      Despite the poor rush defense the entire game, we were actually right in that game until the ridiculous third down conversion on that Huff catch (or non-catch Jack) that took all the life out of the stadium. Then all of a sudden we’re down 10 points and someone on ST tries to be a hero and field that squib kick in the rain. Boom, down 17 points. Things just got out of control from there. Another heroic (stupid) attempt to field a punt at a sprint in the rain, crap again. Once they get that kind of lead, the D can pretty much run wild and Mannion showed he still knows how to throw the ball to the other team. Blah.

      • What pissed me off most about Wheaton’s muffed punt is that he didn’t have to catch it, it’s not a live ball. I have to think Poyer would have either made the catch or let it go knowing the high risk/reward.
        The fumbled kickoff was silly, but that is a live ball and needs to be handled.

    • it’s absolutely on banker. his weakness has become so glaring it’s almost laughable. i’d like to see nigel burton replace him if only because he’s spent time around the pistol/spread at nevada and PSU.

  4. Multiple turnovers are a lack of preparation and training. Stanford was far from perfect against O. You need to have your best 11 (no matter what position they play) on the field against O for most downs. You cannot be subbing in a little of this and a little of that. Recognizing that the Oline are taught to hold for a three count before releasing, you have to have a nose tackle that will occupy the center and a guard on all plays, and you have to run games with the outside linebacker and defensive end so that the offensive tackle is not sure who is coming or who to block on any given play. The read defense plays into their hands. Real profesiional defenses like the 49ers constantly game the outside linebackers and ends to create uncertainty for offensive tackles on the edges. You also see tams like the 49ers crash their ends and have them grab both the tackle and guard as a response, freeing up the lb to loop or go wide. Stanford does this too..

    The USC Center was all league. Utah crushed him, Stanford beat him consistently and the Notre Dame nose tackle literally stood him up and knocked him backwards into the qb or sideways into the guards on all of the goal line stand plays. How can he be all league?

    • I think we have to go turnover by turnover. I honestly don’t know what is responsible for Mannion’s issues. As far as the two ST fumbles, lack of prep and training might be part of the problem, but it might also be young guys being overzealous, caught up in the heat of the civil war trying to make an ill-advised play in the rain. I’m not sure how you eliminate the potential for moments like that.

  5. And you don’t have to play a perfect game to beat the Ducks, Stanford proved that with their three turnovers to the Ducks one. But you do have to take away something/anything from the Ducks run game and also I thought the Beav secondary was soft on the pass against those receivers.

    It was just a surprising uninspired performance by the defense. Almost like after the first drive they knew it was going to be more of the same.

    • Agree the defense broke down. I believe it is Banker’s fault. The players can be blamed but I think everyone can agree that it was our defense this year that has made this a winning season. So if the defense finally had a bad game and it happened to be in the civil war I’m going to give them a pass in light of the year. But again, I believe it was more Banker screwing the pooch then the players having a bad game. Stack the box!

      • The D has been horrible ever since the Washington game. They’ve given up 150+ rushing yards in every game since then and 400+ total yards in every game but Cal (tho they did rush for 190).

        • I’m not sure many people noticed that. They were trending away from their early season form markedly, and media kept talking positively about their rush defense ranking.

        • While some of that may be attributed to 11 continuous weeks of football and associated fatigue, I think a contributing factor was the lack of depth.

          No Big Fred Thompson in the middle, and a lack of effective linebacker depth. Bray himself said if “six guys could execute six guys would be playing.” It seemed like OSU was stuck with 4 LBs, one of which being #13.

          There’s a recent JC DT commitment of legitimate size, and (I hope) two more to come, though Riley doesn’t seem to think its necessary. Maybe some of these WR recruits are expected to bulk up and bring their speed to the DL……

        • What OSU has on tap for next year at this point:

          Bennett-Jackson, Brandon, 6-3 267 RS Fr
          Collins, Desmond, 6-4 269 RS Fr
          Harrah, Blake, 6-1 265 RS JR
          Lopez, Joe, 6-0 273, SO
          Rosa, Mana, 6-3 276 JR
          Tago, Noke, 6-1 290 FR

          Siale Hautau, 6-0, 315, JC commit

          Akuna, Shaydon, 6-2, 245, SO
          Alexander, D.J., 6-2, 225, SO
          Doctor, Michael, 6-0, 223, JR
          Gardner, Kyle, 5-11, 225, RS FR
          Gilmur, Charlie, 6-1, 228, JR
          James, Jaswha, 6-2, 247, RS FR
          Johnson, Jabral, 6-1, 234, SO
          Mafi, Dyllon, 6-2, 220, JR
          Mageo, Romme,l 6-2, 221, FR
          Saulo, Caleb, 6-1, 215, FR
          Skotte, Joel, 6-2, 235, FR
          Williams, Josh, 6-1, 239 SO

          X’Zavier Preston, 6-2, 225, Commit

          Mostly young/inexperienced DTs, most smallish for their position group, and a LB corp without a lot of game experience outside of Welch and Doctor. I expect we’ll see lots of Skotte next year, probably a good dose of Mafi and Saulo. I’d like to see James and Johnson emerge and bring a little more size.

          In other words, I think we can expect no significant changes in overall defensive performance, particularly with Banker at the helm.

          The increase in DBs and use of nickel and dime packages as a latent response to spread offenses, appears to be reflected in recruiting these past two cycles.

    • Stanford gave up some 8-9yd runs but limited the really big plays and for every long run the ducks had Stanford came back with a tackle for loss which set up a lot of 3rd and long situations. I don’t think the ducks have a lot of 3rd and long plays, they just have a bunch of 4 to 5 yd plays that go for big yards against an average team. I was flabbergasted all game long that it didn’t appear that we did anything to go all out to stop the run and force Mariota to beat our guys deep. Days later I still can’t believe it.

  6. I hated Langdorf’s comment too. Why would your goal be to squeak out a win in the 4th? Mindset needs to be to kick ass all day long. Grow some gonads Langs.

  7. Beaver Nation is a divided nation. On one side are those who just live with what Riley can give us in a season. The other side are those who would like to see the Beaver football program rise above mediocrity and be a top competitor in Pac 12 and against the U of O.

    For those who forgive and forget and support Riley as head coach, this group are in denial. In the 12 years under MR the Beavers have not reached a single BCS bowl game and has a 3 – 7 record against the ducks in the Civil War. Unless a miracle takes place I for see a loss next year making Riley’s overall Civil War record 3 – 8.

    I hope fellow forum members can acknowledge that we most likely will not see any major staff changes in the near future. Rileys’ loyalty overrides decisions for future improvement. Bottom line is those of us unhappy with Mike Riley have a god given right to complain and want him to retire for the betterment of the football program. Those of you who forgive and forget and want Riley to say on as head coach have that right also. But this is why Beaver Nation is one divided.

  8. I think the part that I find the most difficult to deal with is OSU had opportunities but could capitalize. 5 of 6 of 4th down, 6 turnovers, drop passes…etc. Clean up half of those mistakes at it is a close game, clean up 75% of them and we win.

    I don’t think we need to be perfect to beat the oregon team that showed up on saterday. that was a C+, B- performance from Oregon, unfortunately OSU played a D- game. A B+,A- performance and I believe we win the game.

  9. I thought for many stretches, OSU looked slow on defense,and agree that it was likely a case of a lack of confidence and over thinking (“we can’t make a mistake”). In the 65-38 blowout, Banker said after he’d made the scheme and approach too complicated, and should have simplified it. I thought in this game the defense, and woeful tackling, looked similar.

    The dropped passes, special teams miscues, all a sign of a team that is too tight and lacking confidence.

    Before the game, Riley was giving his usual “it’s great to be part of the Civil War context” remarks, as if, again, he’s just happy to be here. If you watched the post-game interview with Riley, there’s a point where he’s talking about how good Oregon is “they were #2….” and he looks like he’s about to start crying.

  10. I didn’t see anything on Saturday that lead me to believe that the Beavs are even close to being a BCS contender. Kelly was kind in the fourth quarter playing backups all over the field. The score could easily have been 55 or 62 to 17. Kelly gave them a small amount of dignity by allowing the 48-24 (not too bad) score.

    Look where we are getting recruits. It’s a big deal when we steal one from BYU or Utah State or we get an overlooked kid. When is the last time a player choose OSU over the Ducks? Not going to happen. The result is Riley has to “coach up” his kids to make them competitive. All Kelly has to do is teach his system as the players are ready to go. It’s very frustrating to see the disparity.

    That being said… what’s wrong with 9-3 and a trip to San Diego? Since MR “ain’t going no where” I’ll settle… I guess. JB

    • Empirically, this year, OSU was two games away from being BCS bowl bound. Beat UW and Stanford, and they’re in. They lost those games by a combined 7 points. Right now they’re #15 in BCS, with a #14 ranking or higher being a requirement for a BCS game as I understand it.

      But, I think you’re point is, likely if they got into a BCS game, they’d get blown out by a legitimate BCS team playing its starters for four quarters.

      It’s so frustrating to watch this coaching staff trip over itself annually. They’re so slow to learn and adapt.

  11. From the Portland-Tribune:

    “The payout per team to the Alamo Bowl (3:45 p.m. kickoff) is $3,175,000. Payout per team for the Holiday Bowl (6:45 p.m. kickoff) is $2,075,000. Both games are televised on ESPN.

    Norman Dougas (correct spelling), a member of the Alamo Bowl committee, will be in Corvallis Saturday for the OSU-Nicholls State game.

    “If UCLA beats Stanford,” Hill noted, “it will be a wasted trip.”

    I didn’t realize the Alamo Bowl paid out that much, not bad. Here’s hoping Stanford can get it done again.

    I also think the Alamo bowl would be better for recruiting Texas and the SW.

    • The Holiday Bowl folks will want us at the Alamo bowl too because otherwise they’re stuck with UCLA whose fans won’t fill up hotel rooms or spend as much as a traveling Beaver fan base would.
      That aside, if we get jobbed and Alamo takes UCLA I will be seriously pissed.

      • I think you’re right on. Holiday obviously wants Beavs, and I could see the and Alamo wanting UCLA – figuring their fans might travel as well as OSU and that UCLA is a better name and match-up for a national viewership.

      • I don’t really see how the Alamo taking a 9-3 team over a 9-3 team constitutes a “jobbing”. I mean the head to head went to OSU but UCLA mitigates that some by winning the division.

        • If UCLA loses the champ game, we finish 3rd and they finish 4th in the Pac. We’re also ranked higher in the BCS and beat them in their own stadium. We deserve it, they don’t, period.
          Sure they won their division, but if we were in their division we would have won it.
          Look, I know bowl selection is never about what’s fair for the teams, it’s about which team will bring them the most money. But this system sucks and if we get hosed out of the Alamo bowl then it will be just another example of why the system sucks.

          • The championship game doesn’t factor into the placement of the teams. If UCLA loses they finished tied for 3rd with OSU in the P12. I think OSU would be more deserving than UCLA should UCLA lose but it isn’t the biggest jobbing by the bowls out there… not even close.

          • Yeah, I know, but if UCLA wins then they go to the Rose Bowl don’t they? That’s why any discussion of this requires the statement, if UCLA loses the Champ game.
            …and thank you for agreeing with me.

          • In any reasonable system H2H should be the tie breaker: OSU 3rd ,UCLA 4th but to Jason’s point the bowl system isn’t reasonable it is about $ and why if UCLA loses the championship game they will most likely be selected by the Alamo Bowl and they will claim it has to do with them being South Division Champ…etc. Which is all a bunch of BS

    • Since the PTCG will be played on Friday, why would an Alamo Bowl official even make the Saturday trip if Stanford were to lose?

      And pay-outs are meaningless. All bowl monies are pooled by the conference. Schools get certain amounts paid to them by the conference depending on travel/lodging costs. And the BCS teams get a little more for the same considerations plus extra obligations that go with the pomp of the bowl. Plus, the extra ticket obligations really suck. The league wants the schools to sell those tickets using any and every promotional in the book. So they promise extra to those schools up front so they don’t have to alleviate the cost of unsold tickets after the fact (and suffer the perception that Pac schools don’t travel well to the big games).

    • Since I assume this decision will come down to money, I’m sure the Alamo Bowl guy will be pretty impressed with the 35K turnout at Reser for the Nic St. game.

  12. I happen to think the talent gap vis a vis UO has been closed in certain respects, but NOT in the areas most relevant to being able to beat the Ducks, e.g., linebacker play. Let’s just look at the various segments: (and remember, the comparison is to the same unit on the Ducks roster).

    D-Line. No improvement.

    LB: regression (This is the single biggest gap in talent level between the two programs)

    DB: No improvement.

    OL: Improvement. Remember how ineffective OSU was early in the game last year? And last year, we had TWO td’s in garbage time.

    RB: Improvement. Hopefully Brown can narrow it further next year. DAT will be back for UO next year, but I see a come-down for Dux after James and now Barner leave

    TE/WR: improvement

    QB: Regression. The gap has gotten much wider here, compounded by the inability of our Defense to force Mariota into a passer where he is far from the best in the conference. We need a full open compeititon next year to see what Harrington and Vanderveen can do.

    Coaching: regression. Let’s just take one example. OSU returns a few KO’s to mid-field, approximately. Alioti, or whomever, ADJUSTS, and starts squibbing the ball, leading to two meltdowns; the fumble, which has gotten the most attention, but also the ensuing kick where a couple of our guys just look at the ball spinning on the ground. We were a millisecond away from having three blown kicks.

    • I respectfully disagree. I believe that here were improvements in all areas for the entire year. But, the improvements were not enough to keep up with the Ducks. Respectfully, anyone who thinks the defensive line showed no improvement is willfully ignorant of statistics and of tackle football. Anyone that would ignore the improved defensive back technmique and play has no memory of all the pass interference calls from last year. OS tried foolish risks against the Ducks and did a poor job of preparing to counter the unique and specific challenges presented by the Duck approach to football and to the superior athleticism of the opponent. The superior team does not always win (see Washington). But you cannot just do what you do everyday in life against a crafty opponent and hope that lightning will strike. Give the coaches and team some credit. But now challenge them to improve.

      • matt b: you are one of the more valuable posters on this site so let me re-state the premise of my array: it was improvement by unit, or lack of same, in comparison to the level of play of the same unit at UO. I agree, the DL and DB units were improved but I didn’t see us appreciably closing the gap vs. the Dux, and I believe we lost ground at LB given the maturation of Alonso and Clay.

    • The Gap?? HaaaaaaaaaHaaaaaaaHaaaaa. Oregon in the last for years: 4 BCS Bowls, 3 Conference championships and 4 CW victories. OSU was 3-8 last year, terrible. No bowls for last 2 seasons. I would say the gap is more like an abyss, but I will rely on Jack in his infinite wisdom to improve my wide-gap adjective. That post was a joke right?

  13. Riley is a coward and that attitude works itself from the top to bottom. He has the all time winning record- I wish he would retire – but no, he’ll take a cool million every year until 2020. This man does not deserve that much money for neither getting us to a BCS game for his entire career and letting us become Oregon’s bitch for the last five years.

    • I thought I saw a few uncharacteristic fourth down attempts during the CW, along with our attempted squib kick after we scored the TD in the third quarter. Also, if people commenting earlier are correct that we were purposefully keeping most of the kickoffs in play to invite a return (from DAT no less), I’d say Riley was being much more aggressive than usual.

  14. Angry got this thread start right. The OS coaches speak in cliches. Maybe they believe it and maybe they are disguising their true insights. But the words of Riley and Langsdorf often give us pause. Their descriptions seem boilerplate and somewhat lazy. Yes, we probably all overanalyze. However, last night I listened to an interview with David Shaw. Rather, I tuned in late to an interview and did not know at first who was answering the questions. Before being identified, it was easy to tell that the man was intelligent, articulate and had a specific plan for success. Forget the two parts about intelligent and articulate. I just want guys that are passionate and have a plan for getting to the promised land.

    • The coach comments were just the standard palaver praising the upcoming opponent and avoiding anything that could be used as motivational reading fodder in the oponents’ locker room.

      The players know this and always understand that this is how the game is played and to adjust their reaction to their coaches’ utterances to the media accordingly.

      Joe Avezzano is dismayed to have to point his out. It is however consistent with the tendency of many of this blog’s commenters to manufacture drama about literally nothing.

      • Does Joe Avezanno think Riley BELIEVED he could be Chip Kelly and the Ducks based on his roster and gameplan, or that he hoped to? Further, does Joe Avezanno think that confidence – if it existed – carried over to the players? Was Riley’s strategy at the end of the first half indicative of his confidence? It seemed that rather than use his timeouts and move to score, he wanted to keep the ball away from UO and run out the clock.

        I think Riley’s mindset is that he’s happy to be coaching in the Pac-12 and he can’t handle pressure games. None of his big wins – USC at #3 and #1, or Cal at #2, came with anything on the line. The team had already played itself out of any meaningful bowl games by the time those wins came around. Starting the season 1-3 does that to a team’s bowl placement.

        • you could see the final denouement of the first half with 4+ minutes to go. Given the pace of our play-calling and the relative level of success on that final drive it was nearly destined that the Beavs would get within field goal range and leave TO’s on the board. I don’t think Riley was burning clock to play keep away from the Ducks; the Beav offense simply moved at its usual pace and absent a big play (like the bombs vs. UCLA) that drive was only going to end in a field goal as time expired

        • Joe suggests you are being overly dramatic. All that would be accomplished by uttering confident statements about how folks shouldn’t assume a UO victory would just play into the ucks’ hands.

          Joe is pretty sure that Riley tells his team in the locker room different things than the crap the coaches feed reporters.

          It amuses Joe to see outsiders like the casual sports fans think they have this all figured out. Gotta huff and puff about something he supposes.

      • Joe, you are just bitter because in 1980 OSU vs. Nicholls St would be anything but a sure thing and bulletin board material might actually matter.

        I’m going to give a fresh one hundred dollar bill to the first honest Beaver player who tweets “we could beat Nicholls playing 8 against 11, they are a historically bad FCS team, who the hell scheduled these guys”?

        • Joe Avezzano doubts it would be worth $100 to be in the coach’s doghouse.

          Joe is reminded of 1985 when the media heaped all manner of insults on OSU and Don James was quoted as saying he expected backup qb Chris Chandler to get some PT. My colleague Coach Kragthorpe made sure to recite these comments to the team pregame. The rest, as they say, is history.

          Even “Chipset” Kelly knows not much good results from talking about the other team, so even exuding confidence can backfire.

  15. After a few days to digest the 5th loss in a row to the ducks……..here are my observations from the game,

    Cutback runs were killer. Nearly everytime barner or thomas cut back to the middle it seemed like it was always for a long run. The LBs just could not hang in there and the Dline could not force the RBs to bounce it outside. Ore RBs were very patient in waiting for the holes to open and the beavs dline was not patient trying to force the rbs to the sideline.

    The offense did have some momentum in the third quarter, but after the turnovers, any positive thoughts were gone. Then mannion really started to force it. I think he thought he could take over the game.

    I believe without the two special teams turnovers, the game would have been within 10 points. Couldn’t see the beavs pulling one out since they played pretty poorly throughout.

    As for the quotes leading up to the game, I don’t think they are really that bad. The coaches need to make sure their guys believe and with the way things went last year, they are going to tell their players they need to play their perfect game each time. More of a way to prevent the players from giving up or slacking off in preparation than instilling fear of their opponent.

  16. I think a big factor is our lack of a playmaker at RB. You watch old Quizz highlights you see broken plays with DT’s in the backfield Quizz getting hit 3 yards in the back field and breaking 5 tackles to turn it into a 4 yard gain. Not only that but he kept plays alive long enough to let O-linemen get downfield and block. Tough to call Woods and Ward out for not being Quizz but they didn’t do a whole lot of creating on their own. That is a lot of what the Ducks were feasting on against us too. DAT and Barner would run into a solid defense only to break a tackle or tow and find open space.

    • Playmakers shifted to the outside. Wheaton and Cooks are amongst the best playmakers in all of college football. The Beaver problems include turnovers, penalties and mediocre special teams. On defense, they have to learn to beat the Ducks. To beat the Ducks, you need 3 good cornerbacks, one portable safety, one cover linebacker, four lb/de types that move around and switch things up, one nose tackle occupying the center/ both guards and 1 other guy depending on down and distance that could be a tackle, lb or safety.

  17. Napkin muncher reporting that reps from both Alamo and holiday bowls will be at nicholls st game. He is also saying word on the street is they both want the beavs over ucla.

  18. From OLive, a point that nobody in the Pac is consistently handling Kelly and the Ducks:

    Cal 42,15,43,59 = 39.75 per game
    Stan 42,52,53,14 = 40.25 per game
    ASU 44,42,41,43 = 42.5 per game
    OSU 37,37,49,48 = 42.75 per game
    UCLA 24,60,49 = 44.33 per game
    UW 43,53,34,52 = 45.5 per game
    WSU 52,43,43,51 = 47.25 per game
    USC 47,53,35,62 = 49.25 per game
    COL 45,70 = 57.50 per game

    Kelly is a superior coach to Riley (duh), and has more speed and better athletes. Stanford and Cal have slowed them, all of the other teams to do it are out of conference and, notably I think, usually had lots of time to prepare (i.e. BSU and LSU in the season openers, plus the bowl games). Riley and Banker have plenty of time to prepare, can’t believe they don’t watch film and scheme for a rival in the off-season.

      • The OSU numbers aren’t correct (?) which calls into question the rest of the scores. Point is, nobody in the Pac is consistently defending Kelly’s teams.

        • What’s wrong with the OSU numbers? Those are the points scored by the Ducks against OSU in the past four civil wars. I agree it illustrates an important point – the rest of the Pac-12 is having the same struggles we are (even Stanford until this year).

    • This is what I was referencing earlier. For me, it is not a validation of Banker necessarily, but makes me wonder who we can possibly get at OSU who will do better. No one else in the conference has figured it out. They are hanging 40-50 points on every team. In fact, Banker is doing better than most, with lesser talent.

      • It seems to me there’s also a strong relationship between how much time people have to prepare for them and their effectiveness at doing so.

        For example, in the UO/BSU season-opener BSU dominated (Blount -8 yards rushing), the UO/LSU opener, the bowl game losses, …all were games that afforded opponents extra prep time compared to facing the ducks in the middle of the season (i.e. one week to prepare). It seems like Riley/Banker would do film study/prep in the off-season to knowing they have an annual game and multiple, consecutive beat-downs.

        The exceptions to this have been the Cal 15-13 loss to UO, the BSU defeat of UO in Eugene, and the Stanford defeat of UO this year. In USC’s victory over UO, they didn’t stop them so much as outscore them.

        I don’t care for Chip Kelly’s ethics (an employee at a state institution writing a $25K check and getting nothing in return?), but the guy has been a great DI coach.

        • But anyone in the conference with aspirations to compete for the title is in the same boat. They all play Orgon too, and have all been getting beat down by them for the most part. Oregon sits at or near the top with a huge target on their backs, yet very few have been able to answer. At the end of the day, scheme may not be the biggest factor here.

  19. There are a lot of coaching openings already this year. The ripple effect will create slots at all levels. I propose a three-step campaign of “reverse psychology.”

    1.) Go to footballscoop.com to learn of openings. Today they include Idaho, Cal, Tennessee, NC State, Kentucky, Auburn and Occidental to name but a few.

    2.) Collect the name and email address of the Athletic Director.

    3.) Write an email to the pertinent AD asking them “not” to consider either Banker or Langsdorf due to the fact that they are “essential to the continued success of OSU football” their departure would devastate the progress we are making.

    With this type of stealth campaign we could elevate their status and perhaps palm them off on some other institution. It almost worked with Banker and Hawaii.. so close! JB

    PS: Now… some of us have more time on our hands than others (talking to you Jack) and we need this to be subtle and a little under the radar. So don’t over do it! One or two emails per individual is sufficient we don’t want them to catch on.

  20. just for the fun of it, I constructed an “ideal” schedule for the 2013, given what we know about next year’s rotation and scheduling patterns. For example, WSU will push to have their game vs. the Beavs in the first half of October. OSU will want UW as the last home game. The goal of this idealized schedule is to secure is the best possible start for the season. It has been edifying the last few weeks to see what that 6-0 start did for the Beavs BCS ranking; to wit, three losses but only an 8 spot drop in the rankings; or that OSU is the highest ranked 3-loss team. All this speaks to the great value of getting off to a hot start. So here you go:

    August 31, Eastern Washington
    September 7, Hawaii
    September 14, @ San Diego State
    September 28, Colorado
    October 5, @ Cal
    October 12, WSU @ Seattle
    October 19, BYE
    October 26, Stanford
    November 2, SC
    November 9 @ Utah
    November 23, Washington
    November 30, @ Oregon

  21. One other factor that has contributed to the turn around this year has been the relative lack of injuries.
    The odds of this happening again are quite low. For me, this is what puts a damper on what is in reality a very successful season. Every game with the exception of the CW was a coin flip. We won most of them. It could have been a season for the ages. Probably missed our chance, not unlike the ball coming off James Rodgers fingers on that fourth and fifteen late in the 2009 CW. So close.

    Regarding MR, it seemed that as the season went on he regressed back to his old self…………..exuding doubt rather than confidence. In the immediate lead up to the Wisky game,
    he made some statements that were startling coming from him. The team seemed to feed off of that.
    I remember thinking, he must think he has a really good team to be saying that. That is why I predicted we would beat the Fadgers. The comments prior to the CW were the polar opposite and back to classic Mike.

    • Pretty crappy reading comprehension where you read that the writer says that Mannion has three interceptions on the year.

      Lemme help you out…

      “…since Mannion’s return, he’s thrown nine interceptions…”

      Pretty hilarious indeed.

      “But since Mannion’s return, he’s thrown nine interceptions and OSU has gone 2-3.”

      • To be fair to old OneEye, I think Schnell went and fixed her typo. The original article (when he posted) said 13 td’s and 3 init’s in 8 games. She got made fun of in the comment section and fixed it.

      • To be fair to old OneEye, I think Schnell went and fixed her typo. The original article (when he posted) said 13 td’s and 3 int’s in 8 games. She got made fun of in the comment section and fixed it.

    • “…more speed than any Beaver D since the 2001 Fiesta Bowl team”, yet this team gave up 45 more rushing yards than the next highest total over the last 5 years. How could that NOT be on the coaches?

        • I think he’s talking CW numbers. if he’s not, I got nuthin’.

          I don’t mind the rushing yards given up if it’s all between the 20’s. Think of the Beavs in the early 90’s. We were one of the top three rushing teams in the nation, and we did it to everyone. The difference is that we were shut down once we reached the red zone.

          The same could be said for passing. Wilhelm is historically one of the best passers ever in the Pac. But he would gain 300+ yards on plays between the 20’s all day long.

          When our defense breaks, it breaks. Nikegon’s D bends and breaks, but it doesn’t break as much when they hold a lead. We were doing a decent job in the first half of not breaking. Then the D had to be on the field for pretty much 20 minutes straight. I don’t blame them for missing assignments and breaking.

      • Tell me about it, the rushing total was over 400 yards so that appears to be regression at the wrong time.. I mean, it looks like if you can keep the Ducks under 300 yards rushing and you don’t turnover the ball over six freaking times, it’s a game. The talent scale is not so one-sided that the Beavs had to be perfect, but they had to not f-up at inopportune times. Did the coaches make them think they had to be perfect?

        USC gave up 700 yards and kept it a semi-game. The Ducks are outstanding, but not omni-potent. The Arizona game was just bizarre, find another game where a team is in an opponents red zone six times and scores ZERO points. If your a Duck fan you say amazing defense, I say there’s some luck involved with those kind of bizarre stats. I think the Ducks had the Beavs on pins and needles waiting for the hammer to drop and it did in the 3rd quarter. Talent advantage Ducks, yeah slightly, psychological advantage, huge.

        • I think all they hype the Ducks get works in their favor when it comes to their opponents mentality. “Revolutionary offense,” “face-paced,” “the blur offense…” “point-per-minute offense” etc.If an opponent thinks they can’t afford a mistake, it starts to effect them mentally when they do. Then Kelly does something I really like – he usually keeps the pressure on to take the opponent out of the game emotionally before he lets off and puts in the backups.

          • Good point, look at Stanford, they were able to recover from Mariota’s 77 yard run. Every other team in the league would have given up a TD on the next couple of plays there and the freefall begins. Oregon ran into a team that was gifted on defense, but also was not going to be psyched out.

  22. Mike Riley is a GOOD coach. He has never proven that he can be a GREAT coach, and that’s his biggest hang up. It seems like his teams play their best games when the pressure is off. He’s spent over a decade at Oregon State, and he’s rescued the team from complete hopelessness. What he has NOT done is continue the climb, and it appears that he has reached his ceiling.

    Many people on this board, and in the newspapers continually laud his ability to get players to Corvallis. That is a fair point. His talent does develop.

    But on the flip side, the best he has ever done is the Sun Bowl. Beavers still have not seen the Rose Bowl since 1965.

    He has not won one game of significance with something on the line. Just look at the Washington, Stanford and Oregon games from this year alone. The Beavers looked lost. Whenever there is pressure, the team folds. Beaver fans are getting tired of it. At least the ones who know where they want to be.

    And I’ve gone this far without mentioning the biggest travesty: five straight losses to Oregon. Yeah, the Ducks are good. Yes, everyone else in the conference has trouble figuring them out. Stanford probably has the best idea, obviously. And that is a fair point.

    But none of those other teams is Oregon State. None of the others have to live with the rude, obnoxious, obscenity, and sheer arrogance of Duck fans. Seriously, if this was the southeast, you think, that Alabama would tolerate five straight losses to Auburn? In your rivalry game, you have a RIGHT to expect a 50% success rate. That is what people are the most angry about.

    Mike Riley overall has been a good thing for Oregon State. It’s just hard to see how keeping him and his staff for the long haul will make a team that fans are starving to take the next step better.

    • Well, to be fair here, it’s not as if the Washington game had any more or less significance than the games before it, which we all won. The game was significant in the sense we were still undefeated and trying to maintain it, which is what we were trying to do from game 1. The other two “significant” games you cite were against two teams currently in top 5 and top 10, one of which was on the road.

      I get that it sucks losing to the Ducks over and over again. Somehow, someway, the fans will have to find a way to survive these devastating blows. The fact remains there is a pretty significant disparity between the two programs right now, and you can’t lay that all on Riley. Expecting a 50% success rate across the board for rivalry games is one thing, but that expectation having any connection to reality is another.

      All that being said, I don’t disagree with much of what you say here, and clearly Riley has not taken the program to the “next level.” So, who do we bring in?

      • No. The UW game sucked because we were clearly the better team but let them play in a game they had no business being in. We could have called for us to take a knee on every play, and we might have won that game as a result. That’s how bad they are.

      • How do you figure? #3 PAC team is number 3 PAC team in my book. Regardless of which bowl takes us, we are still 3 place in PAC. 4th place if ucla wins…

      • True enough but most of the posters here want OSU to be a great program not just a good one. It’s painfully obvious that the team that MR has put together just won’t get us to the elite game. Since MR is here for life or until he decides that he’s had enough then the only way to get better is to replace the OC and/ or DC. To think that we’re going to stand pat and settle for 9-3 and a non-BCS bowel doesn’t inspire me. And 9-3 doesn’t sit that well when you start 6-0 and end the season 3-3 while getting pounded for the 5th straight time by the ducks.

  23. Hayden Craig will transfer from Montana to OSU. I was a fan of the kid as a DE prospect, and I hope he stacks up there as a walk-on. I think highly enough of him that I think he should have been offered a ship there. We’ll see where he ends up. I think we’ll hear his name mentioned in the future, and it will only add to the myth of “more with less” in the end. I love this kid’s upside.

    And Montana is one hot mess right now.

  24. Is Oboooooom playing on special teams? Seems like he would be useful as a kick blocker with his height and jumping ability. Please tell he is not on the “hands” team.

  25. Refreshing to see two good football teams slug it out. Stanford’s first touchdown when QB faked to fullback and turned and walked into inzone – priceless. That’s what you get when you have head coaches with open minds and willing to do positive things. Riley would never think of that play. Way above his head. Stanford also marched down the field with less than 2 minutes to go and scored a field goal. Riley would have taken a knee.

    When I watch teams like Stanford, UCLA, Oregon and other football teams whose leadership sets goals for themselves and the players to win and keep winning until they ultimately reach great things I wish OSU football program had that leadership. Under Riley the football program will remain stagnant and polluted with obsolete thinking and do nothing coaching staff.

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