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Utah Post Game

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The Pollyanas have some nerve peeking their heads out of their underground bunkers after this one! JP is on the prowl–lock up your children!

Like, everyone in America expected the Beavs would be 6-0 because of the ridiculously easy schedule. This was the hardest game, and they gave up ~50 points and won by 3 due to having three future pros on offense at key skill positions. Ranker (outside of a ballsy flea-flicker call, which would have been a terrible call had it failed) and the defense were a disaster.

The pressure was actually off the Beavs in this game because everyone thought Utah would win, which is why I waffled on gameday and felt the Beavs could pull it off. They are fine when there’s no pressure or expectations. The next few games are very easy, but the Beavs are expected to win them. That alone will make them closer than they should be. I think they beat SDSU and probably Colorado, but slip up vs Washington State. Say they are 4-2–that is an epic fail given this schedule and the top 25 opening ranking. Great teams and coaches seize opportunity.

There are many who will be happy at 4-2. To them I say, you are a born loser, but also enjoy the back end of the schedule and the Civil War!

Ps. I am neither happy nor upset the Beavs won. I don’t think in those terms anymore, but probably more happy since I can brag to friends when they have a good record. I realized NCAA football is all about living vicariously through jocks and having bragging rights with friends. But in general, I am just watching the freak show that is this staff, and mass rationalization that is “Beaver Nation” unfold.

169 COMMENTS

  1. On another note, OSU sent me mail on Saturday. My lady joked, “Oh they probably want money; that’s the only time they write us.”

    And low and behold!….

    Bob D and Ed Ray need pay raises, apparently.

      • To tell me what’s going on at OSU?

        Then I could decide, without their pressure or begging (triggers sympathy in some), whether I want to donate. Or they could just not write at all. I’d rather receive no mail from OSU than pandering.

      • My cat makes my game predictions. When she shits on the sports page with a picture of banker or a defensive player that lines her shit box, I know to pick the opposing team or take the points. She tore up the one on Thursday that had Travis Wilson on it so since she shredded it I knew he would shred us. She is one clairvoyant kitty

    • Tell them ill donate when osu is more committed to winning conference championships instead of paying/rewarding its coaching staffs for mediocrity. Until then “grumpy cat NO”

  2. The good news — we won.

    The bad news — the defense sucks, but with the offense going lights out, we probably win the next few games. That gives our Ranker a chance to make strides with the D. History says he wont, of course, as the defending-mobile-QB problem has been with us for several years at least. But who knows. Miracles do happen……maybe pigs CAN fly….

  3. Angry, neither happy nor upset the Beavers won? How about if they had lost, would you be neither happy nor upset?

    Just trying to see if you’ve totally thrown in the towel and become one of the “hope the Beavers lose” Beaver fans LOL.

    • I’d like them to be .500+ historically, so I like the wins. But, I don’t get great joy from it. This is because I realized the only reason people care about sports is so they can brag (under the guise of “pride”) and feel superior to some idiot friend of theirs while living vicariously through meatheads.

      • Angry, Joe Avezzano thinks he has identified the problem…you have idiot friends. Joe suggests you make new friends.

        This thing you “realized” is a fabrication that Joe assumes was intended for dramatic effect as it clearly is not the truth, at least for anybody who is actually or emotionally more than 14 years old.

        • Okay, so try to be honest with yourself when answering this question: why do you care if a bunch of meatheads who have no relation to you win a football game?

          • Tribalism, of course. Duh.

            Consider for the moment that it is possible to follow and root for your favorite sports team without engaging the knuckleheads who want to talk shit with you about your favorite sports team. All these references to “bragging” and so forth seem to Joe to be aspects of fandom that are easily avoided and healthy to do so.

            Perhaps you need to get to a certain age. Joe has many friends and family members that are alums of UO for example, but they know better than to engage Joe in banter.

          • I care because of loyalty and I love the sport. I do feel a connection to the players on my teams through the loyalty and connectedness I have to the school and community. I guess you can debate whether that relation is real or not, but it’s real to me. I see them working hard, and I want to see that work be rewarded with wins.

          • All I am saying is you get something out of it, and you’re not the one playing it, so there is a vicarious element to it at the very least. I do think people like bragging rights (when the Beavs beat the Ducks you really see this aspect played up), but it will be hard to get anyone to admit that because it reflects so poorly on them.

          • BIRG and CORF. Fans Bask in Reflective Glory when their team is doing well, and Cut off Reflected Failure when their team loses. It’s funny to pay attention to people referring to their team as “We” when they’re doing well, but “They” when they’re not doing so well.

            How did the Beavs do this weekend? “WE beat Utah in a nail biter” “THEY got their asses handed to them in a nail biter vs Eastern Washington”

            The reason I follow the Beavs? I like a good underdog, and I went to the school. I cheer for the school more than the players playing for the school. Beavs are usually underdogs, so it’s nice to see when they find success. Also, Fuck The Ducks.

          • The whole business of people thinking they are elevated by “their” team winning, is a strange egotism. Even our dead Joe A thinks it may be part of the instinctive tribalism inherent in mankind.

          • Joe agrees it is strange, and suggests its basis is something organic, deepseated and ancestral.

            Man is a pack animal, is he not?

            Let’s not overthink this.

          • Yes. And it’s that everyone is an insecure, latent narcissist. Take social media, for example, which can be summed up by this comic:
            http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SxL-mSFRvX8/USFewke1vlI/AAAAAAAATXY/pPQcqXk1s3A/s1600/tumblr_mhyp3j1BIS1qiuiebo1_1280.jpg

            The reason it’s funny is because it’s true.
            Now, am I to believe the rabid SEC fans and casual NCAA fan care about underdogs getting thrown a bone (i.e. a win), and other nice stories, or is it more logical their team winning is an extension of their own ego? I don’t think Beavers fans are exempt, though people will justify, rationalize and come up with every nice-sounding reason to say they above humanity and don’t suffer from these mental foibles.

          • Angry, is there a point to your screed?

            Joe wishes for you to consider that the degree to which an individual allows the success or lack thereof of a sports team he likes to affect him personally is within a wide spectrum. It’s not an all or nothing deal. Anyone who truly gets dejected because a sports team he likes loses a game or has a poor season needs to check himself. It’s not healthy and has little upside.

    • Fishwrapper sez: I can’t be happy we won this one. It was another ugly W. We should have won, but not in OT, and certainly not having given up 48 points – one more than EWU, fer chrissakes!

      I won’t be happy with a loss, certainly, but it would be nice if I could come away smiling after a W, rather than grimacing.

  4. I am not by any means OK with our defense. I too wish that Banker had the answers. But I’m starting to believe that it has more to do with execution/discipline than scheme. Taking a look at last year, the Beavs held the following “mobile QBs” to under 50 yards rushing:

    Hundley – UCLA
    Scott – UA
    Nelson – BYU
    Price – UW
    Hogan – Stanford

    Really only Mariota (zeroes) and Kelly (ASU) “killed” the Beavs with their feet and neither put up the numbers that Wilson did last night.

    It appears, at least on paper, that Banker has some idea of how to contain a mobile QB based off of last years numbers. I think the execution/discipline is the thing that has been missing so far.

    • That may be true, but one criticism of the Beavs is that our schemes – offensive And defensive – are very complicated. It takes a long time for guys to learn them, which is not ideal for the college game.

      Execution may be the problem, but if you consistently don’t execute, you have to wonder about the efficacy of the schemes. I think our quality D last year was 75% Poyer. Smart and talented, and we set him up to make plays all over the field. He was key in run support as well as pass coverage.

      So that’s great….but if your defense falls to pieces without an All American CB serving as a safety valve… Something needs to change.

      But that’s exactly the run. This defense is Banker’s life work, and he knows it *can* work. Do we have the right personnel? Can it be learned quickly enough to be useful in the college game? Is it a good scheme for stopping a mobile QB, or merely a serviceable one? Those are the questions that need to be asked.

      • Good point — I’ve been thinking about this too….complicated defensive schemes that take a long time to learn are not ideal for college — look at Stanford (I remember somebody had a quote from a Stanford coach or player saying that they basically use the KISS method (“Keep It Simple Shithead”). The way we cultivate players for 3 years before they become good/great is not working — although Poyer fit their model to a “T” — 2-3 star player turned into a 4-5 star performer, it took forever for him to get to that point.
        But what happens when the player decides to leave/retire or quit football like many of the players we’ve seen over the years? — 2/3 years of cultivation lost, and you get a defense that looks lost too. I think it is good that they are looking at the quick fix Juco players like the Nelson’s/Delva, but those guys are usually gone after a year.

        A win is a win…..but having 3+ in the turnover column and you barely win in OT means your defense is NOT VALUE ADDED — they are net zero IMO. If they could have comeup with one/two more stops or made Utah run the ball and “earn” their points, take 4 minutes instead of 2 minutes to score (not asking much here), Beavs win this in regulation by at least 10 points.

        • player? coaching? scheme? where does the issue lie?

          good athletes will make plays. having to think about everything they are doing slows them down. it seems the problem we see here is the coaches are trying to scheme their players into wins. is that because they don’t feel their players are capable of just playing, in a more simple scheme?

          if players are ‘not sound in their assignments,’ then they need to be coached to do so, or be put on the bench. a lesser player that plays to the,appropriate, scheme, is better than the other-worldly talent that prefers to freelance and/or ‘try to do someone else’s job.’

          if it is a case of the scheme is too demanding for your talent level, change the damn scheme.

          anyway you slice it it comes back to coaching.

          kiss indeed.

      • just went? “full retard” is typical for ALL of her writing.

        if you need further proof than her olive articles, check her twitter sometime. it starts with her twitter tag “Love football and fashion — who says the two are mutually exclusive? “

        • No way I want to pile on Lindsay (cue BG), her writing on “human interest” type stories has been good, ie: Lawrence Mattison and Riley’s personal side.

          I do think some of her sports comments look like efforts to stay on good terms with the coaching staff and don’t show depth of analysis. In this area, there may be hope for Conner L., he seems to be willing to be factually critical……..an approach which isn’t too hard to take with the Beavs.

          PS: Does Nikegon prove she is correct in claiming football and fashion can go together?

          • Not everyone in the press is going to give us everything we want. It seems like in the article she took the stance of asking questions that others are thinking, e.g “fans” and “everyone”. While this technique comes across as wimpy, it is common and usually done to avoid defensiveness from the person being asked and/or the person shutting the interviewer down.

    • That’s just not true……in a stat sense, maybe, but with UU, couldnt stop anything in the second half, and almost blew the game. Only offensive excellence pulled it out. She is kissing Beaver coaching ass….

    • oh they’ve improved alright. Instead of letting mobile qb’s get outside for an 18 yd gain and a first down, they’re only giving up 16 yd gains now. Small improvement but they’ll take the little wins while eating gummy bears and signing kumbaya instead of live tackling

  5. I keep seeing a theme with Riley’s teams — his teams mount nice cushions in the first half, only to lose it by the end of the 3rd quarter (the other team adjusts while we don’t). Off the top of my head, last year alone look at Wisconsin, Arizona, UCLA, Stanford. I can think of many other instances during each season…..the list goes on.

    • Stanford and Texas were very clear examples last year….Mike seems to lack the killer, finish’em instinct in bigger games. No problem routing Nicholls State or a morale-sapped Cal team.

      • lack of adjustments.

        they generally have a good plan going in. that speaks to good planning, good execution.

        but when do they ever adjust on the fly to something they weren’t expecting?

        • Exactly….something tells me they need someone to go in and constantly evaluate risk/reward as the game wears on — typically this would fall on the head coach. For example, Texas last year, what is the worst that could happen if we run the ball for an entire series in the 4th quarter (against a team that was struggling against it all game) — go three-and-out…..right?….the reward at a miniumum is you take 2-1/2 minutes off the clock. Instead, Riley risks dropping back the quarterback into 6+ sacks (risk of fumbles too), extending the game with incomplete passes, hurting your QB, and losing yardage/critical field position. How much time was left in the game when Texas took the lead?…..you guessed it 2:24.

          “Down 20-10 at halftime, Texas coach Mack Brown said he told his players that they would win.”

          This seems awfully familiar…..(remember USC 27-21, the Jacquizz Show…..they keep coming)

          • EWU…..what is the risk of onside kick? –> short field position for opposing team. rewards?–> you recover the ball, go up two scores, opposing team scores quicker (given the way the game was going) leaving ample time to be the last to score……….

    • I agree on Riley’s lack of killer instinct and failure to adjust, but so far this season the stats show a different story:

      This years score by quarters showing OT and Final:
      Oregon State 24 27 43 30 6 130
      Opponents….. 6 47 21 34 3 111

      Seems against the level of competition we’ve seen, the Beavs are staying even in the first half and pulling away (sort of) in the third qtr. Small sample.

      As for last year, seems Riley adjusted the O a few times to go away from what was working!

  6. College Football Daily (an ESPN show?) quick transcript opening the show today talking about the men in orange.

    Jason Sehorn:
    There’s two problems here. The first is fundamentals. They don’t look like they’re a very fundamentally sound football team, especially on defense. They don’t tackle well. They take poor angles. They don’t seem like they understand the scheme that they’re being asked to play every single day. And then I take this back to practice ’cause, I haven’t seen a practice, but I’m going to assume they don’t have a lot of physical contact or tackling, because they sure as heck don’t do a very good job of it on the football field. Then you take in the fact it’s the middle of the season. How do you fix that? You’re going into, you know, your fourth game. You can’t suddenly change the identity of your football team mid-season to become a tougher, better tackling football team now.

    Anish Shroff:
    It’s mind-boggling. This is a team that has 19 guys coming back. And they won nine games a year ago. They were a decent team a year ago.

      • To be fair… it’s the men in burnt orange… led by a coach who is one-for-two in national championship games over the last decade. Someone sent me this in an email, and I thought it was about the Beavs too.

        • Sure had me fooled!

          But hmmmm they canned their defensive coordinator after a horrible performance this year (and following several horrible ones in previous years.) Credit to them for that.

          • They had one of the worst run defenses in the country last year, and BYU made it apparent that trend only continued into this year.

            Look at Texas’ wins over the past couple years and you’ll only find teams who apparently thought passing the ball would be so clever they would never expect it. If you ran the ball on them last year, they lost to you.

  7. During the telecast there were three or four very telling overhead shots of the Beav D ends crashing down on the QB option and getting completing fooled when Wilson pulled the ball out and ran.

    What do you do when the best players you have can’t be disciplined after two or three years of college level coaching? As a coach do you bench them to make a statement? It’s not like you could have any worse result. Utah scored 5 touchdowns in one half and they were all on drives, no TO’s, no short punts. Drives!

        • Yes… just because some people disagree with, “we won, but not everything is cool,” doesn’t mean they are saying, “we won, so everything’s cool.”

          They’re saying not everything is cool even though we won, but when someone says not everything is cool despite the win they’re technically wrong but not so wrong that everything is cool because there’s a middle ground between cool and not cool which we are implying when we say something isn’t cool but becomes better than not cool when we win… I think.

    • that’s what i was saying (up top).

      banker and the players claim it is not the scheme, it’s the talent on the field not taking care of their assignments and trying to perform another players job.. if that’s so, then a statement should be made.

      crichhton does this team no good if he can’t keep from crashing every play. why is he attempting to make a tackle on a dive, is there no player at dt? a less talented de that can set the edge against a mobile qb would be the better option.

      • so who is in charge, the players?

        ultimately, the COACH is the one who sets the tone, and makes the decisions that are best for the team.

        anyway you slice it it comes back to coaching

          • the question was “who is in charge, the players?”

            you say, “it depends.”

            Huh? so you think the players should decide what they want to do? then why have coaches at all?

            if the players won’t or can’t execute as coached, then they need to be coached, or be shown the bench…ie coached.

          • “It depends” is a response to whether it’s on the players or the coaches. Players respond, players lead, coaches respond, coaches lead. All four of those elements are fluid and can be ambiguous. I’d have a better sense of how those interplay if I was at all the practices and meetings.

  8. Mack Brown likely to be out by season’s end:

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/big12/2013/09/15/college-football-analysis-last-days-of-mack-brown-at-texas/2816551/

    They suffer similar inconsistencies and poor tackling, but with a roster that is more physically talented and deeper across the board than OSU’s.

    Wouldn’t it be exciting if Riley, who owns a home in San Antonio, was offered the job?

    I think OSU routs SDSU this weekend….

      • Texas and possibly USC looking for coaches after this season (or sooner)?

        Despite their on-field woes, they’re still two of the elite “name” programs. In terms of a coaching search, some would say they are THE two elite name schools. ND, OU, Mich, NU, Miami all lose luster for location and lack of performance. Bama would be the third, but they’re in Bama. An argument might be made for other SEC schools and tOSU.

        But if I’m someone like Mark Helfrich, only Texas and USC would interest me. A homer like Helfrich probably doesn’t give them the time. But the point is that coaches who are secure are all viable candidates for those two jobs. Their “rumored list” is just a list of all the coaches in the country.

    • Beavs favored by 11.5 vs SDSU.

      If Beavs can win the next 4 (SDSU, CO, WSU and CAL) they’ll be bowl eligible and Riley will get another year tacked on. Just in time before they have to play ASU, STAN, UO, UW. Who thinks they get that 6th win?

  9. Angry: I think you’ve over-reacted to a few stray, but utterly predictable post game comments by a few posters, generally categorized as the pollyannas (a term I don’t like, actually); let’s name names: Krogercomplete, NorCal Beaver, whatever, and a bit of JoeA. If you are going to get in the arena of “critical thinking” about your favorite team’s performance, this is going to happen.However, the great preponderance of Beaver fans know everthing is not “ok” because somehow OSU won. Hell, you could even tell from Parker’s call of the game, that he was in emotional shock from the way the Beavs dissipated the lead and routinely let Utah back in; that’s why when OSU won there was virtually no joy in his call of the winning TD in OT because he knew the underlying reality of what he had just witnessed and described. As one sign in the student section put it in graphical form hard to replicate here in type:
    Old
    Slow
    Ugly

    I’m not in the camp that raises its head in here from time to time hoping for losses on the premise that will lead to coaching changes. I root for the Beavs to win every game and I’d like them to be a consistently productive team on the field, in the double digits with W’s every year.

    But here’s a positive: Riley had his own epiphany on Saturday that offers hope (and stands in contrast to that idiot coach from Tennesee who kept punting to the ducks from a mid-field location): if you can’t stop the opposition don’t get in a field position mind-set. Score every time. I take hope from that.

    • Joe Avezzano is in general agreement with this post, and completely agrees with the third paragraph. Joe is happy to be labeled a pollyanna if others wish to assign that pejorative to someone who is mildly satisfied that the football team of the college he attended squeaked out a tough win on the road against an arguably evenly matched team, though the performance had many flaws in areas that Joe hopes the team can improve upon. As opposed to emotional self-injury, or hoping the team loses because of the very slim chance it would provoke coaching changes. As if.

      Let’s put to rest the notion that those who don’t join in the bloodlust for getting coaches fired and coming up with dumbass nicknames for same are happy. Joe certainly is not, but to read the posts on this blog you’d think the problems are simple. Here’s a news flash: they’re not.

      Can anyone deny big time college football is a moneymaking business in which the actual “student athletes” (wink wink nudge nudge) exist for the purpose of commerce? Sure, enough of them get an actual college edumacation, but how can someone read these breathless reports about UO’s new facilities paid for by outsider (s?) and consider the playing field remotely level and the game untainted?

      I guess that’s Joe’s way of presenting the idea that perhaps OSU will not overnight catch up with the cheaters and moneybag coattail hangers, and he will root for his team and not get overwrought emotionally about it. Perspective, my friends.

      Discuss.

    • Hey now, don’t forget Beav-It! And for the record, I certainly never said everything with this team was OK because we won, and don’t recall reading anyone else say that. I’m well aware we have a problem with the defense. I think the Pollyannas who came out of the woodwork (to quote angry) did so because, even in response to a Beaver victory, you get posts like the one Angry put up yesterday. Which seems bizzaroworldish to many.

  10. I am on this site, because the dialogue is valued . I don’t read Blitz or whatever, as I get enough outside info from my time spent handicapping.

    I don’t think I’m a pollyanna…but as an alum who roomed with FB players back in the Joey A era, I get the feeling here that I need to apologize for wanting the Beavs to win, regardless of the process.

    I will accept an 8-4 season with defects, as opposed to a 4-8 season with “changes”. Who knows how many more football seasons I’m destined to have…I’ll take em when I can get them.

    (Note to the above: I would have problems with an 11-1 season, if unethically gained…Hello, Eugene?!)

    • So you are predicting 8-4 for this season? Looks to me to be unlikely, given our D.

      Some folks on here now want losses, to hopefully get rid of an obvious defect, our D coach. Is that wrong? Imagine where we would be, this season, if we had a strong D…..dont you want the possibility of that?

  11. I saw an interview with Dylan Wynn who looked sick. He said he could not celebrate a victory where his defense gave up 45 points. I don’t watch specific players all that much and my wife even less, but she has even been pointing out players either out of position or standing around on defense. For the most part all these guys on defense are athletes and should with a little coaching learn to stay in position. I think the guys up the middle are getting run over, which causes the ends to help out, which leaves the ends open for a mobile qb. I saw that EWU’s next game after OSU they were held to a lower point total. I don’t think WOU is at the same level as EWU. They play Humbolt and Azuza Pacific and held EWU to 43. Is there any realm of possibility that Banker uses up all his atta boys with Riley and gets fired? Stanford gave a school class last summer to the NFL on how to beat the spread and mobile qbs. I watched the show about the class and know more than Banker. I have mostly been a Beaver fan for some of the past defenses. Ever since the 08 Civil War, I know if the Beavers have someone 3rd or 4th and 99, they’re either going to score or get the first. What would the score be in this years Civil War with a defense that should be playing WOU, Humbolt and Azuza Pacific?

    • “Is there any realm of possibility that Banker uses up all his atta boys with Riley and gets fired?”

      Nope.

      I can’t speak for those who would rather lose every game, but I think it’s borne from frustration that there really is no way Banker leaves OSU. Someone hiring him away would be a shocker. Riley will never ever fire him. What’s left besides years more of this type of frustration?

      Watch the official OSU video posted above with the weekend highlights. The end of it shows one upset looking Wynn behind Riley during the hip-hip-hoorays.

      My adjusted hopes for the season are that we win every game from here on out… 63-56. Romaine gets the Groza and Kostol gets the Guy. Langsdorf and Read are hired away. Banker is demoted to secondary coach (because he’ll not be fired), and two someone elses become new DC and OC.

      • Jack are you reading my chats at work? I typed the below at 1:36 PM

        “But also look at Wynn’s face at the end when Riley is cheering, he is either pissed or just doesn’t give a shit anymore. I’d like to think that he is pissed because they couldn’t stop anything and didn’t feel cheery”

        • I just watched that video and saw Wynn’s face too, definitely not as excited as the guys on offense.

          Salembeav, you think the guys in the middle are getting run over? It seems like any running back is getting stuffed when trying to go between the tackles (my memory may be wrong, though). I see the contain guys getting suckered and jump to take the angle, only to have the guy with the ball bounce outside.

  12. Steve Preece was on radio with Parker today. Two takeaways: 1-Preece expects the D to be responsible for at least one win this year, doesn’t seem too concerned and expects plenty of improvement, and 2-Preece looking forward to Jovan getting playing time at RB this week, says that is his natural position.

    No typo, he expects the D to get credit for at least one WIN!

    • Well, they already have credit for the one loss, so they owe us one. I would guess that they end up getting credit for several more losses. Preece must be high on something….

      • I would only hope the D is a net zero, instead of being net negative — they do indeed owe this team a win, or a couple of goal line stances that lead to a win or two in key PAC12 matchups. And the score better not be in the high 30s or 40s, under 20 would be impressive at this point — ASU, WSU, CAL, UW, or Stanford are winnable with this offense (I don’t expect Mannion to go 5 TD/ 0 INTs everyweek). Two or three stops in the 2nd half would be starters, and trading in a couple of TDs for field goals would help tremendously.

      • Always keep in mind that Preece played in the “pre-concussion” NFL. He’s going to say some weird shit from time to time and it’s not his fault.

  13. If USC fires Kiffin, I want OSU to scoop up their D-coordinator Clancy Pendergast. USC’s defense isn’t the problem down there. And Pendergast did a good job against spread teams when he was at Cal too.

    • Wrong. Pendergast got eaten up by Reno 2x. Once by CK and once by Fajardo. Keep away from Clancy.He is radioactive and you can see the results of his coaching/recruiting today at Cal. I saw them Sat and Cal Defense is worse than Beavers. without Clancy coaching last year at Ohio State, Cal wins.

  14. No stars and we’re his only offer… Five months to go until LOI Day and this is the best we can do? Hey, not trying to hate on the kid but how many no stars ?stars are we going to take? Almost all of our recruits have to RS because they’re not physically ready. Cruel joke. I’ll apologize if this kid becomes the 2nd coming of JJ Watt but even Watt was a 2 star and had a half dozen D1 offers. Hip, hip…:(

    • Do you really want to be playing true freshmen on the offensive line anyway?

      Enger has put on 40 lbs since committing. Braun’s put on 48. Castro Masaniai was listed at 244 when he committed.

      If a guy has the frame to get bigger (and at 6’4, it sounds like he does), it’s more about mentality and technique than weight.

      • Ever hear of a place called U of Oregon? Most of their linemen are in 270-280 range. Obviously the Beavers have a different mode for play/recruiting and size does count. But perhaps different models for recruiting should be considered. Redshirting a portion of the crop is a good thing. If the guy can run, can block, is smart, is tough and relatively injury free, then initial weight of the recruit is not that important. We have all become enamored with sumo wrestlers that are only able to play 3 plays in a row before needing rest. Obesity kills, especially against uptempo teams.

        • Most of their players are being recruited by other BCS schools, hence the skeptism. Would be nice to get a few like Isaac S that are virtual locks to be good players barring injuries. After last season we
          should not be scrapping the bottom of the barrel for players.

        • Hell that 2000 Fista Bowl team had no big linemen as I recall. DT’s in the 270 range. And they beat on ND, with its big linemen, like a red headed stepchild…..

        • Play has to be based on merit and not seniority. In the spring, the spin was that Harlow was so smart that he was ready to challenge for playing time. Ok, this is entertainment and this was a story to sell when the freshman really wasn’t ready. But if he is being held back merely to preserve the fabled redshirt, then this is pound foolish. Oh I forgot. OS is a government organization.

    • You want a cruel joke Nak? JJ Watt was committed to Minnesota and switched when we shit-canned our coach. Never thought he would become a mega superstar for our arch rival.

      • Gopher, that is cruel. If this kid from AZ had a few more FCS, BCS offers then I’d be a bit more optimistic but he seems to be a plan C, grayshirt type of recruit. Keep in touch but don’t offer now. There’s a reason why the Iowa kid and now this undersized, no offer OT committed on the spot. This recruiting class will probably have a gem or two but it sure seems like we’re going the wrong way.

  15. To add to the optimism of Steve Preece above, following are tweets by Jim Wilson:

    -“OSU-Utah game was awesome. Great OSU teams lost in SLC – this team didn’t. Defense started w/3 stops, stole 3 passes & got OT stop”

    -“Pac-12 power rankings: 1. UO T2. UCLA, Stanford 4. ASU. 5. Eight-way tie. What about #17 UW? Beavs will beat Huskies straight-away”

    Before the season started I figured the UW game was a lkely W for the Beavs, not so sure now, but emotion should certainly be on their side given what happened to Wheaton last year.

  16. Clark Tanker..aka Mark Banker has a huge challenge this week. How can help an anemic SDSU offense generate 48 points?

    Rumor is that he is experimenting with: having the D-line yell “Booga Booga” instead of trying to tackle, having the corners turn their backs on receivers prior to the snap or even, if they need more help, just playing just eight defensive players.

    Looking forward to a big 65-48 Beaver win on Saturday!!! JB

    • PB, your suggestion might have merit, I learned last weekend that in 3rd grade tackle football you apparently are not allowed to rush the placekicker, in lieu of a vicioius rush all of the players fell on the ground at the line of scrimmage and shouted something that sounded a lot like “Booga Booga”. The flustered placekicker booted the ball into the back of his centers head. I’d be willing to watch anything other than Wynn and Crichton crashing down on the fake for another afternoon.

  17. BANKERRRRRRRRRRRR >_<

    So much for the D "turning it around" in the Hawaii game LOL

    Did you see Angie Mentik (or whatever her name is) on Talking Beavers last week? She gave the game ball to the defense for the Hawaii game.

  18. Quote from Goe’s article today:
    “Much of the criticism of the way OSU defenses running quarterbacks — at least what is posted on the OregonLive message boards — clearly comes from people who don’t understand the way the read option works”

    He really left me hanging as I was expecting him to break down how it works.

    • He puts it on the players lack of leadership on D. Ok, surely at least partly true.

      But its ulitmately on the coaches to put fire in a team. And to recruit players who WILL lead.

      This is more than a lack of player leadership….

      • I’ve had enough of the defensive woes. We’ll be better the next couple weeks then go on a wild roller coaster ride for the rest of the season. I’m pretty much resigned to that expectation. If they do better than this, then I’ll be pleasantly surprised… and wondering why the talent I think they have didn’t show up until whenever it is they finally do show up… and remain consistent.

        What boggles my mind is that teams who score like our offense scores typically have better run defense numbers because the other team is trying to play catch-up. And our D is actually pretty good against standard running games where the other team hands the ball off. But the way to play catch-up against us isn’t to run the backs at us.

        • I tend to agree. I think for the most part (still not feeling great about MLB) they’ll have the defense sorted out within the next couple of weeks. Same for the run game, as the rest of the hoss’s get healthy and return to form. I can see this being one of those old Riley teams that starts off weak and gets progressively better through the season. Barring an injury to Mannion, they will end up putting together a decent-good season. Maybe there’s an outside punchers chance at a great season, which would still leave a sour taste due to the horrific opening loss.

          So this season returns to the Riley era trend. As most people on this site point out it all comes down to recruiting/depth. Last years fast start was the outlier, as they we’re able to stay incredibility healthy through the off season and we’re able to have a real fall camp. If they develop enough depth this year where they can have a real spring/fall, then 2014 sets up to be something special. So this years class might end up being one the makes it or breaks it for the program, as everyone around us is trending up. We need to land some special athletes to continue the forward momentum, and hopefully it snowballs from there. Class is looking soft so far. We need a Cooks type ASAP who will commit and start trying to convince every good player around him this is the place to be. I’m not sure the staff can do it on their own.

    • Nice find. I think that article is right on regarding the leadership void. It’s interesting to think how I don’t really remember any overly fiery personalities on the defense in ’10 or ’11 (teams didn’t do so hot) and then Poyer really came into his own last year. Paea was obviously a beast but didn’t really come off as a big vocal leader to me. I really miss the days of guys like Doggett, Darlin, Afalava, Slade Norris, etc. Not necessarily the late hit personal foul penalties that came with some of them, but the intensity and fire they brought to the defense that would pump up even the casual fans.

    • From the linked article: “Before Oregon State’s fourth-quarter flea-flicker pass from Ward to Mannion to Brandin Cooks at Utah on fourth-and-inches, Riley had called a run play for fullback Tyler Anderson. Then Riley called timeout. “I said to (O-coordinator) Danny Langsdorf, ‘I’d really like to try a throwback,’ ” the OSU head coach said. “Danny said, ‘Go for it.’ ”

      Wish I hadn’t seen that, sounds like MR asking permission from Langs. Hope I’m reading too much into a offhand quote.

  19. OT… sort of…

    Bo Pelini needs to get out in front of this.
    http://www.twitlonger.com/show/mm4t9b
    I have culled the best responses from here to give him suggestions:
    1. It’s the players’ fault.
    2. Well, maybe it’s the players’ fault because I made them think.
    3. The fans don’t matter. Only what the team thinks matters… except that when they think they’re wrong. Wait… where was I?
    4. Tommie’s just a fairweather fan. What does he know about what it takes to play this game at a high level?
    5. 95% of Tommie never played a down of football after middle school. #FACT
    6. Tommie doesn’t know what goes on internally in this program. He only sees what happens on the field and in the media. What happens on the field and in the media are not representative of what happens internally in this program.
    7. Tommie’s angst makes me giggle like a schoolgirl. I think his time would be better spent getting a life.
    8. Can’t we all just get along?

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