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USC @ Notre Dame & What it Means for The Beavers

By
angry
-
22

Watching this USC game, I don’t see how we’re not 4-3 (2-2) at this time next week. I was really interested to see how Notre Dame matched up against USC because their team is very similar to OSU in several key facets:

1. No pass rush–Barkley has looked good, mainly because ND can’t get near him. He has Tom Brady or Manning-like protection. ND has good athletes, at least in terms of recruits, on their DL…so if they can’t disrupt the QB I don’t see how our line sniffs pressure. What do we have, 4 sacks all season?

2. Bad secondary–ND secondary isn’t very good. Neither is ours. Pretty much the same talent level on both squads, and Damian Williams has torched these guys. The only Beaver capable of slowing him down is Hardin due to his size, speed, and physical stature, but our coaches refuse to play Hardin because he’s too shy/quiet in practice. Good stuff.

3. Good offense–ND has a good offense. They’re 35th in total offense and OSU is 39th. They do it more with the pass while the Beavers rely on the run and screen game. It seems you can move the ball on USC this year, but they’re getting good pressure on Claussen and tighten up at key moments. Canfield is nowhere near the QB Claussen is; therefore, if Sean receives similar pressure you can expect a reversion to the turnover machine of 2007. What Quiz did to them last year is moot due to all the changes on both teams’ lines.

I actually think ND is slightly better than we are because they can slow the run. For as long as I can remember we’ve had major issues–more so than most schools–with sub 4.40 running backs. McKnight, Best, Bush, Stewart, et al all seem to have field days versus the Beavs, hitting the edge early and often. Actually, when was the last time the Beavs bottled up a featured RB, sub 4.40 or not, for less than 50 yards against a team that runs a pro-style offense? I can’t think of one. Couple this with the lack of pass rush and the fact we don’t put our best players on the field (*cough* Hardin, *cough* bench Frahm, etc), and I forsee a long day of Tanqueray washing into the belly of Angry.

Beaver Fans Who Say "Wild Beaver Formation"

By
angry
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25

Stop.

You sound retarded. Most likely because you are retarded. Anyone who thinks that is a cool term is guaranteed retarded. The same people who thought it was cool to wear white sneakers and drive a Segway to work.

Just call it a direct snap or the wildcat. Jesus Christ.

Mid-Season Conference Rankings

By
angry
-
18

1. Oregon–After a inauspicious beginning, the Ducks recovered nicely and wound up with the best first half in the conference. Right now they appear poised to win the conference outright. But, the Masoli injury could end those chances much like the Dixon injury of 2007.

2. USC–The Trojans have done what’s expected of them, even the annual pratfall (this year in Seattle), but they haven’t done it in the dominating fashion we’ve become accustomed to, thus showing signs of vulnerability and putting the conference title up for grabs. I’m not a Barkley believer–he’s looked very pedestrian given the offensive line and WR’s with whom he’s working.

3. Arizona–The Wildcats are a surprise. Great ground game, great defense, and an efficient passing since Foles took the helm. The QB switch makes one wonder what could have been @ Iowa.

4. Oregon State–The Beavers started strong, which we know is rare, then slumped for two games. The thing about those two games is that both were in their grasp, and one could argue, with better coaching the Beavers would be a (lucky) 6-0 right now. They haven’t played well enough to earn that record, but think about it–a proper coaches’ challenge vs Cincy, an interception or defensive stand vs Arizona. Both were there for the taking.

5. Washington–It all starts with Locker…the guy is a fierce and gritty leader who fires up the entire team. Even the defense has taken on his personality and are playing above their heads because of it. The USC win could have huge tie-breaker implications if the Huskies continue to play well.

6. Stanford–Stanford “are who we thought they were”…a gutsy, smart, big, and slow team. They’ll be right in the middle of the conference. But Harbaugh’s antics are getting on people’s nerves, adding unnecessary motivation to bully these nerds.

7. California–The Bears are the posterchild for the difficulty and superiority of this conference. Ganged up on the ACC and BIG-10 schools they played, on the road no less, only to get hammered in conference. Keep in mind, this is the 7th best team in our conference and they absolutely dominated those out of conference games. Coupled with the PAC-10s bowl record last year this speaks volumes. As far as the Bears’ season, they’d have to win out for it not to be considered a disappointment.

8. UCLA–Again, a nice road win vs the Tennessee team who played Florida so tough. Mirroring the Bears with a 3-0 OOC record, the Bruins have lost two straight since conference play began. Richard Brehaut seems to be the key to their season. If he starts from this point on, who knows. He looked great slinging the ball around last week; however, when Craft or Prince are in there the Bruins are indolent. I see the Bruins as having the biggest upside of any team ranked under the 5 slot on this list. Their defense is good enough to win the conference, so if they develop a passing game watch out. At worst they will pull some upsets and indirectly determine the outcome for the teams at the top. Dangerous team.

9. Arizona State–They’re sitting at 1-1 in the conference and 3-2 overall. Not terrible, but I haven’t liked a single moment from the Sun Devils other than the effort at Georgia, which isn’t impressive now that Georgia has shown their colors. They’ll be pests but I can’t see a run of any kind coming from this squad.

10. Washington State–The Cougars haven’t improved. That’s gotta be the most disheartening thing for their fans. I don’t see a conference win unless an opponent doesn’t show up. And I mean that literally.

Recruiting News

By
angry
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0

Put two and two together on this one.

I live in Santa Barbara, and there’s currently a SB connection to the Beavs. Through that grapevine, I’ve heard that Shaydon Akuna has verbally committed to the Beavs. Akuna is a Rivals 4-star and Scout 3-star linebacker with good speed and fluid hips. Excellent get by the Beavs.

Post-Game Thoughts

By
angry
-
12

Not too much to say on this one. The Beavs played well in all three facets of the game. As most prognosticators figured, they’d have to control the tempo with their own run game and that’s precisely what happened.

The two areas for improvement are:

1. Offensive line pass blocking–Remmers continues to yield sacks. Wish we could get some better play there. It was nice to see the wildcat and some creativity.

2. Defensive intensity–the Beavers pretty much stopped playing D in the second half. The game wound up being much closer than it should have been because of this. Also, it’s a big deal because if you beat Stanford by 24, as opposed to 10, you start to creep into the top 25 discussion and Quiz possibly gets some Heisman attention. As it stands, the Beavs will have to win @USC before earning attention.

One final note is that this could have been a completely different game if the Stanford WR hauls in that opening pass. So let’s not get overconfident here. The good news is that we executed like a DI team today and got the win. The bye week will be interesting. There’s a great chance for improvement, but at the same time you don’t want to see the Beavs come out flat at the Colosseum.

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