As proposed in the prior thread, let’s end this Luton debate or at least have some fun with it by objectively grading him out this weekend. The opponent is a good one. They’re not an elite team and not Cal Poly or UCLA, either, so it should be fair. We can even do it for a few games. Okay, the Luton scale being proposed:

5= Hit in stride or only where the receiver can catch it. Dropped or caught.
4= Thrown where the receiver can catch it, but no chance of running after. Diving or sideline catch going out of bounds. Dropped or Caught.
3= Ball thrown low or high. Player has to kneel, jump, dive, or comeback to ball to make catch.
2= Ball thrown behind receiver or ball thrown into coverage were DB can make a play with possibility of interception. Any 3rd down that results in a punt.
1= Ball throw wild, high or low. Not including throwing ball away because of good coverage.
0= Interception, fumble, tip ball at LOS, or non-coverage sack.

Any modifications needed let me know and give the justification.

If we debate a pass is a 5 or a 4 we can split the baby and give it a 4.5, or we can do majority rules. This could be fun and interactive, and maybe both sides will learn something.

First off, good win. Anyone complaining needs to stop. UCLA at the Rose Bowl with Chip Kelly at the helm and a boatload of 4-star recruits is a good win. Period.

Moving on…it’s only mildly surprising the Beavs won last night. Beavs had the advantage in scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense and total defense. UCLA had the 129th ranked pass D out of 130. Take Luton’s performance with a grain of salt for these reasons. All that said, I took the Beavs +6.5 in the CBS pool and thought they had a shot (also thought they had a shot vs Stanford, a game they should have won). The bottom line is the PAC is in a down year, and the Beavs have a good offense, so they should be in games if their coaching staff doesn’t get in the way.

Smith has cost the Beavs two games this year with poor coaching/personnel/game management. Luton cost the team a win as well by missing Taylor wide open in the endzone. We should have at least one more win, probably two. But when you go with a JC QB that nobody wanted and a coach on the cheap, this is what you get.

The good news is Smith showed some progress last game only making 3 or 4 key coaching errors, in comparison to 6 the week prior. He’s well off the hot seat now (probably drops into the 40s). The bad news is the errors in those former games (and Nevada last year) has cost the Beavs three wins over two years. Other good news is the Beavs D is morphing into a bend-don’t-break D and the team played a complete game and didn’t fade. The Beavs confidence is rising, and they have become a little bit interesting again.

Utah is a better all around team and they have a better coach. They should win the game. But confidence and momentum are funny things, and the Beavs could ride that wave a bit further if Smith and Luton don’t get in the way. I’m going to bet on one of the two getting in the way.

Utah 27, Oregon State 24

Game thread. Go Beavs.

Let’s just do a general thread for game week. Everyone is probably mentally shot after that last game.

I think the focus has to shift from this year to next year. Smith has to find the courage to make a QB change, make a kicker change, etc. He can’t keep doing the same things. I mean, he can, but to what point? We’re no going to a bowl game. Might as well start getting better for next year and getting guys experience now so they’re ready to go right out of the gate.

Something tells me he won’t do that, though…

Not sure it’s worth drafting up predictions or possible outcomes given our HC doesn’t even get the proper players on the field. At this point you have to assume every game will be a loss, and if it’s not then cool. The only reason I’ll watch is to see if Smith learns anything from his mistakes.

Go Beavs.

May the ghost of Jack be the 12th defender.