Home Football Game thread: PAC2 showdown, part 1

Game thread: PAC2 showdown, part 1

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The Cougars are averaging 21.5 pts/game while the Beavs have managed all of 21.1. Does that indicate a down to the wire nail biter?  Maybe, but Vegas isn’t so sure, Beavs are 3.5 pt dogs.
But, but our guys have had a bye week to prepare and IHC Akey seems willing to set MM in favor of GJ at QB. Will it matter?…..Not likely, Cougs 28 Beavs 24.

Share your predictions along with thoughts on the coaching search.
Go Beavs!

199 COMMENTS

    • I’ll be sitting in the rain at Reser checking for WS updates on my phone. One of the benefits of this year has been better internet connection in Reser during games due to less fans vying for same bandwidth.

      Was going to record it but the games I’ve recorded, in this series, the Dodgers have lost; so of course, to ensure the win, I will not be recording.

  1. Crazy ending to the Dodgers Bjays game 6 as the baseball gods were looking down on the dodgers tonight. If you haven’t seen the ending, Google it or search on YouTube. Game 7 should be wild and of the dodgers won it, I’ll be shocked bc their offense has struggled throughout the playoffs. Go Dodgers as Vince Scully is smiling right now

    • The social media tears from BJ fans, last night and this morning, about a clear as day play, has been hysterical. I’ve even seen them trying to claim Barger was safe on the throw to 2nd. Delusional fandom is awesome. LOL

      • Also saying the ball wasn’t stuck. Lol. Here’s the deal as they still had runners on 2nd and 3rd and only one out and couldn’t get a key hit. Cry me a river Bjay fans…..that said, I don’t think the dodgers win tonight bc their bats are just dead and with Scherzer starting, it’s going to be a tough one to win. I hope I’m wrong and Dodgers win but……

      • Major difference is it’s professional and not college. Plus, there is a luxury tax if a team exceeds a threshold for salaries despite no salary cap.

      • LOL, poor bankrupt 5th highest payroll team BJs. Listen, they’ve still outplayed the Dodgers so I don’t really get all the crying

    • Beavs haven’t done anything all season top prove you wrong. I still blame the coaching; unfortunately, even with the shake up, we still have the same coaches, just less of them. Maybe that will actually help?

  2. “”I’m going to hire the best football coach there is,” Ausberry said. “That’s our jobs. We’re going to go out there (and) we’re not going to let this program fail. LSU has to be in the playoffs every year in football.”

    Interim AD LSU Ausberry who was suspended by the school in March 2021 for his role in improperly handling complaints of sexual and physical abuse against LSU athletes.

    Who even is the best (active) coach in football?

  3. WSU wins this one in a breeze. Akey is fakey and his act will wear thin. The worst and most typical Beaver move would be for him to win 3 of the next 4 games, followed by Barnes just signing him to a 5 year deal as Bray’s replacement.

    WSU-24 OSU 14
    WSU will shorten the game and run as much clock as they can get away with. If the Beavs can’t stop the run, Rogers is smart enough to keep running the ball. I’ve never seen that from an OSU HC or OC.
    GJ will not look good at qb once they play the qb run as the primary read. MM should not see the field again this year, which means he will come in sometime in the middle of the game and likely be good for an interception.
    Hankerson will get too many carries for too few yards again. We probably see Hatcher mid 3rd quarter break a nice run and realize he hasn’t been involved at all, again. Walker will get his usual amount of catches that produce nothing. DBs will look lost again.

    Bye week hopium evaporates after the first special teams blunder sometime in the first quarter.

    This team is difficult to root for, because the staff is full of clown coaches who should all go away…without pay.

    • Does Barnes even feel like his job is in the balance here? It feels like it is open season on AD’s as well as coaches – LSU jettisoned Woodward pretty quickly and Barnes has enough baggage with whats going on within the AD not even considering the football program. How does a rowing coach feel he can sue for $4.5 million? Like you, I can see them hiring Akey as it would be the most expeditious way to solve the coachiing issue and maintain the illusion of ‘continuity’ within the program. Akey’s resume is mediocre at best.

  4. We’re going to get stomped. Not because our players are so much worse – but we have Langsdork calling the shots on offense, and history tells us that he’s going to keep the wrong QB, abandoning the run or giving Hankerson too many touches and trying to find new and exciting ways to fail at running screens.

    At least the Huskies will be the keepers of a no-win season, until we hire a retread and our AD’s lack of vision will give us a chance to try again next season.

    This season has crushed my sense of optimism. I really hope I’m not right about all of this.

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    Minnesota sacks MSU QB 3x in the first quarter and leads the little midget’s MSU 7-0 and MSU just got stuffed on 3 and 1 and then denied on a pass on 4th and 2. Some things never change as Smith is done at the end of the year and moves to sunny So Cal take the UCLA job with the same results.

  6. With the expansion of the SEC they must have picked up some old Pac-12 officials because the officiating is getting pretty bad. Couple horrible calls in the 4th quarter of the Vandy – TX game and a false start just called against UGA for the QB clapping too hard!?!?

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      As the officiating gets more inconsistent, it becomes easier to fix games and attribute it to training and oversight etc rather than gambling influences. Jack can call me a conspiracy nut again but it does become pretty evident each week how some of these games are rigged to at least give teams like Georgia a better chance to stay in the huny for a championship. I’ve seen Georgia, Texas and Alabama all gifted wins this year so far. Auburn has been robbed of at least 2 wins by egregious refereeing and later SEC admitted the errors. We must remember that it is for entertainment purposes only.

  7. Langsdork just can’t help himself. They are doing great running between the hashes, and then he gets cutesy on a weird handoff to the WR, and then poorly executed or designed screens. 4th and 18 time to punt.

  8. Back to Back Sacks by Meikle and the first quarter end with Beavs still even.
    Again, Winsor is gonna get some NIL somewhere next year. Sullivan too.

  9. Why is Langsdork calling complicated long routes for Johnson? They don’t play to his skill set. 3rd and 4, something quick or roll him out.

  10. Offense still sucks badly. Not sure if it’s Langsdork or Johnson’s limitations. Defense is hanging in there, but 90 yards off offense isn’t going to get it down.

  11. Anyone seen MM on sideline?
    BTW, Sullivan is such a player, did ya see him try to influence the spot on the play at the sideline before the punt? Always thinking.

  12. Murphy looks like a baby colt trying to dodge a herd of cattle. WSU coaches at least scouted OSU and know how to defend both qbs becasue both are so limited one way or the other. How is neither an improvement over what we endured last year?

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    It’s too bad, but I guess not surprising that another shitty special teams play may cost the Beavs a rare win. You can’t give up a 50-yard punt return with 4 minutes left in the game.

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    Beavs win and I don’t feel bad that they benefit by the Cougs “Cougin It” again. Nice defensive effort by OSU, sketchy offensively but enough to hang in a win another one.
    Now we are on alert for Barnes to sign Akey to a multi-year contract before he gets poached by LSU or Penn St. “No one can turn around a program like that guy and we need to get him under contract!”

    • There’s a good chance Akey goes 4-1 (I don’t think they beat the Cougs in Pullman). Akey’s not the answer, but somebody has the defense playing much better. I’m still a little shocked at how bad a head coach Bray was.

        • I assumed they couldn’t have played any worse on D. Bray’s defense fell all the way to 125th out of 136 FBS teams by the time he was fired. There was al.osr double the sacks in this 1 game as there were under the first 7 games with Bray. I assume he had tendencies and was a poor adapter as more film got out on his traits. That and was a dumb idea to coach defense while trying to be a head coach. Defense was better in every way Saturday then we have seen all year. Had been an extremely poor effort and job through Bray’s 0-7 start.

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        Agreed that Akey isn’t the answer but if you went with a young offensive minded HC you could see a scenario where Akey is a AHC fit.

        Not saying you necessarily make staff demands on a new coach nor will I fight for Akey to stay but a fit could ultimately exist especially if it could keep some talent.

        I also don’t really expect wins but at least the team had life.

      • He could go undefeated…WSU isn’t showing offensive consistency either. They probably have a better crowd and a cold home game if late afternoon or evening though.

  15. Is 85 (86) posts on a game day/night an all time low?

    If the Beavs outscore an opponent at the end of a game but nobody see it, did they win?

  16. Now that the Beavs victory is over, viewers can turn over to the World Series game 7, T10, knotted at 3….MLB breathes a sigh of relief

  17. What a game! Wanted the Jays but can’t complain about the entertainment value. Sad I missed the Beaver game though. I love old school football without forward passing.

    • I was pretty entertained flipping back and forth between the two. World Series had no dog in the fight, but very entertaining games each night. Lots of heroes and big plays to save the game over and over for each team.
      I liked Toronto’s roster and style of game, but man the Dodgers just would not be denied. Dodgers made at least 5 defensive plays in the late innings to avoid big innings, giving up runs, losing the game. Incredible to watch. Toronto should have won the series at least 6 times if you combing the 18 inning game and tonight. Wild series.

      Good for the Beavs too, by the way. It is a nice little program. Too bad they will lose Sullivan, Pattersen, Hatcher and the punter to NIL money. I don’t think keeping Akey means anything as far as continuity. Leaning on “Continutiy” tells me Barnes is trying to avoid making tought decisions or doing the digging to find someone who may actually accomplish something more than mediocre.

    • Some of the craziest baseball I’ve seen in a long time. I’m glad the dodgers won as I’ve been a dodger fan forever but feel bad for the Jays. Amazing catch by Pages that saved the gamed among Rojas solo shot to tie in, his throw to cut down the winning run at home and Smiths game winner that I called right before that swing…

  18. “The OSU defense had its best performance

    Seven points allowed is impressive against any team, but the manner in which OSU bent but didn’t break against WSU made for wire-to-wire dominance. Trent Bray would have been proud, and players even made a point to mention their fired head coach after the win.

    The Beavers allowed just 271 yards, forced a fumble, sacked Zevi Eckhaus six times and picked him off twice. Both interceptions went to Jaheim Patterson, who has asserted himself as one of the Beavers’ most important defensive players. Shamar Meikle had back-to-back sacks, and Aiden Sullivan led the way with intensity at inside linebacker.

    Quietly even amid some of the losses, OSU’s defense seems to be improving with each passing game. Especially in the pass rush. For it to turn in a performance like Saturday’s against a WSU team that was competitive on the road at ranked teams Ole Miss and Virginia says a lot about this OSU team’s resolve.”

    Nice that some players mentioned Bray.

    https://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/2025/11/5-takeaways-from-oregon-states-narrow-emotional-victory-over-washington-state.html

    Johnson passing number were awful (10 of 15 passing for 33 yards – 2.2 per attempt! rushing for just nine) but I’m not surprised. I am disappointed that in-state QB Gutridge apparently can’t separate himself from such poor passers in Murphy and Johnson. Next week, at home against a terrible team, might be time to give Gutridge the start.

    Murphy has mentally lost it, in his own head. He was at least serviceable last year at Duke going for 9 wins, but he is just done. He better capitalize on his opportunity for an education and stuff as much of his $1.5M in a Roth IRA as he can….

  19. Wazzu played so well against Ole Miss and Virginia, but they haven’t exactly been a juggernaut either. After the loss yesterday, they are just 4-9 over their last 13 games. They may be playing the Beavs for bowl eligibility on the 29th. La Tech and especially James Madison are solid programs. Winning both is not a sure thing.

    Also, Hugh Freeze bit the dust today. The coaching carousel is going to be crazy.

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    Hi Scott… quick recap of last night’s hired temps;
    8 referees…………………….…..$6400
    2 state police……………………….$600
    30 concessionaires….………..$3,000
    12 parking attendants…,……$1200
    6 janitorial workers…………….$600
    1 back up quarterback …$125,000

    Total……………………………$137,500

    Bill, Accounts payable

  21. Someone recently listed a handful of players that will get taken in the off season due to the NIL but I’m not so sure that will happen. After all, it’s not like teams will be beating down the doors of a 2-7 program to offer big paydays to players that might look great on a bad team. As we’ve already seen,come of the better players recently have been a flop when they r transferred to higher profile programs seeing limited action and becoming just an average player.

    I guess it depends on who the beavers hire and the type of offensive and defensive schemes they run so we shall see.

    • Even at 2-7 there is talent on this team. Every d-1 team has talent. And some programs can give NIL money to potential second stringer.

      Also, new staff coming in. Some guys will want to play elsewhere.

      I’m surprised it hasn’t been mentioned but the blue jays center fielder sure looks like Canham.

      Good day.

  22. Has anyone admitted to any phase of donating 1.5 to MM? Poor kid, he has to know nis press but doesn’t seem to work harder to amend it. Maybe he and his agents are well-pleased to have pulled it off.

    • He also won the Fielding Bible Award for the third time. No AL or NL in this one. Just the top guy at his position. This is the one based on pure stats vs voting by managers

      • He should be in the eventual AD search committee. People like him, Rueck, Carey, Payton, Cooks, Rutschan, Weise…people who set high standards, perform, and understand the criticality of self motivation. All seem to be of good character too, with the exception of Payton, who was often an asshole and I think abused his wife(?). Can’t recall the details and outcomes, so I could be wrong on that latter comment.

  23. With all the scuttlebutt about the coaching hire, surprised I haven’t heard more about the school hiring a GM-type. Figure with Blaylock out it opens up the revenue slot.

  24. Will Saturday be “Ti’a Time,” – former four-star QB….

    Game is at 7….

    Game at Tulsa is at 10:00 Pacific…yeesh…

    Then a bye week for the “Rubber Match” at WSU…will students throw condoms on the field? Better than tortillas at Texas Tech?

  25. MBB trailing ND State 23-22 with about 5 minutes left in the first half. It’s amazing how Wayne Tinkle looks like Mitch Canham.
    ..

  26. The Sweating Tinkles try like hell to lose the game with turnovers and missed free throws, but escape with a 67-65 win. ND State would probably beat the Beav football team by two touchdowns.

  27. Beavers survive a last second 3 point attempt by ND State and win 67-65 on a winning layin by Lake with about 2 seconds on the clock. I just can’t believe how much Lake looks like Canham.

  28. ND State actually is a decent team. Beavs kind of look like last year’s team again. Lots of new faces so it will take time to figure out how to play together. They ended up with I think 12 turnovers and 17-23 from the line the last time I heard a stat. An ugly win is better than a pretty loss.

  29. I randomly turned on the Cal Baptist game after the Beavs were over, and there’s Thomas Ndong tearing it up for CBU, getting more playing time than he ever did under Big Tinks. I think he has 14 points and 10 boards so far. Their arena looks to have more fans than Gill did tonight, also.

  30. What’s up with Malcolm Christie? It sounded by all accounts that he was going to be a starter or at least major contributor, and the stat line shows he only played 3 minutes.

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    Thankful to not even be aware of MBB happening. It is a disgrace that Tinkle is still in Gill doing the exact same routine every year. I don’t even want to know about it because I have already seen it over and over.

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      I’ll just layout the Tinkle playbook again:
      1) Completely new roster
      2) Low expectations of success
      3) Early promise mixed with baffling losses
      4) Talented newcomers look great early season
      5) Talented newcomers begin to struggle and Tinkle messes them up
      6) Tinkle asserts control mid season and psychological games begin
      7) Team begins to tune out Tinkle
      8) Tinkle asserts more control, benches the stars
      9) Season ending collapse and usually just below or just above .500
      10) Roster turnover and the most talented guys escape Tinkle again
      11) Rinse and repeat for 10 years now.

      You can mark it down. Tinkle isn’t a program builder. He is just grifting along at a school with low expectations and a “don’t change or it might get worse” psychology. Barnes has run cover for him for the last 6 years, and it’s a shame for the program and fans. Does anyone expect the offense to be better this year? I don’t because Tinkle hasn’t adjusted or grown as a coach for a decade.

      • And since he’s a “nice guy,” the TV commentators will babble about his two NCAA tourney appearances and how he has elevated the program—ignoring his two historically bad 5-27 and 3-28 seasons.

        BTW, does anyone remember Gianni Hunt from the Elite Eight season? He is still playing college hoops. One of 14 players left from the COVID season. He is at something called East Texas A&M (not joking) now.

  32. I can’t turn on a freaking college hoops game without seeing an ex-Beav tearing it up. Now, it’s Parsa Fallah for Oklahoma St. Where the hell is DeMarco Minor now? I’ll probably come across him next.

    • Based on reading the press release it appears so.

      This could be huge for the program and I bet would make the coaching gig more attractive to better coaches.

      I’ve argued for awhile the new PAC should be seen as an opportunity that OSU should take advantage of. This partnership could go a long way towards making OSU the PAC program. Assuming they don’t find a way to mess it up.

      • Maybe Barnes should delegate all research and decision making to an AI bot instead of messing up again on his own. Ask Nvidia to be our GM for all sports and have AI research every potential NIL student athlete before we sign another dreadful qb for $1.5 million.
        Nvidia AI potential, combined with MoneyBall/Analytics could be transformative for OSU even on a budget for all sports.

        But Barnes doesn’t want a GM for OSU. Maybe this is his direction, AI wizard of OZ behind the scenes identifying talent for OSU sports.

        Nah I doubt that has even been considered. Barnes is just protecting his own little kingdom.

      • Yeah, while it looks to be very early stages, if this seed is watered and cared for, it could really grow into something. Does OSU have enough visionaries on the campus side to actually nurture it and/or take advantage of it, or at the very least get out of the way?

    • This is actually a little fascinating. “Traditional technology” would have been what Blueprint Sports (and their competitors) would have provided. We would have spent money and a couple years setting up their infrastructure and learning that tech. Instead, we’re going this route. And it’s mostly in-house.

    • A (minor) comment, but the background image is a bland image of Gill with no people, just a few cars…

      Why not have one of a crowd of students exiting at least, smiling after a Beaver victory…or a good photo of a “beaver walk,” something with some color and life to it? A crowd surfing Benny… seems like OSU usually misses big picture and details, though optimistically they may be improving their larger vision with this effort.

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    “The Ducks might be a quack, wearing fancy jerseys with a swoosh.

    That’s the message the College Football Playoff committee sent by stiffing Oregon with the No. 9 spot in its initial rankings.

    Or, at least, the committee paid attention to strength of record and strength of schedule metrics that say Oregon possesses flimsier credentials than any of the SEC’s one-loss teams.

    Zoom out from Oregon’s ranking, and behold the broader message baked into these rankings. Let this warning blare like a tornado siren all across the North and down into SoCal: The almighty Big Ten, producer of the past two national champions, is in danger of being limited to two bids.

    The committee sees the Big Ten for what it is — and that’s a league headed up by two teams that look spectacular, and behind Ohio State and Indiana, it’s a bowl of cold porridge. Just a lumpy, flavorless glob.”

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2025/11/04/cfp-rankings-bracket-oregon-big-ten-snubbed-college-football-playoff-committee-big-10/87064308007/

    Year 2 of the new B10 and it’s already a “bowl of porridge.” Ha! Indiana is the only remotely interesting story, but they too are spending big like Ohio State and Oregon….

        • And Oregon State won’t get credit for losing to them so both sides should want out.

          I want out for irrational reasons but the sole rational reason for the game on both sides is basically proximity at this point.

  34. BeaversEdge still talking about the possibility of Traitor Smith returning to coach OSU if he is fired from MSU. Apparently, their sources are saying it’s still a possibility that’s in play. All I can say is NO, NO, NO!

    • Not gonna happen. He’ll more than likely get one more year there. Even if he doesn’t, no way Barnes does this. I would doubt Smith would want to start from scratch at OSU again anyway. Not like Chiles will follow him again and I would hope he wouldn’t since he’s been a bit of a bust at MSU.

    • The problem with Smith – other than the way he left – is that I doubt he’d be able to keep the staff that brought him success in Corvallis together. That was a prime reason he took the MSU job. The staff that elevated the program would likely have scattered to better gigs.
      I see no problems with Chryst. He’s been around, seen how other programs in other conferences operate, he’s won.

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    Don’t understand the hate for Chryst as HC. He’d bring a good resume with a history of winning. Doubt he’d bolt after a year or three so he’d bring stability which we desperately need right now. He worked for Sarkisian at Texas which utilizes the Portal as good as anyone so he know the importance of that. Might be as good as we can do right now. We’ll get outbid for Eck and I doubt he wants a small raise for a lateral move. Marion has been a HC for about 2 hours and has 4 wins to his name in a crappy American Conference so he’s not it. Vigen will have plenty of other options with Power 4 schools.

    • Some of it is hatred for anything Riley.

      But this board is full of people that like big swings, I think most agree he’d be steady.

      Depends on how risk averse you are. If he’s the guy I’d get it. And root for it to work. A university wide commitment will matter more.

      • A financial commitment from boosters is still more important than anything. Until we find a way to fund the program like a P4 team, we’ll forever be G6 (or whatever we’re calling the have nots)

    • I’m still trying to figure out why Wiscy fired him. He was 2-3 to start that year, but those three losses were not bad losses, in the end.

      I’m guessing Wiscy fans would take him for the last couple years, with any kind of hindsight.

  36. I did not realize this:

    “The Badgers went 6-1 in bowl games under Chryst with their only loss coming to Oregon, 28-27, in the 2020 Rose Bowl. They won the Holiday, Cotton and Orange bowls in his first three years in Madison.”

    Sounds like comments on this site:

    “Chryst has been out of coaching for three years. In that time, the entire landscape of college sports has changed completely with NIL and the transfer portal.

    If he is going to succeed at Oregon State, Chryst will need to have the institutional support necessary to navigate recruiting and the portal in a modern, forward-thinking way.”

    https://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/2025/11/know-the-possible-oregon-state-football-coaching-candidate-paul-chryst.html

    • Sounds like he gets it:
      “That’s the reality for college football today,” he said. “That takes everyone in that community — the head coach, the AD, the marketing folks. It takes alignment with the chancellor and president.”

      But he adds: “…a school’s revenue share number is “the new zero” and the differentiators will be “real NIL” and developing homegrown talent through strong relationships.”

      Hmmm, relationships vs NIL? developing homegrown talent vs revenue share and, again, NIL?

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        Leaving Texas with its absurd amount of resources, and still being interested in Oregon State is kind of telling. You know what the differences are and what you’re up against, and what kinds of approaches ORegon State needs to take (albeit and likely a much smaller scale). I would suspect Chryst/Aranda could take the Beavers to the top-ish of the Mountain PAC conference and get to decent bowl games – if other teams still play them without losing their rosters to the portal.

        Will any non-playoff bowls ever stage competitive, compelling games? There has obviously been too many, low quality bowls for years, but the portal has made bowl games worse.

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    Do college teams have full time scouts now or is it still all the position coaches and OC/DC that do the scouting? I remember back in the day you’d hear about coaches scouting during bye week. Sure seems like these functions need to be mostly separated in the NIL era.

    I’m pretty agnostic to Chryst or any coach because I don’t follow college football that closely but it sure seems like getting to the point where you are set up essentially like an NFL team is where this is all going. To me it that means finding a decent figurehead as a head coach that is willing to find good up and coming people as assistants and scouts, then hiring them and trusting them to do their jobs while still overseeing it all.

    • Colorado has 58 ish staff members for football. I’m guessing some programs have scouts. Michigan secretly scouts other teams plays. Does that count?

      • Had to go look at the beavs page…seems to be mid 40s for coaches and support staffing. I know there are also students that assist with the equipment guys though and they don’t seem to be listed so there may be others as well.

        Maybe this is an area where AI can fill in some of the scouting aspects but also an area where more humans may be needed. Which will obviously need more $ as well

  38. Pat Fitzgerald may be a great option, if he was interested. He had success at Northwestern of all places, in the Big10 and may be interested in a full change of scenery.
    A lot of the guys available hav had success, it remains to be seen whether any of them would be interested in Corvallis at all. I guess that is why so many knee jerk back to the Riley guys. I’m not convinced that Riley’s guys are the only possibility though.

  39. I wonder if countries outside of the US have similar thoughts about how the US buys players in different pro sports as we do with the current NIL situation. A little bit apples to oranges but if you’ve got some great basketball talent you know they will eventually leave for the NBA.

  40. Beavs WBB 23-7 start of 2nd Quarter vs Corbin…Beavs have lots of length and depth too but losing Cat for the season was a tough break. This team looks pretty good and Corbin just beat a nationally ranked team in NAIA and they have some length too

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