Eek, I called this game a glorified scrimmage. I was trying to think why I was fooled into thinking that. All I could come up with is that I wanted it to be a glorified scrimmage, and figured maybe I could force my will on the team.
So much for parapsychology.
Someone made a good point in the comment section. Paraphrasing here, but they basically said UCLA has a lot of athletes, and when they come fired up to play they'll beat walk-ons. It's an astute observation; that's exactly what happened. We were "out-athleted." When I saw UCLA jacked up in pre-game, I knew the game would be more difficult than I figured.
On to the game…
There were so many problems with performance tonight, but they all revert to one issue: poor recruiting. I might start a new feature called "worst walk-on of the week" (I like the alliteration) or "Pankey vs _____" where we insert players in college football who are worse than Keith Pankey. Justin Kahut, maybe? Look, I'm sure these guys work really hard, and that's great and all if they're building confidence and character, but as I fan I frankly don't give a shit if Mike Remmers gets a chance in life. I want to see fast 4+ star athletes flying around, making plays, and winning games. The Horatio Alger stuff is for that walk-on and his family to revel in, not me. As Dennis Leary said, "Life is hard, get a helmet."
There were specific coaching problems. For example, Riley still doesn't understand clock management. It's simple, and works like this: call timeouts when there are 2 minutes left and the other team has the ball. There. That's it. The reason you do this is because (a) the opponent is not going to rush to the line of scrimmage to get off a play and (b) if you get the ball back, your QB will rush to the line of scrimmage to get off a play.
But, it's pointless to harp on coaching foibles when the guy is locked up for a decade.
I digress.
There was a point where I wanted the Beavers to lose. I think it was late in the 3rd quarter, when I realized they weren't playing smart, efficient football, when their conditioning looked poor, when I imagined the Ducks steamrolling them. I just figured it's better to lose this game and expose the sheep in wolf's clothing. Now we don't have to hear deranged fans talk about how the defense is great for shutting down Brock Mansion of the Cal squad that almost lost to Washington State. Now it's all out in the open. The Beavs have won with smoke and mirrors–kick returns and low turnovers. While great, those are not the kind of things you can rely on every game.
Ryan Katz continues to make the same poor decisions. He hasn't improved his decision making since game one. I've been biting my tongue and being patient since I know the rule that "Riley's offense is complex and takes a year to learn blah blah." You can blame the offensive line–on many plays it was obviously their fault. But the o-line is much better in pass blocking (than run blocking) and when he had time he just couldn't make the throw. It's now all on him. He's the QB, he's the man, and he continues to make bad decisions. Example: on a 3rd & 4 he had a WR cutting short across the middle, looked at him, and threw a ten yard incompletion. So yeah, be the hero with that canon of yours, big guy. We're all impressed in the same way we're impressed with high trucks with big wheels. Anyway, I'm really starting to sour on this guy. I love heady football. I've never been in love with big arms, height, speed, etc. Give me intelligence and savvy from the QB spot. Give me a Honda at the QB position, not a tricked out Hummer.
It's time to start thinking about next year, when the personnel should improve. But I'm already frustrated because I know it will take the staff five games before they realize who the players are, or they'll fall in love with a Mike "Horatio Alger" Remmers II, or they'll…ugh, not even worth it.
As far as the rest of this season: I think WSU and Stanford will be wins. We'll squeak into some crappy ninth tier bowl, Beaver fans will be joyous about the extra weeks of practice, everyone will say "next year is the year!", and when that time comes we'll all be a year older and little balder saying the same things about the next year. To be a Beaver fan…
WSU and Stanford as wins? Are you on crack? We’ll get blown out on the farm. The only chance this team has to get 6 wins is WSU and USC. I honestly don’t see beating USC. I think this season is over and we wind up 5-7. This team is average at best on offense and the defense is terrible.
I couldn’t agree with you more. I to am not sold on Katz as our QB. He hasn’t improved from game 1. I also wonder how much of this is play calling. Again I say we lost this game because of poor coaching and not just Banker.
Angry-
First time posting, i have been reading this site since last year and i have to say i thought you were a idiot. But after this year i came to realize you could not be more spot on. The coaching needs a HUGE upgrade and am i the only one tired of this lunch pail u bullshit!? Can our coaches please figure out how to recruit actual football players!! But i have a question for everyone is there any way our coaches realize that walk ons wont take you to that next step and we find a way to improve our team? My thinking is that we should hit the JC level hard and form a team of players with an attitude like the 2000 team. Man i wish i was old enough to remember that team.
And another question for you angry i am a frosh currently at PSU but i am a huge beav fan. I plan on transferring to OSU next year and majoring in sports marketing or sports broadcasting. I am interested in being a reporter for this site. Is there anything more i need to know about it then what you already said about it?
No, if you want to be a reporter for this site that would be awesome. Basically any information you can get your hands on that is more interesting than other sites. Fakebook is a great way to get access to players.
Something I’ve been trying to do (and failed so far) is interview recruits we struck out on and see why they didn’t chose OSU. Is it that it’s all trees, the staff isn’t hip, or Riley can’t close? I think it’s the latter, but I want to know for sure.
Think you’re being a bit hard on Katz. James and Wheaton out. Receivers obviously not getting open tonight and he was often forced into some bad throws, but probably worst of all zero support from the running game (and it’s certainly not Quizz’s fault).
WSU is a win. The last, best chance of bowl eligibility will be a play-out-of-your-mind game against USC at home. Stanford or Oregon are not fun games to think about.
I was thinking Cal,UCLA and WSU were must wins to lock up bowl eligibility. Stanford looked great tonight against Arizona. USC is another team where better athletes may rise to the top, but it is at home.
Angry, how important is that extra practice that everyone raves about when you get a bowl game? Beavers stand a good chance of going 5-7 and missing out on that.
It’s important for development. But fans who rejoice at 6-6 are a bigger problem than the extra practices are beneficial.
I would doubt you will hear much rejoicing at 6-6. Well, you might have 11 years ago!
Well, there are a lot of guys who will look at the positive (extra practice time). There’s nothing wrong with being positive–the problem is you run the risk of crossing the fine line between silver lining and acceptance. 6-6 shouldn’t be accepted, so I choose not to look at the silver lining. See what I mean?
If extra practice is good than it is good right? You take what you can get in life.
It’s what you weigh more. Is it better to be 6-6 and in a terrible bowl with more practice time, or to be 5-7 and have a livid fan base? It’s close, but I think at this juncture the latter is more important. Fan base is waaaay too content with minor bowls. If they don’t demand more they’re not going to get it.
Oh, and the extra practice time last year clearly didn’t do anything for this year’s squad.
You are an anarchist, Angry! Seriously, though what would be your end game if the Beavers finish 5-7…Banker fired? Also, the media is way too content with minor bowl games for the Beavers also. I mean you would have thought the Beavers stopped the run game of the 72 Dolphins last week against Cal if you read the papers and internet. Riley must understand that being a gentlemen and great guy curries a lot of favor in the press.
A Spectre Is Haunting Corvallis–the spectre of mediocrity!
Spot on I fear. Please Beaver nation, do not accept mediocrity.
The worst thing is that a six game season and crappy bowl extends Riley’s contract another year.
Secondly, Riley and his staff have demonstrably NOT taken advantage of the extra practices a bowl season affords. Sure, he has a great record in low-level bowl games, but the next season, you’d never know the team went to a bowl game and had extra time for player and team development; it NEVER has paid off in the form of early-season execution.
Riley and staff get out-coached MOST in the off-season in my opinion. Their withing game coaching-deficiencies are secondary to their off-season deficiencies.
For these reasons, I’d rather see them stay home this season than go to a low-tier bowl game. They need a wake-up call.
I am thinking about doing a huge bonfire in the backyard to cleanse the demons out of the program and let the Phoenix rise again. NO WAY we should ever lose a game like this. We were completely inefficient for 90+% of that game and did not play with a sense of purpose or urgency. This team is not confident enough on the road and is not playing nearly as potently on offense as last year. We need more confidence in sustaining drives and continuing to earn first downs. I think OSU Football has poor playcalling on 2nd and 3 because I have seen us forced to punt in these situations way to often. I want a screen pass to Quizz or a chance for Quizz to run for it on 2nd where picking up the 1st down is our obvious priority because it should be. We don’t need a 12 or 15 yard pass then, we need 3 yards over 2 downs. I especially think is is true when you are tring to get your 1st or 2nd first down of a drive and trying to build your rythym and confidence. I think the most crucial thing for this team is the offense staying on the field longer and Langsdorf not putting us in a position to lose sure and sometimes needed field goala on 3rd down by risking a Katz sack. The late hit out of bounds and not being able to kick a FG were the two biggest mistakes. The Beavers have to be a team that scores 28 minimum a game. Really they should have a goal of 14 points every quarter. That would help them from taking their foot off the gas and make them understand that drives have to be sustained. Short drives and inability to make first downs early in your possession are the biggest factor in losing games. It should have been an Alamo or Holiday Bowl year with us still having solid hopes. No we will be fortunate to get to a bowl in San Fran or Vegas. I think we can beat USC but we better or this year is a disappointment for sure.
We would probably do better just having Quizz get 110 or more yards as our primary goal and worrying if that helps us win later. We have to get Quizz moving the chains for us. Sometimes spreading it around is OK but tonight it was used as an excuse for noone to take responsibilty for keeping drives moving and for more scores to be made. Katz looked out of it so I wanted to see leadership from someone and it was sorely lacking. Quizz getting more chances and setting a more positive tone for the offense and game would have probably helped the overall execution out there.
Either the reality is that the coaches know the o-line sucks or they are too enamored with Katz big arm. Remember the days when Bernard would carry the ball 30 times? Nothing is more demoralizing to a defense than 4 or 5 yards runs that pick up first downs (UCLA played that to perfection). Being balanced can be over-rated. I hate it when Quizz peels one of for 6 yards plus and they do not feed him the ball again. I was listening to Riley in the post-game and he pretty much admitted they were looking for things in the passing game that were not there.
I was there at the game tonight. Couple observations:
1) UCLA was pumped from the beginning and OSU was flat from the beginning.
2) Ucla controlled the ball and often had themselves in a 3rd and 1/2/3.
3) We got out ran today.
4) Katz let left wide open guys for covered long shots (two and three man coverage).
5) Quizz had no holes today… period.
6) OSU was lucking it even came down to 1 second for the win as Ucla missed 2 field goals in the game and if they would have made them we all would have been depressed several minutes before the end of the game.
I hate football.
Maybe I’ll become a UCLA fan. They were nice to us, not snooty like thugs the USC fans
and their coach address all the fans at the end thanking them for sticking with them as they build the team back up to be winners. You see the UCLA fans want a winning team, their coach knows he has to produce a winning team or else, and I could sense that UCLA nation is going to level up or die trying.
Kai Forbath was gracious in his post game interviews. Neuheisel, too. I almost drove down there for the game–glad I didn’t!
I posted here the other day that I thought this was going to be a trap game… it wasn’t though. I was a game that our coaches and team gave away with poor planning, prep, and attitude.
After JR got hurt and out for the season I thought maybe next year is our year. But the poor recruiting, poor coaching, and the lack of a killer attitude… I just don’t know. At least if I realize it now I won’t be wanting to cut my throat with a butter knife next year.
It all comes down to the d-lines and o-lines in the end, right? Can the Beavers improve next the lines next year. Skills players cannot do much when they do not have the ball or have to make tackles on backs that have broken through the line.
RE: Katz
http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=262800204
http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=272720204
i dunno what to think. damn this team
Not sure why you posted these links, but this play:
Brandon Breazell 69 Yd Pass From Ben Olson
was a killer. 2 yard pass that went for 69 due to…you guessed it…bad tackling.
oh, i just grabbed a couple games real quick where everything looked real bad and the QBs looked like they would never figure it out…
i have confidence in katz. looks like he will “figure it out” too late for this year to be a real success, but things look up for next year. the offense SHOULD (should, cause who knows with langsdorf and riley) be the 1st/2nd most dynamic in the pac-10, with most of the skill position players coming back (and james rodgers)
I just had a “light bulb” moment….
Could it be that 3-5 star players are worried about playing for the Beavs because Riley is known for coaching up walk-ons and playing them if the guy recruited isn’t exactly up to par even if he redshirts his frosh year and doesn’t play his sophomore year? If I were a 3-5 star recruit, at this point from where I’ve seen the Beavs play on tv…I’d say, wow, they suck on the road, but when they’re home, they show up and play….they are inconsistent and don’t exactly have a great game plan when on the road….Ya I would rather play for a consistent team who shows up every game even if it’s a losing team, cause then I’ll have a true chance to contribute and not feel like the only player showing up and playing..This last part I’m sure Quizz is feeling this(I’m a great running back running into a horrible line!!! I so wish I had last years line with this offense!!!)
“Could it be that 3-5 star players are worried about playing for the Beavs because Riley is known for coaching up walk-ons”
I’ve wondered this. I don’t know. It’s why I want to interview past recruits and get some insight. Haven’t been able to get anyone to agree up until this point, but I haven’t tried too hard, either. Maybe I’ll pursue that harder because if true it would be pretty fascinating.
if you’re good enough, riley will play you. see:
wheaton, both rodgers bros., phillip, poyer, doctor, etc.
No, it’s not that simple.
Riley played #28 for what, four games last year before realizing he wasn’t good enough to start? There were guys better than him on the roster. There are guys better than Burke Ellis and Grant Johnson, too. Ryan Pohl is one of them.
Also, I have a hard time believing Hardin is better than David Ross. I saw David Ross’ film–that guy should not have been forced to transfer.
I understand Riley has played top recruits, but perhaps the players don’t choose OSU as their school to attend because we are inconsistent in our ability to game plan, manage the game, and our coaches are getting predictable in their “top players” becoming go to guys…why do you think we got Storm from Texas? and others who are in “key roles” vs. defense and O-line…It’s because Riley cares more about having “key players” on offense vs. having the work horses to get those guys protection. Also, the BIGGEST difference in Riley vs. Dennis Ericsen(sp?) is this: Riley is an offensive head coach, while DE is a defensive head coach….look at where The beavs rank offensively compared to ASU and where ASU ranks on defense compared to OSU….Riley claims to have a “balanced” system….apparently no one has told Riley that his defense is included in his “system”. It’s apparent that Riley and Banker have the agreement that Coach Boone and Coach Yoast…Boone=Riley and Yoast = Banker….one controls the offense, the other the defense. Why can’t Riley tell banker like Coach boone does, “You better tighten up that defense or I’m taking over!!!”
You guys are mixing arguments.
Anyway, if I am a recruit and see walk-ons getting preferred treatment just because of their work ethic, I’d be turned off. I might not have to work as hard as them–doesn’t mean I’m not a better player. It just means I’m gifted.
Here’s a practical example: I have to work a lot harder than Eric Clapton to play the guitar decently…that doesn’t mean I should jam with Cream. Right? Why is this so hard to understand with football?
There’s been a mutiny by the walk-ons, and it’s killed the offensive line. They infected it with “work ethic”–way too much value has been placed on that trait. It’s Horatio Alger type stuff. There’s a reason those were called “dime novels”…
The work ethic argument actually makes sense. In high school, I was a gamer, I went slower in practice than I did in games, but I wasn’t in terrible shape for the games. 95% of the time, I had about 25% or less in my tank due to the fact that I honed my footwork going slower in practice and knowing where I was to go by going slow in practice…everyone practices differently. It’s all about who can execute. My adrenaline was always flying when it was game time more so than practice and scrimmages. So with Riley saying that he likes work ethic, just means he likes how his players practice…you don’t know who blocks better unless you put them into a game situation. Also, give players a test with something like this in practice: “If we ran a toss to the left, linemen, go to the area where you’re supposed to block.” “GO!” If they don’t move within a few seconds, get a knew group in. whoever has the best reaction time to the coach, plays. That’s how I would do it.
I played baseball because I was naturally gifted at it. I hated practice and exerted as little energy as possible (wasn’t a prima donna, just constantly tired/lazy–later found out I had slight anemia). Anyway, the ball flew off my bat, and I was savvy on the mound. There were plenty of guys who practiced much harder, but if the coach played them over me we’d have finished in last place.
A line with Ryan Pohl and Joshua Andrews at the guard spots would be 10x better than the current line.
I think Riley is being stubborn and trying to prove he is smarter than other coaches…some kind of genius evaluator. Ironically, he’s just tarnishing his reputation further by sticking with these guys.
I am tired of the lunch pail U bullcrap. Walk-ons are causing a once every ten year back to work his ass of for a two yard run, walk-ons block a guy three seconds after a play is over and give your team a 2nd and 16 during a drive to win a game.
I know. How long before Quizz says “F this” and jumps to the NFL? Could you blame him???
I know it is cliched, but I am also sadly a life long Detroit Lion fan and the little mother is reminding me more and more of Barry Sanders when he turns a three yard loss into a three yard gain. He can catch the pass, he will not fumble and I think he can pick up the block. I think James needs to play next year to prove he is healed and can be a return guy in the NFL. Quizz will probably stay for James.
I like the thought of our future center getting some in-game experience this year.
I have to play devil’s advocate here though. What qualifies you to know that Ryan Pohl is a better lineman than Grant Johnson? I’m not saying he is or isn’t, just saying it’s logical the people who see these guys day in and day out should have more information on which to base a decision like that. What are you basing statements like that off?
Michael Phillip beat out Timi Oshonowo last year. NO ONE worked harder than Timi. He was a scholarship player, but there was a talent gap. Then he got hurt and had to rehab. I have a bunch of friends working in the athletic department in various capacities, and every one of them said he was the hardest worker on the team, but he just couldn’t quite cut it. So I find it very hard to believe that Riley is consistently rewarding work ethic over talent.
Also, McCants has worked unbelievably hard rehabbing from his spring injury last year, and where did that get him?
So do we have any star recruits for next year?
The thing that’s galling is that the team has now performed below reasonable expectations for two straight years. After the 2008 season, it was reasonable to think the team would go 8-1 or possibly 9-0, but the defense soiled themselves and we went 6-3 again, with two of those losses coming because the defense couldn’t get off the field in the fourth quarter. Coming into the 2009 offseason, I would have thought we’d go at least 7-2 this season but now we’re looking at probably 5-4, if not 4-5.
I really like Mike Riley; I think he’s a good coach, and the improvement from 2002 to 2007 is evidence of that. I really don’t think that he’s the big problem on the coaching staff (though we HAVE to start recruiting better and that starts with him). People talk about a lack of a “killer instinct” or think he’s gone soft because he’s got a lifetime contract, but I don’t buy either of those for one second. You don’t start for a D1 school, win championships at any level, or even get CONSIDERED for an NFL gig if you haven’t got the mental toughness to get it done. You don’t stick around in a rigorous and demanding job without coaching without being passionate about it and about winning, even if it’s a guaranteed paycheck. He’s soft-spoken in interviews and he’s got a calm demeanor, but many passionate and driven people are soft-spoken that way.
I think that Mark Banker and Danny Langsdorf are killing us. The game plans have been horrendous on both sides of the ball, and ultimately the lack of progression in Katz’ decision-making is on Langsdorf. Katz still has huge upside for future seasons but he should be doing much better by now. We need an OC and DC who have better plans.
I said that Riley is not the main problem, but he still has some bad habits, namely his conservative recruiting and the personnel decisions. Though you’d think a HC would shoot for the moon on recruits and put the best guys on the field on his own, at this point I think the best hope is to get an OC and DC who will challenge him to do those things.
I’ve been a Beavers fan since I was born, but I’m really glad that my weekend schedule prevents me from watching most of their games this season.
James and Quizz are going to jump this sinking ship. This team is giving them no reason to stay another year. I think our only hope is a NFL lockout.
Maybe Riley will promise to play the best TALENT next year just to keep the Rodgers around. One can only hope.
I cringe when i see the number 35 anywhere. I thought 60 would have a better end to his career.
I’ve completely numbed myself to this team, it’s the only way to survive.
Basketball starts this week.
For all the focus on the defense, it was not the defenders that lost us the game. Schemes defend the sideline and would have prevented the clock stoppage at the end of the game. All told, we held a team to 17 points. We just didn’t give the D any “run support.”
And the hate on Pankey – the guy made a lot of plays at the line of scrimmage last night. I thought it was one of his best games. The missed sack at the beginning of the game was a tough play to make – full speed one way, reaching around a block to a QB stepping up. Not a lot of players stick that play. Dockery on the other hand, had his worst performance of the year, allowing separation and completions on plays that he usually defends well? I’m not sure if it was because the receivers were better – it’s tough to analyze the secondary unless you’re live or have the iso-cam on the players. On a televised broadcast, you see about .25 seconds of the play in the secondary.
Our offense has, and is losing us games. Our blocking up front is terrible, and not because we aren’t “nasty enough” as recent articles would have you believe. It is because we are not talented enough. Our play calling is predictable, and we have an “all or nothing” signal caller. There is no read progression, or at best, it goes 1,2, and back to one. The only underneath plays aren’t check-downs, it’s the first read.
We are not improving, and we will NOT make a bowl game. Not even your “ninth-tier” bowl game.
I thought the defense played terrible, and the score was just a testament to UCLA’s offensive ineptitude. They gave that slow, white QB 70 yards rushing.
Regarding Pankey, rewatch the game. He made tackles downfield. A lot of times, he was standing there after someone else made the tackle and/or jumped on the pile late (he did this on someone else’s sack and it was hilarious).
I hope they replay the game so you can watch for these things.
The pattern has been if the offense does well, the defense does not, and visa versa. They can’t put together a complete game in terms of units or effort. The only consistent unit on this team is kick and punt returns.
Both equally to blame. You have to have pretty crappy play on both sides to lose to that team.
They miss two field goals that the defense allowed they to go after… score could have/ should have been 20 – 14.
I was worried before the game about both Dockery and Katz as they were playing in front of their home crowd. I think that was some of it… pysch.
Question for you Angry:
It may be a little premature to start throwing this type of talk around seriously, but I’m curious to know what the exact terms of Riley’s contract extension are (how long it’s supposed to last, etc) and what kind of power the administration has to enact change within the coaching staff.
I forget off the top of my head, but it’s something like 2019 with a year tacked on for every bowl game…? I think.
I’d rather see the coordinators go first. The thing is, it won’t happen after one down year. They’ll have to be bad next season, too, before that talk gains traction.
Riley’s contract lays out basically like this:
1) He will coach as of right now until 2019 due to recent contract extensions.
2) Every time he gets the beavers to a bowl game, they extend his contract by 1 season.
3) He won’t be fired unless we have 3-5 losing seasons in a row due to his contract and payout of the rest of his contract.
4) If he doesn’t get the beavs to a bowl game next year, there will be pressure from Bobby D to Riley about improving and to do whatever it takes to improve. (i.e. letting some of his coaching staff go: Banker and Langsdorf would be the first on the list.)
On another note, this coaching staff is starting to remind me of my varsity football coaching staff. Where they get complacent and buddy buddy to the point where they are best friends and Riley let’s them choose who starts and “trusts” their judgement. Also, where Riley is in a place where he doesn’t want to ruin friendships and burn bridges with his fellow coaches….if Riley is truly the “aw gee shucks” kinda guy he appears to be, then it would make sense why he won’t get rid of his coaching staff.
I noted earlier that at the end of the game Neuheisel address the fans and told them to hang in there the program was coming back. Why would he do that? Couple reasons:
1) His job depends on it.
2) He knows he recruited in the top 10 this year.
3) He is a good manager of his personel (coaches and players).
Riley should call a media conference and apologize to beaver nation for the poor recruiting and poor management. Riley is a great guy but looking at his track record his biggest problem is not managing well and not working to build the future (recruiting).
As a manager, if the OC isn’t doing the job, find someone who will. As a manager, if the DC isn’t doing well, find someone who will. As a manager if you or your team doesn’t recruit well, find someone who will. Kiffin is a douche but he knows how to recruit and that was one of his specialties under Carroll.
I hear it said that football is a game of inches… OSU has taught me it is a game of recruiting and managing.
Here’s a Riley quote we don’t see too often if at all,
“The only thing we are going to try to do is win the next game,” Riley said. “We are going to win the next game. That’s all we have to do. We are not going to talk about ramifications or look back at what might have been. We have to play, get better and have fun with it. It was like pulling teeth out there tonight.”
Quizz had 14 carries. That, alone, is reason to fire a coordinator. Your best player, your only really good player, runs the ball 14 times?
I don’t care if our blocking sucks, Quizz finds ways to get yards. And if the alternative is stupid bombs to triple-covered receivers, I’ll take Quizz going Barry Sanders every time.
Seriously, it’s a fire-able offense.
And for the hundredth time, we can’t stop either a spread read, or a running QB. That’s a great sign for the Civil War. I don’t care what the betting line is, I’m taking the Ducks and the over.
Bobby D and Riley are setting POOR EXAMPLES by allowing Riley to be rewarded for showing up at the lamest of bowls. As if Beaver Nation is impressed and satisfied with just making some lousy bowl for multiple years. There should be NO extensions or feeling of satisfcation for anything less than a Holiday Bowl. Even Sun bowls are largely boring at this point. Chip Kelly expects of himself and his team that they will make a BCS bowl EVERY YEAR. Then they go out and deliver. Al Reser thought that guaranteeing Riley through 2019 was too long, never mind he gets the extension for a 7-5 or 6-6 season. It is a crock and a joke and until Bobby D. or Riley start acting like men and rework the deal so that there is an incentive to make good bowls and not lousy ones we SHOULD just continue to expect mediocrity from the Beavers. Beaver Nation is tired of Las Vegas and S.F. bowls. Even Sun bowls have little meaning. But to Riley they are all just as lucrative. His contract is such so that making a BCS bowl once every 15 years is OK when it clearly is not. We should be able t make Holiday and up 90+% of the time but instead we hardly ever will because Riley gets a king’s ransom for squeeking into a lousy bowl. We must be like Oregon and expect more from our leaders and team. We played like a bunch of losers last night and Riley is not geeting what he should from his players. Kelly is throttling everyone and knows what he expects and gets it. No more rewarding mediocrity. It is pathetic!!
The Holiday Bowl is the new Sun Bowl (i.e. 3rd place finish). I think you mean Alamo Bowl.
Alamo would be the step up, true. A Holiday would atleast also be new. We are tired of El Paso, Vegas and S.F. but to Riley they are all just as nice. His contract is locked in but a joke. Alamo and up then should be the only ones that extend if then. Truth is the contrcact is probably too long as it is without rewarding 7-5 or 6-6 seasons every year. Those will always include plenty of pathetic losses like this one and there is NO reason to reward it. We need the incentives to only be for the best bowls or consecutive years Alamo and up. Period. Chip Kelly would probably retire if he had to go to a Sun Bowl and for Riley we bend over backwards for being close even when we haven’t even been to higher than a Sun Bowl under him. Not acceptable.
Another Katz observation was he had time but he keyed on his long receivers way to long (who were double and triple covered) and then it was to late… he had to scramble. I wish I would have dvr’d the game, I’d love to see how much time the o-line gave him. Oh, and by the way, second play of the game they go for the bomb… come on, please stop that and play football.
We only lose when Quizz is held to yardage like 63 or 70 or somewhere in that ballpark but Langsdorf throwing on all these 2nd are 3’s is just setting up the chance that Quizz will not get enough carries. 14 is never enough. Always should be atleast 20. The main thing is always getting atleast a few first downs every drive and finding consistency, rythym and confidence in continuing to get first downs. Nothing is more frustrating and demoralizing to the opponent and better helps your odds of winning. Until we average about five first downs per drive we will not close teams out and will be complacent to stall late and never keep the pedal pressed. Scoring 14 most quarters is not that hard for a good offense. You also have to value when you are around the 30 yard line and make sure you atleast guarantee yourself 3 points and not take sacks that cost crucial points when they are pivotal. No excuse for that late hit either. Without that there was more than a 80% chance we would win. Yet we were again not smart when it mattered the most.
This game was on Katz. If he puts more air under that first pass, we’re running away with the game. If he slides in the pocket and resets while going through his reads, he’s hitting multiple receivers for many yards.
He was just in a hurry all game long. He’s young, and he couldn’t handle whatever pressure he put on himself. I think we’re going to see a stretch of play from him that is typical of first year QB’s in Riley’s system. He won’t be as bad as others were. But he won’t be as good as he has been this year with any consistency.
So when does BBall start? I have heard over and over that eventually WSU will get a win and I have had a feeling that would be the Beavs, kind of the same feeling I had after the UCLA kicker missed 2 field goals and I had a feeling about the third. Riley said a couple weeks ago that this team would not achieve the heights of recent teams. I just hope that translates into serious recruiting.
Tuesday exhibition against WOU. Then the first game is at home a week from today against UT Arlington.
What we’re most likely seeing now is the result of poor recruiting from 2006-08. The best O-line prospects I can think of in those classes were both LDS kids who will be/are walk-ons when they return–Garner and Nomani.
Besides the Rodgers Bros., how many scholarship players are contributing at the skill positions? Halahuni?
I look at the O-line and D-line names, and only a couple upperclassmen strike me as good or better.
And the LB corps?
Even the secondary is more talented in the youth.
I just have to go back to the recruiting classes back in 2006-08 and see all the risks for elite talent that never panned out as well as the average talent which filled the gaps. In the end, we were only left with the filler material.
Look at the last two years for contrast. We have many many very talented youngsters who will be taking over in the next couple years. And next year (2012) is sizing up to be an excellent recruiting class. 2011 isn’t closed yet, so I’ll wait to comment on that. But the filler material seems to be like the last two years in that there are truly some great football players willing to come play in Corvallis. We just need a couple elite recruits to sign on ready to play–liek a Vei Moala.
I’m not going to say there are no duds or guys who look like they might be duds. But I think the last three years of prospects are heads and shoulders above the previous three years. And i think we’ll see the difference sooner than later.
It just seems like it’s taking forever because we still have to watch the upperclassmen who are left not named Rodgers.
Boy I’m excited for the basketball season. Do you guys think a 25 win season is possible? I think it is if guys play to their potential sooner than later.
Also, do we have realistic shots with Moreland, Moala, and Blackwell? I don’t want to get my hopes up for nothing.
You are being sarcastic about 25 wins, right? They are probably scheduled for less than 30 games. 18 wins and a NIT bid would be a big step forward.
Thanks for the info JackBeav, good to hear we got something to look forward to possibly. The frustrating thing is it seems like we always have some great players with no supporting cast.
You guys see Cliff Kirkpatrick’s notes? Here ya go:
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RB Jacquizz Rodgers was hot after the game. Must of what he said will be in my main story. Here’s some leftovers.
He was asked about the hit he took that knocked off his helmet. The question was about it being helmet to helmet.
“That’s football,” Rodgers said. “That don’t faze me. You have to come harder than that.”
Rodgers questioned the effort by the team against a lesser team in the standings.
“We have to approach every week the same,” Rodgers said. “It doesn’t matter if we are playing the top ranked team or not.”
So it there was lacking effort this week?
“I’m not saying that,” Rodgers said. “The way we play against good teams and the way we play against teams not ranked high, it’s a big difference.”
Also, there’s talk that there was a little scuffle between Olander and C Alex Linnenkohl. Olander was reportedly mad Linnenkohl wasn’t given enough effort or doing well. I didn’t see what happened. We’ll see if there’s anything interesting develops about this.
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Now there is even in-fighting. Riley needs to right this ship and it may be by throwing some of his staff off the boat.
Well I am not going to claim the Beavs deserved the win and were probably lucky to keep it close with their effort but something is wrong about a play taking 3 seconds off the clock when it takes 5.8 seconds from snap to foot being down out of bounds in real time. Anyway it is not a big deal for this game because the beavs deserved the beat down but in the future it could effect a close game that matters. It is a joke that the time keeper and replay officials are provided by the home team. This must be changed.
Agreed, they can find a football hating housewife off the street and teach her how to run the clock in 2 minutes. It’s not brain surgery.
Not only is it not that hard to start and stop a clock. But either the review was botched/rigged or the procedure is wrong. When reviewing a last second play like that for time they should time the play from the snap to the ball being dead and compare that number to the amount of time on the clock. It seems pointless to look at when his foot goes out of bounds compared to the game clock when the game clock was started close to 2 seconds too late. There is no reason for a play that take 5.8 seconds to only take 3 seconds off the clock.
I thought it was curious when it happened–it seemed in slow motion.
That being said, Beavs did not deserve to win, nor do I think they would have in OT with their kicking situation and the way the QB, O-line, and defense were playing.
I agree… but it is tough as a fan to not feel cheated out of an OT of entertainment. I think UCLA fans should be just as mad. I mean there is no reason alums should be running time and replay reviews. The officiating has been awful and it has gone both way, that Cal game was terrible too.
Hey Angry, I was thinking about your post on the difference in mentality between Beaver and Duck fans and thought of another good point. If that had been a Duck game you wouldn’t hear their fans talking about how they deserved to lose the game, all you would hear is complaints about the officials? So I am wondering f we are doing our jobs as fans to be whiny and annoying?