Home Football Washington State (Pre-game/Scouting)

Washington State (Pre-game/Scouting)

360

I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, but what the heck, let’s start scouting WSU as a group. If you know anything about their team, share it here. When I searched for a season preview on these guys I couldn’t find much at all. The best preview might be from this Duck site.

I’m pretty bearish on that former Hawaii coach. Smith should have the edge there. Then again…if the Beavs find themselves in a “4th and win” situation, do they repeat their mistakes? ;)

I’m dubious we can make it to Nov 7th without things shutting down, but hopeful the people involved are leading the players in a way that gets it done.

360 COMMENTS

  1. 7
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    Teams like WSU (or OSU) don’t have the talent to sustain coaching changes without a lot of pain. We can’t recruit a lot of super elite athletes who can do everything, so you recruit specialized talent to fit your system. When they system changes and the player pool is mismatched, it doesn’t work that great.

    Add in transfers & attrition, losing a lot of good players to graduation, no QB with game experience, new system to learn and a heavily limited offseason, no warmup games before p12 play starts, road game…yeah. It’ll be a rough season for them, especially early on.

    Spread is +3 OSU and I’ll take that all day. Bet it yesterday actually. Beavs win this game. If we don’t it doesn’t bode well for us at all bc it’s easily the easiest on the schedule.

  2. They had a very good O line last year but not sure how many of those guys are back. The coaching change will hurt terminology wise but will use basically the same personnel so that won’t be too big of factor but to install that in limited time will be hard for them. Their defense was really bad last year and I can’t see them making huge leaps if any with a coaching change. I think our D will be the one that makes a large jump from last years game. Ultimately this where OSU has an advantage with the coaching continuity which should be the difference. Like Alex said this should be a win and if not this team is in trouble. However it is a unique offense and isn’t like anyone they’ll face the rest of the season so if they do lose doesn’t necessarily mean the season’s over.

  3. They should have a solid OL, and oddly enough, running game, with Borghi back. Everything else will be question marks.

    If we can’t win this one, we’re going to have a hard time winning any.

  4. as noted above, Beavs caught a break by opening at home vs the Cougs. To me this looks like the most winnable game of the year. OSU has a huge revenge factor working in its favor, plus coaching stability (dare I say aggressiveness). has a game time been established yet?

  5. I know we all hate him but Daschel was on canzano. Since info is limited it was kind of informative but most was stuff that has already been reported.

  6. 6
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    Coincidentally, Smith botched 4th quarter 4th down play calls against WSU as well as their new coach Nick Rolovich at Hawaii.

    4th down and 6 to gain at OSU’s own 34 yard line, tie game. Smith decides this is the perfect time to try having his punter make a 6+yard passing play. Pass incomplete, Hawaii regains possession deep in OSU territory. A few plays later they kick the field goal to go up 3 and it remained the final score. That one was wayyyy worse than the WSU play call.

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        Nevada game had some terrible calls, too. That was early on so I figured rookie mistakes…
        Making calls seems to be his weakest point.

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          Undoubtedly. But those were of the “well, we SHOULD convert this because we’re a better team” variety. Choker ultimately lost that game for us, not JS.

          The Hawaii punt fake call was more in the “meathead idiocy” category.

          • 1
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            Such a bad play. But it was agressive!

            ‘@Coach_Smith on fake punt play vs. Hawaii: “(Andre Bodden was) open, and (Daniel Rodriguez) missed him. We wanted to err on the side of aggression. I felt confident the way our defense was playing. We thought we caught them off guard. We did. We didn’t execute the play.”

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            Ah there’s his comment about being aggressive. I didn’t know that existed, but it’s no surprise. I’ve noticed coaches over and over hiding behind “I was aggressive! […what do you want, one of that pussies like Riley at the helm?]” It’s almost every head guy in every sport. When they make an error they resort to that, if they can. They also always blame execution. It’s never the wrong call, only poor execution. Smith’s line is straight out of the “excuses for bad decisions” playbook.

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            It’s a question of probability. What was the probability of Rodriguez making that throw? For a fake punt, it’s almost never high enough to justify the risk without having time left on the clock to fix your stupid mistake.

            Even if you’re a coach with great ideas, the most important part of making decisions is understanding what your team can and can’t execute. You could be a genius calling plays for a middle school team, but without a QB that can complete passes, it doesn’t matter.

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            The whole “i felt confident with the way our defense was playing” line doesn’t make sense either. If you’re confident, punt the ball down the field and let your defense do their job. Instead you give Hawaii the ball at your own 34? It doesn’t matter how well your defense is playing, the opponent is going to find a way to get points in the scenario. It was a gift, hinging on your punter being able to complete a 6 yard pass without any problems.

          • “I felt confident the way our defense was playing” = I feel confident that our defense is playing bad and isn’t going to stop them. Right? That’s the only thing that makes sense in that context.

          • @alex
            That would make sense if he meant that. Hard to tell from the quote. We had a rough first half defenively but held them to a single TD in the 2nd half, so I could see it meaning either.

            Still doesn’t justify giving Hawaii a short field with 4 minutes left with the acore tied. (I was wrong on the time remaining. Looks like it was 4:18)

            It’s funny to read the twitter reactions from that moment. Canzano’s in there too.

            https://twitter.com/search?q=oregon%20hawaii%20fake%20punt&s=09

          • I’m not totally following Smith’s logic on the Hawaii fake punt, he almost makes it sound like Rodgriguez had more than one read when he’s talking about him missing an open Bodden. When would a punter have multiple reads on a fake?

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        Surprised at the downvotes here. Go back amd read the Hawaii game thread. Even rhe Luton supporters were down on him in that game. He was terrible. Some if his later games were better, but Hawaii was ugly all around

  7. Here’s my early early preview of the first game,

    Offense Offense Offense. As seen around the nation, offense is going to win games early on. I think Jefferson can have a huge game and as long as Gebbia is workman like, Beavs have a great shot at winning. Protect the defense by keeping them off the field.

    Defense is going to have to be creative. The dline is under manned and CBs are questionable. Not a great recipe vs the run and shoot. They’ll need to make plays on 1st and 2nd down and get to 3rd and long. Linebackers and safeties are solid. Limit big plays and just make a couple more stops than WSU and that’s a win. I don’t expect the defense to play well or consistently in the first couple games.

    WSU is at a couple disadvantages. New coaching staff and systems on both sides on the ball and a new QB.

    Beavs should be slightly favored here due to uncertainty at WSU.

    • I think it’s going to be all about limiting unforced errors. Both teams have big question marks, but we have the edge in continuity. With a new offense and new skill players, there’s no excuse for our defense allowing more than 30 points.

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      I feel like our secondary is solid.Then the depth and skill at LB more than makes up for a weak line. I am with Angry, this team can win the north. I am not concerned with WSU at all.

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      I can handle not getting away from him in this context.

      Looking forward to DBs not looking for the ball and getting PIs all day chopping at the arms of our WRs. And a lot of hand jiving that I can laugh at now.

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    Spreads are up for this week’s games.
    Surprised to see Wisconsin is still favored over Nebraska now that they are down to their 4th string QB, while Nebraska has 2 starting QBs splitting time.
    Poor Frost.

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    16 years ago today the Boston Red Sox ended an 86 year World Series drought by sweeping the St Louis Cardinals.

    Tonight the Los Angeles Dodgers can end a 32 year World Series drought.

    Dodgers manager Dave Roberts won his only World Series ring as a player for that 2004 Red Sox team. He was inactive for the World Series but you might remember his steal of 2nd base in the 9th inning of game 4 vs the Yankees in the ALCS. Bill Mueller singled him in for the game tying run off Mariano Riviera and the Red Sox eventually won in 12 innings to spark a comeback from an 0-3 series deficit. 8 straight wins later and the Red Sox celebrated at Busch Stadium.

    The NBA finals champion in 1988 was the Los Angeles Lakers.

    The 2020 NBA finals champion was the Los Angeles Lakers.

    Whiskey was a 13 year old punk kid in 1988 going into his last year of middle school the last time the Dodgers hoisted the trophy. He’s on the downhill side now. It’s been that long.

    The signs all point to the Dodgers ending this thing tonight and Whiskey binging on napkins.

    Go Blue. Sweep the leg! Finish them!!!

    And fuck the Astros. In the neck. With a pitchfork.

  10. Smith mentioned the special teams in his press conference today. He said lightbourn had good power but was also placing the ball where they wanted him to. Also mentioned that hayes nailed a 58 yarder to end the practice. Both those guys will be huge in OSUs fight for the north. If we have a kicker that can hit 55 yds and in at an above average percentage could really help this team take the next step. Also if we could consistently get touchbacks that also could be huge.

      • Exactly. He was able to redeem himself after that lsu game. Too bad choukair never could do that. I still can’t believe that lsu game. Luck o’ da beavs.

          • It’s so crazy that we were possibly one kick away from the national championship game (probably not due to strength of schedule). At least a Rose Bowl.

            Does anyone think that would have changed the trajectory of the program, even if we lost to FSU? Or do we still hire Riley once DE inevitably leaves for the NFL?

          • Cesca missed some easy FG’s against USC the season after that cost the team a probable bowl bid as they should have been 6-5. That dude needs to write a check to the program for the money he cost them.

    • Also mentioned were Gumbs, Bennett, and Morris.
      Per JS: All missing some practice as a precaution but expected to be ready for the game vs Cougs.
      Per oob: All will be missed if they aren’t very close to 100%

      • It’s good to hear that it’s nothing serious with Bennett. I guess Skelton was the only one who played NT the whole scrimmage. Even with Bennett only having two NTs is a serious problem especially with covid. It almost seems like the coaches don’t seem worried otherwise you would see them trying to bring in a transfer or something. I wonder if they’re wanting to move towards a smaller quicker NT. This staff did bring in Whitley right?

        • This just in from the GT, surprising given that the D apparently wasn’t too sharp on Saturday.
          Smith is quoted, “The interior defensive line — I know the first-team defense didn’t have their best day — but those guys continue to create some havoc. I’m really, really happy with where they’re at. They showed up on Saturday.”

          • Well someone reported it was only Skelton. So at least he’s solid. I think that was on the dam podcast also. Wouldn’t be surprising if they were wrong either.

    • Need accuracy over distance. Kickers need to be near automatic inside 40. But nice to know he’s got enough leg if needed and hopefully that translates to kickoffs as well. Would like to see a lot of touchbacks.

      • Agree. I think that power helps accuracy somewhat. Its easier to be accurate when you’re not having to strain to get the distance. He was pretty accurate last year in limited attempts. I think I saw a report that some walk on was kicking off in the last scrimmage. It might’ve been the dam podcast.

        • I think Hayes is still a walk-on unless something changed in the offseason.

          He’s automatic on XP’s. After the Choker years, that’s an upgrade. I’d rather not have to sweat the easy ones than have a guy that looks great nailing them from 58 in practice.

  11. Wisconsin cancels game vs Nebraska this weekend due to outbreak on team. Took out the top 2 QBs and even the head coach, former OSU OC Paul Chryst.

    PAC12 may end up with the same number of games as the BIG10.

      • Don’t say it. I already plunked down $50 for a cutout at Reser. I want to see myself on TV at least once before they cancel the season.

          • I’m skeptical we get a full season, but hopefully at least a few games.
            Every sneeze and cough is going to make everybody freak out this winter. Cases will increase with the cold weather as people move indoors. I’m not looking forward to this winter season.
            My daughter already caught a cold earlier this week. She got it first and 7 year olds are so nasty with their snotty noses and coughing, there’s just no way for the rest of us to avoid getting sick too. Now my son and I are both sick. I’m sure my wife loves being in our house right now. She’s next

          • I think we will have a season. But that is through the prism of being on the west coast. The gov’t reacted much differently out here and kept cases lower. Strict lockdowns early and slow reopenings vs other states where lockdowns were met with much more resistance. And it does seem people here adhere to the mask mandates. When I go to any store, 100% masks on or even walking by people outside, they’ll put their mask on as will I. Just a different mindset here, people are more cautious and resistance is not sustained. The Salem protests vs Gov Brown has no effect.

            Testing also seems to be better. Positivity rates in CA and WA are below the CDC guidelines of 5%. Oregon is 6-7% but has never been higher than 10%. CO does a decent job too, was under 5% during the summer but now but is rising. AZ has done a much better job vs earlier. They are under 10% after being in the 20%s during the summer. Utah is the state to watch. Positivity rates has increased since March. Currently in the high teens.

            Wisconsin is at 28% positivity rate meaning they aren’t catching all the cases and it’s spreading.

          • NB we had the same thing happen with my 5yo as soon as preschool started. Our whole house was sick for two weeks. Of course, it also coincided with a false positive COVID test at his school that we didn’t know was false for a few days, so we got tested, too.

            The bright side is there’s some evidence that having a cold recently could offer some protection against COVID because the majority of cold viruses are coronaviruses. So there’s that.

          • @Beav In OH
            Yeah, kids are nasty when it comes to illness.

            That’s how I feel about it too. Would rather have a cold now and possibly build up some immunity. If it helps, great, if not, at least the cold bug has come and gone through our house early and we hopefully don’t have it hit us later during the holidays. Gotta keep grandma away from our house for awhile though so she doesn’t get hit.

    • Chryst seems to have a good rep as a coach and as a person, noticed he has a nephew on the Beavs squad too. Doubtful they’ve had close contact lately though with both busy with FB.

      Oh yeah, the Wiscy/Nebbie contest was one of the easier calls in this weeks pick ’em. Guess Frosty will avoid a defeat this time around.

    • Good way for them to stay undefeated and not have to play a game with a fourth string qb. If Alabama plays 5 games and is undefeated, they will get into the CFP. Same with Ohio State. It’ll be interesting to see if any programs go this route.

  12. REMINDER
    The 10th Annual Beaver Football Preview Show will air live at 5 p.m. today on all Learfield radio affiliates and Tune-In, KEX 1190 in Portland will air the show beginning at 6 p.m.
    You’ll have to sift the wheat from the chaff (usually lots of chaff), but it’s always good to hear BIG JIM’s comments.

    • Jaydon Grant as a captain is pretty cool. Wasn’t he a walk-on originally?

      Nice to see so much representation from the defense. Hopefully that’s a sign of that unit leading the team this year.

    • If you look at the mask adherence rate (granted, self-reported) in the US, there’s no correlation with case numbers. That doesn’t disprove causation, but the data on masks is still very much up in the air. I’ve always been in the camp that it makes intuitive sense that masks would help, so we should wear them, but I also think they give people a false sense of security.

      • I’d have to guess that businesses and people paying more attention to cleaning the commonly touched areas,( ATM card pads/door handles/shopping carts etc), is having an effect also. People are constantly touching their eyes/nose/mouth and touching all of those things in between.

        • Yeah I heard gas pumps are #1 for contraction. No idea how anyone would know that, but it does make sense and falls into the same category as those things.

          • Possibly why Oregon has been one of the better states at keeping numbers down?
            Can’t get Covid from gas pumps when you can’t pump your own gas.

      • Amazingly one of my employees actually had the Flu B virus and not Corona when he got tested. He was out for a week and said it was the worst flu he has had.

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            Actually, yes. He told me today that he did. It was sort of funny, he wears a mask most of the time and got his shot and still got Flu B. Sort of makes you question the randomness of these diseases. He was pretty annoyed at the situation, but back at work today in good spirits.

      • Schools are a massive flu spreader as well. And being as most schools are remote, or hybrid models, and I’d imagine a lot more safety precautions with sick kids/faculty in the in person schools, I’d think that would be a huge portion of why there is little amounts of flu spreading.

        • No doubt… but it all of the stuff that we are doing to reduce the spread of Covid that has to be having an impact on flu transmission. But who knows could have been a super mild flu season without Covid too. But one does wonder if our Covid precautions are the main reason behind the 20 fold reduction in flu cases… and if that is the case that means Covid is one of the most transmissible viruses ever encountered in humans.

  13. Gray looks like the real deal in today’s interview. Well spoken and seems intelligent. Looks very solid for a guy his size not flabby like a lot of O-lineman look.

    Lindgren says that Quitoriano is an elite blocker. He says that Musgrave was somewhat of a liability at times in the run game last year but has come a long way.

    Champ says that the big difference in the secondary is experience and familiarity with the scheme. Talked about disguising coverages and communicating. Might be the reason Daschel had a lot of the jucos outside the two deep. The staff might be putting a premium on playbook knowledge and experience. Don’t they say something like 80% of defense is getting lined up correctly? Maybe down the road the jucos start to crack into the starting lineup or at least two deep.

    Smith highlighted Julian again.

      • How can you know that without seeing any of the practices? He might be the most talented but is a liability right now because he’s not familiar enough with the system. Sounds like Austin has been leading the camp in picks which I would’ve never guessed. It’s hard to judge any coaching decisions on who to play without actually seeing any of them taking reps.

        • Not saying that is necessarily true but just pointing out that guys could’ve made huge leaps from a year ago that we would’ve never considered to be starting material.

    • It’ll be nice having jucos on special teams, push the starters in practice, etc and not walk on guys or guys that Really should be in a lower division.

  14. Anyone catch the preview show from Spirit Mountain? I’d be interested in reactions.
    As mentioned, there is often a lot of chaff and little wheat in these broadcasts and this one was no different, IMHO.

    Takeaways:
    -Champ got good mention for having NO Drops.
    -BIG JIM opined that he expects more 2TE sets than not
    -Positive mention for James Rawls
    -Kolby Taylor got points for downfield blocking
    -Parker mentioned Gebbia’s knowledge of every possible route/read …I wonder, could this be a detriment to quick play?
    -Callan seemed more doubtful about Gumbs being ready for WSU than reports we’ve seen.

    I don’t believe David Morris was mentioned, hope this doesn’t indicate that he’ll be doubtful for many games this season.

    And, from the “water is wet” file………….BIG JIM feels the ucks are OVERHYPED !!

    • 2TE to help out the run blocking, plus both are capable pass catchers, with Musgrave the better receiver of the two.

      “Parker mentioned Gebbia’s knowledge of every possible route/read……I wonder, could this be a detriment to quick play?” – I don’t think so. Gebbia doesn’t memorize the routes, he knows WHY they’re run the way they they are. I think that helps him be able to alter the rate of play as needed.

    • Why? Because nobody reads that toilet paper. But that is pretty crazy information. Why do they even bother with the antigen test? That’s 5 out of 5 false positives. So what are the odds of false negatives? Sounds to me like that test is worth as much as that toilet paper.

      • I think it was mentioned on here before that there’s a fairly high possibility for false positives because of how the test works. Basically, if they run it for too long, past a certain point, the longer it runs, the higher the probability of a false positive.

        Out of the six tests that people within my immediate circle have taken, there have been two false positives.

        Always take individual test results that you read/hear about with a grain of salt.

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        “because nobody reads that toilet paper”

        It was reported in multiple outlets. Apparently you seem to think the link I provided is the only source?

        Why do the corona bros lose their shit when 5 positive COVID cases are reported? But are then silent when it turns out they’re false positives?

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      Man that Dave guy is long winded you’re lucky to get a min of sports talk for every 5 min of nonsense. Who writes a book on that piece of shit cook? Especially waste 9 years working on it? That guy is the most hated man in Hawaiian history.

    • A few things of interest.

      Hayes says he feels comfortable anywhere from 60 in.

      Lightbourn said he was in a bad place mentally in Nebraska. Was it frosts culture? Also will most likely be doing the kickoffs.

      Dunn talks about scheme familiarity again. Also mentioned how the secondary is learning multiple positions.

      Tibs said julian is playing well and had a pick. I think he said from the safety position.

      Jaden Robinson, Arnold, miller,Fisher, Doug have all been special teams standouts.

      Tibs wants improved pass rush and coverage. He said they need to win 1 on 1 battles with the RBs and O-lineman.

  15. Blitz has a two deep depth chart up. A few things of note.

    Moore and Nolan are 1a 1b backup.

    Beason is starting at wr. Champ also starting not too fond of that personally.

    LG is nous and RG is montibon.

    Shippen is backing up Hodgins. Skelton starting NT with anderson backing him up. No Bennett.

    Julian starting safety opposite of Morris. Arnold and Moran backing up.

    Champ and Bolden KR. Bradford and then Gould PR.

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    Gotta say, I’m not a fan of the super-secretive approach where most team information is severely restricted (injuries, depth chart, etc). I know it’s the norm in today’s environment, and there’s a constant fear of providing a competitive advantage to your opponents. But I really question how significant that advantage really is. What I know for sure is that it’s a bummer for the fans, and that impact may be pretty significant for a team like the Beavs that really needs engagement. The first scrimmage being zero-access to fans or media – and having no info posted after the fact – is pretty ridiculous imo.

    That’s the one thing I miss from the Riley days.

    I think the NCAA should mandate some openness, similar to what the NFL does. Dictate minimum media access, injury reports, etc. It makes for a better product with better fan engagement, and the rules dispel any “competitive advantage” concerns.

    • I like it as a fan in terms of it increasing our odds of winning, but dislike it as a fan in terms of engagement.
      There was a lot more to write about under Riley, and a lot more debate about camp performance etc, that’s for sure.

    • Agree it sux for fans and makes it hard for us to question any depth chart decisions they make without being able to see what is taking place at all. I do think it’s a bigger advantage than you think tho. Rolovic not letting anyone know who the starting QB is going to be is a good example of this. Not that there is much on tape of any of them but still makes it hard on the D to gameplan.

  17. I’m surprised by how things seem to be shaking out at WR. This seemed like a position of strength for us heading into the fall, but quite a few of these guys don’t seem to be fulfilling their potential (e.g. Lindsay, Taylor, Irish).

    This may be the first year in a while we don’t have a true go-to guy at receiver. Time for Musgrave to step up.

    • Or Smith has the wrong guys on the field…
      Happens all the time with coaches for a variety of reasons.
      I’m definitely more bearish on the season seeing who’s at WR.

    • Gotta say I wasn’t impressed with Lindsay last year. He seemed more interested in dancing then getting downfield, and had some drops and mental mistakes. No one outside of Hodgins got a lot of looks but I liked what I saw out of Taylor a lot more. Bradford also looks good when healthy.

      • I’ve always liked Taylor. It seems I. The limited targets he received he always made plays. I would like to see him starting instead of champ. If Gebbia is or was having accuracy issues a 5″5 receiver isn’t going to help him out at all. He doesn’t have much reach and isn’t going to win many 50/50 balls unless it’s cal poly which really inflated his numbers last year. I do think we see heaven rotation at the position and depends on the play who will be out there. Also like someone mentioned above I think we see lots of double TE sets. Herm last year said that those sets killed them and they weren’t able to force us to get out of it. Could be a huge weapon for them with Musgrave being a better version of Togiai.

        • Agree on Taylor, thought he looked good when he got chances last year. Champ looked good given his size limitations, but those limitations are real. Prefer him as a rotational player.

          Given that I didn’t see a lot of guys stepping up last year, I’m encouraged to hear that a highly touted freshman is playing well and may even be starting. More upside potential IMO. I am high on Harrison but am not optimistic that he plays. And even if he’s cleared last minute, seems likely that the uncertainty will have limited his reps (from the coaching staff) and his engagement. May not be fully ready.

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          Taylor is a good possession receiver. Slow but solid. I think he’ll be involved, probably on 3rd downs, even if he doesn’t start.
          Bradford is good. Lindsey is good just needs confidence. NE messed him up.

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            Taylor has had some bad drops the last two years that I think have hurt his chances at more playing time. He was a guy I was really high on after seeing him catch passes from Moran in HS, but he hasn’t lived up to that yet in games.

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    These pressers lately have been interesting. D and coaches talking about how even if they feel they’re perfect the coaches are telling them how to improve.
    Do they really think they’re perfect? I haven’t heard talk like this ever.

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      It’s one way to motivate guys. Constant improvement. Several ways to deliver that message. Not sure this way is the best.

      The defense’s motivation should be to prove skeptics like me wrong.

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    Hayes is interesting, too. First time I heard him talk. He sounds gay, for one, but also says with a straight face (BG level wit there) that he’s comfortable within 60 yards.

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      That’s a pretty bold assumption to make there angry based on the way the young man sounds. Think you should just focus on the strong confidence he has in his kicking game.

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        What assumption? I didn’t say he’s gay; I said he sounds gay. And who cares? Everyone is a little gay.

        I did focus on his kicking game. Impressive he feels good inside 60. TWHS.

        • ‘sounds’ gay – I didn’t hear the interview but, given CV circumstances/more time listening/background with radio podcasts, etc., voices seem more acutely noticed. I have wondered if npr purposely recruits female, rapid-as-possible speakers who sound like candidates for adenoid surgery. Fortunately, there is the BBC.

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    Just working my way through all the old sedge interviews…this team has chemistry. You can see it in these interviews. All players are well spoken, smart, and it’s actually interesting to listen to them speak. Can’t say that’s ever been true in the past. Smith’s nerdiness panning out in smart, well spoken guys who are a joy to listen to.

    • Biggest takeaway from me was Tibesar’s comment about a lot of guys that were backups or role players improving and growing into being potential starters. That’s exactly what that unit needed.

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    Wow, Champ is 5’5. James Rodgers was 5’7.
    He’s intense…bet his height issues put a chip on his shoulder. I had him 5th or so on my depth chart, but with his intensity and maturity I can see why he’d move up.

    • You guys are talking lockdown and we’re starting to reopen schools here in oregon.
      Wonder if your shortage also has something to do with the smoke you’ve had and supply chain disruption?

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        I think it’s purely case explosion. “Second wave” seems worse than people imagined and is just getting started. We’re at an inflection point where people think we’re going to fight through it and not close; meanwhile hospitals once again are beginning to get overrun. I think the latter ultimately wins out, and we shut down again, but I’m not entirely confident in any outcome. I hope we don’t shut down again, though.

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        At least part of the shortage is due to people stocking up in preparation for “civil unrest” after the election……no matter who wins.

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    Everyone is front running post-election chaos without realizing the official tally won’t be closed until at least late November.

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      I flipped on some right wing radio the other day and the guy was going on and on about how the Dems and mail in voting are making it so we won’t have a count on Election Day and that is a violation of the constitution. Literally making shit up.

  23. What happened to Minnesota’s defense??? Scared to get Covid?? Heard today acc’s Covid protocol says if you test positive you are out 10 days. However, it’s 10 days starting from when you first felt symptoms. So you know where that is going. What is the pac 12s protocol for a player that tests positive? I hope it’s not 21 days like the big 10.

  24. I wonder if voters in Oregon realize we are about to decriminalize all recreational drugs in this state?

    One ballot measure is set to legalize magic mushrooms for medical use. The other, measure 110, is less obvious.
    It’s main language is around redirecting a portion of funds from legal marijuana sales to cover drug treatment facilities, but if you read further there is language in that measure calling to decriminalize all drugs for personal use with the goal of saving money by not prosecuting petty drug crimes and instead using the money saved by the legal system to divert drug users towards treatment facilities. Cocaine/Heroine/LSD/Methaphedamine use will still warrant a fine, but no jail/prison time. As if we didn’t have enough zombies walking around this state.
    Nancy Reagan is rolling in her grave.

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        You do realize the unintended consequences of every drug addict and dealer will move to Oregon. This bill also takes marijuanaOC taxes away from schools. This bill is a very bad idea!

          • What’s decriminalized in CO, aside from legal weed?
            In this case we’re talking about every substance being decriminalized. (Manufacture and distribution would still be illegal)
            I think OC Beaver is talking about the actual addictive substances like heroine and meth being what would attract addicts.
            Weed is becoming or already is legal most everywhere, especially in the west, so I could see how that wouldn’t cause people to uproot and move to CO.

          • Ah sorry didn’t realize it was everything. Just weed here, and I haven’t heard of any increase in drug dealers. If anything there are fewer as the legal shops popped up.

            I can see why you guys would be nervous with the heavier drugs.

      • Will be interesting to see if it works. Both of my brothers were addicts when they were in their 20’s. Their main deterrant, which got them to realize crystal meth was killing them and maybe wasnt such a good thing, was spending some time in jail and the fear of having to repeat that experience.
        All of the repetitive rehab and treatment they went through over a decade was temporary and they always went back to meth, among other substances. Meth was the real demon though.

        I agree it’s a health/medical issue, but I don’t have a ton of faith in rehabilitation being the lone answer.
        If you have spent any time around Portland in the past decade, you would see a dramatic increase in people walking around aimlessly, whacked out of their minds. The tents along the freeways are the tip of the iceberg. It’s turning more and more into a zombieland like landscape. It makes me wonder if it’s more of a supply issue than anything. There will always be demand as long as they can supply product to people with addictive personalities and get them hooked. If you’re allowed to possess the stuff, there’s a better chance of getting hooked.

        What I’m not looking forward to is other states sending their addicts to oregon in search of more lenient laws. “Hey, if you move to oregon, you wont have to go to jail anymore. We can buy you a bus ticket today if it means we never have to book you into our jails again.”

        • My brother had that problem as well, with booze. He had to go through dark days, and that’s the only thing that got him out of it – realizing his friends weren’t friends and his crowd was shit. Now he’s a councilor, goes to AA, and helps others.

          • Booze was also a problem for my bros, but was always viewed as a lesser of 2 evils type of thing. but all of it combined had pretty extreme consequences.
            One got clean through becoming super religeous, the other is also clean but has permanent brain damage. He’s basically a 40 year old adult vegetable. His life consists of walking around aimlessly all day and smoking cigarettes. Anti social and has no drive to really do anything ever. Can’t hold a job because he cant function like a normal adult. He’s lucky he has family around him that is able to support him because he could easily be one of the street zombies. He even spent a little time living that life in the early 2000’s, before it was so widespread.

            The thing that bothers me about this ballot measure is it buries the lead. The voter pamphlet presents it as if you’re voting to divert marijuana tax revenue to go towards drug treatment programs. That sounds attractive at face value. But nowhere in the voter pamphlet does it mention decriminalizing all substances. You would need to independently research the deeper text of the issue to discover that. I really think that’s a disservice to the people voting on this issue, especially in a year where the ballot has so many items requiring a vote.

          • I should mention, like in the case of my younger brother, this stuff can leave permanent scars on people. There is no scenario where he will ever be able to rehab back to his “normal” state of functioning. So yes, rehab may help people get clean eventually, but much of the damage is irreperable. Normalizing the use and abuse of some of these substances is a very slippery slope.

          • He did have a period where he was hit by some massive seizures that were drug induced. I remember years ago getting a call from some of his friends he was partying with that he was tripping balls big time.
            I went to pick him up and bring him home. It was supposedly related to LSD, but who knows. Was like watching a record skip over and over. Almost like his brain would function for a fee seconds and then reboot, kept repeating the same movements over and over. Really weird stuff.
            He also used to get really bad seizures induced by Antabuse that he was ordered to take by the courts. For those who dont know what that is, it’s a substance that us supposed to make your body react whenever it comes into contact with alcohol, to hopefully prevent you from abusing alochol.
            But the seizures it induced were violent. He’d be standing there and suddenly lose bodily control and collapse to the floor. I’m amazed he never got injured from the falls.

      • It shifts thinking to view drug addiction as a medical issue and not a criminal issue.
        And, in doing so, expands the size of the Oregon Health Authority by “reducing revenue to the State School Fund, the State Police, mental health programs, and local governments.”

        BTW, school fund takes the biggest hit, do you doubt that will be back-filled by future tax increases?

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    A good write up on colletto. Kind of sounds like he went through a tough time mentally maybe similar to lightbourn? I think it’s easy to forget just how young and sometimes fragile these kids actually are. They’re away from their families and friends with a huge amount of pressure and responsibility put on them.

    One of the noticeable differences in Smith’s recruits compared to GA is that the kids seem mature, intelligent, and are focused. GA seemed to recruit a lot of head cases and non qualifiers. The Beavs don’t have the luxury of having a lot of misses in recruiting and still be ok. If everyone can qualify and don’t want to transfer at the first sign of adversity that’s a huge win and at the very least builds depth and avoids holes.

  26. Had somebody message me about the potential of a couple guys transferring after Smith broke the news of the 2 deep to the team. No names given yet, but something to keep an eye on

  27. A few things of note in an article from Daschel.

    Bennett practiced saturday.

    Smith is hopeful morris will be ready for the opener.

    Gumbs is questionable for the opener.

    Smith said they feel like they have 7 or 8 guys who could start on the O line.

    They cut camp a day early to get one more day of game prep for WSU.

    • Anyone else find the continual drama over the physical condition of Morris and Gumbs to be a major concern? This isn’t the first time lately that they’ve missed practice and had coaches say they are “hopeful”, or that they are not full go “as a precaution.”

      With those two at 100% the D could be in the top 3 of the PAC, without……….well the D will be better than last season but still middle of the PAC. Anyway, that’s how I see it, am I being a debbie downer here?

      • When has Morris’s health not been a concern? Gumbs as well but he was hurt when he got here and then same thing happened to his other knee. Hopefully a fluke. It takes a long time to come back 100% from an acl year. Unless you’re adrian Peterson and have an nfl surgeon and training staff. Personally I’d rather be conservative with gumbs, Morris on the other hand needs to play or maybe retire sorry to say. Even though he’s a great athletes and talent some people’s bodies just can’t handle the riggers of football. He might need to walk away while he can still walk without pain.

        • I’m afraid you may be rignt about Morris. Sad to see and hopefully he has good support to ease the mental strain if he does put FB behind.

        • Did Morris hurt himself already in practice this year or is this the lingering foot injury? I would say that this is sort of a lost season with only seven games and eligibility not counting, so if they are coming back, they could get healthier for 2021.

          • He came out and said at the end of last season “it’s just something I’m always going to have to deal with.” I wouldn’t count on the drama ending any time soon unless he decides to hang up the cleats. If he’s questionable without having even played in a game, I have a feeling he isn’t going to last very long this season.

      • Oneoldbeav:

        I don’t think we need Gumbs to be a contender. We’re stacked at LB, and I don’t think the dropoff there is huge. If he’s right I imagine he’ll start but I think we’ll be fine without him. Morris is a much bigger concern imo. But either way I think our defense will be good.

        • Just sayin’ without BOTH Gumbs and Morris I see our D dropping from top 3 in the PAC to more like 4-7. Still “good” but not the elite group I’d imagined for the last several months.
          Having had hopes dashed by the Beavs before maybe I’m a little gun shy. We’ll soon find out.

          And I agree that Morris is the bigger potential loss, particularly (as you mention) because of depth at the two positions as well as experience in the system.

  28. 2
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    Cfp could be wide open this year. Doesn’t look like any conference will get two teams in.

    Sec – Only alabama has a clear path to the cfp.

    ACC – down to two teams. Clemson won’t have lawrence vs notre dame and then notre dame will likely have to beat clemson twice to make it in.

    Big 12 put themselves in a huge hole today. Likely champ will have two losses.

    Big10 basically has Ohio St as a contender.

    If the pac12 can get an undefeated team to the end, they will make the cfp thanks to the big12.

    Don’t see a g5 school making it even if undefeated. They will have had a fairly untested schedule.

    • Do you think there’s any chance an 11-0 BYU with a win over a ranked Boise st could make it in?
      Not saying they would belong, but being ranked #11 currently with teams dropping around them, I wonder if they could manage to move up and sneak in?

        • 1
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          Cincy destroyed a decent Memphis team. Finkel has them playing tough defense. Their level of competition isn’t great, but I think it’s better than BYU’s. If BYU beats Boise it might start some conversation, but there’s something going on with Bachmeier so he may not play.

      • Rankings are kind of unreliable this year. Without non conference games, it’s hard to tell who’s a contender or a pretender. Unc, oklahoma and Penn St were in the top 10 only to be found to be big frauds. G5 are getting ranked higher due to the big10 and pac 12 starting later.

        A g5 school would have to blowout every opponent to be considered.

  29. 6
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    In the battle of dubious Beaver connections, Brady Hoke destroyed Anderpants 38-7 in the last game of the day. Anderpants has proven that his Aggies are non-competitive with the best of the Mountain West in the first two games. Sounds familiar to me.

    Serial downvoter is at it again. Really, defending Andersen?

  30. Watched a little of Iowa yesterday vs. Northwestern and watched the traitor Petras at QB for Iowa. I don’t think the Beavers missed out on not landing this kid at least at this point. He might turn out to be a good one but playing vs. NWstrn, he didn’t impress. I talked to a few NFL scouts too and they agreed with me. LOL

  31. How are USC and Oregon ranked 20th and 12th in the polls?
    So you can play zero games and wind up in the top 25?
    Both moved up last week, too.

    • They’re just operating under preseason logic where it’s based entirely on name recognition. Once they actually play games, their rankings should make more sense.

      Also, Liberty is in the top 25 after beating absolutely no one, so that should tell you how much the polls really matter right now. If we can knock off the Washington schools in the first two weeks, we should be ranked.

      • I guess I just don’t understand how you can (a) rank a team that isn’t playing when other teams are and (b) move a team that’s not playing up in the standings as other teams are actually playing…

    • How are you surprised? College football has always been a beauty pageant. Sadly I think only UofO, USC and maybe Washington have a shot at the playoff out of all the P12 teams finishing undefeated in hypothetical scenarios.

      • I’m surprised because a team that has played 0 games shouldn’t be ranked above a team that’s played 7 games…ever. It’s super ridic. The idea you can play 0 games all year and finish 12th (and rising!) in the rankings…Oregon might be better off not playing.

        • Yeah I agree totally that it is dumb but I am not at all surprised. I never understood why Oregon still tries to schedule decent OOC opponents. I think they have graduated into top model status and their goal should be to avoid tough games and just let the voters pick them for the name and recruiting rankings… so I suppose they deserve some kudos for that.

    • In the past, starting his career against OSU would have been the perfect way for him to announce himself to the country and launch his Heisman campaign. Hopefully we can trust Tibesar that the defense really is improved and we can hold them under 30 points.

      I’m curious how real the tOSU and USC offers are, since his offer list is pretty short outside of those (BYU, Hawaii, SDSU, WKU). He originally committed to Leach, so it’s not like he’s a Rolovich/Hawaii guy. Maybe I’m overthinking it and this is just another classic case of “Hawaii boy falls in love with Pullman.” A tale as old as time…

    • The bad news is that he’s been running the run and shoot since grade school so he’ll grasp the offense immediately.

      Wouldn’t be a surprise to see Cruz transfer, he doesn’t seem like a run and shoot guy.

  32. The closer the wazzu game gets, the more nervous I’m getting. Mostly because it’s a game the beavs should win even though cougs are favored by 3.5. No longer do I expect them to lose most games. This year needs to be another increase in win percentage.

      • Lol… yeah give people a day or two to get it out of their system then follow it up with a new game thread without politics and if people want to keep going at it they can in the old thread. But whatever you decide Angry is fine by me.

    • Seems like a good chance the election results wont be final till days/weeks after the election. Been reading there’s a very good chance neither candidate will have enough electoral votes as of election night, and at that point one candidate is already claiming he will go to the courts to attempt to challenge certain state’s counting practices. So barring a landslide for either candidate on election night, this thing has a good chance of dragging out.

      That being said, my “vote” would be for a sports only thread and a general thread for any other stuff. But whatever works best for you

      • I don’t think the electoral college actually votes til like mid December so technically we never know the official tally on election night.

        • Good point, but we usually know how most of the electoral votes are going to land. Like in 2016 with some level of confidence, even if all votes havent been tallied. This election won’t play out so quickly with all of the mail-in counting and legal disputes.

  33. 1
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    Just read that Jake Luton might start for the Jags coming off the bye, they must be hoping to catch the Jets for the 1st overall pick.

  34. I’m just happy it is being aired on FS1 so I can see it. Pac-12 network really sucks. I can get every other conference through Hulu or many other outlets but Pac-12 has like 2 outlets. In the words of Joe Biden… “Come on man!”

    • BTW. I went to a Best Buy the other day wearing my OSU Football T-shirt, walk to the line going in and the guy I stood behind turns and says “are you looking forward to the Beavers verses the Cougars game?” Without filter or hesitation answered “yeah, it might be our only win of the year.” I then noticed he was wearing a Cougars Football T-shirt….. awkward.

    • Disappointing to see Lindsey with an OR for 2nd string, Levengood listed as starting LG, Morris and Grant listed as co starters at safety with Akili Arnold as the other Starter

    • I almost nailed the offense, other than Lindsey. Strange he can’t beat out Flemings. My issue with Fleming is he’s going to result in a lot of INTs due to his size.

      D is a bit strange…Sharp over Gumbs must mean Gumbs is hurt. I like Sharp, though, and had him rated highly out of HS. Julian likely starts at some point or maybe is the nickle. Skelton is a guy I didn’t have in the mix and he’s starting. Biggest miss.

      This isn’t the worst depth chart, but I think we’d be better with mine.

      • I don’t think Sharp is listed over Gumbs – I see Gumbs, Hughes-Murray, and Mccartan as co-starters opposite Hamilcar.

        Then Sharp and Tago are the backups.

      • Champ seems like one of those guys who impresses in practice, but never quite shows up in games. Time will tell, I guess.

        Julian isn’t listed anywhere on the Nickel list (though Grant is listed there and at safety.)

      • There aren’t a lot of options other than Skelton at NT. He has the size edge over Bennett and neither really did much of anything last year. Definitely our weakest spot, unless one of those guys have made big strides.

    • 1
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      Seems like a relatively small set of starting receivers, plus a QB who has thrown low at times. Hope it doesn’t become an issue.

      I still don’t agree with Champ starting….

  35. 3
    3

    Luton starting. I guess the football gods are getting him back after he broke his back. The gods said my bad. Play in the NFL as a makeup for that.

    Jax coach not exactly giving a ringing endorsement. “Might as well look, Might as well see what we have. Go ahead and play him and let’s go”

    So basically, bet a bunch of money on the Jags to lose next Sunday.

    • Seems he’s getting thrown into a bad situation with no real support or expectations. Will the OLine be able to help him out? Hope he doesn’t get hurt.

      • It’s not a great situation, but it’s not hopeless. He’s got some good WRs and a pretty solid RB (who’s pretty good in pass protection). O-line isn’t good, but there’s definitely other QBs in worse situations (maybe even Herbert).

        We’ll see – hope he doesn’t get hurt as well!

  36. Took a quick look at WSU’s QB. He’s got good accuracy but he won’t throw guys open with his arm. He can run a little bit but not one who will take over a game. I’d say pretty similar to the Hawaii QB from last year.

    Might be a guy who will dink and dunk you to death and then escape here and there to make a 1st down. If the Beavs can make him throw more to the outside, his ball can float sometimes and get picked off.

    • Hopefully we’re able to get good constant pressure on him. I hate getting torched by running QBs so hopefully this team is better at stopping that than previous defenses. Has Hughes Murray ever been a very good pass rusher? I can’t seem to remember him ever getting many sacks.

    • if he can get rid of it quickly, even dinking and dunking, that makes it tough to rush the passer.

      I’d like to see them blow up receivers up at the LOS once in a while (situationally) to throw the timing off…

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