General Discussion
It sounds like QB musical chairs will continue for another week. Hearing Mannion will start vs Cal. Hey, maybe we will see Richie Harrington before all is said and done. Does Riley have an eligibility left? Maybe he can Pete Rose us and call his own number.
Those who noted Cal is no longer an easy win are spot on. Should be a win based on match ups, but you gotta think this team is shot. The win cap theory is at stake (given that Nicholls State is back on the schedule. What a championship week game that will be!). I think there's a line piling up to tell me how wrong I am if Riley notches that 9th win vs the mighty Colonels. And for the mathematically challenged, a win cap of 8 means he has to win 9 (some don't seem to grasp that; ala how there are 11 numbers between 0 and 10).
Hoops appears to be exactly what I thought (same as last year, only a little worse defensively). I'm basing that off the stats and comments I read here, though, as I didn't actually watch the games. Seems Burton is still throwing head-lopping passes. I'd rather have a guy who doesn't make the highlight reel pass, and doesn't make the mistakes that come with those passes.
Like Jimi Hendrix sang, Manic Depression is a frustrating mess. He could have easily substituted "OSU athletics".
New Mexico St @ Oregon State
Game thread.
Stanford Post-Game
There is a lot of talk about Vaz vs Mannion in the game thread. I don't know what to make of the situation. I think it was handled entirely wrong (Vaz should have started vs Washington; Mannion should have played vs ASU when he was actually recovered), and now there's a mess. Both guys have pluses and minuses that we all see. Since Mannion has more long-term upside he's the obvious play. The players seem to like Vaz more, though, and he had two nice games. Who knows, but now it's a mess due to the Washington game. I blame Riley, ultimately. It wasn't that hard a situation to manage, and he botched it.
Regarding today's game, I saw the Beavs slowly grab momentum through the 2nd and 3rd quarters. The irony is that they lost momentum on Romaine's third FG. When that ball went through, and Riley gave his shit-eating grin + fist pump, I knew the game was over. Counter-intuitive, I know, but Riley thought he had the game won there. Why wouldn't he? The D was playing great. But players sense when a coach lets up, and they follow the lead. So what happens on the next drive? Stanford marches down the field like they hadn't done for two quarters, the D lets up, guys miss tackles, Stanford scores on a huge play.
On the Beav's side, the play calling turns ugly and one-dimensional/predictable…pass heavy, but conservative passes (having the QB roll left on a 3rd and 2? Horrible call, but they always have horrible calls in key downs). We see OSU do this all the time when games are in the balance. It's like a vice clamps Riley's sack when it matters most. This is what I'd expect from a nice guy, beta coach. It's also why I came up with the win cap idea (not sure how that will turn out…Cal and N-State look like wins, but who knows now). Either way, there is definitely a win cap on clutch games, and it is pretty much zero. Hey, like the election, the majority have spoken, and they'll get what they ask for. Most OSU fans want this guy as coach, so this is what they'll get.
It was nice being emotionally checked out. Didn't care at all, just enjoyed a good game.
One more thing: Refs called a great game. We get on their case over constant F-ups, but that was a nicely called game.
Alamo Bowl is still in play (mathematically, so is the RB), but more likely it's the Holiday Bowl (formerly Sun Bowl). This is a good example of how things revert to the mean. Start slow, end fast; start fast, end slow. Does it matter? In the end, the trend is your friend, and the trend screams mediocrity.
Oregon State @ Stanford
If the winner of this game stays in the top 14, they're going to the Rose Bowl.
That's what is on the line.
That Washington loss is going to look worse as the season progresses–even with a win vs Stanford we'll be nail biting.
Here's a Stanford perspective from gomightycard. I usually do yearly interviews with them but passed this year; Cliff fields some questions. I think he's close to the mark on his analysis. The pivotal matchup is the Beav's run game vs the Cardinal D. If the Beavs get 100 yards they win.
One thing to watch for: Stanford's new QB. We always joke around about backups coming in and lighting it up. Let's see if it happens again.
Tough call, but I like Stanford in a close game, even though I think Stanford and their coach are both overrated. I think they'll shut down the run game (not a big Ward fan, Woods isn't himself, and Agnew fumbles) and that'll lead to trouble in the passing game.
24-16