No, nobody will fire Mark Banker because Mike Riley is too nice of a guy, so we have to cross our fingers and hope that another school takes him off our hands. Christmas just passed, but it’s not too early to think about an early 2010 gift, right?

Most fans complain of Banker’s inability to scheme against the spread (gap cancellation? more like gap creation) . It’s true, he’s horrible in his career against spread offenses, but another equally consistent problem is the secondary. It’s nothing new to note and write about the DBs refusal to turn their heads and make a play on the ball. I asked Cliff Kirkpatrick why nobody grills Banker on this point, and he told me he did ask Banker, and Mark said that a DB is faster when running without looking. Flat out, that kind of logic boarders on mental retardation.

1. What good is running fast if you’re not breaking up the pass?

2. The WR slows down to look for the ball as well.

3. There’s a reason nobody else in college football teaches Banker’s technique.

But Banker’s problems go even deeper. We saw Collins and Dockery miss tackle after tackle in the CW and versus BYU. They were constantly out of position with their bodies’ flailing at the defender. Steve Sanner, the recruiting guru over at rivals.com, tells me he loved Dockery on signing day. Three words: orange-colored glasses. Oh, and dating back to Keith Pankey’s flail at Toby Gerhart in 2008 and more recently with Keaton Kristick’s meltdown at USC, it seems the cancer that is being out of position and flailing has infected the linebacker corp as well. The guy is simply done here. He’s got his head up his ass dreaming of a head coaching gig; he’s said as much. Mike Riley won’t do it, though. He’ll do the family thing to the detriment of the program. This is another chance to replace a coach with a great coach/recruiter that will be missed…unless we’re “poached”, and cross your fingers that we are.

1. This team is flat, lacks leadership, and blew an opportunity for a top 15 finish.

2. Jordan Bishop drops every pass thrown to him. Not just in this game, but all year. He’s like Catchings part 2.

3. Why was Johnny Hekker on award lists? I don’t want to hear this guy is good ever again. He’s the worst punter in the conference by far.

4. Banker’s defense looks like a joke yet again.

5. BYU was practicing for a week before the Beavers. They didn’t take this game seriously.

6. Another national embarrassment. It’s guys like Mark May, Lou Holtz, and Rese Davis who you have to impress. They’re laughing at the Beavers.

7. Expect more of this national embarrassment next season. The Beavers never rise to the occasion when they’re the only game on primetime.

There are plenty of reasons to be nervous about this game.

1. This is practically a home game for BYU.

2. Nobody on the Beavers defense will be able to cover the BYU tight end.

3. Max Hall is great at moving the chains on 3rd down.

4. The Beavers red zone defense is terrible.

5. BYU was practicing and prepping for this game a week before the Beavers.

The positive is that the Beavers should be able to put up points on BYU’s slow, nonathletic defense. The game comes down to whether or not OSU’s defense can get off the field. Given my five points above, and the fact that historically the Beavers play (down) to the level of MWC and WAC opponents, a betting man would take the home dog, BYU. The line has me salivating. But I think the Beavers put up a monstrous offensive performance, their best of the year, and bail out yet another uninspired and incompetent defensive showing.

44-34, Beavs

From Ted Miller:

Oregon State certainly isn’t shy about scheduling.

It appears the Beavers are about to sign a game contract to open next season against TCU on Sept. 4 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

So Oregon State will be breaking in a new starting quarterback in front of 80,000 hostile fans in the most sparkling — distractingly so — venue in football.

The Beavers will be dropping Eastern Washington to add the Horned Frogs, who are presently unbeaten and headed to a Fiesta Bowl date with Boise State.

Did someone say Boise State?

Oregon State visits Boise State on Sept. 25, the week after playing Louisville. The Broncos are 71-2 playing on the blue turf since the 1999 season.

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac10/post/_/id/6343/oregon-state-close-to-inking-game-with-tcu

How do you guys feel about this? I think it’s great to challenge yourself, but you have to be smart and see what the BCS does/does not reward, and SOS is low on the list. Of course, perception plays a key role in the human polls so there is some reward to be gained there from this risk.  In the end, I’d prefer the Eastern Washington game since we’re breaking in a new QB. Before ganging up on Bobby D, realize that all scheduling decisions go through Riley, so he approved this.

If they don’t have one already. They might, I don’t keep track of these things, but if they do have one they need a better one.

One problem I’ve noticed the past few years is that the Beavers lose a lot of games versus opponents’ helmets (e.g. Penn State, USC) or ranking (Oregon x 2, Cincy). The only time they do well is when nothing is expected of them (e.g.  Cal in 2007) or the superior team hands them the victory (e.g. USC’s 4 turnovers in 2006).

I think this stems from two things:

1. The Beavers land recruits who were rejected by USC, Oregon, Cal, etc. I’m convinced this gives them a permanent inferiority complex, despite any accolades (e.g. POY, first team, etc) the conference might bestow upon them and despite any team success. A dog that has been beaten will continue to flinch, no matter how many times a hand pets them. The staff can coach them up to be players that football powers would like, but the scars remain. The players themselves have said as much, so this goes beyond opinion and is simply a fact.

2. The Beavers go into big games hoping to win, but not expecting to win. It was evident in the USC game this year. That game was there for the taking. Compare Stanford’s mindset in playing USC versus the Beavers. Stanford said, “these guys are vulnerable, they’re down, we’re going to go in there and kick them”…Beavers went in saying, “we’re going to feel this thing out, take their best punch, then react as necessary.” The Beavers never took the initiative and they lacked killer instinct. Both stem from lacking confidence. The Stanford men weren’t recruited by USC, but they have pride in their academics and feel superior to USC in that regard. The Beavers can’t hang their hats on academic superiority, either, so they’re simply left feeling inferior in all aspects of college athletics and thus they are relegated to hoping these superior opponents beat themselves.

They need to get over this inferiority complex in order to take the next step. Even in the Civil War it was evident. I wrote in my pregame notes that “Oregon has a confidence that they can’t be stopped and this makes them doubly dangerous”, and I stand by that remark. Oregon was 3 for 3 on 4th downs, the Beavers were 1 for 2. Those three fourth down plays decided the game, and the ability to make (and not make) those conversions was based mostly on a mindset.

What these players need to be taught, beyond technique and execution, is (a) confidence and (b) the magnitude of the moment. Because right now they lack both versus “superior” opponents, and all they (and thus we as fans) can do for such games is hope the opponent beats themselves. It’s impossible to take the next step with that mindset. A sports psychologist and cognitive behavior therapy would do wonders for this team.