Put two and two together on this one.
I live in Santa Barbara, and there’s currently a SB connection to the Beavs. Through that grapevine, I’ve heard that Shaydon Akuna has verbally committed to the Beavs. Akuna is a Rivals 4-star and Scout 3-star linebacker with good speed and fluid hips. Excellent get by the Beavs.
Not too much to say on this one. The Beavs played well in all three facets of the game. As most prognosticators figured, they’d have to control the tempo with their own run game and that’s precisely what happened.
The two areas for improvement are:
1. Offensive line pass blocking–Remmers continues to yield sacks. Wish we could get some better play there. It was nice to see the wildcat and some creativity.
2. Defensive intensity–the Beavers pretty much stopped playing D in the second half. The game wound up being much closer than it should have been because of this. Also, it’s a big deal because if you beat Stanford by 24, as opposed to 10, you start to creep into the top 25 discussion and Quiz possibly gets some Heisman attention. As it stands, the Beavs will have to win @USC before earning attention.
One final note is that this could have been a completely different game if the Stanford WR hauls in that opening pass. So let’s not get overconfident here. The good news is that we executed like a DI team today and got the win. The bye week will be interesting. There’s a great chance for improvement, but at the same time you don’t want to see the Beavs come out flat at the Colosseum.
I read this article on Brandin Hardin a few days ago and nearly lost my hot cocoa. In short, our cornerback coach, Keith Heyward, is an idiot. For those who don’t like to read, here’s a summary of Heyward analyzing Hardin:
1. “He brings more,’’ said Heyward, “in terms of run support.’’
Yet, Tim Clark is starting vs Stanford, a team with a power run game. On top of that, I’d argue Hardin adds more in terms of pass support.
2. Paul Buker of oregonlive.com acknowledges Hardin’s frustration with playing time and then writes, “The frustration went both ways.”
“He’s had a passive attitude, and I don’t mean that as a negative,’’ said Heyward.
So, Heyward is frustrated that Hardin is passive, yet, he doesn’t mean that as a negative. Okay, Keith. So being passive is a positive then? Okay, so then what are you frustrated about, and why isn’t Hardin starting?
There were obvious follow up questions, and as is its wont, the Oregon media did not do its job.
3. “We use the word ‘dominate’ out there,’’ said Heyward.“If you want to ‘dominate’ you’ve got to show that in your actions.’’
This is ridiculous. So any guy who acts the part plays? Is that why we wound up with #28 getting burned for 4 TDs in the 3 games before he took the bench, because he’s a poseur who hoots and hollers in practice? This is how Heyward judges corners? Anyone with both the eyes and brain necessary to process photons can see that Hardin has played better than any other CB this year, and like last year, continues to be a stalwart on special teams.
I didn’t like the Heyward hiring when it happened–saw it as a blown opportunity to hire a great recruiter. Riley went the “family” route (of course) to the detriment of the program. All I can say is that after reading about Heyward’s analysis process and personality, it’s clear I my first impression was right. This was a bad hire. And for a guy who has landed us one recruit in 3 years (a re-recruit in Reggie Dunn, who will likely never see the field), I think he’s the one who is too passive and needs to ‘dominate.’ Good God, how is this clown our CB coach?
I’ve seen The Tree a lot. Everyone knows about their RB, but they’re pretty formidable on the offensive line as well. An area they excel every game is special teams, specifically kick returns. So, how do the Beavs match up?
1. QB–Luck is as good as Canfield and 3 years his junior. Scary. But experience gives us a slight edge here. Advantage, Beavs.
2. RB–Gerhart is great, our DL and LBs are average. Quiz is very good, but our o-line is below average. Advantage, Tree.
3. WR–Unlike in the past, Stanford has skill here. But, in terms of route-running, blocking, etc. Advantage, Beavs.
4. OL–This one’s as clear as a limpid pond: Advantage, Tree.
5. DL–Tree has the advantage here, too, from what I’ve seen. They were getting after Skinner in the Wake game. They have 11 sacks, which is 23rd in the nation. We have 3, which is 8th worst. Advantage, Tree.
6. LBs–Roberson and Kristick are better than anything Stanford has. Advantage, Beavs.
7. CBs–Mitchell is better than anyone in Stanford’s secondary. With Hardin coming on strong I actually like our unit slightly better. Advantage, Beavs.
8. Special Teams–Stanford excels here, average 41.1 yards per kick return. The WR who returns kicks for them is a very good all around playmaker, both receiving and returning (3td). Much like James Rodgers. Stanford’s kicker is 5-7 and Kahut is 7-9. That’s a wash. Both punters are shaky, that’s a wash as well. I think our kick coverage is better than Stanford’s, but overall we’re just shaky on special teams (missed extra points, not fielding punts, shanking punts at inopportune times, etc). Advantage, Tree.
9. Home field–This should be a no-brainer, but with the lame crowds of late who knows. Still: Advantage, Beavs.
The key to this game is the Beaver offensive line. Stanford’s weakness is at LB…if the road graders can pave the way, Quiz will scamper past the LBs and into the secondary early and often, controlling the clock, sustaining drives, and keeping the ball from Gerhart. Will that happen? No. While the OL took a step forward last week, it’s more likely that we’ll continue to have key false starts and other frustrating penalties. Further, I don’t see us touching Luck–his offensive line is just too good. I’d like to believe the defensive pressure in Tempe wasn’t just a byproduct of ASU’s line, but I just can’t convince myself that is true. Stanford converts 3rd downs at a 48% rate against teams with a pass rush…if this week’s fans are anything like those at the Cincy game, a couple conversations and their backs will be broken and their butts in their seats.
27-20, Stanford.
I’ll say it: I’m tired of our lack of identity. By definition a lack of identity is tantamount to an identity crisis. A crisis is defined as, “a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, esp. for better or for worse, is determined; turning point.”
The Beavers have gone through 3 different uniforms in the past 4 years. That, my friends, qualifies as an identity crisis.
We can all agree that the Beaver uniforms are a work in progress. The orange top variant is pretty slick. They looked like a real football program versus USC last year rather than some gimmicky directional school from the Sun Belt. Of course, in typical Beaver fashion, they donned that uniform once (USC) and dropped it. I guess, like lace panties, that uniform is for “special occasions”…? Meanwhile, we continue to look like either death metal goths (black uniforms) or Jerry Seinfeld dorks (white uniforms) on a weekly basis. Can we please wear the orange uniforms? We have “Orange outs”, “Bleed orange”, wear “orange-colored glasses”, and the slogan on the official site is, “I am Orange”, yet we continue to wear putrid uniforms that are either 90% black or white. Identity crisis.
On this same note, our logo, or at least the font, changed to this:
Repeat with me: identity crisis. What does this font say about the school? We’re “modern and blocky and ugly”? Great. Can’t we do something simple, elegant, powerful? Further, is this new design our University logo or just our sports teams? I’m not sure, because both the baseball and basketball teams wear it, yet the football team still sports a cartoonish Beaver on their helmets.
To the casual fan, who are the Beavers? What is Oregon State University? I have no idea how to answer that. Objectively speaking, it seems to be a mismatch, a potpourri, a hodgepodge, a little this and that, a little that and this, mixed with a little “what the fuck?” for good measure.
If you argue with me and say, “I just root for the uniform, only Ducks care what they look like!” then you’re an idiot and the reason why we’re a national unknown and the reason why it’s always Halloween in Corvallis.