Beavers facing WSU today in pivotal game

Here we go. Gameday. It looks like it's going to be cool and wet around game time. Weather.com has the game at around 60 degrees with showers. That should help OSU since there have already played a big game in the rain this year.

The articles on the game this week have had a few consistent themes. There are the "Cougs Ready for Revenge" articles. There are a bunch of articles on Alex Brink and how he is a different QB this time around. Mike Hass and Jason Hill comparisons get a little pub. And of course there are the "How Good are the Cougars" stories alluding to the fact that they haven't played anyone yet. Then there are the "Beavs must win", "Beavs may have a running game", and "Beavers pass defense must get better". There's way too many articles to post, but there were a couple good ones that everyone should have read.

Corvallis Gazette-Times - The kicker and the kid finally to meet
Great story about Alexis Serna and Austin Pierce who will be attending the game due to help from Pure Orange. Nice job guys!

Seattle Times - OSU's Hass slips into prominence; faces Cougs next
Article on Mike Hass from the opposition perspective.

Tacoma News Tribune - Bad shoulder, hamburger can’t keep Harrison down
Apparently WSU start RB Jerome Harrison has had a bad shoulder. This could be big if he gets hurt because they don't have a ton of RB depth.

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Crucial game for Oregon State
Beavers facing near must-win situation against Cougars. I think a lot of people feel this way. Home game, gotta win.

I couldn't find the article, but there was one that revealed that Brandon Hughes or Aaron Miller will start for Gerrard Lawson. That could be big.

Here we go!

Response to local columnist's latest Beaver bash

First, I'd like to preface this entry by saying I love Dennis Erickson as a coach. He had an amazing tenure here and will always hold a special place in my heart.

And now our regularly scheduled blog in progress.

The columnist at the Oregonian (who also has a blog) had a story on the Beavs this week criticizing the Beavers and specifically coach Mike Riley. He basically suggested that the Beavers should get Dennis back. He also seems to think that the Beavers have taken a step back since Riley got here. The proof he uses is that A) Mike Riley is too nice and B) Mike Riley has lost by over 18 points per game in half of his 26 losses here. First of all, he's taking Mike's first stint into account as part of the proof. That's the first flaw in the argument. Mike inherited a 2-9 team. They were picked last in the Pac-10 both seasons and generally deserved it. He started the turnaround by getting the guys to believe they could win and by recruiting a better class of player. But they shouldn't be included as any part of a discussion about the present. Anyways, let's take a look at these arguments.

The "too nice" argument is very subjective. However, here's my impression of Riley. At my job, I expect my boss to treat me professionally and like an adult. If I slipped a little on a project and he/she started getting in my face and dropping F-bombs on me if front of my co-workers I'd be pissed. I may even quit to find a place where the boss doesn't do that. However, if he talked to me privately in his/her office and tried to find out what happened and made it known that it shouldn't happen again or else there may be some consequences, then I'd be sure I got my project done on time the next time for fear of losing my job. This sums up the way I see Mike Riley. He's not going to publicly (on TV) chew a player out. Or rant and rave like Pat Hill or even Dennis did. But he will take you aside and let you know what you did wrong. And he will sit you down or drop you on the depth chart if need be. He treats these guys like adults and with respect. And he expects the same from them. And to the columnist: don't prove your arguments by using 13 year olds as the center piece of the argument. These guys are not 13 year olds.

Second, there's this tendency to remember the past in a different light than the present. It's the "good old days". So this columnist feels Erickson had turned OSU into Michigan and left the program while it was at it's peak. But I remember things a bit differently. The Fiesta Bowl year aside, there were a lot of unexplainable blowouts. Many seasons where running and even catching the ball seemed more difficult than it is today. In fact I don't think there's been much difference between the years since the Fiesta Bowl. The expectations have been higher, but the results are pretty much the same every season. A couple of blowouts. A hot start followed by a string of losses. Or a slow start followed by a string of wins. We end up about 7-5 or 8-5. Am I wrong?

Lets look at the Pac-10 records for the last few seasons:

---------------------------
Riley 1:

1997: 0-8
1998: 2-6

---------------------------
Erickson:

1999: 4-4
2000: 7-1
2001: 3-5
2002: 4-4

---------------------------
Riley 2:

2003: 4-4
2004: 5-3


OK. Last season was the best Pac-10 record since 2000 and the second best Pac-10 record in the last 30 years. How is that taking a step back? Regardless, at the very least most of these seasons look about the same. Except that awesome 2000 season.


What about bowl games? These are arguable the biggest exposure games for a program.

EricksonÂ’s Bowl record: 1-3
RileyÂ’s Bowl record: 2-0

Seems like a step up to me. For whatever reason Riley has done better in bowl games that Erickson.


OK, but what about the holy grail? Losing by 17 points or more?

---------------------------
Riley 1:

1997: 6
1998: 3

---------------------------
Erickson:

1999: 1
2000: 0
2001: 3
2002: 2

---------------------------
Riley 2:

2003: 2
2004: 2
2005: 2 (in progress)

Not exactly an obviously increasing trend. 2000 is a bit different because they only had one loss. But other than that for whatever reason we get blown out every once in a while.

Anyways, I think the arguments don't hold water. Judge a guy at the end of the season based on how the team performs on the field and on wins and losses. Don't question how he does it.

Just had to get that out. Now let's beat WSU!

Some interesting photos of Oregon State Beavers past

I stumbled on to a few more interesting Oregon State related pictures on Flikr from a user named "I.M.S.O.L.". Very good photographs and very professional. In fact, I'm guessing he is a professional photographer from all of the places he has been.

Foggy Vision

Heisman Hype

OSU basketball


There are quite a few neat photos in his PhotoStream. Check out his Oregon-related photos here:

I.M.S.O.L.'s photos

Washington State

Wazzu is coming to town this weekend in what is a fairly pivotal game for the Beavers. The Beavs beat the Cougs last season in the midst of their turnaround and march towards a bowl game. This year the "experts" are picking WSU to go to a bowl instead of the Beavs. So how does a 5-6 Cougars team get better and look like a bowl team all of a sudden this season? Not exactly sure, but I'll check out what they looked like coming into this season and see how things have turned out.

I've only seen WSU play once this year. And that was the Idaho game. That game was easily the worst game they have had all season. Both of Alex Brink's interceptions came in that game. And the defense was having a very hard time stopping the Idaho offense at key times (like the end of the game). Since then they rolled Nevada, who was playing their season opener and killed Grambling State. I'm pretty sure they don't play "Big Boy" football. Their non-conference schedule is worse than our non-conference schedules with Dennis!


Offense

Going into this season there were two concerns. First, who is going to start at QB. Second, who will back up Jerome Harrison at running back. Well, they appear to have settled both of those questions in the preseason, er, non-conference games.

Alex Brink is the QB. This surprised many people as he is the underclassman and arguably isn't really a prototypical QB. Most pundits going into the season predicted Josh Swogger would win the job. Heck, even coach Bill Doba said it would be hard to unseat Swogger as the starter. Well, they were wrong. Brink has put up some great numbers early on as he has thrown 9 TDs and only 2 ints. He's completing 63% of his passes and averages about 230 ypg. Solid if not spectacular. I think he lives on guts, moxie, and all that stuff. Kinda like Jonathan Smith perhaps. His arm isn't great and what I've seen he can make mistakes on throws including floating a few. Hopefully he makes a couple mistakes on Saturday and we pick off those mistakes.

The running back situation is not a problem. Harrison is a great back. The Wazzu guys call him "the ghost". Nuff said. The depth behind him isn't super, but there is a freshman who has come on in the last two games: DeMaundray Woolridge. He has had over 100 yards in each of the last two games. The rushing game to this point has been solid.

The recieving core is also quite good. Some think it's as good as a USC or ASU, but I don't know about that. Regardless, Jason Hill and Micheal Bumpus are both good receivers and they scare me with our secondary. Hill can get behind even good corners so our guys better be ready.

Another concern going into the season was their offensive line. They lost two really good tackles last season and gave up like 35 sacks last year. So that can't be good. But they've only given up 2 sacks so far this year and have run the ball very well. So maybe they have actually improved from a season ago. Unfortunately, it's hard to gauge because they haven't really played anyone. I'm hoping they aren't as good as they seem.


Defense

This traditionally is the heart of the great Cougar teams of the last few seasons. However, last year there was a drop off. The concerns this year are in the secondary as they are thin and weren't really all that good last year.

The D-line seems to have improved. Last season the big complaint was that they didn't get enough pressure on the QB. Well, so far they have 16 sacks. What does that mean against their opponents? I don't know. But if they had 2 sacks I think they would be worried. One guy to watch is DE Adam Braidwood who has 3.5 sacks and 5 QB hurries so far.

The linebackers should be solid with Butkus candidate Will Derting anchoring the middle of the field. He leads the team in tackles with 19. With the way they have been stopping the run, I don't think their LBs are a problem.

The secondary is the big question mark. Kind of like us going into the season. They have yet to be really tested. The CBs have no interceptions and no pass breakups this year against weaker competition than they face in practice. So the jury is still out on these guys. I'm hoping we can really expose them on Saturday and finally return the favor to someone.

Overall their defense is doing OK. They only allow 285 total yards per game. And they are really stopping the run. They only allow 2.1 ypc and 74 ypg. However, with 16 sacks that number may be skewed a little. That's a lot of yardage lost that isn't exactly on the running game. The passing game is actually somewhat questionable allowing 211 ypg. That seems a bit high for the opponents they faced. But I guess Idaho and Nevada aren't horrible passing teams. Overall, it's a decent defense. But probably not overpowering. We should be able to move the ball.


Summary

I think it's a game we can win. But it also makes me nervous. We just can't beat ourselves. We can't turn the ball over so darn much for one. Second, we need to find a way to slow somebody down in the passing game. Those quick hitting big pass plays just kill momentum. One thing I don't like to see is that they have a bye week before us. That worries me. But I really don't think this game is about them, it's about us.

Here's what I think our keys to the game are:

* A decent running game for the second week in a row.
* Create turnovers on defense.
* Have a positive turnover ratio.
* Don't allow too many long passes or key 3rd down conversions.

If we do 3 out of four of those things, we will win the game. I'm expecting improvement in these areas. So I think we will win this game 34 - 24.


Washington State 2005 Stats

Harris Poll starts off on wrong foot

In case you haven't seen the inaugural Harris Poll results, its a little off. The Top 25 looks about right, but it's that pesky "other votes" category that has everyone up in arms. Idaho got 5 votes. What?!? Idaho hasn't beaten anyone this year! Literally. They're 0-4. Illinois got 13 votes. They are 2-2 and lost 61-14 over the weekend! Hell, OSU should get at least a couple votes with the way this thing is turning out. Ridiculous. Each voter should have to publish a public list of picks and be prepared to prove why they voted the way they did. Sort of like the BlogPoll.

I mean, Arizona gets votes?! I watched them barely beat Northern Arizona for cryin' out loud. Come on Steve Preece and Bob Grim, get these voters straightened out!


Harris poll has instant credibility problem

Huh? Routed Illini get votes in Harris Poll

What a Joke..Illinois #38, Arizona #40......and Idaho #44? Its True according to the Harris Voters

ASU and thoughts.

OK, so my prediction of a win over ASU in preseason was wrong. I though it would take Keller a little longer to get going. And I thought their running game would be non-existent. What this means is that we need to beat WSU next week to get back on track for a bowl game.

First, my impressions on the game. I was very impressed with the running game. That was the best, most consistent running game we've had in years. I liked Riley's game plan of keeping their offense off of the field by using a ton of the clock. Unfortunately, by not scoring on those long drives we didn't put any pressure on the ASU offense. They were able to suck for a while and still be ahead by a TD or two. Once they got their feet under them it was all over.

I thought our D played well most of the game until about halfway through the 3rd quarter. Our pass defense got exposed again, but our run defense and pressure on the QB improved noticeably. Keller made a ton of throws right before getting nailed by a Beaver defender.

Yes, it's disappointing. But I give props to ASU. They played well. We had a chance to win this game but the chips didn't fall that way. There were many positive things that did happen so lets move forward and concentrate on WSU.

On a side note: did anyone else think that the ASU players were cheap shot artists? I mean that play on the kickoff where two ASU blockers kept blocking until Andy Darlin was about 10 ft. out of bounds was ridiculous. The whistle had blown for like 3 seconds. That's how one of the chain crew got seriously hurt. Also, Kevin Swanigan got hurt in mop up time when an ASU defensive back knocked the ball away successfully then proceeded to push Kevin after the ball was uncatchable. That caused the injury. Lame. Get some class ASU.


Check out some pics of the game from LuckyBucky:

LuckyBucky's Photos

It's time to get LOUD for the game.

There's one thing we can do to help the Beavers win today: get LOUD!

Sam Keller is a new QB who is getting his first taste of the road in the Pac-10. Their best RB is a freshman. They can get rattled. Let's show him how loud we can be!

Matt Moore should have plenty of time to throw today so I think we will be able to move the ball easily. Their D-line is very average, so maybe we will surprise and break out with a good running performance. Assuming we can avoid their LBs.

Here's some articles to get you ready for the game:

Statesman-Journal - Inside OSU-Arizona St.

The Arizona Republic - ASU will test high gear on the road

The Oregonian:
Lawson gets sound advice from Williams
Sun Devils to watch
Keep the ball, rule the ASU game, OSU says
Improving defense the key for OSU
Beavers: Opponent's Playbook

Gazette-Times:
Beavers look to home field
Lighting up the scoreboard
Gunderson remaining positive
Quick Questions with... Junior strong safety Sabby Piscitelli
Sun Devils need to stop penalties


ASU Fan Blog - The Sparky Chronicles

Oregon State Beavers get two new lineman

On the eve of a big game against ASU, Mike Riley got some great news by getting verbals from two big lineman recruits.

The first is a high school senior from Inglemoor HS in Washington: Joel White-Frisbee. He is a 6-4, 265 lb kid who plays OL and DL. He also happens to be the brother of Jordan White-Frisbee who plays at UW.

The second is a JC defensive end Dorian Smith. He plays for College of the Desert in California and has a ton of sacks. He had 12 sacks last year and already has 10 this year. Remind you of the presidents? I'm thinking next year could be a big breakout year for the Beavs.

Here's some articles on the guys:

Joel White-Frisbee

One thing of note, I found a ton of articles on his basketball game stats from last season. Good news because that means he's probably got good agility.

Seattle Times - Prime prospects, rising stars, key game, coaches picks
Seattle Times - KingCo 4A teams at a glance
"...
Vikings return four offensive linemen, three defensive linemen and possibly best size in league in trenches. White-Frisbee is brother of UW's Jordan, and dropped about 25 pounds in offseason.
..."
Rivals - COMMIT: Joel White-Frisbee verbals


Dorian Smith

Rivals - Dorian Smith
Hoping 2004 wasn't a mirage
"...
COD's strength will likely be its defense. The line is anchored by a pair of aggressive ends, Allan Goth (6-foot-4, 255 pounds) and Dorian Smith (6-4, 260), who both run the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds.
...
"The defensive line looks very good," said defensive coordinator Tim Hyde. "Dorian and Allan are as good as any defensive ends in Southern California."
...
KEY PLAYERS
Dorian Smith (DE, 6-4, 260, So.): Quick and aggressive
..."

Oooo. Let's get his teammate too! Get another DeLawerence and LaDarius thing going!


Go Beavs!

Article on former Beaver Jason Fyda

From the "where are they now" department, I happened upon an article about new NAU starting offensive lineman Jason Fyda. He transferred from OSU last season after dropping to 3rd string on the depth chart.

Fresh Start

After reading the story, it seems like a bit of an overreaction by Fyda. I mean if you get demoted because of a bad play, talk to someone about it. Work so hard that they can't help but to put you in the game. Don't quit. I bet the coaches were probably trying to light a fire under him to get him to reach his potential. And so he goes home a week later. There must be something else going on there that isn't being reported.

That's just my take.

A look at Oregon State's next opponent: Arizona State

Well, ASU used up two games worth of yards against Northwestern. Man, 773 yards is insane. Another offensive juggernaut. Third week in a row. The poor Beaver 'D' just doesn't get a break. Here's the breakdown:

Offense

Going into the season the big question mark for the Sun Devils was "who is going to play running back?" The Sun Devils started the season with a converted wide receiver Rudy Burgess at RB. He has done OK, but they resurrected their running game by playing freshman Keegan Herring who is averaging over 100 ypg and 9.2 ypc. So he's basically the man. Even so ASU struggled to run against LSU and may not be over the rushing problems completely. They are certainly in a MUCH better position than OSU.

The passing game has been the strength of the ASU offense since Dirk Koetter got there. Andrew Walter is gone but Sam Keller has arrived. And he has put up some serious numbers. Their receiving core is touted by some as the best in the nation. So that helps Keller quite a bit. BTW, check out Derek Hagan who has a Mike Hass-like story and is also their best receiver. Their line looks good as they have only given up 1 sack and have 4 returning starters. The ONLY thing the Beavers fans can hang their hat on is that Keller has yet to start a road game. So there's a chance he could get rattled if the stadium is really LOUD! (hint, hint)

The offense looks strong. However, I think the running game could be controlled and then it's a matter of slowing down the pass. I'm not sure I have confidence that can happen unless we sack Keller a few times and put the pressure on.


Defense

The strength of the ASU defense are their linebackers with senior MLB Dale Robinson leading the way. The defensive line is appears to be the weakness of the defense. ASU has only 3 sacks in 3 games with none coming from a lineman. Plus, they are pretty light at DT at 282 and 260 lbs. They do return a DE and DT, but they don't seem to be doing the job. Phew! After last week Matt Moore could use a break. They will have to blitz with LBs and CBs to bring a lot of pressure. Hopefully that will open things up in the passing game.

Their secondary is generally strong with one of the Pac-10's best corners returning in Josh Golden. However, they really haven't been tested yet by a team with a good passing offense. LSU, Northwestern, and Temple. Not exactly Louisville :). I think we will do OK in the passing game. As a side note Bryan Payton (OSU safety) has a twin brother, Jeremy, who is playing for ASU and has got a bit of playing time. Also, Zach Catanese is the starting safety. Many of you may remember his brother Brandon Catanese played for the Beavs a few seasons ago.


Special Teams

This may be the worst part of their team. They completely collapsed against LSU with two blocked kicks for TDs in about 5 minutes. Their kicker is decent, but he only hit 63% of his FGs last season. Their punt coverage seems surprisingly bad at 21 yards per return against. However, they haven't punted it much this season anyways :). We've got to win this phase of the game.



OK, so the Beavers have an uphill battle. But we pulled off the upset the last time they were here and we have a very good home record over the last five years. Plus, they do have a young quarterback who has yet to be tested on the road. Doesn't look like the Devils will pressure the QB much so our offense should have time to get going. Our only hope may be to out score them like we did against BSU. If we win, it will probably be around 37-34. If we can't find a way to stop their passing game a la last Saturday...well, it could be another Cal from last year. I hope it's not the latter.

One thing we can do is be LOUD! Get on the Devils early and often. This is the Pac-10 so bring it!


Here's a few more articles on the Beavers and their game Saturday:

Statesman Journal - Bernard steps up at tailback

Gazette-Times - Oregon State's Mr. Versatility

ASU articles

I'm still taking a look at the Sun Devils, so here's the latest articles on the Beavers and their weekend matchup with ASU.


OSU Articles

Scout.com -
Arizona State at Oregon State notebook
Arizona State Sun Devil Two Deeps

Corvallis Gazette-Times -
OSU starts to regroup

Oregonian -
No hangover for Beavers
OSU Notebook

Portland Tribune -
OSU gets chance to try, try again

Register-Guard -
Sun Devils bring heat to OSU's kitchen


ASU Stories

Arizona Republic -
Injury bug hits: Krula out
Oregon State 'D' gets no break

Scout.com -
Devils Digest

Pictures of the Cardinals game

I know you may not want to relive the Louisville game, but LuckyBucky over at the PureOrange boards went to the game and got some great photos.

Check them out here:

OSU-UL Pictures

Great editorial on the new Reser expansion and how loud it gets

I liked this editorial on the Reser expansion and how the new configuration effected the noise level of the stadium:

WouldLink.com: John Gunther, Sports Editor - Expansion gives Reser raucous potential

"...

Oregon State battled from behind all game, finally catching up on a touchdown pass from Matt Moore to Mike Haas with 9:47 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Then, finally, Reser was rocking - the roar evident even in the press box.
..."



Don't forget, tonight is the coaches show at 7:00 p.m. at the club level in Reser Stadium. Or listen to the radio on your Beavers station.

Football revenues by conference

As college football moves out of non-conference play and into conference play I thought it would be interesting to post some information on the conferences and how they compare.

I found this really cool post at FanBlogs:

Cha-Ching: Football revenues by conference

They list the annual football revenues by conference:

SEC $350,193,187
Big Ten $276,809,402
Big XII $258,812,765
ACC $180,171,498
Pac 10 $176,744,243
Big East $84,659,903
Conference USA $62,565,804
WAC $34,756,625
Mountain West $53,061,049*
Notre Dame $38,596,090
MAC $25,297,901

* 8 teams reporting - Air Force does not release football revenues.


And then the average annual football revenues per school for each conference:

Notre Dame $38,596,090
SEC $35,019,318.70
Big Ten $25,164,491.09
Big XII $$21,567,730.42
Pac 10 $17,674,424.30
ACC $15,014,291.50
Big East $10,582,487.88
Mountain West $6,632,631.13*
Conference USA $5,213,817.00
WAC $3,475,662.50
MAC $2,108,158.42


Pretty amazing that the SEC is so far above everyone and that ND is even above the SEC. I'm a bit surprised that the ACC is below the Pac-10. I expect that to change this year.

What's worse? Losing by 1 point in a heartbreaker, or getting blown out like yesterday?

I got an interesting comment from a buddy on my post about the game yesterday:

Kelley Rice said...

The woman and I have an on going battle about what is better, losing by 1 point (LSU last year) or getting blown out (see yesterdays game). I believe that it takes less time as a fan to recover from a blow out then a close lose. She thinks the opposite. I still haven't gotten over that LSU game. I wanted to hear what other peoples thoughts are. Thanks.

I personally think a one point loss is harder only because you'll always remember how close you were to an upset and how good that season could've been. But the blowout losses are far more embarrassing. That's probably why I blank them from my mind quicker. The problem is that blowout losses generally make me feel worse about the team and their chances for success in the season as a whole. So until they have a good game again, it's hard to feel good about the team. At least in this case we lost to a top-10 team.

What do you think? Which is worse, the 1 point heartbreaker or the major blowout?

---

On reading some of the aftermath in the papers, there were a few interesting nuggets:

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Not in the Cards

This quote I think summarizes how all of us fans felt Saturday morning:

"They pressured us all day and that was the difference," Hass said. "It was one of things if we don't have time to throw, we are not going to complete many balls. The biggest part of the team is the line, O-line and D-line. And they really took it to us today. They scored at will. They ran under it and they were in the end zone in two plays, at least that's what it seemed like."

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Beavers report card
Corvallis Gazette-Times - Louisville proves it's a worthy program

This is interesting. The total yards battle reflected this as well as they had about 550 yards and we had about 420. Doesn't seem like a 36 point difference.

Strange numbers

If you look at some of the team statistics, it appears the Beavers won the game. Here's a look at areas where they won the game.

• First downs: 26-24

• Total offensive plays: 94-50

The Portland Tribune -Cardinals crush Beavers 63-27

The Oregonian:
• Beavers' fast start in Louisville fizzles
• Brian Meehan - Elvis gives a performance that Beavers don't enjoy
• OregonLive.com - AP Photo Gallery


What they're saying in Kentucky:

Lexington Herald-Leader:
• SUPER MARIO
• Cards get back to dominating
Here's a funny quote:

"Yes!" Stanley said. "The quarterback, he's so light. And once you grab him, you can sling him how you want to sling him."

The Courier-Journal:
• BrohmCards are Beaver cleavers
• Mario might be Cards' finest U since Johnny
• Dumervil sheds praise like blockers

Beavs nearly beat top 10 team in overtime!

The Beavers took a top 10 team to overtime and almost won today! Unfortunately, it wasn't the football team.

The Oregon State Men's Soccer team took a 2-0 lead over the #1 ranked Indiana Hoosiers early in the second half only to watch them tie the game with about 5 minutes to go in the game. There were two overtime periods to try to get a winner, but the game ended in a 2-2 tie. The Beavers could have won if they would have netted their penalty kick with about 15 minutes to go. Good job Beavs!

OK, so after the Louisville game I needed some good news. I've almost blocked the game from my memory. Just a little venting will do it. The Beavers started well. Man, I was really impressed. Our running game looked good in the first quarter. We were making all the passes. How great was that. Well, it didn't last and we were quickly outmatched in the trenches. Once Matt Moore got hit a few times, he was feeling footsteps on every play and his effectiveness went way down. I felt we should have tried to run a bit more during that second quarter because Matt just wasn't getting it done by himself. Not a horrible game, but the sacks and fumbles really hurt. Even without the turnovers our coverage got killed pretty much all game. They were scoring at will. I just don't think a 5'9" CB should continue to be allowed to cover a 6'6" WR who is manhandling him. I want to see a bigger corner in there at least occasionally. Anyways, the defense needs to make some serious adjustments for ASU next week as that wasn't the only problem. As far as the offense, what happened to all of those roll out passes and shovel passes I saw in the PSU game? Those added a great wrinkle and could only help to neutralize the blitz.

In the "look on the bright side" department, Ryan Gunderson played better this week. He looked like he could be ok if he needs to go in an emergency. No QB controversy by any means. And Patrick Fuller got his first touchdown in mopup time.

So what about next week? Well, the crowd needs to BRING IT from the first kick off because our 'D' is going to need every decibel to stop ASU enough to win. The 'O' needs to get creative and stay creative all game. Oh, and we need to get better in the trenches.

Now erase that game from your memory and lets move on to league play.

Gameday articles from Cardinal perspective

It's almost here...

Since you've already read the articles in your local paper, here's a few from Kentucky.

The Courier-Journal - Beavers have some teeth

Kentucky.com - Kentucky only glimpsed offensive fury, Cardinals say

I thought this was an interesting article on QB Brian Brohm (from August):

BEST of the BROHMS


For local Oregon articles on the Beavs, click the links to your right --->

GO BEAVS!

A reporduction of every football helmet EVER

OK, this is really cool. I've seen it on a couple of message boards and finally had to blog it.

You have to check this out:

The Helmet Project

Here's this week's match-up:

AT

What to watch this weekend

For those who are looking for something good to watch in college football this weekend, how about a little scouting?

Here are the Pac-10 games that are on this weekend along with a couple big matchups.


Saturday, Sept. 17

Oregon State vs. Louisville, ESPN, 9 a.m.
Must see TV. Beavers and breakfast, mmmmm....

Oklahoma at UCLA, ABC, 12:30 p.m.
Big game to see if this will be UCLA's season, or if they begin their annual slide to mediocrity.

Fresno State at Oregon, TBS, 4 p.m.
Big game for the Ducks. See how they perform against some real competition.

Florida State at Boston College, ESPN, 4:45 p.m.
Big ACC matchup. BC is getting a lot of love these days, see if it's warranted

Tennessee at Florida, CBS, 5 p.m.
Probably the marquee matchup of the weekend.

Arkansas at USC, FSN, 7:15 p.m.
Not that interesting of a game, but it is on TV.

Article from Kentucky on the game - my thoughts

This is an interesting article to give Beavers fans everywhere hope that we can pull off the upset.

The Courier-Journal - Secondary looks primary

I love how the local media will take any flaw in their team and just run with it. They have been killing the Louisville secondary for two weeks now (they had a bye last week). Kinda like the Beavers lack of a running game. If you say anything enough it becomes truth. Random people on the street may not know much about the Beavers, but they know they don't have a running game. Yet, when you read articles from other parts of the country they simply talk about how strong the Beavs passing game is.

I think it actually could be to our advantage that everyone thinks we have a poor running game (whether we do or not). It makes people not game plan for it and be overconfident that they can stop it. That's when Bernard breaks off the 51 yard run.


Here's a cool quote from the article:

"I don't know how much fans around here know about these guys," senior cornerback Gavin Smart said, "but we know how good they are. I think they're definitely a Top 25 team."

I hope he's right after this weekend.

Final Stats for 2005 CWS OSU Baseball players

It's September so that means that the minor league baseball season is over. So I thought I'd get the stats on how our Beavers of 2005 did in their first professional seasons.


Jacoby Ellsbury

Stats

Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
Lowell Spinners	35	139	28	44	3	5	1	19	60	24	20	23	3	.418	.432	.317

Andy Jenkins

Stats

Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
Jamestown Jammers	4	14	2	7	2	0	0	1	9	2	0	1	0	.529	.643	.500
Greensboro Grasshoppers	48	168	22	37	9	0	3	20	55	14	33	1	3	.286	.327	.220

Nate Fogle

Stats

Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Spokane Indians	1	0	3.90	20	0	0	0	2	30.0	20	14	13	4	15	45

Oregon State's next opponent: Louisville Cardinals

There's no question the Beavers will have an uphill battle this weekend against Louisville. They are ranked 10th or 11th depending on the poll. They averaged almost 50 points per game last season. They went 11-1 with only a loss to Miami to mar their record last season. And they seem to be an "in vogue" choice to crash the BCS party and maybe even compete for a National Championship. Sounds vaguely like LSU last year. So do the Beavers have a chance? Let's take a look.

Offense

Louisville is known for their offense. Who wouldn't after AVERAGING 49.8 points per game. They have an interesting mix of power and finesse that sounds pretty interesting. They use the spread with 0 or 1 back formations as well as a power I formation to pound it down your throat. Reminds me of how I play when I'm playing NCAA 2006. Hmm, maybe I can be a coach...yea, right!

The key is that they have the players that can run both a finesse and power game. Their running back, Michael Bush, is a monster at 6-3, 250. However, he also returned kickoffs last year so he's pretty quick too. Frankly, he is scary. Their offensive line is monstrous and experienced with 3 seniors, 1 junior, and a RS freshman center.

The passing game has been very efficient in the past with former QB
Stefan LeFors passing at a 74% completion rate. They are starting off pretty strong this season with new QB Brian Brohm leading the way. He's a highly touted kid who seems to have picked up where LeFors left off. He is just a Sophomore with only one start under his belt, but he played in every game last season amassing 819 yards and 6 TDs with a 67% completion percentage. So he isn't too green. The receivers don't make things look any easier. They have three senior starters. They lost last year's top receiver, but they look good at WR.

Well, the 'O' looks tough. Kinda reminds me of reviewing BSU last week. The only positive that I could find is that in the first game against Kentucky they only passed for 179 yards and no TDs through the air. Also, they only scored 3 points in the second half. I think that the only hope of slowing things down offensively for the Beavs is stopping the run and hoping the young QB makes a few mistakes. I doubt he's been put in a position to have to throw when it counts. I'd take my chances with him to beat me.

Defense

You don't get to 11-1 without a decent defense. Granted they could probably outscore anyone, but they still held teams to 19.7 ppg. The D-line and linebackers look strong. The secondary is a bit questionable with three new starters. This isn't LSU's or Miami's defense but they are dangerous.

The man to watch is DE Elvis Dumervil. He got 6 six sacks against UK in their first game. Yikes! That may garner a few double-teams. The rest of the line is solid and good sized if not spectacular. The DTs are new starters so that may help out the power run game if they make a few mistakes.

OLB Abe Brown is on the Butkus Award watch list so he's a good one. The other OLB is a senior who started last year and he appears to be solid. The MLB is a sophomore (Matt Sanders) and could be the only question mark as he replaces a really good MLB from last year in Robert McCune.

The secondary has only 1 returning starter from last year. The returner is CB William Gay who started last year. This is the major area of concern for the Cardinals. However, all of the new guys are fast and look the part. Kentucky passed for 278 yards against their new secondary with a few passes over 30 yards. This and special teams seems to be big areas of concern from coach Petrino based on stories I've read.

To me it looks like the Cardinals defense is strong on the outside. They have a lot of new guys up the middle (DTs, MLB, and both safties) so that may be a problem for them. It could mean our inside running game will open up a little. But we'll see. Much of what I've read points to a lack of depth in the defense as well. That's to be expected of a former C-USA team. Of course, now they are in the Big East so they will probably remedy that as the years go on. But if anything, that could mean that we can wear them down if we can consistently move the ball.


My Take

The Beavers have nothing to lose in this game. It seems like the Beavs over-achieve is these "nothing to lose" games. Some examples last year were LSU and USC. So that gives me hope. Also, their defense seems to give up some passing yardage which is great for us. The big question is how will our defense fare against their potent offense? I have a feeling they will be able to run on us. If PSU and BSU can, they probably will. We've been dominant against the run in the past, so that may happen again. If we can stop the run, will our young secondary be able to slow the passing game? Can we create turnovers on defense? Can we avoid committing turnovers on offense?

I don't have the answer to any of those questions. But I'm hopeful. And I've got a good feeling. I bet the guys feel good too after that win. So I'm betting on a good showing by the Beavs. I think the game is a bit more even than Vegas has it listed. Remember, they beat BSU in a bowl last year 44-40 in a comeback win. However, with home field advantage and that huge running back my head says the edge goes to UL for the win. However, my heart says the Beavers have a shot at pulling off the upset. But what good Beavers fan wouldn't say we have a shot at winning any game? GO BEAVS!


Interesting articles on the Cardinals:

SI.com - he Offensive Revolution: THE LOUISVILLE POWER/SPREAD ATTACK

www.UofLSports.com - 2005 Cardinal Football Outlook
www.UofLSports.com - Cardinal Football News

Fox Sports - 2005 PREVIEW: Louisville Cardinals


Few more articles on the game:

Rivals.com - Non-conference tilts mark weekend in Pac-10

The Register-Guard - Cardinals fly into national spotlight

KENTUCKY.COM - Oregon State visits for high noon showdown

Statesman Journal - OSU QB cool under pressure
Statesman Journal - Beavers brace for rough Louisville offense

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Doggett expects better
Corvallis Gazette-Times - Late tape a boon for Butler, OSU

The Arizona Republic - Pac-10 can either put up or . . .

USAToday - Weekend Forecast


Louisville Bloggers

Cards Fan Blog

Before I Get Old

Articles about the Louisville game

Here's a roundup of the articles to date on the game against Louisville. Lots from the UL perspective. I'll be posting my thoughts on the game tonight.


Articles on the game:

The Gazette-Times - Beavers preparing for next part of season

The Portland Tribune - Beavers: ‘It’s going to be loud’

The Oregonian - OSU cornerbacks accept challenges

The Register-Guard - Beavers turn their attention to early test


Articles from the Cardinal point of view:

Scout.com - Louisville Cardinal Two Deeps

KENTUCKY.COM - Petrino focusing on special teams for Oregon State

KENTUCKY.COM - Cards make progress in bye week

CardinalSports.com - Petrino wants a loud home field advantage

AP - Louisville turns focus to fundamentals, Beavers

Fox Sports Television Shots of the Hail Storm

After watching the game again I had to capture a few of the hail storm shots the Fox Sports Net crew got during the hail storm. These are also on my Flikr account, but you can click on the pics here to zoom in as well.

Oregon State gets a few top 25 votes, Boise State drops out

Oregon State got a little love from the AP and the coaches poll this week.

OSU is:

40th (6 votes) in the AP

and

45th (2 votes) in the USA Today Coaches Poll


Also, tonight is the coaches show at 7:00 pm at the club level at Reser Stadium. Yes, the do have adult beverages :). Also, Qdoba will be catering.

If you can't be there, then listen on the radio on your favorite Beaver Network station.

Thoughts on Oregon State's win over BSU

Photos from the game

Wow. I finally got my voice back. That was an amazing college football game. Great comeback. The hail, driving rain, and general wetness certainly made it a memorable game. I thought the turning point was when the hail started to come down in the second quarter. It sort of slowed the Broncos down a bit and let us get our feet under us. Even so, the weather almost hurt us more than it helped us. Missed tackles for loss in the backfield and fumbles can be at least partially attributed to the weather. Such a great win and great game.

I'm happy with Matt Moore at quarterback. I think he has won over Beaver Nation and his teammates. Good job Matt. I think Yvenson Bernard had a good game. He rushed hard and well all game. I think if we called more running plays, Bernard would have more running yards and the running game would be average at least. Bernard really helped us today with his long run, the 5 yard touchdown run where he wouldn't be denied, and the end of the game getting a consistent 3 yards every time we handed it off to him. Finally, the recievers did very well today. Mike Hass is always awesome. Hawkins was great. And AWB did well even with his injury from last week lingering.

The defense was having trouble this game tackling and covering the wide recievers pretty much all first half. They figured it out in the 4th quarter though and that's all that mattered. They will have better games than they had today, but they did enough at the right time to get a win. Keenan Lewis is solid at CB. He made some very good plays swatting the ball away in the end zone twice. Lawson is a work in progress, but I think his toughest problem is his height. He needs to get more physical on the line to slow the recievers down to make up for his height. The D-line was better this game as we pressured the QB as the game went on.

The special teams were about as bad as it could get. Coverage problems, snaps, and fumbles, oh my! Nice job to Alexis and Sam for getting the good done in less than ideal conditions.

The crowd finally figured out how to be loud in the second half. The students were jumping on the stands, people were standing and yelling (mostly), and BSU was rattled! They got a false start, which I'll take as directly attributed to the crowd. Zabransky looked rattled. Man, we were loud. We need to be like that at the start of the game next game to really get things started off right.

On to Louisville! Go Beavs!

Beavs Win! Stories from the Oregon State Beavers win

The Oregonian had to give some props to the Beavs after their questionably negative articles on the Beavs on Saturday. Especially Ken Goe. He has some sort of vendetta against the Beavs. Maybe this week all of his "Cheap shots" won't be directed at the Beavs.

Here's a good article by Paul Buker. Lots of good quotes and interesting perspective. And some man hugs to continue the theme from the "Beaver All Access" show where Gundy and Moore were "hanging out" on the pads :).

The Oregonian - Beavers dig early hole, bounce back

John Canzano tries to endear himself to the Beaver fans by writing a semi-positive story on Matt Moore. He still tries to push home the fact that it's unfathomable that the Beavs get to a bowl without this win. I disagree and think we are on track for a 7 win season. Either way, it should be an interesting season.

The Oregonian - While rallying for win, OSU finds a leader

A great article by Brooks Hatch on Matt Moore. Great quotes and thoughts. I totally agree. Matt Moore made himself the leader of the offense at this game.

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Moore proves he's the man to lead the way for OSU

And the man who the game: Alexis Serna. Nice job Alexis!

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Serna clutch in the end


Go Beavs!

Beavs win! What did Boise think about it?

I'll be posting some photos of the game and some of my thoughts, but first read some of the stories coming out of Idaho today about the game.

What they are saying in Idaho:

The Arbiter (BSU school newspaper) - Oh (and 2) no

There are a few interesting quotes at the beginning.

Here's one from 'Z' about the 4th down fade at the end of the first half:

“I thought we could get behind (cornerback Keenan Lewis) on the fade. But he made a good play. He was definitely buckling up his chin strap when the play started, so we are going to take that shot 10 out of 10 times and we are going to get that the majority of the time,” Jared Zabransky said.

The main BSU newspaper, the Idaho Statesman, gave some props to the new stadium but gets a jab at the fans:

The Idaho Statesman - Quick hits

Studs
...

Atmosphere

The new east side of Reser Stadium is impressive — with bleachers for the students, chairback seating for the rest of the fans, box seats, club seating and luxury suites. The expansion, which added about 8,000 seats and cost $80 million, replaced the old east stands.
...

Duds
...

Atmosphere

Rain, hail and the television broadcast resulted in large chunks of empty seats — and a disappointing, below-capacity crowd of 42,876. It's Western Oregon. You'd think they could handle a little moisture.

Check out this photo from the game. Lemma puts a major hit on BSU RB Ian Johnson.

The Idaho Statesman - BSU upbeat despite second straight loss

Good quote in this one:

"You've got to give Oregon State a lot of credit," Hawkins said. "They weren't ahead until the final ticks, and you've got to give them credit for hanging in there."

O!!! S!!! U!!! Oregon State, Fight, Fight, Fight!!!

Beat the Broncos!

Be LOUD at the game! Let's be the 12th man!

If you're not at the game, watch it on Fox Sports Net at 3:30pm today!


Here's a roundup of today's storys about the game:

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Beavers should get a boost

The Oregonian - OSU BEAVERS FOOTBALL NEWS
The Oregonian - Looking back, Siegert sees complacency

Idaho Statesman - In its short history, the annual Broncos-Beavers game has had controversy, comebacks and lots of fan interest
Idaho Statesman - When Oregon State has the ball
Idaho Statesman - When Boise State has the ball
Idaho Statesman - Three keys to a Boise State victory

Twin Falls Times-News - Broncos look to bounce back

Two good stories on the BSU at OSU game

First, a story about the emergence of Kevin Swanigan last game. He came to OSU with Marcel Love as two highly touted JC wide receivers. I thought he looked pretty good in camp a couple of times last year, but he couldn't get into the rotation at WR. Well, he has worked hard to make a name for himself here and he may have done it with his solid performance against PSU. Check out his story:

Portland Tribune - OSU wideout trying to rewrite his story


Next, how does a player bounce back from the worst game in his life? Well, the Idaho Statesman has an article on 'Z', the BSU quarterback who couldn't against Georgia. Looks like he's ready to play:

The Idaho Statesman - Broncos Beat: Zabransky: 'I was just hurting my team'

Everyone is talking about former Beaver turned Bronco, Cole Clasen

I mentioned this a week or two ago but it seems to be the big story now. Cole Clasen is back. Unfortunately it's not in a Oregon State Beaver uniform. Last season he transferred to Boise State after the LSU game due to a lack of playing time and continual issues he was having with the university. You remember Cole. He emerged as a walk-on true freshman starter in the 2001 season when the Beavs were hurting for receivers because nobody could catch the ball. He was the Mike Hass story before there was a Mike Hass. He looked destined to have a place in the Beavers hearts as a solid performing underdog. Well, things didn't work out for Cole here, but I hope they do at Boise State. Just not at the Beavers expense.

Here are the multitude of stories on Cole's return written from both sides of the story:

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Clasen set to make return to Oregon State

The Idaho Statesman - Player Profile: Wide receiver ready to face off against former teammates at Oregon State

The Oregonian - Now, Clasen wants an OSU loss

The Register-Guard - Clasen lines up to face Beavers

Boise State give Beavs some locker room material

Thanks to "beavers91" on the Pure Orange message board for this one:

Broncos will need to limit turnovers, execute against OSU

The most interesting part is a quote hidden in there:

“"We definitely had some mistakes and had some errors, but we just got to come back (Saturday) and show Oregon (State) that we are mad. I tell you what, I feel bad for Oregon State,” senior defensive tackle Alex Guerrero said following the loss on Saturday."


Feel bad for Oregon State?!? We'll see about that.

What to watch this weekend - College Football on TV

First of all, if you are going to the Boise St. game this weekend you have a new goal. Not only should you wear orange, but you need to be LOUD! That means at the very least yelling on 3rd downs when BSU has the football. Better yet, yell every time BSU has the football on offense!

College Football TV Schedule

Here's watch to watch this weekend. Most of these are Pac-10 games with a few other big games thrown in there. If you're tailgating all day you won't get to see much of this, but the UW at Cal game could be a good game to watch in the Alumni center before the Beaver game.

Friday, Sept. 9

Washington State at Nevada, ESPN, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 10

Notre Dame at Michigan, ABC, 9:00 a.m.
Is ND any good?

Washington at California, ABC, 12:30 p.m.
First Pac-10 game televised

Stanford at Navy, CSTV, 3 p.m.
Not sure if anyone actually gets CSTV...

Boise St. at Oregon State, FSN, 3:30 p.m.
Must see TV (unless you're at the game :) )

Texas at Ohio State, ABC, 5:00 p.m.
Big game so early in the season.

LSU at Arizona St., ESPN, 5:45 p.m.
Switched locations. Now it's in Tempe.

Arkansas at USC, FSN, 7:15 p.m
Late addition to the schedule. Watch another dominant performance

Beavers All Access show on Fox Sports Net tonight!

Set your TiVos and get ready to watch the new Oregon State football weekly review show. It premieres tonight at 7:00pm on Fox Sports Net. It's called "Beavers All Access" and should be similar to the Beaver Football Experience show they had last year. There are a ton of replays of the show on Fox Sports Pacific if you miss this showing, but only two replays for you non-digital cable people.

From Tivo.com:

Beavers All Access

Wed. 9/7 7:00 PM 34 FSN1
Duration: 0:30
No Rating
Football, Sports Non-Event, Sports


Replays on Fox Sports Net:

Fri. 9/9 1:00 PM

Sat. 9/10 2:30 PM

Oregon State Beavers Baseball recruiting class announced

Nice article on the new baseball recruits on the OSUBeavers.com site in case you missed it:

Beavers announce baseball recruiting class

Looks like a great class. Nice Job Pat!

Oregon State Beavers land another recruit - lineman Alex Linnenkohl

Alex Linnenkohl from Olympia, WA verbally committed to the Oregon State Beavers football team today. Linnenkohl is 6-foot-2, 285 lbs and starts on both offense and defense for Capital High School. He also went to long-snapper camp this summer and is rated the third best long snapper in the country. He seems like a great kid with a good attitude. Plus, he really likes OSU and coach Mike Riley.

Here's the Scout.com profile of Alex:
Alex Linnenkohl

STRENGTHS
Athleticism
Intensity/Effort
Speed

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Size

Deceptively athletic; good speed for a man his size. Versatile player who can also long-snap. Very coachable, hungry and has an unquenchable thirst for the game. Height is only downside.

Capital won their first game against O'Dea. There are a few quotes in there by Alex.
Capital uses size to overpower O’Dea

Here's a preview of Capital HS with a few more quotes from Linnenkohl.
Capital: Confident Cougars

The Olympian - Capital lineman commits to OSU

Seattle Times - Prep notebook: Capital lineman headed to OSU

A look at OSU's next opponent: Boise State

We all know by now that Boise St. got pounded by Georgia. The first half was a disaster for their offense and the second half was probably just as bad for their defense. BSU fumbled twice and were intercepted four(!) times directly leading to at least three, if not four touchdowns. In the second half the BSU 'D' let the Bulldogs drive down the field and score on their first four possessions of the half. Not sure there is much we can learn from this game. We can hope for a similar collapse in Corvallis, but it's not likely. They know they can beat us because they did it last year. So the Beavs had better get up for this one because it will be a battle.

The 2005 Broncos

This year's BSU team is a young team. There are only 9 seniors out of the 105 players on the team. However, many of these young guys have been starters and have experience. They lost a few key players, but there should be guys who can step up and take over. These guys are 36-3 over the last three years with the highest scoring offense in the nation since 2000. Wow. I think they have arrived and have learned how to reload.

The Offense

At quarterback you have Jared Zabransky. He had a major breakout year last season as he threw for almost 3000 yards and 16 TDs. He also ran for 13 TDs, good for 2nd on the team. That's a lot of points that he created. The only question for Zabransky is: can he bounce back for the Georgia meltdown? That will be a big question for BSU on Saturday as well.

Zabransky won't have last year’s top receiver, T.J. Acree, to throw to this year because he has graduated. Other than that loss, the receiving crew looks to be decent with Drisan James (who was out for the UGA game) leading the way. As a side note former OSU receiver, Cole Classen, will be returning to Reser Stadium for the first time since he transferred last season. He will probably get some playing time. The tight end, Derek Schouman, had a pretty good fall camp so he will be a threat as well. Overall, I expect the receivers to be good.

The running game looks solid with a committee of backs: Lee Marks (nearly 1000 yards in 2004), Antwaun Carter, and freshman Lee Johnson. Marks had a tough day against Georgia, but Johnson did pretty well with 48 yards including a 28 yard run. Carter also had a decent day against Georgia racking up 47 yards on 7 carries. Considering their offensive line is expected to be pretty good this season, the running attack should be good.

The Defense

The defense looks OK on paper. They only allowed 100 ypg on the ground last season. However, they allowed 250 ypg in the air. In the Georgia game they allowed 394 yards passing and 180 rushing. That sounds bad on both ends but Georgia only averaged 3.4 yards per carry on the ground. [*NOTE: the actual average was 5.5 ypc. So maybe they can't stop the run all that great. Then again 180 yards isn't bad against a Georgia team with the game in hand.]

Linebacker Korey Hall is a stud and has been named to multiple defense and linebacker award watch lists. The linebackers look strong with another senior, Chris Barrios, having a good 10 tackle day against Georgia.

The secondary is very young and took a hit when junior starting cornerback Quinton Jones was hurt early in the Georgia game. That meant true freshman Orlando Scandrick got to play. Their rover and free safety are both sophomores as well. This secondary could be giving up a lot of passing yards to the Beavers as they try to outscore the Broncos.

I don't know much about the defensive line other than they look experienced (1 So, 2 Jrs, 1 Sr) and maybe a bit light. The tackles roll in at 293 and 274 pounds. The ends are 261 and 244 pounds. No sacks against UGA and no tackles for loss for the big guys up front. However, they must be doing something right to stop the run.


Summary

Overall, it's going to be a tough game for the Beavs. They had a fairly easy game against PSU that didn't really test them. It did give confidence to Matt Moore and many of the new players on both sides of the ball. But we still have many of the same questions we had at the beginning of camp. I think this game will come down to turnovers how well each defense plays. Both offenses should be effective against the other defense even without the Beavers having a great running game. All in all, I say the Beavs win in a close game. Maybe something like 31-27. It will be a battle though.

I can’t wait for Saturday! It’s time to see how LOUD Reser stadium can get!


Articles on this Weekend's Game:

The Oregonian - Coaches in 'rivalry' have plenty to prove

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Ready for revenge

Portland Tribune - Collision course

The Idaho Statesman - BSU focused on the future

The Idaho Statesman - Broncos work to avoid more travel woes

The Idaho Statesman - Speed not an issue for OSU's Hass

Corvallis Gazette-Times - SCOUTING BOISE STATE

Portland Tribune - Boise State at Oregon State

BeaverFootball.com - Oregon State, Boise State ready to rumble

Yahoo.com - Boise State Bronco Two Deeps


Boise State's Loss to Georgia:

The Idaho Statesman - Southern fried: Georgia hounds BSU

The Arbiter (school newspaper) - Broncos cash in reality check

The Oregonian - Broncos, Zabransky told to 'flush' loss to Georgia

Link to Pac-10 article from Fresno St. blogger

A Fresno State blogger, mdg, has an article on the week one Pac-10 struggles and his impressions of the teams going forward.

One item of note: he has listed Oregon State as a possible sleeper depending on how they fare over the next two weeks.

mdg CFB: California (&Pac 10) Troubles

News from the Pac-10

There are a couple of big stories from Cal and ASU that popped up over the weekend:

First, it looks like ASU will be playing LSU at home this season. This was a home at home series, so now ASU will go to LSU for the second leg. I imagine this isn't exactly desirable because now they have to sell tickets 6 days in advance. But now they have home field advantage which could mean that we may see an upset.

FanBlogs - LSU-Arizona State moved, North Texas date in the works

NOLA.com - LSU will play Arizona State in Tempe, not Baton Rouge


Second, the Cal Bears lost their newly name QB starter, redshirt freshman Nate Longshore, to a broken leg. He may not return this season. You're thinking, no problem they have that JC guy who's so highly touted. That would be Joe Ayoob. However, when he came in against Sac. St. he laid an egg. Apparently, he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. His first 10 passes were incomplete. In fact, he was so bad that he was benched for the 3rd string QB. Looks like Cal is going to be running a bit this season.

FanBlogs - Golden Gate on high alert after Cal game

Thoughts of Reser Stadium

The first game has come and gone. I thought I'd share my experience on the new side.

Watching the Game

My seats are on the first level, above the students about 6-7 rows up on about the 15 to 20 yard line. You can see in my pictures where my sight-lines are and generally where I sit. I thought the view was great and I had no problem viewing the game even when the ball was at the other end of the field. Plus, when we are about to score on my end we get an up close and personal look at the team.

Seats

The seats were surprisingly comfortable. I thought the all plastic seats would be a little hard, but they are great. 100 times better than the hard benches we had on the old side. The leg room was great as well. I'm about 6'1" and I really loved the leg room. The cup holders rocked. I LOVE having a cup holder. The only bummer was that the sound system kept going out. But when it was working it was nice and loud.

The Rest

Generally, it just felt like there was room to move. In the concourse, bathrooms, and everywhere else on the lower level there was just plenty of space. Not too crowded. There were a lot of people in the bathroom at one time but the bathroom was so big it was no problem.

I love the TVs at the concessions. That to me is really a step up into the next level. That gives the stadium a "Pro" feel.

Love this quote from coach Mike Riley:

"I've been in a lot of new NFL stadiums, and there's nothing any better than this. I'm very proud of Oregon State. I'm very proud to represent Oregon State at this time, because it's different. It's one of the best stories in college football in the last 50 years."

Overall, it was awesome! I can't wait until the whole stadium is done. My only complaint is that they haven't changed anything on the "old" stadium at all. Bob, please replace those old faded flags on the old side with three new ones like the new side has. How about a little orange paint to brighten things up? Maybe a nice "Oregon State" sign on the ground level wall on the other side to match the new side?

Oh, and now we need a bigger JumboTron. Looked a bit small when compared with the huge new addition.


Some articles and reviews of the new stadium:

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Players enjoy new field

The Oregonian - Beavers fans like it all at shiny new Reser Stadium

The Register-Guard - Ron Bellamy: Oregon State building a big, bright future
The Register-Guard - Bob Welch: Reser Stadium stands up to play-by-play

Thoughts on the PSU game

Photos of PSU at OSU, Sept 3rd

Here's my thoughts on the PSU game. I'll take it position by position. Overall I thought the Beavers played a good game. It was a great first game. However, they do need to improve by next week if they want to beat an angry BSU team. I expect we will be angry as well after last year's game.

Offense

Overall it was a good show. They moved the ball effectively and converted when we got close. I'm happy with what I saw.

Quarterback

Matt Moore started off slow, but looked great. Really love the roll out throws. DA couldn't throw unless he was standing still. Moore looked a little like those Boise St. quarterbacks that always kill us. I was pretty happy with Matt overall. Ryan Gunderson didn't look so good. However, I think most of the overthrows were due to some jitters. His throws were getting better towards the end of the game, but still not great. He was really struggling with the "touch" throws. Whereas Moore seemed to drop the ball right over the linebackers into the receivers hands.

Running Backs

I was surprised by our running totals. I thought the running game was better than the yardage showed. All of the screen passes and shovel passes probably skewed my perception. But there were some holes and people were running through them. We're not Texas or Michigan but I think I saw some progress. Bernard was an excellent pass catcher out of the backfield. Two one-handed catches. I was really impressed and I think he's almost as big a weapon as a the TE was last year. Nate Wright looked decent. Fuller didn't really get to show his stuff. Kinda surprised he played special teams all game. So much for redshirting him I guess.

Wide Recievers

Hass was awesome. Anthony Wheat-Brown was good. Kevin Swanson was a pleasant surprise. Hawkins had a great TD catch. Great route. All in all, this is the Tstrength of our offense by far. The TEs are not going to be as big a part of the offense this year, that's for sure. I think the RBs will pick up the slack though.

Offensive Line

Mixed bag. I thought the run blocking was a bit better. But its hard not to be better than last year. Not sure about the pass blocking. Moore got a bit of pressure so they started rolling him out occasionally. Still a work in progress. But I think they have made progress.


Defense

Overall, a little disappointing. I thought they would do better against the run. Traditionally, we have been excellent against the run. We weren't yesterday. But we had some good interceptions and stood our ground on 3rd down. We should get better as the newer guys get more game experience.

Defensive Line

Boy, they sure didn't get much pressure on the PSU QB. I think Pernell Booth got the most pressure of the game once he got in (I hope the knee is OK). The ends didn't disrupt things too well. That could hurt us. I hope things turn out a bit better because we need to get pressure on the QB.

Linebackers

Linebackers did pretty good. They helped get pressure on the QB with some blitzes. They sure ran well on Doggetts side in the first half. I was pretty down on Doggett until I saw him step it up in the second half. Man, we have a lot of big, young linebackers. I think we will be fine at LB all season.

Secondary

Pretty good showing for the first game for most of these guys. I like Keenan Lewis so far. I think he may be a very special player for the Beavs. Not so sure about Lawson yet. I think he is serviceable, but I don't think he's at an elite level yet. He may not start all season unless he steps it up. My buddy Dustin thinks Aaron Miller should get in there instead.

Sabby did good. Herron played nicely I thought. He seemed to get more action than Sabby and he is a big guy. Our safeties sure had to make a lot of tackles on the running backs. Not a good sign.

Special Teams

Average to bad. Missed field goal. Poor directional punts. Dangerously close to allowing a big punt return. Poor decisions when to catch punts and when to bring out a kickoff out of the endzone.

However, I think we will be ok here as the year goes on. Too good of a coach. Too good of kickers. Too good of young talent.



That's it! Feel free to comment on the game and give me your thoughts!

Articles on the game:

Portland Tribune - Beavers get ‘W,’ but work to do

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Opening Reser in style
Corvallis Gazette-Times - Oregon State notebook

The Oregonian - Beavers sputter, then turn it on
The Oregonian - As promised, busy beginning for Bernard

The Register-Guard - Beavers: Bring on Boise State

The Seattle Times - Hot housewarming for OSU at new Reser

CBS Sportsline (AP) - Oregon St. 41, Portland State 14

OSU 41, PSU 14. Photos from the game and the festivies

I took plenty of pictures before, during, and after the game against PSU. There are a couple of panorama shots in there with the stands all full with people.

Photos of PSU at OSU, Sept 3rd

I'll be giving my thoughts of the game in a subsequent post today.

Reser Stadium. A Year and a Half in Review

On this eve of the first game in the new Reser Stadium, I thought this would be a good time to reflect on how far we have come. Thankfully, the structural engineer who posted those amazing pictures from the roof of Reser is back. Aaron Burkhardt, otherwise known as zendiggo on Flickr, has posted an older set of Reser Stadium construction pictures from when the towers first went up.

Reser Construction Photos

Thanks to Aaron for another set of great pictures!


Of course, you might be wondering what other people think of the new expansion. Aaron also turned me on to a Portland Architecture blog that had a post about the new Reser:

Raising Reser…to Autzen’s Knees

Can’t say I agree with him. Feel free to make your opinion know Beaver Nation.


I’m sure you’ve seen this before, but it’s worth a reminder. Each Reser Stadium webcam has a time-lapse movie of the entire life of the Raising Reser project. The timeline is from June 1st, 2004 to yesterday.

Reser WebCam 1

Reser WebCam 2

Pac-10 3-0 with Oregon, WSU, ASU wins

I watched most of the Oregon game and the second half of the Wazzu game last night. BTW, Tivo is a good thing. Makes watching games so much faster. Thought I’d note a few of my impressions.

Oregon at Houston

The Oregon offense was interesting. It looks a lot like Utah’s offense. Considering Mike Bellotti took a trip to the guru, Urban Meyer, this summer that probably isn't much of a surprise. To me it didn’t seem like many of the new tricks worked for them. What did work was passing the ball. Shotgun or not, they have been doing that fine for the last several years.

Clemens sure ran the ball A LOT. I think there’s a really good chance that he will get hurt sometime this season because he’s going to take a lot of hits. They are in for a long season if that happens because I have no confidence in Dennis Dixon. Even though Dixon is quick and fast, he did not look very good throwing the ball. His throws with power and a spiral so there’s a chance he could be ok, but his accuracy was way off in the Houston game. I don’t think he’s ready to start yet. They would become a one-dimensional team that basically runs the option all the time (Yikes!).

Couple of other notes: James Finley looks good. I’m bummed he’s not a Beaver (he signed with the Beavers out of HS then didn't qualify). Also, Jonathan Stewart is their Steven Jackson. He’s looks scary. The secondary and special teams coverage worries are not over for Oregon. They got burned a couple of times and the second long ball did not look good. The safety and corner ran into each other (they were beat anyway) on a 3 and 15!

Idaho at WSU

OK, so I missed the first half when things really unraveled for Alex Brink. He has a pretty weak arm from what I could see and I have a feeling he’ll get picked off quite a bit this year. His throws seem to float and have no zip. They ran the ball a lot. Plus, maybe it’s early but the Wazzu defense didn’t look that amazing. Unless maybe Idaho is that good. They didn't look like they were doing anything tricky.

All in all WSU looks very beatable.

Temple at ASU

Yikes! Temple isn’t good, but 63 points is a little scary. That makes the Beavers home Pac-10 opener against the Sun Devils a little more in doubt. I’ll wait to make any predictions until after they play LSU. Assuming they can play LSU. Apparently the Federal Government may not allow them to play at LSU’s stadium because much of the relief effort is being handled there.

Yvenson Bernard profiled in local Florida newspaper

Yvenson Bernard is written up in a local Boca Raton newspaper. Apparently he went to school with Sabby Piscitelli. I knew they were both from Florida, but I didn't know they were teammates. Pretty cool.

Boca's Bernard eager to key Oregon State running game: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

One interesting thing to note is this:

"Bernard's roommate is former Boca Raton teammate Sabby Piscitelli. A junior strong safety, Piscitelli is arguably the team's best defensive player and is the lone returning starter. Analysts are already calling him a high-round pick in next year's NFL draft."


Yikes! Sabby can't leave after this season! It's great the NFL is looking at him, but he can't leave early. Learn the lesson of Brandon Browner and stay in school!