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