Joe Rudulph leaves football program

It too bad that Joe couldn't have stayed with the team this season. I think he could have been a force to be reckoned with. Good luck to Joe in the future.

Rudulph leaves football program - Corvallis Gazette-Times

Coach Mike Riley would not comment further, but Rudulph said the parting was mutual and there are no hard feelings from either side.

[...]

“I still love coach Riley and my team,” Rudulph said. “I know he would be there for me if I need him outside of football. He’s doesn’t want to comment on this because it’s a distraction this close to the season. They have a good chance to go to the Rose Bowl. He has a job to do now, and so do I.”

Well done Joe. Way to leave with some class. I know I'll be rooting for you wherever you end up.

Eastern Washington Preview

Oregon State's first opponent is Eastern Washington University, or as Herd likes to call it, the "Harvard on the Palouse".

EWU had a great season in 2005 winning the Big Sky title and going to the Div. 1-AA playoffs. They lost their first round game to Northern Iowa, but they return a ton of players with a least some starting experience. Only 5 players that are expected to start on Thursday are making their starting debut. They are a always a good 1-AA team and are predicted to finish second this season in the Big Sky preseason poll.

Coach Paul Wulff has lost some key players from last year's championship team. The QB, best reciever, and best defensive player are all gone. The 2005 QB, Erik Meyer, won the Walter Payton award for the best player in Division 1-AA! The reciever finished second to Jerry Rice in career TD receptions in 1-AA with 46. So their record setting offense of 2005 has a few holes to fill.

Let's take a look at both sides of the ball for 2006.

Offense
The Eastern Washington offense is self described as this:

Eastern’s offense under Wulff has now led the Big Sky Conference in total offense in four of the last five years. The attack enables the Eagles to
throw the ball a little more, utilize more short and intermediate passing routes, simplify formations and gives quarterbacks more freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage.

But the Eagles haven’t lost sight of their bread and butter for the past two decades – the running game. Eastern will always feature outstanding offensive linemen, with a stable of talented running backs. In nine of the past 11 seasons, Eastern has had a 1,000-yard rusher. In Eastern’s first 86 years of football, only three 1,000-yard performances were recorded.

So we know they will have somewhat of a ball control offense. Since they are breaking in one or possibly two new QBs they will definitely keep the passing game simple. The running game looks like it has the most potential with Ryan Cole and an experienced line returning.

Apparently EWU will be trying both QBs in the first few games to see how each QB does. They are focused on the Big Sky season and these games don't really matter much to them. They have a junior, Chris Peerboom, who went to Jesuit HS in the Portland area and a redshirt freshman, Matt Nichols. Everything coming out of the EWU athletic dept. points to both playing significant minutes in the first couple of games.

What it all means for the Beavs
Looks like a lot of short passes and running. They will look to control the clock and keep the Beavers offense off the field. If the Beavers defense is as good against the run as it was last year, then the Eagles offense is going to have a lot of short drives. Also, the Eagles gave up a ton of sacks last season (53) with virtually the same offensive line that they will have against OSU. If the Beavs can't get a sack or two against this team or at least a lot of pressure, then it could be a long season for the secondary.

Defense
The Eagles had an OK defense last season giving up 23 ppg but they gave up points in bunches to some of the better 1-AA teams. Apparently, they had a hard time tackling people and that would lead to big plays. Their strength is their safeties as they return both all-conference players. The CBs are new and the defensive line is a question mark. Our offense has to be licking its chops.

What it all means for the Beavs
Their defense allowed 160 ypg in rushing last year so combine that with poor tackling and an undersized d-line and Yvenson Bernard better have a heck of a day. I want to see some serious running numbers from our o-line and RBs. The safeties and their secondary could cause us some problems. They only allowed 203 ypg passing last season. Luckily they only had 9 INTs all season so that shouldn't be a problem (knock on wood).

Prediction
I think that the Beavs offense will come up big. Anything less than 30 points should be a disappointment. The defense needs to show that it can create some havoc against this team. Ultimately the score doesn't matter, but how does the team look does. They need to establish early that their d-line and secondary is better. Still it should be about 34-14.

Quick Facts
* EWU is a Division 1-AA school that plays in the Big Sky which is the same conference as Portland St. who we opened with last year.

* In 2005, EWU set 27 team records and 4 Big Sky records for player and team achievements.

* EWU has never had a losing season under current head coach Paul Wulff (6 seasons) and has a 7 season streak of winning seasons.

* Coach Wulff played under former OSU head coach Dennis Erickson at WSU in the late 80's.

* Since 1982, Eastern is 7-12 against Division I-A teams.

EWU Articles

Eastern faces rugged start - Seattle P-I

Eastern Braces for Tough Tests - Kitsap Sun

StubHub gets seating map wrong

I was searching around for tickets for a friend on StubHub and noticed something a little strange. The seating map is like a blast from the past! Sure it's only been a year, but considering that they have some sort of new partnership with OSU you would think they could get a seat map with the expanded stadium up there.

Maybe this will bring us good luck. We're playing EWU again for the first time since 2000. Maybe we can channel the energy of 2000!

Oregon State Beavers vs. Eastern Washington Tickets [8/31/2006] at StubHub!

2005 Beaver Football Highlight Video

ThomasG86 has put together a great Oregon State 2005 highlight video. He finally posted it on YouTube so all can enjoy.

Time to get hyped about the season!

YouTube - 2005 Beaver Football Highlight Video

Great Job Thomas!

Joe Beaver show take major leap into the internet age

With the help of the OSU athletic website, the Joe Beaver show (1240 AM in the mid-valley) is streaming over the internet! It's not a podcast so you still have to listen to it from Noon - 2pm weekdays, but it's a start. The only downside is that you need to have a Beaver Nation Online subscription. But hey, maybe now is the time to get one, eh?

Mike Parker and John Warren are nearly all Beavers all the time this time of year and they have some great interviews with players, coaches, and other media types.

Check it out!

EDIT: Official annoucement

Statesman Journal previews Oregon State's season

Look like the Salem Statesman Journal put out their college football preview today. They have a nice collection of articles including spotlights on Sabby Piscitelli and Yvenson Bernard, a look at the preseason predictions and the team reaction, and a short overview of the Beavers. If you're a die hard Beaver, stick to the player spotlights.

Safety on the lookout for enemy passes

Whether OSU improves enough to get back in the bowl picture remains to be seen, but Piscitelli will have no regrets regarding his own preparation for the season.

That's why he is so diligent about working out and watching game film.

For Piscitelli, there is nothing more important than football and the season that is approaching.

"I want to go into the season with a full head of steam knowing I did everything possible in the off-season to become the best safety I can become this year," he said.

Undersized and underrated

"He's one of the most fun guys that I've coached because Ev is a guy you can talk to and he can hear something and take it right to the field," coach Mike Riley said.

[...]

The statistics are nice, and if Bernard achieves all-Pac-10 or all-American status it would be something to be proud of. But the numbers that mean most to Bernard are OSU's win-loss record.

Another losing season would be unacceptable to Bernard. He has loftier goals in mind.

"A big bowl game, not just a little bowl game," Bernard said. "Not a 6-5, 7-5 record. We're better than that. If we don't win games, it (individual accomplishments) doesn't matter. It's about winning and playing good football for me."

I really hope those Florida kids do well this season. Yvenson might be might favorite player on the team this year. He seems like such a great guy, and I think that the way he has looked in practice that he will take a leap forward to be the best RB in the Pac-10. Sabby is fun to listen to and exciting to watch. He really is taking it on himself to improve our secondary. That can only mean good things.

Beavers look to rebound

Beavers at a glance

This last one has something in it that kind of bugs me. Here it is:

Coach: Mike Riley: sixth season, 28-30 overall, 14-26 Pac-10.

I really think the media should split Mike's record into years before and after or just omit the before numbers. It's really a separate thing and doesn't reflect the success we've had in the second Riley era. Just a pet peev.

The Oregon State defense, will it be better? Here are a few potential clues in some recent articles

This is a nice preview out of Seattle of Oregon State's upcoming football season.

There's one particular part of the article that caught my eye:

The Seattle Times: College Sports: Will that OSU baseball swagger roll on to football field?

Asked to name his top three areas of concern, Riley points to (1) uncertainty over whether the receiving corps is up to replacing Hass; (2) youth in a secondary that was victimized for frequent big plays last year; and (3) the challenge of replacing Bray and Ellison.

As for the defensive line, he says, 'I feel pretty good about that.'

Well, that's this last thing I would have expected him to say. It seems like the defensive line is the most up in the air to me. But that actually makes me a little more optimistic about things. If the D-Line can make a huge step forward, then everything gets a whole lot easier for the defense.

I tell ya, I do really like what I've seen out of Pernell Booth. He was good last season before getting hurt. I think he will be a regular in the DT rotation and may be starting a few games into the season. And if Dorian Smith can learn fast, I hope he becomes our scary pass rusher on the outside. Cause we need it bad.

Ultimately, if the D-Line can be great against the run this year and be just somewhat better at providing pressure on the QB then we'll be better on D.

Here's something positive from a recent practice report:

BeaverBlitz.com - Riley pleased with the play of the defense

Riley also complemented the defense as a whole, stating "the defense is really flying around, and it is really hard to select just one guy (as the star)."

He is also happy with what he is seeing in the secondary, "I've been pleased with the corners, Keenan Lewis, Brandon Hughes, and Coye Francies. There is depth at safety with Sabby and of course Al Afalava. Brian Payton has made a ton of plays in camp, Daniel Drayton is a solid player and we have two really good looking freshmen with James Dockery and Suaesi Tuimaunei."

Riley also mentioned that he is happy with the play and depth at linebacker and with the way the defensive front is progressing.

I hope all this optimism bodes well for the season. I want the tough, mean, and "#1 in the Pac-10" defense back.

The baseball scoreboard, part II

Looks like it's all finished! Well, except for the huge "NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 2006" sign that going to put up. Right? It will be put up, right? And while we're at it, lets replace all the old pennants with some that have the right color of orange and haven't been faded over 20 years.

Thanks to ronin_beav on Flickr for this great pic of the scoreboard.

New OSU Baseball scoreboard coming along

I was riding to work yesterday moring and saw so much progress on the scoreboard I had to go back at lunch and take some photos.

In 2 days it went from the frame of a scoreboard to looking very close to completion.

They we're putting up the big "OREGON" on the left side while I was taking pictures. I'll go back this weekend and get another couple pics with the "STATE" on the other side for the full effect.

I have a set of these photos on Flickr here:

OSU Baseball Scoreboard Construction

Here is my favorite of the bunch:



Preparing to put the "OREGON" sign up:



Side view:




Go Beavs!

FSN Live Airs Beaver Reports

Fox Sports is going to be airing a lot of Beaver previews as we lead up to the season. If you miss one I'm sure there will be replays. I'll try to note them as I find them.

FSN Live Airs Beaver Reports - Official Site of Oregon State Athletics

Thurs., Aug. 24 – 10 p.m. – the cornerbacks.

Sat., Aug. 26 – 10 p.m. (Approx.) Piscitelli and Yvenson Bernard (following Mariners baseball)

Mon., Aug. 28 – 10 p.m. (Approx.) Campus Cam with quarterback Matt Moore

Tues., Aug. 29 – 10 p.m. (Approx.) Assistant head coach Jay Locey is featured

Thurs., Aug. 31 – 6:30 p.m. FSN’s pregame coverage of Eastern Washington at OSU, followed by kickoff

Alumni Center policy changing

For those who rely on the Alumni Center for a little extra pregame beverage and TV, you may have to finally pony up for that Alumni Association membership. We bit the bullet and got the membership so we can go to Dixon, but we live in town. For those who don't have a membership, hmmm, extra $5 to buy another beer or two? I guess you can still attend the bbqs and stuff outside, but no TV for you! I wonder if the beer will still be sold outside? If they do I guess that won't be so bad. I don't blame the Alumni Association for trying to raise a little revenue. Plus, it is pretty crowded in the ballroom on gameday.

I wonder what the general reaction by Beaver Nation will be on gameday? Considering most fans probably won't hear about this until they go to their first game.

Corvallis Gazette-Times :. Alumni Center makes tailgating changes for OSU football games

Members of the Oregon State Alumni Association will not be charged to enter the CH2M-Hill Alumni Center ballroom for tailgating during football games this year when they show their membership card. However, others will pay a $5 admission charge on a space-available basis.

Pick Six...now this sounds fun.

OK, you have to check this out. If you think you can pick teams better than the Pollsters do, then step up!

The Blue-Gray Sky: Pick Six '06

Here's how it works.

1. We divide the top 25 into 5 groups of 5 based on the AP Poll: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, etc. For this year's poll, the groups are thus:

A - Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas, Auburn, West Virginia
B - Southern Cal, Florida, LSU, California, Oklahoma
C - Florida State, Miami, Louisville, Michigan, Georgia
D - Iowa, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Penn State, Nebraska
E - Oregon, TCU, Tennessee, Arizona State, Texas Tech

2. You pick one team from each group, plus one unranked team. You're trying to pick the teams you think will finish highest in the final AP poll.

3. Each week we'll update the standings. You get 25 points for having the #1 team, 24 points for the #2 team, on down to 1 point for the #25 team. Unranked teams get zero points.

Sweet. I'm in. Come on over and join me.

Add Beavers sports events to your calendar!

New feature here at the blog: upcoming events.  On the right just below the photo of Reser Stadium will be a list of Beaver sports events that are coming up. 

The cool part is that your can save the events in .csv (Outlook) or .ics (Apple iCal) and import them to either of those programs.  Plus, many other calendars accept those formations.  Also, if you are an iCal user you can subscribe to the event feed using the "+iCal" link. 

To add events to Outlook...

• Click on the "+Outlook" link and save the file somewhere on your local hard drive ("My Documents" is good). 
• Then go to the File menu in Outlook, choose "Import and Export...". 
• A wizard will come up.  Choose "Import from another program or file" and press next.
• Choose "Comma Separated Values (Windows)" and press next.
• Browse for the file you saved that ends with .csv and follow the remaining steps.

Try it out and comment on this topic if you have any problems.

NOTE: Newer versions of Outlook also support the .ICS extensions. Also, I'm still working on flushing out the "Other Sports" besides football, so you may want to hold off on getting that until I post that I'm done.

NOTE 2: I'm done with all the fall sports. So the "other sports" are ready for import.

Fall camp lull

Boy, the amount of profiles and stories leading up to the season have slowed down a bit. I think we've hit the mid-camp wall. The excitement has worn off a bit and everyone just wants the games to start. Am I right? Sure seems that way from the beat writers point of view.

I watched the Oregon State preview on FSN and it was a bit weird this season. It seemed thrown together. Coach Riley's interview was a bit strange and he seemed to be dodging the questions a bit. That can't be good. It's replayed tonight and probably the rest of the week on FSN.


Finally, I think the Beavers should find a way to roll this product into Phase 2 of Raising Reser. The players would love this and if it actually works then it would be a way better investment than some flashy locker rooms.

This is a football simulator that's like the PS2 video games, but customized to the school and their players exactly.

Pro Simulator: The Six Figure College Football Video Game

"This is the next best thing to practicing or playing," Hollenbach says. "Watching film is a passive experience. This is as close (as you get) to the real thing without getting hit." Besides, what college kid isn't going to want to play a souped-up video game?
Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen knows this. That's why he's smiling as he gazes out his office window at Byrd Stadium. A phone behind his desk rings. He ignores it. He wants to talk about this new gizmo.

"Decision making and vision are the two most important qualities a quarterback can have," Friedgen says. His voice rises. "It's all about accelerating learning and augmenting the learning curve. They need to learn to make decisions off what they see."

What makes the simulator better than the video game you bought at Best Buy is the fact a school can customize it with its playbook. Any play, any formation, any personnel grouping. The possibilities are limitless.

But the simulator will cost you -- as much as $250,000, according to developer GridIron Technologies. Arizona State was the first on board. Oklahoma State, Wake Forest and Virginia, among a dozen other schools, soon followed. The NFL might be next. Coaches around the country are pleading with their A.D.s for blank checks.

"A guy from the company told me he needed 20 minutes to pitch his product," Friedgen says. "I said I'd give him 10. Almost two hours later, I had bought the system."

Scrimmage

Who knew that a scrimmage with "young players" was code for "boring"? Not too much to take out of the scrimmage. I figure you can find the scrimmage reports in the Oregonian and GT. Here's some other stuff you may have missed...


Here's a Pac-10 preview from CBS Sportline. They pick OSU 6th.

CBS SportsLine.com - Pac-10 preview: Thinking one for the thumb at USC

6. Oregon State: How does a 5-6 team produce the nation's best receiver and kicker? We're wondering too. Receiver Mike Haas (Biletnikoff Award winner) is gone but kicker Alexis Serna (Lou Groza Award) returns. A better defense would help. The Beavers were outscored by at least 18 points in four of their six losses. Their 22 sacks tied for last in the conference.

Here's a profile of a local Beavs football recruit:

.: Albany Democrat-Herald :. Prince happy to stay home

Prince’s size and athleticism made him a prime target for recruiters, but he had narrowed his decision to three schools by the spring. The Beavers, Oregon and California were all in the running. It kept him thinking for some time.

“I’d sit at work and try and weigh the advantages. I went to all the junior camps and the preview days. Ultimately I felt I had the best chance at Oregon State. They offered and I agreed,” explained the two-way performer, who also is a key contributor on the Bulldog basketball and track and field teams.

Ted Miller weighs in on the Beavs

Ted Miller of the Seattle P-I gave the Beavs a good review after predicting them last going into last season. OSU continually is a tough team to call for many pundits. Predictions this year range from the surprise team in the Pac-10 to 9th.

ESPN.com - NCF/PREVIEW06 - Miller: Oregon State expects to contend in '06

Consider: five returning starters on an offensive line that averages 305 pounds per man; a tailback who rushed for 1,321 yards last season; experience at quarterback; a secondary that returns intact; and the best kicker in the nation (who, by the way, has connected on 61 consecutive extra points since jumping and spinning at LSU).

[...]

(About Yvenson Bernard)

The 5-foot-9, 204-pound junior is neither fast nor big. But he's slippery and quick, and his toughness has inspired awe around the team. He recorded the bulk of his impressive numbers while nursing shoulder and knee injuries that sidelined him during spring drills.

"He is a warrior," Riley said. "He's one of my favorite all-time players."

[...]

While it's nice to have the entire secondary back, it's less encouraging that it surrendered a mind-boggling 31 touchdown passes, most in the nation.

Here's how Riley described it after a reporter suggested a number of possible excuses, including three freshmen starters: "No, we were just bad."

But Riley means "bad" in terms of mental breakdowns, not ability.

[...]

Pac-10 media tapped the Beavers to finish seventh in the conference in this year's preseason poll, exactly where they finished last year after losing four of their last five games.

So the Beavers' potential resurgence has yet to register.

"That's Oregon State for you -- vastly overlooked," Piscitelli said.

I think that he nailed it. That's how most Beaver fans are right now. Cautiously optimistic. People are worried about the WRs or Matt Moore. But the offense will be fine. Watch how the defense does in the first couple of games and that will tell you how good this team will be. The pass defense must be adequate if not good.

ESPN's Pat Forde calls Oregon State, not Arizona, the surprise team in the Pac-10

After that horribly wrong prediction by SI for the Beavs to finish 9th in the conference, here's a little band-aid to our pride.

ESPN.com - NCF/PREVIEW06 - Forde: 5 predictions for the Pac-10 season

"3. The state of Oregon will flex its muscles. The Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers both return their entire starting offensive lines, which tends to be a strong harbinger of success. If Oregon has a quarterback emerge as its undisputed leader (Dennis Dixon is the runner, Brady Leaf the thrower) and gets a big year out of touted sophomore running back Jonathan Stewart, it will compete for the league title. Oregon State, not trendy pick Arizona, looks like the potential surprise team in the Pac-10 and opens with four of its first five at home. "

I think people underestimate two things about the Beavs.

The first, like Pat says, is the offensive line. They were good last year and everyone is back. Plus, they have depth with soild backups for the first time in a while.

Second, they have a senior QB. Generally, the teams in the conference with senior QBs tend to perform better than expected. Carson Palmer, Andrew Walter, Drew Olsen, Rodgers at Cal. They all gave their teams monumental leaps forward in their senior years.

I'm not saying that this guarantees sucess. But it does give reason for hope, and quite frankly, high expectations. I fully expect to go to a decent bowl game this year and get back on track. If we don't, I will be seriously disappointed.


Here are a few side notes...


This guy thinks the Beavs still have Mike Hass. I think Mike is a player to watch this season...in the NFL.

The Standard - (Macclenny, Florida) Talking football

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The scrimmage is at 3pm-ish today. It looks like mostly the younger players will be playing so it could be a good look into the future.

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If you are a student and want to attend games this season read this: Student Football Tickets Available Monday

Stuff from around the internet

I love this time of year. The boards are busy, optimism abounds, and radio stations make rap songs about your players. That's right, 1080 the Fan came back after the Mike Hass song and made a song for Yvenson Bernard. The way he is getting hyped up around the country (and the way he's looked in practice), he deserves it. Ev should have a huge season. Check out what the Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook had to say about him:

Team preview: Oregon State
(Only available to ESPN Insiders. But it's a great preview. Possibly the best non-local one I've seen.)

Depth is an issue in the backfield, but Oregon State returns one of the more dynamic talents in the conference in junior Yvenson Bernard (5-9, 202). And if he stays healthy, Bernard has a chance to be the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year.

Yes, he's that good.

In 2005 Bernard finished ninth in the nation with 120.1 rushing yards per game, but he's got other skills. With Reggie Bush having left for the NFL, Bernard is arguably the best receiving tailback in the conference. He caught 37 passes last season and this year, that number could easily hit 50. Overall, he finished last season with 1,637 yards from scrimmage, including the sixth-highest ground total in program history with 1,321.

Comparisons to Reggie Bush. If he can be that guy every game this season, we'll be pretty good. If he becomes the Pac-10 offensive player of the year, the Beavs will be heading to San Diego or LA.


And here's his song:

1080 THE FAN PODCASTS

You have to click on "1080 THE FAN SONGS" and login first. Then you can download and listen as many times as you want.

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The new Duck billboards are out on the internet. They look actually kinda lame. They tried to do something like they had last year, which was cool. But these just look like they're all sleepy or something. And what about the guys smiling while throwing or catching? Are they trying to sell jerseys or football tickets?

Ducks 2006

---

Finally, I'll end with a couple more season predictions from SI and the Blue Ribbon Preview.

SI ranks the Beavers 79th. Below Stanford and Arizona. WSU is 51st. Hmmm...

Here's Blue Ribbon's team analysis:

We think the two most-improved teams in the Pac-10 this season will be Oregon State and Arizona. That said, the Beavers weren't as bad as their record indicated last season and could have easily earned the program's sixth bowl invitation in seven seasons with a break against either Arizona or Stanford.

All the makings are there for the second-best season in program history. The Beavers won 11 games in 2000 and nine in 1962. Including a bowl game, there's no reason Oregon State can't go 10-4, maybe even 11-3.

Obviously, the key to this predicted success is Moore, but unless there's a mental block that the coaching staff is unaware of, he appears headed for a breakout season and with future NFL players like Bernard and Newton around him, this offense should be fun to watch. The defense has holes, especially the front seven, but barring an outbreak of injuries in August, Banker and Riley should be able to put together one of the top three or four units in the conference.

And while the Beavers just don't have the depth of USC or UCLA, we think Oregon State can challenge for third place in the Pac-10 and at the least, place fifth at 8-5. Either way, anything less than a bowl bid would be wildly disappointing and to us, a big surprise.

Grading the Beavers
Offense A-
Special teams B
Defense B
Intangibles A-

These guys sound almost too optimistic, but if someone nationally can think it...maybe it could happen.

What to watch for in Beaver football land

First, some events worth knowing about and considering checking out.

* On Friday the Joe Beaver show will be in Portland at the Bridgeport Brewery. The go from 12-2 and usually have prizes (tickets) and things to give away. Go down and say "Hi" to Mike Parker.

* This weekend Fox Sports will be previewing the 4 northwest football teams for the upcoming 2006 season. Look for it on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday - 2pm UW, 2:30 WSU. Sunday 4pm - OSU, 4:30 - UO. They are replayed Monday starting at 7pm.

* ABC is previewing the college football season on Saturday at 3:30pm. Doubt we'll have any significant Beaver news though.

* The weekend practice schedule looks like this: Saturday 2-5 and no Sunday practice.


Yvenson Bernard go himself on a preseason top 20 RB list at ESPN. He's #15.

ESPN.com - NCF - McShay: Preseason running back rankings


Looks like the Beavers QBs will be wearing knee braces all the time regardless of whether they have had an injury or not. It's a precautionary measur similar to the linemen. Probably a good thing, but it may make our QBs a little less mobile.

Corvallis G-T - Bracing for Safety

Weekly roundup of player profiles

Player profiles come fast a furious this time of year. So I'm going to try to just list them here for those who don't get a chance to read about the Beavs every day. This is some of the more interesting or obscure profiles for about the last week.


Lyle Moevao

Corvallis Gazette-Times :. Big goals in a little body

Yes, he’s short. Yes, he’s nimble. And yes, he possesses a pretty good arm.

Now, compare him to Jonathan Smith and that’s someone he strives to emulate.

The junior college transfer quarterback knows his Oregon State football team history. And he hopes it repeats.

Lyle looked a bit lost in the practices I saw. But he throws well and has some talent. He looks like he could lose a little wieght, but...


Matt Moore

Santa Clarita Valley Signal - One Moore Last Chance

He had to spend the biggest game of his team's season, the "Civil War" rivalry game versus the University of Oregon, brooding on the sidelines.

This was not even close to the way he thought he would be wrapping up the third season of his college football career.

"Arizona and Stanford, those games just sucked and made me so mad," he says. "I don't want to ever have to go through that again."

[...]

"I think the sky is the limit for this team," Moore says. "Nobody is expecting us to do anything, but we'll be shooting for the moon and trying to surprise some people this year. Mike Hass was a hall of famer for us, but I think other people will step up and fill the shoes and we'll have a good team."

I like that attitude. That's an attitude Beaver fans can get behind. I mean, the Arizona and Stanford games did suck, didn't they?

Kyle Loomis

The Roseburg News-Review - Leg up on a starting job


The Secondary

The Oregonian - A weak link no longer

The Recievers

Portland Tribune - Good hands sought to fill big shoes


Clinton Polk
Patrick Fuller

The Oregonian - Polk, Fuller battle for backup tailback

Anthony Wheat-Brown
Sammy Stroughter

Corvallis Gazette-Times :. Catching on

Offensive Line

Corvallis Gazette-Times :. Owning the trenches

OSU Men's Soccer starts season tonight

The Oregon State men's soccer team (the other football) will take the field tonight at 8pm under their newly installed lights at Lorenz Field. The team looks promising with some good scoring threats up front and decent defenders.

Here's a full preview from a local Corvallis soccer nut:

Corvallis Soccer Blog: Oregon State Beavers: Men's Team Preview

Cole Gillespie tearing it up in Montana

Looks like Cole is making a big impression in the Brewers organization. Nice job Cole.

Great Falls Tribune - www.greatfallstribune.com - Great Falls, MT

Gillespie was one of the top players on the best college team in the nation, helping the Oregon State Beavers win their first NCAA championship in June.

A few weeks later in his fourth game as a pro, Gillespie went 6-for-6 — a feat most hitters never achieve.

Gillespie had another highlight-reel game Sunday night at Centene Stadium as he belted two tape-measure homers to spark the Helena Brewers to a 7-4 victory over the Great Falls White Sox.

Beavers in the NFL

The Beat writers over at the Oregonian have a great roundup of the NFL Beavers on their blog. Looks like Buker did the research for this one:

OregonLive.com: Behind The Beavers Beat#171682

Hass' first NFL catch came in the second quarter on a second-and-7 call from the N.O. 35. Martin hit him on the left sideline for a 4-yard gain.

On a first and 10 from the N.O. 38, Martin went deep down the right sideline to Hass (out of the shotgun) but the pass went incomplete.

Next, third quarter, second and 10 from the Titans' 29.

Martin drops back and hits Hass - who was in heavy traffic - for 13 yards and a first down. Hass gets hammered, but pops up with the ball (gee, have we seen that before?) ... that one made ESPN.

Finally, third quarter, Martin hits Hass for 11 yards and a first down on a second-and-8 call.

Average first scrimmage

Wasn't able to go, but I'm trying to read a bit between the lines. Some things that stand out from what I've read / seen so far:

* Shane Morales is going to play this season. I was impressed when I saw him last weekend and after the 4 catches for 65 yards in the scrimmage the QBs seem to like him and he gets open. This is hug news considering the loss of Love and possibly Crosby for some or all of the season.

* Sammie Stroughter and Anthony Wheat-Brown look like they're ready to make an impact this season. However, I'd like to see Wheat-Brown catch a few more balls.

* 7-10, 105 yards. That's a great line for Matt Moore. The key stat? 0 ints.

* Patrick Fuller is making a strong bid for playing time with a pretty consistent 10 rushes, 38 yards. If he can hold on to the ball and catch more consistently he may be looking at some backup PT.

* The defense wasn't mentioned that much in any of the articles I read. Hope that's not a bad sign.

* No personal fould, fights, or mention of bad penalties. That could be good.

* I really hope the Joe Rudolph story ends well. On the field problems are better than off the field problems.

Offense Scores 24 Points in First Scrimmage - Official Site of Oregon State Athletics

Corvallis GT - Rudulph suspension dominates OSU scrimmage day

The Oregonian - Volatile Rudulph lands in hot water

Interesting how the two main stories on the scrimmage are about Rudolph. Must have been a pretty boring scrimmage.

No practice today (bummer) I may have to try to catch one next week so I can see how people have progessed from the first weekend.

Saturday Scrimmage

Today is the first official scrimmage of the Fall camp (with referees and everything). I can't go because of a friend's wedding...

I really want to see how the recievers and DBs have improved since last weekend so I'll try to hit the Sunday practice if there is one.

Practice is from 2-5 and the scrimmages usually get going around 4pm.

Men's Basketball Previews

Yea, I know it's the middle of fall camp but there's enough basketball info out there that I thought I'd do a quick hoops post to let people know what's been happening since last season. There's some hoops fanatics out there, right? Coach John has a tough season ahead with a very young yet promising team.

The early predictions aren't looking great for the Beavs:

Arizona Daily Star - Some early Pac-10 thoughts

9. Oregon State. The Beavers have solid, experienced talent inside with Kyle Jeffers and Sasa Cuic but there are major questions about who will shoot the ball from the perimeter. If either Wesley Washington or Angelo Tsagarakis can make an impact from the perimeter, the Beavers will beat some teams.

Sasa will have to be the team leader and scorer again this season. He must be a true #1 to let some of the young guys develop. Most of the young guys won't be consistent, so he has to be. A big year for him.


Some player news:

Calvin Hampton is taking this season seriously. He should at least get significant time this season as a sub for Kyle Jeffers and Sasa Cuic. Cuic probably won't rest much, but he could move over to the 3 if Hampton and Jeffers or Hughes are in at the same time.

Corvallis Gazette-Times - Big Man Camp should be big help to Hampton

“This has given me a chance to play against some of the best big men in country,” Hampton said. “It’s really helping me improve my game. I’ve learned how important your footwork is. And I really like this kind of environment.”

[...]

The Beavers hope he can play a significant role this season, so he wanted an edge over just working out and shooting with his teammates.

“I’ve being making big improvements after my shoulder surgery,” Hampton said. “I was a little passive when I started playing again, but I’m getting that aggressiveness back. This is a big year for me to get out there and do well.”

That's some good news. I only wish Liam could have gone down there. But with one of the OSU coaches actually coaching at the camp, he should be able to help the big men a lot this season.


Looks like Lamar Hurd is healed up and found a place to continue his basketball career:
Corvallis Gazette-Times - Hurd to play in Holland

“It’s beyond exciting for me,” Hurd said. “I haven’t played a game in more than six months. Just to be able to play again is enough excitement for me, and then the chance to do it in another country, plus to get paid for it, it’ll be fun.”

Phase II Stadium Changes

It looks like the plan for Reser phase 2 has changed a bit. I'm not sure how offical this is, but the Gill Annex is going to be rolled into phase 2 to help get it done.

Brooks Hatch: Raising Reser II update, football notes

The multiple changes in the plans are due to the skyrocketing price of steel and other materials. The Beavers expected to pay about $19 million on actual construction costs, but when estimates came back at approximately $31 million something had to give.

So as of Saturday:
* The lower east side grandstand will be wrapped around the south end zone to the Ironman statue, effectively bowling that half of the stadium.

* The new JumboTron and ticket booths will be erected behind the new grandstand. The fate of the current replay screen is undetermined.

* The north end zone will remain as is; no seating will be removed. The larger south grandstand will increase capacity from 43,300 to approximately 46,200.

* A new two-story weight room/wrestling room will be built directly across Ralph Miller Drive from the stadium as part of the Gill Coliseum annex. The basketball/volleyball arena portion will be added when funds are raised.

* It hasn't been decided what will become of the current Valley Center/Gill Coliseum weight rooms. Possibilities include an athletes lounge, a larger academic center, or suites, in the VFC, and expanded equipment/training/locker rooms in Gill Coliseum.

* Visiting teams will continue to dress in the old OSU football locker room in Gill Coliseum for the foreseeable future. The Beavers figured it made more sense to spend several million dollars on a new weight room/wrestling room for their athletes instead of converting a storage area under the west grandstand into a visiting locker room, or including one in the new south grandstand.

* If all goes as hoped, construction at Reser Stadium will start in December. Since the new weight room/wrestling room was a late addition, construction there won't begin until about March, 2007.

Oregon State may play in Georgia next season

A story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution over the weekend coroborates an internet rumor that OSU was scheduling Georgia in some sort of home at home series. It appears it will be a 2 for 1 with the date pretty spread out.

Dogs may face Oregon State in football | ajc.com

No deal has been signed, but as it stands on paper the Beavers would come to Sanford Stadium for the 2007 opener, then return in 2017. Georgia would make the trip to Corvallis, Ore., in 2011. The Bulldogs have never played a regular-season game that far from home.

"For us, the chance to get a two-for-one [two home games, one away] is huge," Johnson said. "And for them, obviously the chance to have Georgia play in Corvallis is big."

Sounds good to me. I'd rather spread it out a bit so that the 2 for 1 doesn't hurt so much in the W/L category. No need to be playing a #1 team each year when the Pac-10 is strong.

Oregon State Football book

There's a new book out today about the history of OSU football. It's written by Kip Carlson and sounds interesting. I haven't read it, but for those wanting to start getting hyped about football season starting, this could be a good start.

Oregon State Football: Arcadia Publishing

Powells: Oregon State Football (Images of Sports)

Synopsis:
Oregon State University began its football program in 1893 and has been a study in contrasts ever since. The Beavers went to the Rose Bowl after the 1941, 1956, and 1964 seasons and to the Liberty Bowl in 1962. There was also a streak of losing seasons that lasted from 1971 until 1998. Two years later, the Beavers competed in the Fiesta Bowl and ranked among the top five teams in the country. From the "Iron Men" of 1933 to the "Civil War" rivalry between OSU and the University of Oregon, and from Terry Baker — the first Heisman Trophy winner on the West Coast — to a pair of bowl victories over Notre Dame, this entertaining and informative volume presents many seldom-seen images and the stories behind them over a century of Oregon State football.

OSU fall camp

Fall camp is underway and I was able to check out practice on both Saturday and Sunday.

I mostly watched the offense until the scrimmage portions of the practice. Here are some quick impressions. Since it's early in camp I'll focus on the encouraging parts I've seen.

* Joe Newton looks good. I can't wait to see how he does this year.

* Wheat-Brown and Straughter both look good and maybe with Newton will be enough to replace Mike Hass' production.

* Yvenson looks really quick and shifty this year. I think that whatever he got done in the offseason (knee?) was the right move. He just looks really healthy, confident, and good.

* Joe Rudolph and Doggett look bigger.

* Matt Moore is moving very well. He wasn't wearing a brace at all so he must be pretty much 100%.


In the scrimmage Saturday the defense looked decent. They were swarming on the ball and covering pretty well. On Sunday the offense completed a lot more passes and did much better overall. The D had a few interceptions and still did OK from what I could tell.

Got a look at some of the new guys. The freshman TEs are looking pretty good at catching the ball. I think a couple of them will be able to contribute this year. The new recievers are looking decent. Not sure if they will break the starting lineup, but they might contribute. The D line has a lot of big guys. Siegert, Coker, Naymon Frank, Pernell Booth, Lee, and Dorian Smith are all looking big and strong. Hopefully they play as good as they look. Not sure about the secondary yet, but the coverage seemed better than last year at least. I'm not worried about the LBs based on what I've seen.




Photos here:

Beaver Football Fall Camp 2006

Steriods at USC?

USC players quit over steroids, connection to Bonds? : Fanblogs College Football Blog

The Daily News is reporting that USC safety Brandon Ting had tested positive for steroid use prior to leaving the Trojans. Ting, who quit the team last week along with his brother Ryan despite being the subject of some USC bloggers' crush, will focus his time on pursuing a medical degree.

[...]

The interesting angle to this steroid saga is that the father of the Ting twins, Dr. Arthur Ting, was subpoenaed and testified before a U.S. grand jury investigating steroid accusations surrounding baseball slugger Barry Bonds. Dr. Ting is Bonds' personal surgeon, specializing in orthopedics.

In 2003, Ting visited Bonds and trainer Greg Anderson, who spent time in prison for dealing steroids, at the BALCO offices to draw blood.

Dr. Ting was disciplined twice in the last ten years by the California Medical Board for writing prescriptions with inadequate records and allowing others in his office to write prescriptions.

Wow.

This makes me wonder if any steriod testing goes on at OSU? Are steriods prevalent at mid-level BCS conference schools like OSU? Should the beavers be testing all atheletes for performance enhancing drugs?

With the recent drug scandals in every sport, I find it hard to believe that no one has done steriods on the OSU football team. I hope I'm wrong. How many times has someone bulked up over the summer and put on 25 pounds? Are those all legit?

Anyone else have thoughts on this? Should we be concerned? Do you care?

Cleaning up saved articles...

I liked this article out of Hawaii last week. I saved it and forgot to post it. It's a good interview of some of the Hawaiian football players on OSU and the recent OSU pipeline.

Candidates field quick questions - The Honolulu Advertiser