Idaho St. Game Thoughts
Beaver fans can't complain much about a 61-10 victory over a team that we were supposed to kill. The good part is that eventually all phases of the game that we were concerned about came around.
The Offense
The running game took about 2 1/2 quarters to come around, but it did. Maybe the Bengals were tired, but I don't think they were putting in their 2nd string until late in the game. I'm disappointed that the starting O-line wasn't able to get Yvenson 100 yards by the end of the first half. However, we appear to have some nice depth and great change of pace at RB. Bernard is the shifty one, Polk is the fast slasher type, and Sieverson is the physical pounding runner. That may help us if teams are keying on Bernard too much to switch it up on them. Another thing that may help our running game was the huge passing day from Sean Canfield.
The passing game was very good. Just what the doctor ordered. Hopefully, Sean has some confidence and the game has started to slow down for him. Plus, we put doubt into opposing coaches minds now. They can't completely focus on the run because Sean may drop a perfect pass to Sammy at any minute. Sean throws a nice long ball and he showcased that yesterday. The receivers made some good strides yesterday as well. Brown is more solid and Sammie appears to be the old Sammie. Plus, Catchings and Rogers still look good as will be the next great receivers at OSU. Just a few drops and missed passes, but otherwise a great game.
The Defense
Overall, a strong performance from the defense. The Beavers continue to prove that teams will have a tough time moving the ball against us. Especially against the run (we had a change to hold them to -yards rushing). However, the pass defense wasn't quite what I thought it would be. Their QB kept getting away from potential sacks and then completing passes to #6. That guy killed us. Teams will pass on us this year I think. If we can get a few interceptions then that will help a ton. 4 interceptions was great to see. Hopefully that gets us rolling on the turnover margin. Oh, and what was up with the missed tackles. That will get corrected, I'm sure of it.
Other Thoughts
The best part of the game was the peek at the future. The reserves all played well and in some cases, as good or better than the starters.
Most of our turnovers and rushing yards came after the starters were done for the day. Maybe we will start rotating even more to keep people fresh.
Next year's kicker got an extended look and was perfect on XP and FGs. His kickoffs looked pretty good too. We should be OK after Serna graduates.
Next
On to ASU. I watched them a bit last night and they look good. If we can shut down their running game, we might have a good shot at a win. I know Riley would love to beat Dennis. But since we haven't won in Tempe against the Sun Devils since 1969, I'm not predicting a win. We always find some stupid way to lose the game down their even though we play better than them. Maybe Canfield will take another step forward and surprise us. I'll be hoping for that. And plenty of forced turnovers by our D.
Game Reaction
There were some interesting quotes from the game.
OSU crushes ISU - Idaho State Journal
"He picked apart our defense," Idaho State defensive tackle Micah Cloward said of Canfield. "We stopped the run, which was what we wanted to do. Unfortunately we let him have a big passing day."It may not have been a thrashing, but they had NO chance.
"Yeah, it was 61-10, but it didn't feel like we just got thrashed," Zamberlin said. "I didn't feel like guys ever quit. ... There are lots of positives we can build on."
Energetic Stroughter leads Beavers' romp over Idaho State - The Portland Tribune
"I was out there having fun again," said Stroughter, who caught 74 passes for 1,293 yards and five TDs as a junior. "That felt good. The whole team came out there with that theme today – having fun. Overall, we did a great job. We executed. The line did a great job protecting (quarterback Sean Canfield).Awesome. Best quote of the game because I'm happy Sammie is back!
"To be out there with my teammates, with them having the utmost confidence in me – the team was always behind me 100 percent. I thank them a lot, them and the whole Beaver Nation."
"The biggest thing for me was having a couple of games under my belt," said Canfield, who was intercepted four times and had only touchdown passing the first two games. "The game is starting to slow down a little bit and become a little more clear to me."The game is slowing down. I love to hear that. I really think he will come around faster than Matt and Derek did because he knows the offense and just needs to adjust to the game speed.
Go Beavs!
6 comments:
Nicely written. The game was exciting, but I'm really beginning to see that, when it comes to the Beavers, it's all-or-nothing...there is no happy medium.
One more thing that we OSU needs to work on is the fan base.
Lets build these beautiful additions and not fill them up, that baffles me. It truly does!
They should at least give some tickets away if they aren't selling them. The athletic department should have know that they weren't going to sell out and they should have gone out in the community to give tickets away. I don't know to many people that would refuse a free ticket to a game. Get them their once and they will become addicted to Beaver Football.
With the Student sections...I know more and more students are starting to file into Corvallis but that that was a weak showing on their part. Those seats should have been filled before the game started or shortly there after. I am glad to see that the OSU experience has built a great tradition of leaving at half time to go "Party" but that is also pretty lame. You can drink any and every night if they want to but OSU football only happens maybe 5 or 6 times a year in Corvallis. Enjoy it and stay at the game for the whole thing. Is that to much to ask for?
Great game Beavers. Congrats to the Dam Cam! Greg Laybourne is a stud, number 44. He is my favorite player this year. The guy reminds me of Sabby with all of his hard hits on special teams.
He also got an interception. The girl next to me during the game is stocking him too. Kinda funny. And did anyone else notice Jose Cortez before the game? I think that was him and his kid before the kickoff in some ceremony.
Great write up Jason! Keep up the good work! I forgot to mention that in my rant above.
Thanks for the nice comments!
I did see Jose Cortez. I think he's doing color for the spanish broadcast, right?
I also am a little disappointed with the attendence, but remember it was just Idaho St. We couldn't even fit 39K in the stadium 4 years ago so getting that many for a D1-AA school is not too bad. But if we don't get close to a sell out for the UCLA game then I'll be disappointed with Beaver Nation.
Also, remember that we are building for the future. Bo has to build for the next 10 years so there may be a little padding built in to their projections.
That said I like your idea for more give-aways and contests around town to get people to the game. Especially when its ISU...
My question is whether or not this big confidence booster will show itself against Arizona State.
Arizona State has not played anyone difficult yet. Will Sean make them pay for stopping the run?
Yea, the game will probably hinge on young Canfield's arm and how well the defense plays. Unless the O-line comes out and just blows people away.
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