Beavers Lose To Stanford, And Take a Gut Punch

That game was a tough loss for the Beavers. And it was tough for Beavers fans like me who just want a season where we start off strong for once. Bob DeCarolis wonders where the fans are at the games, but it tough to build excitement when you're written off after the first 5 games. It still could turn out to be a good start. Maybe this loss will inspire the guys to beat PSU. Maybe lightning will strike twice and USC will go down again (they have had their share of bad early Pac-10 losses).

As far as the Stanford game, that was an emotionally tough game for us fans. The game went something like this:

* Yes! The season has started!
* OK, starting slow, but we're OK so far.
* Nice 2 minute drive to tie it up at halftime! We've got this game now!
* Got the lead! But it feels a little hollow because we settled for a FG.
* Crap! Can anyone stop that guy? He's running over us!
* How can Stanford be opening up those huge holes?
* Uh, oh. It's Cincy, Boise St., and Louisville all over again. Ug.
* Wait a sec, we have a shot to win this thing...
* Hey, we're gonna tie this game!
* What happened! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! (Cries in beer)

It's games like these that make me think were not going to win another game. But after I slept on it, there are some positives.

The positives:

* Our 2 minute offense is really good.
* Lyle is not perfect, but he's actually a pretty good QB.
* Our running game could be pretty good at some point this season. I saw flashes
* Our O-line is OK. At least in pass protection. Lyle had a lot of time to throw.

The negatives:

* This isn't last year's defense yet.
* Turnovers and mistakes are the key to every game for the Beavers here on out
* RBs catching passes out of the backfield is sketchy


One question I had is, where was the Fly Sweep? Our bread and butter last year and we don't run it first play of the game? We need to make teams prove they can stop it.

Oh, and that #44 on Stanford should have been ejected. I have never seen a cheaper shot on the QB than that helmet to helmet job after a handoff. That guy goes to Stanford?! Harbaugh didn't even take him out of the game. Weak.

ESPN sure loved Stanford/Harbaugh. Does the S in ESPN stand for Stanford?


Penn St. next.