Monday, November 30, 2009

Civil War Video!

Junior Raimey put together this sweet song for the Civil War: Pasadena Bound ( I Smell Roast Duck )



The video isn't as good, but the song is awesome!

Go Beavs! Beat the Ducks!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Civil War of the Roses!





Two weeks ago, Arizona had to lose twice and USC had to lose once for Oregon St. to have a shot at the Rose Bowl. Two weeks later, the improbable happened and the Civil War for the Roses was set. This is the biggest Civil War ever. Sure, 2000 was big, but the Rose Bowl is the Rose Bowl! I'm not old enough to remember anything before the streak, so anyone who remembers a bigger Civil War, let me know in the comments below!

The Game


I'm a believer that in the Civil War, anything can happen. Home field means something, but not everything. After that, its just two teams that REALLY want to win.

What is the formula for beating the Ducks? Here are my options:

* Outscore them (i.e. Stanford)

OR

* Don't let them get any big plays (Boise St.) and contain them on offense

OR

* Hope for an implosion on offense and don't let their defense win the game. (Purdue, Arizona, Boise St.)


Of course, the Beavers also need to do at least 3 out of 4 of these:

* Get TDs not FGs

* Limit the penalties

* No turnovers

* Force a few turnovers


What do you think? How do the Beavs win the Civil War?

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Wazzu Game and Rose Bowl Possibilities

The big news after last weekend's amazing run of results (USC, Arizona losing) the Beavers have a very real possibility of making the Rose Bowl. Of course, we have to beat Oregon at Autzen to make it happen. Not an easy feat. How cool would it be to have the Civil War be for the Rose Bowl!

In case you haven't seen it, here's how the Beavs get into the Rose Bowl:

1. Beat Wazzu (Listen to the game at 2:00 pm on the Beaver Sports Radio Network)

2. Oregon or USC beats Arizona

3. Beat Oregon

That's it. So if Oregon beats Arizona today (5:00 pm, ABC) and the Beavers beat Washington State, then the Civil War is a one game playoff for the Rose Bowl. That would rock.


Here are some of the other Rose Bowl scenarios for the other Pac-10 teams still with a shot:

Oregon

* Beat Arizona

* Beat OSU


Arizona

* Beat Oregon

* Beat USC

* Beat ASU

From: Saturday could help decide USC's Rose replacement - Sporting News

Arizona, though, would take control of the league with a victory. Head-to-head victories over Stanford, Oregon State and Oregon would give the Wildcats a shot to go to the Rose Bowl if they win out. Arizona finishes with road games against Arizona State and USC.

Stanford

From: Stanford's Rose Bowl possibilities - SF Examiner

* Stanford must beat Cal.

* Arizona must beat Oregon in Tucson.

* Oregon must beat Oregon State in the Civil War.

* Arizona must lose again to either Arizona State or USC, both games will be played on the road.

The result of the above would leave Stanford tied with Oregon with two losses in the Pac-10. Tie goes to the winner.


So that's it. If I missed anything, let me know.

First things first, the Beavers need to beat the Cougars at 2pm today. Then everything else can continue to fall into place.

Go Beavs!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Last Tailgate Of The Season!

Its Dad's Weekend, Senior Day, and a rivalry game against the Huskies. But its also the last chance to tailgate!

Want to chat? Find me and other Beavs on twitter during the game! Just search for the #gobeavs hashtag and we'll find you!

Here's the live tweets right now!

Follow The Beavers On Twitter at #gobeavs

Go Beavs! Beat the Dawgs!

OSU Women's Soccer Wins Their First NCAA Tournament Game Ever

Great game last night by the OSU Women's Soccer team! They beat Ohio State to advance to the next round of the NCAA tournament. It was nearly total domination by the Beavers as they score all of the goals in the game. Unfortunately, one of the goals was an own goal by a Beaver defender.

We had a little watching party at my house, and I haven't seen a ton of games this year but it was a very impressive showing by the Beavs. The goals were legit and the midfield domination was legit. And this was against a team that had only allow 10 goals all season!

Great job ladies and good luck against Florida on Sunday!

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Cal Postgame: Canfield, Syd'Quan, Playing On The Road, and Rankings

Great win last night for the Beavers. For some reason, the team is playing really well on the road. Its actually great to see and I think it indicates a step forward for our program. Now we just need to get the fire back for home games. Fans: can we help?


What I Learned:

* Sean Canfield is a very good QB.

Take a look at his numbers:

PASSING         GP-GS   Effic   Cmp-Att-Int   Pct   Yards    TD   Long   Avg/G 
Canfield, Sean 9-9 144.2 217-312-5 69.6 2381 13 87 264.6

He's gotten better at the long ball, reduced his sackability, and improved his decision making. That combined with his physical tools makes him perhaps the best QB that OSU has every had. Bold statement? OK, well he is on track to have the greatest all-around single season a QB has had in the modern era. Considering the QBs that have come through here recently, that's not easy to do.

What do you think? Will Sean leave OSU as the best QB we've seen, or am I drinking too much orange kool-aid?

* Syd'Quan Thompson is freaking awesome

He was EVERYWHERE last night. Stopping the run, breaking up passes, making amazing recoveries to stop broken plays, and even tackling James for a loss on a Fly Sweep.

I'm glad we don't have to play that dude again this year.


On The Road


We have played excellent on the road this year. I think its a hallmark of our growth as a program and indicates the talent level and maturity of the players is rising.

Think about it: our worst road game was USC. And we almost beat them. Wow.


Rankings

I asked the question on twitter last night: "Should the Beavs be ranked?"



Here are the responses I got:
jackaninny: @JasonOSUBeavers #19 ND & #20 Oklahoma and of course #23 Cal all lose - Beavs above them all at #22 #gobeavs

OSUBeaverFan: @JasonOSUBeavers Not yet. more work to do. Bring on the Huskies. #gobeavs

LawTheo: RT @JasonOSUBeavers Should the Beavs be ranked? #gobeavs ~Abso-friggin-lutely! We only lose to ranked teams,Ranked OU and ND lose. Beavs #24

harrisja: Nah...but we'll get votes/ RT @JasonOSUBeavers: Should the Beavs be ranked? #gobeavs

MsRoseanna: @JasonOSUBeavers RT Should the Beavs be ranked? Yes & before now. But it works to OS advantage to sneak up by performance & not perception

tswcivic: @JasonOSUBeavers 24th

I think if Cal was ranked #20 somehow, we should probably be in there. Of course, it doesn't matter, but it is a measure of the level of respect around the country.

Looks like in the AP Poll we ended up #26 and in the USA Today Poll we were #28.

What do you think? Should the Beavers be ranked? Does it matter?


Go Beavs!

Sunday, November 01, 2009

UCLA Game Thoughts - Mistakes, Penalties, and Waking Up Just in Time

Quick thoughts on the UCLA game.

I, like most of the fans in Reser, felt that the second half was a mere formality on our way to an easy win over the Bruins. Unfortunately, it felt like the players and coaches had the same attitude.

Sure we moved the ball and racked up the yards. But we lacked a killer instinct until that last 2 minute drive to win the game. The defense was playing prevent at the end and UCLA found that their QB Prince actually can complete passes when players are open.

But, really, the season long theme of mistakes continues...

* The game wouldn't have been close if we didn't have 12 men on the field in our punt return with 3 minutes left that gave them the ball back.

* The false starts are getting a bit ridiculous. It feels like we average at least 3 a game.

* We couldn't decide if we wanted to go for it or kick a FG early in the second half. Turns out we were faking the FG. But it was 2 seconds after the play clock expired.

* The timing was off between Canfield and the receivers. And some dropped balls that really killed our drives.

* Our pass defense seems like they are covering and tackling well, but no sacks at key times and no plays on the ball gave them major pass plays of 40-50 yards multiple times in the 4th quarter.


While each of the mistakes were fairly mild at the time, they added up to another close game at home. We were overlooking UCLA a little bit. Or maybe just relaxed a bit after the flurry at the end of the 2nd half. Ultimately, it felt like we were sleepwalking through the second half.

Since we play better on the road, I expect a good showing next week. But I am concerned for the UW game. Home games have just been too close and too relaxed. And its bit us twice this year already.

A win is a win. I'm happy we pulled it out.

Go Beavs!

 
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