TCU Postgame Thoughts and Links

Tough loss last night against TCU.  I'm proud that we hung in there and had a chance to win or at least tie in the 4th quarter.  We were dominated pretty well, but somehow kept hanging around.  Overall it was a pretty good performance by the Beavers and I think we can all come away thinking we could have won with just a couple of plays going our way.

I think the biggest bummer is that we didn't take our shot at the end.  The safety was such a bummer.  I want us to go down swinging, not with a wimper.  It was a tall order, but a huge potential learning experience and confidence builder for Ryan Katz that went down the drain.

Rather that dwell on the negative, here's some positives:

* Our secondary looks solid this year.  Mitchell had to make a ton of tackles, which is bad, but we did backup our LBs well.  Hardin looked good after getting burned once in the first half.  Tuamani looked better than years past.

* Katz played pretty well.  I thought he was over excited early on and over threw the ball a lot, but overall he played great on the big stage.  His long ball is awesome and will give a new dimension to the team this year that Canfield couldn't do as well last year.  He just needs to learn to dump the ball off to Quizz a bit more and take a little off the short throws and things will be great.  No interceptions is good (despite a couple of close calls). And I liked his running and escapability.

* The D Line will get sacks this season.  They pressured pretty well, but lost containment on a running QB which is very bad.  Not sure if they are really up to stopping the run.  But there was a lot of option and misdirection, so it was hard to tell.

* The stats were pretty lopsided, but if the Beavers drive 80 yards at the end and don't give the ball back, things look a lot closer. They played better, but towards the end I think we should have run more often because Jaquizz was starting to get rolling. Oh, and how is it that Gary Patterson gets to decide if the roof is open? That hurt us I think.

Overall, it was a positive game for the Beavers despite the loss.  I want to shock the world against Boise St!


Related Links:

Beavers can't complete upset of No. 6 TCU - Corvallis Gazette-Times

"I was worried about this team at halftime," Riley said. "But we hung in there. I appreciate that. I thought we never quit on it. There was some stuff that was pretty good, but that doesn't overcome the disheartening feeling of not getting a chance at the end."

Cliff: TCU postgame - Cliff's Blog

Includes video of Ryan Katz and James Rodgers

No. 6 TCU 30, No. 24 Oregon State 21: Beavers shot at a dramatic victory goes awry in a snap - The Oregonian

"We practiced to stop what they do and we didn't do that," said OSU safety Lance Mitchell, whose first-quarter pick of a Dalton pass set up Katz's scoring pass to James Rodgers.

"We've got a lot to work on," Mitchell said.

TCU uses big stage to make statement - ESPN

"I'm disappointed that we didn't give ourselves a chance on the drive at the end," Beavers coach Mike Riley said.

[...]

The only plus coming from that play was Katz taking responsibility for the miscue, just like a veteran quarterback would.

"We should have just stayed with the [called] play," he said. "That's on me."

Riley agreed, by the way: "He didn't have to get out of it."

Canzano: Ryan Katz learns how his play will make or break Oregon State's Rose Bowl hopes - The Oregonian

Katz has presence. He's a leader. He made no excuses. He accepted responsibility. He looked and sounded every bit the part of a guy who understands that his performance is the difference between a Las Vegas Bowl and a Rose Bowl. And if you'd have stepped into the TCU locker room after the game, you might have heard safety Tejay Johnson talking about Katz's arm. After all, Johnson's coach harped all week that Katz had the strongest arm they'd see all season.

"I was a little surprised," Johnson said. "When I saw him throw that corner route, I realized he had a stronger arm than what I thought he had."

Frogs exploit the hole in the roof and Oregon State's run defense - Star-Telegram

"I thought the heat made a difference," TCU coach Gary Patterson confirmed. "I thought our kids, the conditioning we do, made a difference in the third and fourth quarters.

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