Do the 2009 OSU Beavers Baseball Team Have What It Takes To Make It To The College World Series?

I ran a baseball postseason poll a few weeks ago and the overwhelming winning of the poll was that the Beavers would make it back to the College World Series. 62% of the poll takers believed that at the time. Wow, talk about confidence/expectations.

Lets take a look at some numbers to see where we compare with the rest of the Pac-10:

Pac-10 Baseball 2009 Stats (through May 17th)

Batting:

Team                   AVG SLG%  OB%  2B 3B HR RBI  BB HBP  SO SB-ATT
Arizona.............  .319 .494 .392 127 32 40 350 163  66 346 68-91 
Arizona State.......  .305 .508 .422 100 28 64 387 305  60 342 90-122
California..........  .299 .488 .375 111 17 63 305 182  46 376 61-91 
UCLA................  .289 .447 .388 103 12 51 294 229  68 396 52-87 
Stanford............  .284 .425 .368  92  7 48 295 206  43 382 45-64 
Oregon State........  .278 .380 .390  73 12 21 291 248  55 305 42-56 
Washington State....  .278 .422 .362  80 11 49 286 158  78 367 37-55 
USC.................  .274 .406 .361  80 17 38 250 202  45 382 54-90 
Washington..........  .268 .439 .361  80 15 63 262 210  52 463 42-72 
Oregon..............  .229 .305 .298  50 12 16 133 124  37 333 59-80 

Clearly not a great hitting year for the Beavs. If it wasn't for the Oregon Ducks, the Beavs would be last in the Pac-10 in HRs, doubles, and slugging %. However, there are some bright spots. OSU is efficient in the running game at a 75% steal rate. The Beavers are tough to strike out, they take a lot of walks, and they drive in a lot of runs despite their low power output. A .278 BA and .390 OBP is respectable.

Pitching:

Team                   ERA    IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  2B  3B  HR B/Avg 
Arizona State.......  2.76 463.2 404 187 142 131 474  67   8  24  .235 
Oregon State........  3.81 420.0 374 204 178 173 356  67   5  30  .242 
USC.................  4.07 464.1 458 276 210 213 409  80  12  26  .260 
UCLA................  4.27 459.0 452 276 218 178 482 103  11  43  .261 
Washington State....  4.38 441.1 484 270 215 157 378  90  12  38  .282 
Washington..........  4.66 453.2 481 281 235 183 365  82  11  44  .273 
Oregon..............  4.98 439.0 455 292 243 214 321  94   7  40  .272 
Stanford............  5.07 456.0 455 278 257 193 358  74   6  45  .268 
Arizona.............  5.59 441.1 522 333 274 201 345 103  28  35  .297 
California..........  5.74 442.0 500 335 282 239 401  86  14  43  .286

The Beavers are 2nd in the Pac-10 in Pitching. For all the wrangling over lead-off walks and giving up early leads, the pitching is quite good. Remove the ERA portion and the Beavs compare nicely to ASU who has a very good staff. Their walks are high, but giving up way less than a hit an inning is great. Their WHIP (Walks + Hits / IP) is 1.302 whereas ASU's WHIP is 1.153. That's an OK number for the Beavs with the difference being in the extra walks given up. For comparison, the 3rd place pitching team, USC, has a 1.445 WHIP. So that's a baserunner and a half every inning. Tough to keep scores down when that gets that high.

The Beavs are 2nd in fielding (.976) and only have 44 errors on the season. That helps the pitching out a ton.


What about comparing the 2009 Beavers with the great teams of the past?

Batting

Team            AVG  G   AB   R   H  2B  3B  HR RBI  TB SLG%  BB  SO  OB% SB-ATT 
2009 (6th)...  .278 47 1572 323 437  73  12  21 291 597 .380 248 305 .390 42-56  
2008 (7th)...  .292 52 1828 352 534 103  15  37 320 778 .426 257 367 .391 46-57  
2007 (7th)...  .287 67 2297 456 659 128  14  46 404 953 .415 328 448 .387 76-98 
2006 (5th)...  .302 66 2264 463 684 125  31  36 412 979 .432 315 401 .399 79-104
2005 (2nd)...  .320 56 1936 418 619 106  11  39 389 864 .446 275 329 .417 82-113
2004 (6th)...  .293 53 1849 374 541  82  15  48 325 797 .431 270 361 .398 54-74

Pitching

Team            ERA  W-L   G    IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  2B  3B  HR  B/Avg 
2009 (2nd)...  3.81 31-16 47 420.0 374 204 178 173 356  67   5  30   .242 
2008 (7th)...  5.29 28-24 52 460.2 467 327 271 241 397  96  13  38   .264 
2007 (1st)...  3.48 49-18 67 600.2 542 253 232 193 477  83  12  34   .243 
2006 (1st)...  3.41 50-16 66 585.1 509 261 222 237 461  99  12  35   .236 
2005 (1st)...  3.08 46-10 56 499.0 410 219 171 186 451  61   4  30   .223 
2004 (2nd)...  4.65 31-22 53 466.1 509 308 241 192 344  72   5  51   .281

Clearly our best seasons hinged on good to great pitching. We've never really needed to be a powerhouse hitting team to be successful (including National Championship years). My only concern hitting-wise is the lack of extra base hits period. Not just HRs, but look at the doubles. Not since 2004 have we have a double total this low. And this is the first time our slugging % has been below .400. I love the low strikeout total, but we will have to address the hitting in the coming years.

The pitching is clearly getting close to the level it was at from '05-'07. So last year's horrendous pitching appears to be an aberration. That good for the future, and very good for our chances this season.

Overall, our pitching will carry us as far as it can this season. Hopefully that can be to a super regional or maybe even as far as the College World Series like the fans want.

First things first though. We have to take care of business at Stanford and win that series. Baseball America writer Aaron Fitt has said that if we win that series we are a shoo-in. There's even talk of a regional (reserve that scaffolding now :) ).

Go Beavs!

Congrats to Coach Casey On His 500th Win!

Pat Casey earned his 500th win against Oregon on Tuesday.

OSUBeavers.com has a special Coach Casey area of their website to honor the accomplishment and take a look back at some of the highlights over his years with Oregon State. There's a photo gallery and a list of accomplishments, but my favorite part is all of the messages of congratulations from his former players and staff. The video they put together is fun too.

Here's to 500 more!

Beavers Baseball Off To A Great Pac-10 Start - Where Will They Finish?

With the sweep of Cal and a big series win over Arizona this weekend the Beavs are off to a 7-2 start to the Pac-10 season this year. Only ASU has a better record. Things are looking good again after last year and I think they are driven to make the NCAA Tournament this year. They won't let a committee determine their fate.

What do you think? How far will the Beavers go this year?

(Poll Closed, results below)

CBI Championship Gives Beavs A Champion Every Year Since 2006

The CBI Championship win is a big step for the Beavers basketball program. Next year is going to be the most anticipated season for men's hoops since 1990! I can't wait to see how the Freshman develop and integrate into this year's squad. The expectation has to be at least NIT.

The results from the poll I ran before the CBI started broke down like this:

When will Coach Robinson have the Beavers in the NCAA Tournament?

2010 (next year) 16% (14 votes)
2011 38% (33 votes)
2012 8% (7 votes)
2013+ 1% (1 votes)
Never 37% (32 votes)

I wonder how many people would change their vote now?


The CBI win gives OSU their 4th straight championship. Two baseball titles in '06 and '07. Last year an NCAA Champion swimmer. And this year a CBI championship. Not quite an NCAA title, but hey, we'll take it.

Robinson Wants To Stay

Not only did the Beavs beat Stanford last night to move on to the CBI finals against UTEP (first game at Gill on Monday), but according to Cliff Kirkpatrick's postgame blog post we got another win:

Robinson’s thanks fans again
Robinson thanked the fans again after the game. He was surprised that the crowd could be that loud. He said: “the fans are bringing basketball to Oregon State.”

For those worried about him leaving after one season, don’t. He not only said he doesn’t want to and his family doesn’t like moving around a lot, but he’s really enjoying this season.

I really hope Craig stays for a few years and builds a foundation that can carry us into a new era of OSU basketball!

For some schools the CBI is "Meh"...For Oregon State its just what they need

I can imagine for Stanford, Houston, or other schools who have been in the NCAA tournament recently that the CBI would be a downer. Its a 3rd or 4th rate tournament on the edges of the nations conscience. Does anyone get HDNet? Its the equivalent of the Seattle Bowl a few years ago.

However, for some teams its a taste of postseason play that they would never have even sniffed before. I truly think that the CBI experience will do nothing but good for the Oregon States of the world. The Beavs just need more practice, more experience, and more time to get ready for next season. That's what going to a lower bowl gives you in football. And the basketball team is getting the same thing now.

Can the Beavers beat Stanford at home again and avenge their Pac-10 Tournament loss a couple of weeks ago? What a great matchup for the Beavs in the Semis! And its Wednesday night, so great ready for another game quick!

CBI Schedule

Coach Robinson Isn't Afraid To Try Anything

After last night's win over Houston I noticed something that I've noticed before and has become something I really like about Coach Robinson. He isn't afraid to change things in game to shake things up and maybe strike lightning and get a win.

His strategy at the start of the game was clearly to go small. Three guards started with Ruland and Seth Tarver. Thats a small lineup. It worked defending the fastbreak, but we couldn't score. So we went bigger in the second half. For much of the second Omari, Ruland, Deane, and sometimes Hampton we in together. And that really worked. Sure, he couldn't predict Omari would hit 2 big threes, but all those big men caused problems for the smaller Houston players trying to score.

He went through multiple defenses, lineup combos, and offensive sets until something clicked, we went on a run, and won the game. Great job to Omari and Daniel to pull us to a victory!

Vermont on Monday! Let's get a bigger crowd this time people!


Go Beavs!

I Have My Tickets To The Game, Do You?

I picked up some tickets for the game Wed. night vs. the Houston Cougars. Unfortunately, I maybe one of the few. Based on the huge selection of great seats available in nearly every section, tickets aren't exactly flying off of the shelves.

Do you have a free Wednesday night? Come down to the game and make sure the players and Coach Robinson know that you support them! Consider it a sending off for a pretty good year.

>> Vote on when you think Coach Robinson will have the Beavers in the NCAA Tournament


In case you need a reason to root against Houston, here's the famous "face smash" of Chase Budinger.

Beavers Make the College Basketball Invitational (CBI)...First Game This Wednesday Night!

Oregon State will be playing Houston at Gill at 7pm Wednesday night! Can we fill Gill?!

Could this be the Hawaii Bowl for the hoops team? Will it give us a taste and propel the Beavers to greater things next year? Only time will tell, but for now you can get down to Corvallis and watch some postseason basketball!

Looking at the CBI bracket it appears the game will be televised on HDNet. Which I'm pretty sure I don't get...

Here are the teams:

East Regional
March 18th- 7:00 PM ET
St. John's (16-17) vs. Richmond (18-15)

March 18th- 8:00 PM ET
College of Charleston (26-8) vs. Troy (19-12)

West Regional
March 18th- 8:00 PM ET
Vermont (23-8) vs. Green Bay (22-10)

March 18th- 10:00 PM ET
Houston (21-11) vs. Oregon St. (13-17)

Midwest Regional
March 18th- 8:00 PM ET
Buffalo (21-11) vs. Wichita St. (16-16)

March 18th- 10:00 PM ET
Boise St. (19-12) vs. Stanford (18-13)

South Regional
March 17th- 9:00 PM ET
Northeastern (18-12) vs. Wyoming (19-13)

March 17th- 11:00 PM ET
UTEP (19-12) vs. Nevada (21-12)


If the Beavs can get past 21-11 Houston, then they play the winner of Green Bay vs. Vermont.

More information on purchasing tickets can be found in this official release: Men's Hoops to Host Houston in First Round of CBI - OSUBeavers.com

The postseason appearance will be the 21st in school history as the Beavers last earned a postseason bid with a berth in the National Invitation Tournament following the 2004-05 campaign.

Houston enters the contest with a record of 21-11 on the season as the Cougars fell to Memphis in the semi-finals of the Conference USA tournament this past week. The Cougars have four players in double figures, led by Aubrey Coleman at 19.7 points per game. Kelvin Lewis ranks second on the squad, averaging 18.0 points per contest.

The meeting with the Cougars will mark only the second in series history as Oregon State captured the first and only meeting with a 63-60 win during the 1965-66 season.

Tickets for the game against the Cougars will go on sale Monday, March 16 at 8:30 a.m. The price will be $25 for a chairback and $15 for a bench seat. Students will be admitted to the contest for free and can begin picking up tickets on Monday at 8:30 a.m.

When Will Coach Robinson Have The Beavs In The NCAA Tournament

The season is probably over (maybe a CBI bid), but the real question is when will we finally make it back to the tournament? What do you think?

Coach Robinson has me Beaver Believing

The Beavers first game of the Pac-10 tournament is tonight at 6pm on FSN. They have a chance to beat Stanford for the 3rd time this season. Wow. Think about that. Actually, just think about the crazy last few months since the season started.

I'll take you through my personal journey:

Season starts: Curious about the team, but since no major roster changes were made not very optimistic about their prospects. Would they win a Pac-10 game?

Mid-November: Beavers lose to Howard in D.C. 47-45. I caught the last 5 minutes or so on the radio and the Beavs sounded like they couldn't have gotten to "O" in a game of HORSE if they were playing some Junior High kids. At this point I almost wrote the team off.


End of November: Vaguely remember them losing to bad teams (Yale and Montana St.), not feeling good about the team.

End-December: OK, so maybe all they needed was Calvin Haynes. They are much better in December, but of course who did they play?

Jan. 2nd: Ouch. Killed by UCLA. This is going to be a looooong season.

Jan. 4th: WooHoo! We won a Pac-10 game!

Mid-Jan: Hmm, playing better but still no wins really to show for it. But the team is clearly improving. Cautiously optimistic. Trying to figure out what is going on.

End-Jan: What just happened? A four game win streak including a win over the Ducks! Awesome! Go Beavs! I was at the Civil War and I'm getting excited about Beaver Hoops now.

End-Feb: Three more wins! Top 25 Recruiting class! Robinson should be Coach of the Year! Maybe we can make the NIT!

Today: Three more losses and my enthusiasm for this season has tempered a bit. But now I'm looking forward to next year. I'm very excited. I haven't cared about Beaver hoops this much in 2 or 3 years!


I have an a card carrying Beaver Hoops supporter now. Have you drunk the kool-aid?

Go Beavs! Beat Stanford!

Hoops Civil War Tomorrow!

OK, I admit it. I'm bummed that I don't have the chance to write:

- 18

Congrats to the Ducks for avoiding the dubious distinction that the Beavs did last season. But...

Would going 1-17 this season be worse than 0-18 last season?

From my point of view, the Pac-10 is worse than last year. Last year may have been the best collection of teams in the Pac-10 ever. All of the elite teams from last season (UCLA, USC, U of A, WSU, Stanford, and Oregon) are all worse than last year. Some more than others, but still. Of the improved teams (UW, ASU?, OSU, Cal) only a couple will probably make the tournament.

So who had the harder schedule? Would this years Duck team beat anyone in conference other than the Beavs? Would the Beavs of last season have beat this years Ducks at least once?

I think if the 08-09 Ducks team was transported to last season, they would have tied the Beavs at 1-17.

Thoughts?

Beavs win #5

Nice comeback win against the Cougs last night. Man, our offense is like a good running game. Before you know it, there's no time on the clock and you don't have time to win the game. Assuming things are clicking of course. If Ruland and Haynes can get hot again down the stretch, we may have a good shot at winning a couple more games. Too bad we let that WSU game get away earlier in the year.

Anyone know what the deal was with Omari Johnson? Was he sick or hurt?

Pac-10 Football High School Recruiting Maps for 2009

The Beavers must have racked up some frequent flier miles over last year. Perhaps by necessity, but definitely by design the OSU coaches now recruit to the south, southwest, mountain west, california, and the northwest (of course). After seeing the wide area that Oregon State got their recruits, it got me thinking. What do other schools in the Pac-10 do? What is the Pac-10's effective recruiting area?

This is the conference as a whole (excluding JC guys who mostly come from somewhere else but go to school in Cali):

Data is coming from ESPN - Pacific-10 College Recruiting

Pac-10 Football High School Recruiting Map for 2009:

ST Total
CA 94
AZ 18
WA 13
TX 11
HI 8
OR 7
CO 5
UT 5
GA 3
NV 3
MT 2
IL 2
NJ 2
ID 2
FL 2
OK 2
NY 1
MD 1
WI 1
AK 1
AL 1
NE 1
VA 1
Canada 1
Tot 187

Clearly, if anything happens to California the Pac-10 is screwed. Every team recruited California heavy. Only Arizona St. had a state other than California at the top of their list.

Here's the Pac-10 broken down by school:

Oregon State Beavers:

ST Total
CA 8
OR 5
AZ 2
OK 2
WA 2
AK 1
HI 1
MT 1
TX 1
Tot 23

The Beavs had the only Alaskan. Its pretty clear the Beavs are casting a wide net looking for players. That said, they are really holding down Oregon as well. Seems like a pretty good formula to me. Dennis started it years ago and Mike and the staff has kept it going.

Oregon Ducks:

ST Total
CA 14
OR 1
HI 1
GA 1
NV 1
AL 1
NE 1
Tot 20

Wow. One player from Oregon? They are definitely going national too, but a different way. Going up against the SEC, huh? Curious that they got two top 10 kickers. Seems like that might artificially inflate their total "power ranking"...

Washington Huskies:

ST Total
CA 8
WA 2
HI 2
Tot 12

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Washington State Cougars:

ST Total
CA 9
WA 7
HI 1
ID 1
UT 1
CO 1
CAN 1
Tot 21

This must be a pretty standard class for the Cougs. Good job getting those local players from the Huskies. Unfortunately, they only got one player in the top 50 at their position.

USC Trojans:

ST Total
CA 9
FL 2
AZ 1
HI 1
GA 1
NV 1
UT 1
Tot 18

Most schools barely have more than a few players in the top 50 at their position let alone the top ten. USC only has one player above the top 50 at their position. What? The dynasty continues...

UCLA Bruins:

ST Total
CA 17
HI 2
NV 1
UT 1
VA 1
Tot 22

Nice class for the Bruins. Keeping it local and with a lot of good players. UCLA could be on the rise under Slick Rick and Norm over the next few years.

Stanford Cardinal:

ST Total
CA 8
TX 4
AZ 2
GA 1
WA 1
ID 1
CO 1
NY 1
MD 1
NJ 1
WI 1
Tot 22

The pull of a Stanford education certainly must have done something because they went national and quite good. They need a lot to restock the cupboards, but if they keep getting classes like this then watch out. Next question: will anyone go to a game?

Cal Bears:

ST Total
CA 6
CO 2
UT 2
TX 1
WA 1
NJ 1
OR 1
Tot 14

Small class with some quality.

Arizona Wildcats:

ST Total
CA 7
TX 5
AZ 4
IL 2

Tot 20

Good quality at the top, but not spectacluar.

Arizona State Sun Devils:

ST Total
AZ 9
CA 8
CO 1
MT 1

Tot 19

Dennis is following a similar pattern to some of the OSU years. Getting the best local kids and going from there. Looks like a decent, if not spectacular, class.

Oregon State Football Signing Day!

Go to the official web site to get all of the signing day updates!

Beaver Basketball: What Exactly Do We Have Here?

After the first road sweep in 16 years and three wins in a row something feels like it might be happening. Its definitely an event you can't ignore. Even in the last winning season in '04-'05 we only won 1 road game. So what is going on? Is it the crazy 1-3-1 defense? The offense that leads to layups? The breakout of Ruland and Calvin? Yes.

I thought I'd take a look at StatSheet.com and see if I can figure out what were doing better and maybe that would help explain if this is a trend or just a hot streak.


Our FG % is pretty high compared to the last few seasons. 47.4% seems pretty good to me. Our opponents are at 44.9%. This is the highest FG% we have shot for the last 12 years. That's pretty awesome. Hopefully that's the extra layups and not just some hot shooting.

College Basketball Stats by StatSheet.com

Our 3 point FG% has gone back to respectable levels and 34.2%. Our opponents are shooting virtually the same. You can see why we we so good in '04-'05. We hit at an awesome level from 3. And apparently we defended the 3 very well.

College Basketball Stats by StatSheet.com

Our Offensive Efficiency rating (Points per 100 possessions) is 95.8 in Pac-10 play and 101 overall. That's ninth in the Pac-10. Squarely between the '05-'06 and '06-'07 seasons. In '04-'05 we were 6th in the league. Basically, this measures how well we are using the chances we get.

College Basketball Stats by StatSheet.com

We have actually lowered the number of turnovers per game in conference play. Down to 12.5 from 14. And we have marginally increased our steals.


Well, nothing in the numbers stands out a ton from previous mildly successful years. If we continue our recent trends and keep our efficiency, FG%, and 3PT% up then we should have a chance in nearly every game the rest of the way. Our rebounding, FT%, and Opponent's Efficiency will costs us a lot of games.


I like what I'm seeing and I'll be following intently the rest of the way. I'm bringing a big group to the Civil War game this weekend!

Go Beavs!

Beavs Make Huge Comeback, Beat Cal on the Road

Whoa. Big win! First road win in the Pac-10 in like forever. Imagine if we had beat WSU...

I started listening with 10 minutes left in the second half. That was the low point. Down 11. From that point Cal made one 30 footer. That's it. The defense, rebounding, and free throw shooting was really clutch.

Great job Beavs! Now go beat Stanford!

Beavers Hoops Beats USC! Snaps 21 Game Pac-10 Losing Streak

The Beavers won this game with defense, some good patient offense, and a couple great individual efforts at key moments of the game.

First, that 1-3-1 zone was perfect. It may not work every night but it was key. By pushing their guards way out past the 3 point line they were removed as a threat. Plus, they couldn't directly enter it into the post. So each play there were really only three legitimate threats each time out. Plus, the Beavers were working hard to prevent drives and getting caught too many times out of position. Great strategy by coach Robinson.

Second, the offense was working well. It seems like everyone gets their role and are really looking to attack the defense with back-cuts and passing. Plus, people were hitting their threes when they were open. I could see how this offense could really work here.

Third, three huge offensive plays sealed the game. Ruland's 3 to send the game into OT was big. He was open and was feeling it. Then the play of Calvin Haynes at the end of the game and in OT. He looked like a poor man's Brandon Roy on those last two layups. Setup the pick and roll and drive to the hoop. He is the key to the team right now.


Great job Beavs! Now go get win #2!

Why the Beavers Won the Sun Bowl

Two out of three ain't bad. I didn't expect that low scoring of a game, but hey we'll take it. 3-0 is a crazy score. And frankly a bit of a bore. At least until the end when I was hoping the Beavs would hang on.

The defense stopped the run and forced them to pass. Then we proceeded to attack the QB until he submitted. The wind obviously was a factor early, but while Lyle got better, Stull didn't. And their receivers and O-line weren't really helping. I'm not sure Pitt has seen a defensive line like OSU's all year ;).

Stroughter stepped up and was really our only go to guy in the first half. Shane picked it up and did well too. Chris Johnson had a nice game as well. Once the wind died down a bit Lyle and the passing game really got going. Minus a sack or two and we would have kept more drives alive.

And hey, Jeremy Francis had a nice game in the second half and we ran well enough to gain some yards and change things up from the pass. Good for him. I glad he came back and I hope we see him next year. I hope McCants works on his vision in the off-season. That's the only thing holding him back.

I'm going to miss Slade Norris and Victor Butler. Definitely two of my favorite players the last couple of years. I hope we can get Kuli in or someone else to go with Ben Terry because we need that 4 man pass rush.

Beavs end up 9-4 and another great season under our belts. Now if we can finally start off strong next year, maybe we can make another run at the Rose Bowl!


Go Beavs!

Why the OSU Beavers Will Win the Sun Bowl

All signs point to the Beavers having a tough game against Pitt in the Sun Bowl. Since Quizz and James Rodgers aren't playing, who account for 50% of our offense, how can we get it done? Did the Beavs get exposed against Oregon?

Here's why the Beavers will win.

1. The Defense. The defense must be angry about the Duck game. They will want to prove they are better than they showed in that game. Plus, Pitt isn't the offense powerhouse that UO seemed to be in that game. And they don't play the spread.

If the Beavs can stop McCoy from running wild and force Pitt to throw, then I'm not sure Bill Stull can lead them to victory alone. Their receiving core is a mish-mash and Stull has thrown for under 200 yards passing in 4 of his games this season. He is not mobile so Butler and Norris can pin their ears back and come hard. And he has 9 interceptions to go with his 9 TDs.

2. QB/TE/RB play. The running game could be a struggle. But I think the bulliten board material from Pitt should give the O-Line extra motivation to open up holes.
However, I think that will mean more passes to tight ends and RBs on screen plays, seam routes, and swing routes. It might start to look like the Insight Bowl out there. And we have the TEs to do it.

If the offense can get ahead early and force the clock to become somewhat of a factor, then Pitt will have to throw. We can't shorten the game by running every other play like we could with Quizz. Generally, that's bad because it gives offenses more chances to score on us (Oregon, Penn St., Stanford). But I think in this case, I'm not sure Pitt can throw like all of those other teams. Its hard to come back when you're running the ball.

3. Sammy Stroughter. He's the last big star player left on the offense that isn't on the line or at QB. If he could return a punt or a long TD. That would help a ton. Maybe a fly sweep? Its his last game and he could go out on top if he has a great game.


If the defense and QBs are solid, I think we win. Ultimately, it will probably be the team who makes the fewest mistakes who wins. No missed tackles, bad penatlies, or turnovers. It will be a tough game, but I think Mike and the crew can game plan to win this thing. Plus, with James and Quizz out, Pitt won't really know what to game plan for defensively. The Beavs haven't played without either in 2 years. Hopefully, that can give some element of surprise and the Beavs can take advantage.

Go Beavs! Beat the Panthers!

Happy Holidays!

The Sun Bowl is fast approaching. I'll be posting about that soon, but I just wanted to get out a Happy Holidays to everyone!

Just think happy thoughts (like a USC win)!

Cliff K the Videographer

I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but Cliff rocks for content. He's been posting game clips and postgame interview videos on his blogs about the basketball team lately (Howard, Seattle Pacific, and Nebraska). Since I haven't been to the games, its been great to watch the guys talk unfiltered about each win. Plus, we got some highlights in the Nebraska game. Cliff, you rock!

Check out all his other good stuff at his blog: http://www.gazettetimes.com/gtblogs/cliff_kirkpatrick/

The Civil War: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Well, that sucked.

I seriously thought we could pull it out with just one defensive stop or the ball bouncing our way once or twice in the 4th quarter. It didn't. We lost. They basically played a perfect game.

I know the game wouldn't have gotten so out of hand if we had Quizz because we would have run the clock down a ton in both halves. Maybe stay in it long enough to pull it out. Without a running game we played right into their hands. Before the game I knew that if the game was a shootout, the we would lose. For us to win it needed to be about 28-24.

I could complain about bad calls or bad bounces, but it probably wouldn't have changed too much. We needed to get ahead early and force them to throw to catch up. Oh well. Next year we get the bye before the Civil War.


The Good:

Not sure what to say here. I guess the fact that we kept scoring and keeping it just close enough to have a slim chance at the end.


The Bad:

The turnovers killed us. 2 TDs off of interceptions. A lost fumble on the 10 yard line. And not getting the interceptions or fumble recoveries when we had a chance.


The Ugly:

The defense. To many big plays. Every other drive ended in a 70 yard run it seemed like.



Final Note:

In the future, lets keep the Civil War civil please. I brought my brother-in-law to the game and he happens to be a Duck fan. Coming back after halftime he was subjected to some comments that were out of line. Questioning his sexuality and using a racial slur is just ridiculous. It made me embarrassed for Beaver Nation. Now I know its the 1% of wackos that every team has and it was probably a couple of drunk students. But that is NEVER called for. And shouldn't be accepted. Lets make it 0% next year OK?



Go BRUINS!

Beavs Beat Arizona, Thousands of Beaver Fans Pass Out

Holy crap.

There was one point that I thought we were going to win. After we fly sweeped to out first TD after the half. I thought, "here we go". Unfortunately, Arizona didn't cooperate. Frankly, I had no idea how we would pull that game out with our second string at two key skill positions. But we did. That was a program win if I ever saw one. No Lyle? We can still win. No Quizz? We can still win. Banged up D-Line? We can still win.

Was that the best snatch victory from the jaws of defeat win or what! Wow!

Watching the twitter search, I love some of these comments:

markpimentel: beavers win in arizona. one more win to go, and we're headed to pasadena. you can expect me to be there!

tixrus: @chriscoyier Go Beavers! Unbelievable finish to the game. Can you say redemption?

mattlindell: OSU Beavers - all that stand in our way to the Rose Bowl now is a bunch of measly waterfowl.

Orbgiberson: Oregon State pulled it off with 0 time left... one more game and USC is nocked out of the Rose Bowl by THE BEAVERS! WAHOOOO

jamiesvibe: I have never been happier in all my life. GO BEAVERS!

flatchicken: Holy. Sweet. Mother. Beavers. Win. With. 4 sec. Remaining. Rose bowl hopes still alive.

Looking at the numbers after this one, a few things stand out...

* Defensively, we slowed down their passing game:

Willie Tuitama, 16/22, 158 YDS, 1 TD
Rob Gronkowski 3 REC, 50 YDS
Mike Thomas 6 REC, 50 YDS

Gronkowski wasn't much of a factor catching the ball. The TD was big, but he didn't kill us like I thought he might. Mike Thomas made some big catches. And Willie made some huge throws. They really threaded the needle on some of those passes. But no long passes which really helped. And no big returns for Thomas.

Unfortunately, their running game got rolling and they kept us off balance with their fly sweeps and pitches. That needs to get better by the Oregon game.

* Offensively, we still figured out a way to run the ball without Quizz:

Ryan McCants 15 CAR, 52 YDS
James Rodgers 10 CAR, 102 YDS
TEAM 33 CAR, 166 YDS

Jeremy Francis 7 REC, 61 YDS

I was having flashbacks to 2007 with Francis looking like Yvenson Bernard out of the backfield catching balls and James running the fly sweep to perfection. Ryan McCants is a big dude and ran very hard especially in the second half. He is going to be a good RB for the Beavers the next 3+ years. 166 yards is great. We weren't as consistent as we would have been with Quizz, but it got done and that is all that matters. I really hope I see Ryan break a big run against the Ducks. I know he can.

* How about the "just enough" passing game. Sammie was the star last night!

Sammie Stroughter 5 REC, 116 YDS, 1 TD
Sean Canfield 20/32, 224 TDS, 47 LONG, 1 TD

Sammie stepped up and showed why he is the man! I love these Beavers. Sean put together another solid performance and I'm am so glad we have 2 good QBs. That 47 yard pass to Sammie was money.

``The comeback was big,'' Canfield said. ``We knew what we had to do and everyone chipped in and we never backed down.''

Amen to that.

Civil War week! Go Beavs!

The Beavs are playing themselves this weekend.

I watch the Duck v. Arizona game last weekend and I noticed that they seem very similar to the Beavs. Small running backs, good QB, decent recievers, and a tough D.

But it doesn't stop there. Check out these numbers:

Total Yards
ORST 423.6 / 29th
ARIZ 427.9 / 28th

Passing Yards
ORST 251.6 / 35th
ARIZ 255.5 / 30th

Rushing Yards
ORST 172.0 / 42nd
ARIZ 172.4 / 41st

Points Scored
ORST 33.7 / 24th
ARIZ 39.7 / 11th

And we have the exact same number of offensive first downs.

Hmm. Super even match up. Hopefully we can overcome the home field advantage!

Surprise! Oregon Changes Their Uniforms (again)

I guess at this point its not surprising that the Ducks would change their uniforms yet again.

Hmmm. Even more black. Maybe they're trying to get some late season mojo from the Black & Orange.







Oops. My bad. Got confused by the black. Boy, they do look a lot like the Beavers uniforms, huh.

They even have a new black flag.



I'm watching the Duck/Arizona replay and when I saw those feathers on their shoulders I was REALLY hoping that when they turned around they would have some feathers on their ass. Tailfeathers would be hilarious. Really, other than the feathers, the uniforms are pretty plain. I'm good with plain, but the Oregon color guy just said they look like they could have got them at K-mart(!). Of course, that was after he just got done saying Terence Scott is one of the best receivers in the Pac-10, so I took it with a grain of salt.

Maybe the Beavs should roll out some armored tails or buck teeth on their helmets.

Are the students doing a "blackout"? Really? Wow. Deep down somewhere, I think Phil Knight is a Beaver and he's just f-ing with the Duck fans. At this rate the Ducks will be having Orange highlights in their uniforms by spring practice and an Orange out next November.

Beavs Beat Cal, Keep Dream Alive

Great game, great win.

The Beavs are finding ways to win through defense and now special teams. What an awesome kickoff return for James Rodgers. He was so fast that he was 20 yards ahead of everyone at the end! That kicker looked like he was standing still.

Great game Defense. Great game Quizz (again). Great game fans. We were loud. As loud or louder than USC. I love the new "hua!" at the end of the first down song. Man, the Civil War is gonna be crazy! I really hope we beat U of A so that game is for all the marbles!.

Couple of post-game thoughts:

* Johnny Hekker is growing up fast and looks like he's gonna be a good one.

* Moevao looked a bit rusty, but he looks like he can make the throws now and he should get his rhythm back soon.

* Sammy was huge! I loved the "Sam-my!" chant for each punt return.

* I knew Kevin Riley was screwed at the end after he threw the interception that didn't count (false start). But to get the exact same result on the net play? Whoa!

* Finally the fly sweep started working again. That was sweet.

* The blocking was huge! Especially loved those upfield blocks from receivers and running backs even.

* I taped and re-watched the game. I think that announcer said RB about 52 times.


Another HUGE game next week. I think there's going to be a lot of Beavs there. Come on Beavs!!!

UCLA Win Propels Beavers Into The Top 25

Beavers Fans, we're back in the top 25.

USAToday Top 25 Coaches Poll

AP Top 25

Harris Poll Top 25


That was a great win against UCLA even if the FSN feed kept pooping out all game. And we had radio only for the first quarter.

Props to the Defense again. Quizz was awesome. McCants ran well. Canfield threw well in the 2nd half. Great Win!

I don't think there's a QB controversy. Whoever is most healthy should play.

Cal is going to be tough. Especially defensively. They look pretty good on defense.

Arizona State Aftermath

Whew! That was a heart-stopper of a game.

Great job Canfield, Quizz, James, Kahut, Sammie, Morales, the O-Line, and the bend-but-don't-break defense.

Boy did ASU play the role of villain well. They were pumped and ready to play, that's for sure. Hate to say it, but they looked a bit like Miami of the Southwest.

I don't fault them. They needed to do something different after losing 5 straight and playing with a lot of emotion and swagger almost worked. They were taunting the Beavs as they ran out on to the field. They were dancing on the sidelines during timeouts. They were running across the field to the Beavers sideline. They acted a bit out of control and certainly brought back memories for me. Oh how far we have come.

How exactly is there no ejections when 15 or so players ran across the field to challenge the other team?


Back to the Beavs...

I think this game is huge because if we win big, we lose to UCLA. Now I think the guys will get grounded and realize that they could lose at any time and they really do have to take it one game at a time.

UCLA is net and if we could get that monkey off our back, that would be very big. Every game is big and every game is a battle from here on out. One game at a time.


Great win Beavs!

Arizona St. Tonight!

Dennis is back (again). Will the Beaver fans boo or cheer?

The weather is looking mixed. It was really nice for the homecoming parade, but now its raining. Hopefully it won't be as bad as the Cal v. Oregon game is. Of course, that could actually help us a lot since we run the ball well and they don't.

A Look At The Stretch Run

OK, so the Beavers passed the trap game test. And we now have a road win. So where does that put us for the rest of the season?

This may be one of the hardest seasons to predict in Pac-10 history. I watched Arizona beat up on Cal in the second half of their game last night. Will the real Arizona please stand up? For that matter will the real ASU, Cal, and Oregon please stand up. Inconsistency is the only thing that is consistent about the upper tier teams this weekend.

OK, so we've gotten through the easiest stretch of our season and head into a bye before the stretch run.


What's next?


Arizona St.

Coming off of a bye week and it being in Corvallis, I think this is a winnable game. They are only averaging 334 ypg and 84 ypg on the ground. Of course, even with our experienced secondary we can still give up yards passing. Hopefully the bye week will help us figure things out. The defense gives up 143 ypg on the ground which can only help us. If we can pressure Rudy and run the ball, thus shortening the game, then we win.

UCLA

Another road game and we seem to have a lot of trouble beating UCLA the last few years. They are the team we just can't seem to beat. This could be a tough game. They aren't great offensively, but seem to pull out crazy wins and keep things close. They will also have a bye before meeting us which is scary. However, if there's a year to beat UCLA on the road, this is it. If we're a good team, we should win this game.


California

This is a scary game. They also seem to beat us in Corvallis and are pretty good this year. They are beatable, but they have a lot of talent on that field. Can we do it? Yes. Will we do it? I don't know. They give up 109 ypg on the ground so Lyle and James will need to be on this game. This game will determine whether we have a shot at a good bowl berth or not.

Arizona

On the road. Great defense. Scary. Its a game we could win but unless Tuitama gets hurt, it may be anther Utah type game. Very tough and they will be up for us. Too tough to call, but the game scares me.


Oregon

Can they throw? If not, they will be in trouble. Its still too early to call, but its looking to be a classic as both teams will be good again. Man, I want 3 in a row.



Our chances are good, but this is a tough road ahead. This could be special!

Go Beavs

Husky Game - Review Of The 2007 Debacle

It took a while to shake the Husky bug for us Beavers. Even in our greatest season (2001) we lost to the Huskies. It wasn't until Alexis Serna came along that we really started to beat UW. Now we're on a 4 game win streak.

So can we bring back Serna? How about a look-alike from the soccer team? Probably don't need him this year.

The only reason this game remotely gives me pause is:

A) Its a road game

B) The Huskies have been wanting to get us back for last year

C) They may just get pumped up enough to start out fast


Can we make sure we don't get those refs from last year?


Here's a few videos from last year to get you pumped up for the game:

Lyle's block:



The WORST CALL EVER



Why they're pissed



Looking again at that hit, it really wasn't bad. He was just trying to wrap Locker up and Jake put his helmet down into a dangerous position. Jake was the one leading with the helmet.


Hopefully nobody gets hurt and was take control quickly so that the game doesn't get out of control.



Go Beavs!

Game Day! Wazzu meets Beavers as 30 point dogs

It feels like its been forever since the Beavers have had a game. All I want to see today is the same determination that we've had the last three weeks along with better execution. Just keep getting better and make a statement like we did against Hawaii. Don't give them a chance.

That's it. Execute, play hard, and a couple of big plays.


Go Beavs!

Utah Shocks OSU, Special Teams Still a Problem

Skocked. I can't believe we lost that game. It felt exactly like a midseason game of the last two years where we take a few shots and come out victorious in the end. Well, maybe Alexsis Serna was the reason for that.

The kicking game hurt us bad in that game. Missing an extra point is almost unforgivable. And that sent us on a spiral of 2-point tries that were unsuccessful (which by the way I hope we never do again.). There could have been redemption by hitting a 42 yard field goal in the second half (almost automatic for Serna), but nope.

I think the coaches have to take a little blame on this one. Going for two twice was not necessary. In fact, make one of those extra points and we're up by one and they might have onsides kicked or at least we would have had the opportunity to run the clock out with one first down. Also, the final drive clock management was poor. Just get to OT. Why give them enough time to drive down and get a FG? Especially when you know our punter isn't going to rip off a 60 yard punt. I mean, we were on the 20! Are we going to drive 80 yards (or 60 for a FG) on that defense in 90 seconds?

And to the Ute fans who rushed the field, get over yourselves. You narrowly missed being upset on national TV. You're #15, you should win games at home against unranked opponents. Just because you beat the team that beat USC doesn't mean you beat USC. That might be the worst reason to rush the field in college fooball history. Way to go Ute fans, you proved you're not one of the "big boys". In big boy football we only rush the field when we beat someone in the top 10 in the nation (and we're not in the top 10).


I can't believe we lost that game.

Jake Locker Wants To Play Defense and OSU v. Utah

This from the train wreck that Husky football is becoming:

’It is possible’ Locker could find himself in a new role for Huskies - The Tacoma News-Tribune

However, Locker might be able to return more quickly as a safety, linebacker or tailback, and UW football coach Tyrone Willingham did not rule that out Monday. “It is possible,” Willingham said. “I couldn’t tell you where right now, but I think I said, and others have said, that he is a tremendous athlete with the ability to play five, six, seven positions.”

If Coach Willingham plays his best player on defense, he is crazy. In fact, even if he's not fired immediately (and its pretty clear that he's probably gone after this season) will he have any chance of being hired elsewhere?

I say no.

This isn't 1960 when people played both ways full time. This is 2008 where Jake Locker is not only an NFL prospect, but an MLB prospect. He stands to lose his future livelyhood if he gets unlucky and say injures a shoulder, elbow or rotator cuff by doing something as simple as making a tackle.

Don't do it Ty. Its a career killer.

---

Oregon State at Utah. Most prognosticators are calling a Utah win. The line is Utah to win by 10-12. All of that is good for the Beavers. We will not overlook Utah. Rather than over-confidence from a big win all we will get is confidence.

Does that mean we win? I don't know but I think our chances are good. Its going to be a battle. If we can continue the strong defense and not succumb to the inevitable trick play, then we should be able to keep it close. Brian Johnson is a little proned to interceptions. That would be big if we could get an INT or two.

I can't wait for this game!

Go Beavs!

OSU 27, USC 21: Our #1 is Better Than Your #1

(AP Photo/Steve Slocum)

#1 Jaquizz Rodgers (and the entire O-Line and blocking scheme) > #1 USC.

What a night, what a game. This was nearly total domination in the first half. This was taking their best shot and coming back and winning anyways. This is a HOME WINING STREAK against USC!

This one feels different than 06. I can't tell if I'm more in shock or find it less hard to believe. The hype was so huge about USC that I figured lightning couldn't strike twice. Plus, we started so slow in the season. But I'll be damned, we're hitting our stride early this year. The Utah game is big next week.

Can I get a "I heart Quizz Rodgers" shirt up in here?! Dude never went down on the first hit. He made nothing plays into 5 yard gains, OK plays into 10 yard gains, and frustrated the USC 'D' all game. This wasn't trickery, this was up the gut, in your face, I'm better than you game plan. I LOVED IT. Our best play was up the gut. Everyone was blocking lights out. James Rodgers was sealing awesome for the cut-back, I saw Sammie level Ellison on one play, and even Quizz was pass blocking great.

If we win next week, win all our games in October, then we could be setup for a magical stretch run in November with the best teams at home and when we are at our best. Maybe a 2000 type run?! Damn, I sound like a Duck fan.

Woooo Hooooo! Where's the Tylenol!

Go Beavs!

Quote of the game:

"I am just beside myself," Trojans coach Pete Carroll said. "They didn't hide what they were doing, they just did it and we couldn't stop it."

Here's some great post-game stuff:

USC postgame - Cliff Kirkpatrick Blog

Quizz Show: Jaquizz Rodgers and Oregon State's Domination of USC Analyzed - FanDome

Oregon State highlights vs. USC (9.25.08) - YouTube

Beavers' new Quizz show stumps and thumps USC - John Canzano

Thursday Night Lights - Bob Welch

USC Game - Not A Sell-Out?!

This is hard for me to fathom:

Beavers fans ready for big-game atmosphere - Gazette-Times

There are still about 4,000 general admission tickets left to purchase for the game. They are the $75 variety. All the club seats are sold out.

So the students line up around the block to pick up tickets, but Beaver Nation has left 4000 gen admin tickets on the table? For USC? The #1 team in the nation?

I guess there are more pessimists in Beaver Nation than I thought. Who cares if we lose big. We're expected to as evidenced by the 25 point spread. But would you want to miss beating a #1 for the second time ever? Or how about having a home winning streak against SC?

Come on people. Get your butts in the stands and watch this game!


Go Beavs!

Sometimes Bye Weeks Are Great For Fans Too

The Beavers had a nice weekend to relax, heal, and prepare for USC this week. That can only be good when coming off of an easy win last weekend. Hopefully the coaches see something in the film they can exploit. And hopefully our defense has become experienced and confident enough to take a shot at the best team in the conference.

Sometimes bye weeks are good for the fans too. We get to do some errands, yard work, and watch the other teams around the league/nation. This week I watched the most Oregon football I've seen since Civil War last year. My only complaint about the UO vs BSU game is that the Broncos let the Ducks back into it. BSU was in total control at the end of the 3rd quarter. Although that new freshman did look pretty good in the pocket. Of course, the way Duck QBs go down it only a matter of time.

After watching OSU lose to Boise St. twice on the road over the last few years (then having to hear Duck fans talk about it) that game made the bye week a little better. Hell, a lot better. I'm still smiling. Just remember Duckies, we never lost to the Broncos at home.


Go Beavs!

Weekend Recap...Defense - check...Forced Turnovers - check...Blow Out - check

I went to the game last weekend and despite it being the hottest football game in recent memory, it was a pretty good game to get Beaver Nation's hopes up for USC.

When I walked into that stadium I wanted to see a few things from the Beavs. Better defense, force defensive turnovers, better special teams, and domination.

Three out of four isn't bad. Id say other than the first drive, our defense was great. The interceptions were huge because we're gonna need those in the next two games. And by dominating a lesser team (like we should have done vs. Stanford) we got back some confidence and maybe a touch of swagger that we sorely need against USC. The special teams were a mixed bag. Great return phase. Not so great on the kicking side of things.


On to a bye week, then USC. And boy do they look good. Our only hope is that they come in overconfident and we get 3-4 early breaks and we capitalize on them. If we can keep it close and build momentum for Utah, that is the key. We need to take down Utah like we did Cal last year. That could be the lynchpin if this season. Especially since many teams are looking vulnerable in the Pac-10 (and some downright bad). Man, I wish we could play Stanford again.

Penn St. Rolls Beavers

Well, I was afraid that this would happen. The Beavers go back east again and play the part. It doesn't matter if its an up and coming team like Boise St, Fresno St, or Cincinnati (maybe Utah?) or an established power like LSU or Penn St. The Beavers have only played competitively in maybe 2 games on the road against decent out of conference teams in the last decade.

I'm beginning to think this early season slow start thing is a self-fulfilling prophesy. If people (press, fans) are always asking about how you're going to start fast and why do you start slow, then you start to believe it. And it becomes a wall for the players and maybe worse, the coaches.

Conservative game planning may not be the way to break the cycle. Perhaps we need to shake things up a bit. Throw the ball down field. Have a drive where all you do is fly sweep and run sweep. Go for it on 4th down. Fake punt. Blitz like crazy.

Or maybe the anwser is to just schedule weaker. Only get teams you can go home at home. Kansas went to a BCS game with a weak schedule. We went in 2001 with a weak OOC schedule. When you play all 9 other Pac-10 teams, do we really need to schedule another BCS opponent? Why not get Minnesota or Vandy to play us?

No matter what the Beavers come home this weekend. Let's make sure they get this win because we need some momentum to pull off our game 5 upset that we always seem to do. Be loud and ready to cheer on a win. Its early. The good thing about our self-fulfilling prophesy is that every also tells us we finish strong. The players and coaches believe it and they can do it with the schedule that we have.

Time to start the strong finish. Go Beavs!

Game Preview from a Zombie

Zombie Nation came back with his own thoughts on the game. Check them out in full here:

Preview, Game 2: No. 19 Penn State vs. Oregon State - Zombie Nation

Why PSU will win -- The rushing game: If Stanford can rip off 210 yards against Oregon State, then Penn State shouldn’t have too much trouble. But this week, PSU has to be ready for a team that’s no Coastal Carolina. OSU has won at least nine games two years in a row, and won its last two bowl games. But OSU did lose to Stanford. Penn State will need to keep the ball as long as possible this week, with the suspensions on defense. Special Teams: It’s supposed to rain, a lot. If so, this one can come right down to the special teams play. I’m guessing Kevin Kelly will hit one of two this week, but the return games and punting will be stellar. Even if AJ Wallace doesn’t play (I think he will), Penn State should enjoy great field position on a soggy field.

Why OSU will win -- Turnovers: Get Penn State out of its groove early, and this one could go Oregon State’s way in a hurry. And now with the PSU suspensions, OSU will be looking for every way to take advantage. With slippery conditions possible, look for the OSU defenders to constantly rip for the ball. I’m not sure OSU can go toe-to-toe with PSU if it turns into a shootout, but the Beavers would love for it to come to that. The Passing Game: Oregon State was reduced to chucking the ball around once behind at Stanford. This week, Mike Riley already said the key will be balance. But I really think the balance for OSU will come from the passing game. Get the PSU secondary nice and soft, then send a few runs right at the depleted PSU defensive line. It’s a tough task, even if the PSU defense will be watered down, but not entirely impossible.

What will happen: I just don’t see PSU losing this game. But OSU will scare the hell out of PSU fans. Once PSU pulls away from a tight game, ESPN will talk more about the recent off-the-field issues, instead of the game itself. Daryll Clark will look great again, but the running game will be even better. The defense will be surprisingly stout, but not by PSU standards. The PSU wideouts will shine.

Prediction: No. 19 Penn State, 38 - Oregon State, 24

Problems at PSU...Does this help the Beavers?

Penn St. has just announced that 4 players will not be playing the Beavers this weekend. Included in the list is starting defensive end and All-America candidate Maurice Evans. In addition, a starting defensive tackle, Abe Koroma, will miss the game. A backup TE and CB were also suspended.

Penn State suspends three players, dismisses another - Philadelphia Daily News

Although no charges have been filed and Lt. Bill Moerschbacher, a Penn State campus police spokesman, said the investigation is ongoing, coach Joe Paterno suspended starting defensive end and All-America candidate Maurice Evans, starting defensive tackle Abe Koroma and backup tight end Andrew Quarless for the 19th-ranked Nittany Lions' game tomorrow against Oregon State in Beaver Stadium.

The fourth player living in the apartment, cornerback A.J. Wallace, was absolved of blame by Paterno, at least for now.

The suspensions of three key players overshadowed the announcement that reserve cornerback Willie Harriott, a redshirt junior cornerback and special-teams player from New Haven, Conn., had been dismissed from the team for an undisclosed reason. Harriott had not been in Paterno's good graces since he was cited for underage drinking in August 2007.

So does all this help the Beavers? I think the answer is clearly yes. Anytime you lose an All-American candidate, it has an effect. My guess is that Penn State is pretty deep at many positions so they should have someone serviceable in there. To lose half your D-line which is considered a strength...it could be good for the Beavs. More time for the Lyle and perhaps more running room.



Go Beavs!

Oregon State at Penn St.: Why the Beavers Will Win (Or Lose)

With a relaxing Labor Day weekend to recover from the gut wrenching loss to Stanford, its time to forget the past and look to the future. The future makes me nervous. Penn St. was dominant over Coastal Carolina and its a long trip out to Happy Valley. Can we pull off an LSU type game, but with a win? Or will we continue our east coast blowout streak?

Zombie Nation asked a couple of questions, and here are my answers.

Three reasons OSU will win...

1. Oregon State's run defense. Last season the Beavers run defense allow 899 yards for the entire season. There were a lot of graduations, but the current starters all rotated in heavily last year and are pretty experienced. In addition, senior safety Al Afalava is back for the Penn St. game and he is a big hitter who helps out a ton in the run game.

Oregon State has seen a lot of spread in Oregon, a little in Washington, and Utah over the last couple of years. We know how to defend it and have defended it pretty well. Our defensive speed is good. So the Spread HD can be contained.

If Oregon State can hold Penn St. to around 100-150 yards, then they should be winning the game.

2. Coach Riley and the players thrive on these big games. The Beavers gave LSU all they could handle and should have won the game. Riley has yet to lose a bowl game. They beat #2 Cal away last year and USC the year before to snap their big winning streak. I think the players will be pumped and ready to show the nation their stuff. If they get out to an early lead, then they can win.

3. Forcing turnovers. Last year Oregon State had 24 interceptions and 4 for TDs. They have the secondary back and guys who are ball hawks. After forcing no turnovers against Stanford, turnovers will be a point of emphasis and guys will be stripping and looking for the INT. If OSU has a +2 turnover margin or better, they will beat the Nittany Lions.


Three reasons OSU will lose...

1. Turnovers. In all of the Beavers big losses the last few years, turnovers are the culprit. Interceptions, fumbles, and crazy touchbacks. Cincy killed us on takeaways. Louisville and Boise St. all picked us off at will. If we lose the turnover battle, we lose the game. If we give up 5+ turnovers, then it will get ugly.

2. Its game 2. The Beavers haven't had a great start to the season since 2002. It's kind of a Beaver thing to start slow and finish strong. The Stanford loss might mean its another slow start for the Beavs. We lost some great players last year and we are young. Those young guys have to learn on the job and it takes a few games to get going.

3. The running game. After not being able to establish the run against Stanford (granted we had to pass a ton because we were behind), and with the yards PSU put up last week. It could be a slow death. If Penn St. establishes running dominance early and the Beavers can't run, then it will take a career performance from Lyle Moevao to win. He had 400 yards last week, but he would need zero interceptions and some help from the defense to make that happen. If the Beavers can't run either inside or outside on the fly sweep, they will lose the game.


Score...

Its hard to predict a win on this game. I think our early season woes and young LBs and RBs make it tough to call. They say teams improve most from game 1 to game 2 and we will need it. We did have a much tougher game last week than PSU and the Beavers will be ready to go. Not to mention I still have the bad taste from last week in my mouth.

I'll call a 38-21 Penn St. win. I hope I'm wrong and the game is much closer than that.

Prove me wrong Beavs!



Go Beavers!

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.

Stanford Is a Must Win Game

Yes, we already have our first must win game. And its the first game of the season. Yikes!

Most Beaver fans have a fairly optimistic view going into this season. Good seasons are built on beating teams you expect to beat, pulling out a few good wins, and probably losing to most everyone better than you. Great seasons have a win or two over a great team.

Here's how I see the Beavers opponents stacking up:

Must Wins
@Stanford
Hawaii
Washington St.
@Washington
@Arizona

Good Wins
@Utah
Arizona St.
@UCLA
Cal

Great Wins
Penn St.
USC
Oregon


Must wins are the teams that every Beaver fan says "W" automatically in the pocket schedule game.

Good wins are ones where you think, hmm, this could be a tough win or a loss. Win a couple of those, and you're in a bowl game.

Great wins are the USC win in 2006. It's last year at Cal and Oregon. These are the ones people remember and turn good seasons into great ones.


Back to Stanford. We must win this game. It allows the guys to go into Penn St. fired up, relaxed, and ready to prove who they are. It takes the pressure off if we don't come away with a win at Penn St. And most importantly, its a Pac-10 road win.

I want this season to be a great season. And the way to make that happen is to be 3-0 to start the season. It all starts today.

Go Beavs!

Craig Robinson on the national stage

Check out that sweet orange tie!

2008 Football - Pocket Schedule Game

Its time to start the old pocket schedule game. I ran a poll a few weeks back before fall camp had started and I found that people are very optimistic about this season. Of course, its easy to pick a number. Harder is predicting how the Beavers get there.

Here's a review what Beavers fans think the football team will do this year:

Wins - % of Votes
  11 - 10%
  10 - 15%
   9 - 32%
   8 - 27%
   7 - 7%
   6 - 2%
   5 - <1%
   4 - 2%
   3 - 5%

About 10% think we will have a losing season. However, 25% of fans think we're headed for a BCS game. I voted 9 wins. So yea, either we have a serious case of Orange Crush or we know a lot more than the pundits. Other than Sports Illustrated, it seems we are averaging about a 6th place finish in the Pac-10 among pre-season magazines/polls. Of course, we are always low in those just like we are always low in the recruiting rankings.

Lets look at the schedule:

2008 Schedule - OSUBeavers.com

at Stanford
at Penn st
Hawaii
USC
at Utah
WSU
at UW
ASU
at UCLA
Cal
at UA
UO

At first glance, its clearly very tough. I wish the Stanford game was at home, because that's a tough one to start with. We cannot look past them towards PSU. That said, I'm calling the game at Stanford a win. We have to have that one to get off on the right foot.

W - at Stanford

Penn State is tough. I think we have a shot, but we haven't actually won a huge game out of conference early in the season. Will this be the year we finally start off strong? This could be our Michigan. It would be HUGE! That said, even though I think we can win, I'm putting this down as an L.

L - at Penn st

Hawaii has a new coach and lost some good seniors. W.

W - Hawaii

USC should have Sanchez back. I'm not sure I believe in Sanchez, but the rest of their team is so good. If we are going to beat them, this might be the year. But I have to be realistic and call an L here. But how huge would this game be if we're 3-0 going into it? Reser would be ROCKIN! If god is a Beaver fan, he will make this happen.

L - USC

At Utah. Tough call here. Typically this is when we start hitting cruise control on the season. But playing at Utah will be tough. Revenge factor. Hmmm. I say we pull it out and our defense wins it for us. W.

W - at Utah

WSU: new coach. W.

W - WSU

Washington will be tougher this year. But I think our D just knows how to play against the run. We will be swarming and the Beavs will win in Seattle once again.

W - at UW

Big game with ASU. Erickson returns again. They have a target on their back. We tend to play poorly vs. ASU, but I call a win. This will be our first in a few years and will set up a great stretch run.

W - ASU

Yea. We ALWAYS seem to lose bad at UCLA. So this will be a loss, but it will inspire us down the stretch for our traditional final run.

L - at UCLA

And during that run we will beat Cal again, Arizona away, and the Ducks for a 3rd consecutive time and on to a bowl game!

W - Cal
W - at UA
W - UO


To recap, here's the predictions:

W - at Stan
L - at Penn st
W - Hawaii
L - USC
W - at Utah
W - WSU
W - at UW
W - ASU
L - at UCLA
W - Cal
W - at UA
W - UO

9-3, 7-2 Pac-10

Holiday Bowl anyone?


Go Beavs!

First Fall Practice...Punting, Shotgun, Quizz, Canfield and more!

I finally got out to see my first fall practice on Monday at Reser Stadium. It was a pretty laid back practice with a bonus of lots of special teams work.

Some notes:

Special Teams

There were three punters practicing and only two were really any good. #7 Hekker had some very good punts. And generally he was kicking them fairly consistently. Some didn't have a ton of hang time which could hurt, but enough did that I think we may be better off in the punting dept. this year. #18 Sehnem looked pretty good too, but his best punts just weren't as good as Hekker that day.

The punt blocking looked pretty good and Sammie was as quick as ever returning those punts. The punt rush seemed good as well, but they never got a block so it was hard to tell.

I think Kahut was kicking again, but it was pretty limited. Overall they did well, but they didn't practice anything very long (maybe 30-35 yards).

Offense

Moevao took most of the snaps on the live drills. They are clearly really concentrating on getting him ready for Stanford. He looked pretty good overall, but they may have been implementing some new plays because he was forcing the ball a lot on certain routes that seemed to be covered well (to me at least). But the few times someone was wide open, he seemed to hit them. So that's good. They worked on shotgun, which I don't remember seeing in the past. That should give our O Line some extra time on key passing downs.

Canfield did all of the drills that the other QBs did. He didn't get many reps and he threw nearly all short balls, but he never seemed in pain. Engstrom got a few reps too, but I don't remember anything spectacular. Katz had a good arm, but I saw almost nothing of him in the live drills.

The running backs all looked good. Quizz just looks so fast. Probably because he is fast. And strong. He will make an impact this year. I liked how McCants looked as well. Fast and strong. Francis looked OK, but I don't remember seeing him do much.

The WR and TEs looked good. Nothing spectacular, but everyone looked pretty sharp.

Defense

It was pretty non-contact so it was hard to evaluate the front 7. They definitely would have had a few sacks if they could have. The secondary looked really good. almost stifling at times. They and the LBs definitely swarmed to the ball very well on anything underneath. If our pass rush can be close to last year, teams will have a tough time against us. I didn't really get much of a sense for the rush defense because there were almost zero inside run plays, but the couple I saw looked like they had it stuffed.


Overall, I came away a little happier about the punting situation, the secondary, and maybe the running backs. Everything else was either hard to judge or I expected better.


Go Beavs!

Joe Beaver Show Back On The Air...and is Podcasting

I caught part of the first Joe Beaver Show of the 08-09 season today. And it sounds like they finally added something I've been asking about for the last 2-3 years. They have a podcast!

They mentioned it on the air and I found the link at kejoam.com. Copy and paste this (http://www.hypothetical.net/beaver/pod.xml) into iTunes in the Advanced menu, then "Subscribe to Podcast...".

Its like TiVo for radio. Pretty cool!

2008 Football is Underway

Beavers Fall Camp has started and things look promising. So far mostly good news has come to the camp with Simi Kuli probably here on Sept 1st.

Get out there and watch the 2008 Beavs if you get a chance!

2008 Fall Camp Schedule (subject to change)

Aug. 1-2 2 p.m. (shorts)
Aug. 3-4 2 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 5 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 6 8:30 a.m. (full gear) & 6:30 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 7 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 8 8:30 a.m. (full gear) & 6:30 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 9 2 p.m. (full gear/officials)
Aug. 10 No practice
Aug. 11 8:30 a.m. (full gear) & 6:30 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 12 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 13 8:30 a.m. (full gear) & 6:30 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 14 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 15 8:30 a.m. (full gear) & 6:30 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 16 2 p.m (full gear/officials)
Aug. 17 No practice
Aug. 18 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 19 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 20 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 21 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 22 2 p.m. (full gear)
Aug. 23 1:30 p.m. (full)
Aug. 24 No practice
Aug. 25 6:30 p.m. (shells)
Aug. 26 6:30 p.m. (shells)

2007 Football Season in Review

Fall camp is coming up, and I'll be doing the pocket schedule game for the 2008 season soon. However, I thought I'd do a quick review of the 2007 season:



'Nuff said :)