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.