What you need to be ready for the first weekend of games

OK, it's almost here. So close you can taste it. Here's a few things to get you ready for this, the first weekend of college football!


First, remember to WEAR ORANGE!

When you go to the Portland State game this weekend bring your best ORANGE shirt. There's a grassroots effort to make the entire stadium orange. And we need your help. If you need more instructions read this post: Important Beaver Nation Call to Action.

11:30am is the Ribbon Cutting at the front of the stadium. So take a break from tailgating before lunch to see that because lots of Beaver legends will be there including Jonathan Smith, Ken Simonton, Dennis Erickson, Paul Risser, and more.

Bring a few bucks to put into the Katrina relief fund. Count on there being people ready to take your money and help out a good cause. Remember, the Beavs were in Louisiana last year at this time.

Get there before kickoff to see the fanfare before the game. It will be special.

Be loud!


Second, review the TV schedule and do some scouting:

2005 TV College Football Schedule

Thursday, Sept. 1
Oregon at Houston, ESPN2, 4 p.m.
How will the Ducks new offense gel? Are they any good?

Friday, Sept. 2
Arizona at Utah, ESPN, 5 p.m.
Great game to see how for Arizona has come, or how far Utah will fall

Saturday, Sept. 3
Washington vs. Air Force, ABC , 12:30 p.m.
How does UW get an ABC game after last season? Good game to see if they have improved. Check it out at the Alumni center.
Boise St. at Georgia, ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
Scout the Beavs second opponent. This could setup nicely for the Beavs. Kind of like our LSU game did for them last year. May have to TiVo this one
Portland St. at Oregon St., BSN, 3:00pm
You will be at the game though, right?
USC at Hawaii, ESPN2, 4 p.m.
Yawn. Look at the JumboTron for this one.
UCLA at San Diego St., ESPN2, 7:15 p.m.
Probably nothing to see here...unless UCLA struggles...

Sunday, Sept. 4
Louisville at Kentucky, ESPN, 12:30 p.m.
Huge scouting opportunity for us Beaver fans who don't get to see UL much
Virginia Tech at N.C. State, ESPN2, 4:15 p.m.
Just because it's a good game


Finally, quickly brush up on the rules on changes:

How instant replay will work this year in the Pac-10

Information on the new Harris Poll for the BCS

2005 College Football Rules Changes (PDF) (See Major Changes on page 4 of 6 - big changes are spearing, unsportsman-like acts, and instant replay)


You're set! Go Beavs!

Mike Riley's Coaches show to be held in the club level at Reser

I just heard on the Joe Beaver Show on KEJO 1240 in Albany that the coaches show will be relocating to the Club level at Reser Stadium. There will be food available and the doors will probably open about 6pm or so. The show starts at 7pm.

That's pretty dang cool. Fox and Firkin was OK, but a little small. Hmm, I'm guessing they won't be serving beer. Oh well.

Seattle P-I offers up it's Pac-10 preview

Well, another Washington newspaper has offered up it's Pac-10 predictions (link) and low and behold, the Beavs come up last again.

I think I've figured it out. They don't want to pick the Huskies last like everyone else did in the Pac-10 (they are in Husky-land after all) so they pick on the Beavs. They are just Husky homers! I think that's evidenced by this story detailing all the best 1-win turnarounds in the Pac-10 since the 30's (link)

Here's the reasoning by Ted Miller of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Pac-10 Football: Second chances in Pac-10

"Where might a plot-thickening disaster occur? Look to the state of Oregon. Either the Beavers or Ducks will end up disappointed this season.

Obviously, I think it will be the Beavers, whose fans didn't take kindly to a spring prediction that Oregon State will finish last in the conference.

They might not be so shrill after starting tight end Joe Newton was lost for the season to injury during preseason practices and starting receiver Marcel Love was ruled academically ineligible. Starting linebacker and team co-captain Chaz Scott apparently is ineligible, too.

That said, if the Ducks end up on the short end of the Civil War on Nov. 19, and finish with a losing record, it's possible coach Mike Bellotti might find his seat getting toasty -- an unthinkable idea just a few years ago."


Time to prove them all wrong, right Beavs! I see a new group of heroes emerging out of this turmoil to lead the Beavs for the next few seasons.

What do you think? Are you worried about the upcoming season? Have guarded optimism? Confident we will have another bowl game coming?

Portland State Viking Lineup for this Saturday

Scout.com has published the PSU lineup with starters and the backups that's expected this Saturday.

Yahoo! Sports - NCAA Football - Portland State Viking Two Deeps

Three fans offer up their predictions

A nice little article from Roseburg where the writers step aside a let a few normal people make a prediction on how the Beavers and Ducks will perform this season.

The News-Review - What are your expectations for OSU and UO football?

Whoa! Some serious Beaver hate goin' on over at the Vancouver Columbian.

Wow. Nick Daschel of the Columbian must not like the Beavs. Or else he wants some serious hate mail from Oregon State fans.

Nick predicts, no not predicts...guarantees that the Beavers will finish last in the Pac-10. First, read this excerpt and his reasoning:

Columbian.com - Commentary: Pac-10 fantasy football

"It's fantasy if you believe that:

...

* Some team other than Oregon State will finish last in the Pac-10.

Too much is working against OSU:specifically talent, breaks and schedule.

The Beavers return 16 starters, but it's the eight who have left who matter most. Six were in NFL training camps, and most will stick.

Bad breaks? OSU has already had a season's worth, and the season hasn't started. Three of the team's best returnees, tight end Joe Newton, linebacker Chaz Scott and receiver Marcel Love, are likely finished for 2005.

Who designed the Beavers schedule, Saddam Hussein? Six of OSU's first seven opponents could be Top 25 teams.

Say hello, cellar.

...

Oregon State 2-9"


First of all, exactly what does talent mean? Lack of proven talent maybe, but the last two recruiting classes at OSU have been some of the best recruiting classes we have ever had! Lots of these young guys were recruited by almost everybody. Including many of the newest starters to replace those 8 guys who left. Lamar Herron recruited by USC, Fuller by everyone in the Pac-10, Jeremy Perry by everyone, Tavita Thompson by Colorado, Matt Moore was a top-10 QB. Anyways, there's talent there. Even the JC transfers look good, Aaron Miller, Nate Wright, and Ruben Jackson. I admit it is unproven, but you cannot say there's no talent. We've had unproven talent before in Stephen Jackson, Brandon Browner, Aric Williams, et all and one point.

The breaks have been bad for OSU, but only the Newton injury really hurts. The other positions are two of the deepest positions on the team and OSU will be able to absorb the losses of Love and Scott just fine.

Our schedule this year is quite a bit easier than last year. No USC, no LSU, WSU at home, ASU at home, Boise St. at home, Arizona at home, Stanford at home. Many of those games we might have a hard time winning on the road. At home they are much more winnable. Plus, we have an amazing winning percentage at home since 1999. However, having to play at Cal, UCLA, Louisville, and Oregon is bad. But other than the Civil War we may have lost those games at home anyways. Playing at Washington is a toss up. It depends on how good Washington is more than OSU.

A record of 2-9 means the Beavs only win one other game besides PSU. Who? Stanford? Arizona?


Here's what I expect to happen:

PSU - W
BSU - ?
UL - L
ASU - W
WSU - W
CAL - L
UCLA - L
UA - W
UW - W
STAN - W
UO - L

6-5 or 7-4. Depending on the BSU game. The D should be good enough for 3-4 wins alone.

Any thoughts? Am I way off base here? Do you agree with Nick?

Beaver Football Preview show on KVAL

For all you Beaver fans who get Eugene stations there is another local Oregon State Football preview show on KVAL. It's this Friday at 7:30 pm. Channel 13 on Comcast.

From TiVo.com:

Beaver Football Preview 2005
Fri 9/2 7:30 PM 13 KVAL
Duration: 0:30


For those of you that don't get KVAL, I'll try to post a summary of the show. Heck, if KVAL will authorize it, I'll post a divx version of it. But, I'm guessing they won't let me do that.

KVAL Sports

What's happening at PSU (opponent #1)

Portland State is the first opponent for the Beavs this year. How are they doing? Thought I'd see what I could find out there in the world of the Internet.

The Trib has a article from a week or two ago previewing the issues facing the Vikings going into fall camp.

Viks start filling in holes - Coach’s hopes ride high on new QB, tackles, running back

They have a new QB from Chehalis, Sawyer Smith. Everyone is hoping he brings the passing game back. The Vikings have been a great running team the last few seasons but have struggled a little in the air. He is more of a pocket passer than his predecessor, Joe Wiser, and he's a big guy at 6-5, 230. I'm guess there will be a few sacks against OSU. (Spotlight on Sawyer Smith)

Nic Costa joined the team from U of A and will be lining up a WR. He could be a nice deep threat with his amazing speed (4.34!). I'd watch for a few reverses and maybe a trick play on a reverse where he throws (Kinda like James Newson is the LV Bowl in 2003).

The O line is experienced and decent, but not very deep. RB position looks solid with Joe Rubin returning and finally getting the full time starting spot. The tight ends can catch, but they are more blocking tight ends. WR is a little suspect, but Costa will give that a boost. QB is unknown at this point.

Offense: PSU will be good running the ball. Fortunately OSU is very good defending the run. Our secondary will be tested a little with the speedy Costa, but I don't expect the passing game to do much against our D. I expect us to pressure the new QB hard and knock him down a lot.

On D the line could be a bit of a work in progress. They lost all four starters from last year. And they were pretty good last year. However, they have some big guys inside waiting in the wings. The DE could be suspect. Looks like their LBs are pretty deep. Bunch of guys there to play 3 positions. The secondary looks fairly solid with multiple people who started last year returning.

Defense: PSU was the best defensive team in the Big Sky last year and will probably be pretty good again this year. They will be tough on the Beavs new QB because the secondary is pretty strong. Since the defensive line is new the running game should get going, but the linebackers are pretty good so big gains could be tough to come by. The Beavs might be able to go outside with the run as the OLB probably aren't as fast as Pac-10 LBs. This should be a great warmup for our offense to see just how far they have come in the running game and with the new QB.

Prediction: I'm calling a Beavers win, but the most interesting part of this game will be: how do the Beavers look? Are they poised for a better season than people think? Or do they need some work?


Here are some stats from last year:
2004 Vikings Stats

Note: The Vikings led the Big Sky in total defense (346.3 ypg), scoring defense (20.3 ppg) and rush defense (111.6 ypg) in 2004


TEAM STATISTICS............. PSU......... OPP
--------------------------------------------------------
SCORING..................... 335......... 223
..Points Per Game........... 30.5.........20.3
RUSHING YARDAGE............. 2248........ 1211
..Average Per Rush.......... 4.7..........3.2
..Average Per Game.......... 204.4....... 110.1
..TDs Rushing............... 29.......... 13
PASSING YARDAGE............. 1864........ 2598
..Att-Comp-Int.............. 283-147-13...423-218-17
..Average Per Game.......... 169.5........236.2
..TDs Passing............... 14.......... 11
TOTAL OFFENSE............... 4112........ 3809
..Total Plays............... 761......... 807
..Average Per Play.......... 5.4......... 4.7
..Average Per Game.......... 373.8........346.3

SACKS BY-YARDS.............. 20-116.......10-66
KICK RETURNS: #-YARDS....... 30-649.......49-914
PUNT RETURNS: #-YARDS....... 27-336.......18-75
INT RETURNS: #-YARDS........ 17-244.......13-154
KICK RETURN AVERAGE......... 21.6.........18.7
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE......... 12.4.........4.2
INT RETURN AVERAGE.......... 14.4.........11.8
FUMBLES-LOST................ 15-9.........21-11
PENALTIES-YARDS............. 116-1050.....99-841
..Average Per Game.......... 95.5.........76.5

Their passing offense was bad last year. Their rushing offense was obviously quite good. And they scored a lot as well. Wow. Only 20 sacks? Lots of penalties though. The defense definitely was strong last year holding opponents to only 20 points per game. The return game was quite good averaging 12 yards per punt return and 21 per kickoff return. Nice.


Oregonian - PSU primed for Smith to step up - After several seasons in a passing slump, the Vikings put their hope in a new quarterback

Bozeman Daily Chronicle - Big Sky football: Tough schedule of Beavers and Broncos looms for the Vikings

KGW - Sawyer Smith leads Portland State into challenging season

Scout.com - 2005 Preview: Portland State

Some great OSU games over the last seven years to be replayed on FSN

Looks like a few more classic Beaver games are going to be aired over the next few months. FSN is not only airing the 1998 Civil War victory on the 8th of Sept, but they are airing the 2000 Civil War win and the 1999 UCLA blowout win. The only other game is the UW loss in 2000 that was only lost but a mere field goal.

No times are listed, but the 1998 Civil War game is Thursday 9/8 at 7:30 PM.

FSN Northwest to Highlight Classic Games

Other games shown:

9/29 The 2000 Civil War: No. 8 Beavers Shoot Down No. 5 Ducks
10/20 The 1999 OSU Rout of UCLA Ends an NCAA-record 28 Straight Losing Seasons for the Beavers
11/3 The 2000 Beavers and Huskies in the Northwest Football’s Version of “Wide Right”

Opponent News: Longshore wins Cal starting QB job

Looks like Tedford is going to go with a Freshman QB, Nate Longshore, over their highly touted JC transfer, Joseph Ayoob.
Interesting.

Check out the details here:
Longshore wins Cal starting QB job : Fanblogs College Football Blog

and here:

Contra Costa Times - Longshore grabs the reins at Cal

Beavers Land New Recruit

According to BeaverFootball.com the Beavs have a verbal from a lineman in Tempe, Arizona. Check out the story here:

BeaverFootball.com: BREAKING NEWS: BEAVS LAND ARIZONA HOSS

Here's an interview with Mitchel on PrepAZ.com:

Player Spotlight: Mitchel Hunt

Here are his 2004 stats from that story:

"58 tackles, 2.5 Sacks, 9 tackles for a loss of 41 yards, 3 Fumbles recovered, 1 forced fumble, 3 QB knockdowns and 15 QB harassments"

And awards:

"As a Junior I made All Conference at Defensive Tackle (2nd Team) and as a Sophomore I made All Conference at Defensive End (HM) and my coaches awarded me Gatorade Rookie of the Year."

And his numbers as of last February:

"Height: 6 foot 2.5 inches. Weight: 250 pounds."
"40: 4.9, Bench: 315, Squat: 500, Clean: 260."

Apparently Mitchel Hunt and his teammate, Matt Mosley, may be a package deal. Mosley is a WR/DB at Corona. This article talks about that possibility: Summer camps lure college-football hopefuls

"Me and Hunt are thinking about it (playing football at the same college)," Mosley said. "We are both going to take an official trip down there, and it is definitely a possibility. A big factor will be if it is a great place to live for five years."


One more profile of him on scout.com in case you're dying for more information:
Mitchel Hunt

Welcome Mr. Hunt!

Go Beavs!

Aerial photos of every Pac-10 stadium via Google Maps

I found this cool post through FanBlogs that links to an aerial photo of each football stadium in the Pac-10. Unfortunately, the Raising Reser expansion has made this a little out of date! Now that you've seen the new Reser, see how the other half lives in their old, outdated stadiums :).

Jeff Quinton: Google Maps: Pac-10 Stadiums

Preview of Oregon State from the Stanford point of view

The Bootleg, a Scout.com team site covering Stanford, has a preview of the Beavers on their site. It's fairly negative towards the Beavs, but at least they are realistic when it comes to the Cardinal's chances when they come up to Reser in November. Plus, they touch on the Beavs matchups with other schools as well.

2005 Look Ahead: Oregon State

Civil War from 1998 on Fox Sports Sept. 8th!

I was looking at my TiVo today and found this little gem coming up on Fox Sports Northwest:

FSN Classics: "Oregon at Oregon State" (From Nov. 21, 1998)

Thursday 9/8 7:30 PM
FSN


Get those TiVos ready to record that one! The game that started it all!

The new Reser

After touring Reser yesterday, I must say it actually exceeded my expectations. The founders loge and club level areas were very nice. The founders loge was quite unique. Like a sports bar. How many professional teams have anything that comes close to that? Just amazing. And it's really getting me excited for next weekend against PSU. I can't wait to see how loud it turns out to be.


I think the biggest thing it does for OSU in general is to start to shed our image as a lesser school in the Pac-10. Our football facilities have been upgrading for a while, but when you see that 1/2 of a stadium you know we've come a long way. Makes me feel even better to be supporting the Beavs.


Great job to Bob DeCarolis and all the others who made Raising Reser a reality! Now let's sell it out, win a bunch of games and get phase 2 started!

BTW, this is a great article by Paul Buker of the Oregonian on the new stadium: OregonLive.com - Rising to new levels

Plus, if you want a few more pictures of Reser, check out these pictures from the football board on Beaver Sports Central II:

Outside Photos at Open House
Open House Photos - part II

And here's a re-link to my pictures:

Raising Reser Open House

Spotlight articles on Matt Moore and Sabby Piscitelli

The GT has a good little article on Matt Moore today. However, one of the more interesting quotes I thought was this:

Corvallis Gazette-Times :. Taking Over the Reins:
"When it comes to who is receiving Moore's passes, he is fortunate to work with a seasoned group of receivers.

Senior split end Mike Hass should finish his career with all of OSU's career receiving records and senior flanker Josh Hawkins has been playing the best in his career.

The biggest contributor could be sophomore Anthony Wheat-Brown. He moved from flanker to slotback, and the position suits him better. His performance in practice has improved from a year ago."


That's encouraging to hear that Hawkins is looking good. I'd love to see a Robert Prescott-like senior season for him. He's such a big target that could really help the Beavs take some pressure off Hass. If Anthony Wheat-Brown has a breakout season then watch out.


Here's another quote that's encouraging a least a little about the running game:

"Yvenson Bernard, Jimtavis Walker and Nate Wright have shown promise throughout the fall. Both scrimmages produced positive yards, which was much better than the negative totals from a year ago."

Hopefully this is a good sign that the RBs are hitting some holes and the o-line is making a few. PSU will be an interesting first game to see what kind of team the Beavs will turn out to be.


Here's an article about Sabby Piscitelli that's worth a read:

Summer work lifts Piscitelli

I love those articles about how someone has really put in the time to try to improve. Kind of like the Joe Lemma article a while back.

Raising Reser Open House Pictures

Alright, I took a whole bunch of pictures of the Open House. Check it out here:

Raising Reser Open House

OSU preview from The Seattle Times

Again, just a look at how other places look at us. This one from the Seattle P-I has a much more negative feel than the Arizona one:

The Seattle Times: Sports: Pac-10 football previews: Beavers looking to soldier on, not fade

Bryan Payton changing positions to Free Safety

Interesting. In this week three recap from Scout.com (via Yahoo) one of the roster changes that were made this last week was Bryan Payton from cornerback to free safety. In the scrimmages he did seem pretty big compared to the other cornerbacks, but there are some good safeties in the program. Hopefully its a good move for the Beavs and Payton.

Joe Newton speaks

Joe Newton, the star tight-end for the Beavers, was interviewed by the GT and talks about his injury. Good article that finally sheds some light on the injury, the recovery, and Newton's state of mind.

.: Corvallis Gazette-Times - Newton still stunned by injury

Here's another article from the Oregonian:

Newton is out 10 to 12 weeks