Where is the furthest any season ticket holder travels to Beaver football home games?

I got an interesting comment yesterday asking about Beaver football season ticket holders. What's the furthest season ticket holder by distance? I've certainly heard of Central Oregon season ticket holders and maybe even some from Washington. Southern Oregon could be a bit of a haul.

So if you are or know of a season ticket holder who travels a looong way for each home game, leave a comment and I'll make a cool Google map widget to show where people are from and calculate the furthest season ticket holder.


On a side not: OSU Basketball is slipping further and further from relevance for Beaver nation this year. The G-T has way more articles on the 2-time national champion OSU Baseball team than the hoops team these days. I find myself watching more NBA games than I have in the last 10 years. Hmm, I wonder how many new Blazer fans are also Beavers fans?

OSU Beavers Recruits: Tony Wilson

Since we just looked at Jordan Bishop, lets take a look at another new Beaver from the Salem area, Tony Wilson.

Tony is a linebacker from Sprague.who is one of the better players to come out of the state. He's projected to be a middle linebacker with decent speed.

Area football players commit to universities - Statesman Journal

Wilson, a second-team all-state linebacker as a senior and former Central Valley Conference defensive player of the year, picked Oregon State over an offer from Portland State and interest from Washington and Oregon.

Oregon State's reputation as the west coast Linebacker U helped draw Wilson's interest to Corvallis.

"That's one of the reasons why I committed is just their defense and last year they were probably one of the best in the Pac-10 or the best," said Wilson, who plans on majoring in business.

I love to hear about OSU being linebacker U. Especially when recruits talk about it.

Tony Wilson Profile - OSUBeavers.com

Chris Fetters on Wilson - "Wilson brings a lot of things that other big linebackers may not have - and that's athleticism. He’s big, strong, tough, physical - but he's also really athletic for his size and moves extremely well, a very fluid runner. On top of that, he's a very smart player"

Tony Wilson Flip... - Tony Wilson LOI signing ceremony

Scout Profile
Rivals Profile - Highlight Video 1 - Video 2

Recruiting Spotlight: Jordan Bishop

WR Jordan Bishop was a good in-state get for the Beavers out of Salem. He joins Tony Wilson, a LB, as two of the top in state recruits for OSU.

Jordan played DB and WR in High School, but looks to use his size (6-3, 195), speed (49.56 in the 400), and athleticism (23' 6 in long jump) to dominate at wide receiver in the coming years.

Jordan was lured partially by the expected return of Track and Field at OSU. That's great that its already happening. I figured to return of track would be good to help increase the overall team speed on the football team.

Area football players commit to universities - Statesman Journal

Bishop also had to weigh offers to compete in track and field, a sport in which he also excels.

But after getting into football this fall, he decided the lure of the sport was too much to pass up.

"Oregon State is also getting a track team in 2010, which is my sophomore year, if I'm still into it, I'm going to probably do track then, too," said Bishop, who likely will greyshirt or redshirt next year.

One note in the Statesman Journal, it appears that Jordan will greyshirt and look to start playing on 2009.
Football: Here’s a look at which local players are going where - Statesman Journal

West Salem’s Jordan Bishop has verbally committed to play at Oregon State as well. Bishop, according to West Salem coach Shawn Stanley, will greyshirt next year and delay enrollment until January of 2009.

Here's his profile on OSUBeavers.com:
Jordan Bishop, WR, 6-3, 195, Salem, Ore. (West Salem) - OSUBeavers.com

...head coach Shawn Stanley on Bishop – “If he is not a Division I receiver than I will never coach one because he is the best I will ever get -- I have never seen anyone catch him from behind.”

Other Links:


Jordan Bishop Football Highlights Part I - Part II - Part III

Scout Profile
Rivals Profile


Jordan Bishop Track and Field Athlete Profile

One more signee?

Looks like we will be getting one more commitment coming is soon:

Several from isles mainland-bound - Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Si'ilata (6-2, 285), who excelled on both sides of the ball, named Oregon State as his choice. However, he did not submit his letter to Kahuku coach Reggie Torres to be faxed.

Kemoeatu and Si'ilata are not NCAA qualifiers yet, but Torres said both are on track academically to clear that hurdle.

He's a 6'1", 325 lbs. offensive lineman out of Kahuku High in Hawai'i.

Scout Profile

Rivals Profile

OSU Beavers Recruits are in - Simi Kuli Spotlight

The Beavers signing day is over and they have done well. I think there are still a couple of players who may sign late (including a punter), but this is the class!

Signing Day - Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008 - OSUBeavers.com

I thought I'd see what I could find out there about Simi Kuli. He was the #1 rated JC player and a 5 star player for both Scout and Rivals. At defensive end, he looks big and fast. He's going to be a good one.

Some highlights from his college career:

* Defensive Player of the Year in 2007 for the Mission Conference
* 2007 Stats: 68 tackles; 7 sacks; 29 quarterback hurries
* 2006 Stats: 12 TFL for 44 yards; 3.5 sacks for 24 yards; 10 QB hurries; 2 fumble recoveries; 50 tackles

Simi Kuli Profile - OSUBeavers.com

Simi Kuli Highlight Videos - Rivals.com

News Articles:

Defensive end leads solid class - Gazette-Times

“I think what gave us an edge there was he had enough wisdom to see what we do defensively and he fits into that,” Riley said. “He looked at us where we are nationally as a defensive team. He liked that. Probably bigger than that was how he connected with our team, the players on the team and the former teammates he had at El Camino.”

National letter of intent day - OregonLive.com

"If I were a defensive tackle, I wouldn't want to face him for 60 minutes. . . . He's going to beat you a half-dozen times. He's going to get some sacks. He's going to get some hurries." -- El Camino coach John Featherstone

This concerns me a bit:
Kaveinga decides on USC, where he will join Baucham - DailyBreeze (LA)

Among the El Camino highlights are two Florida State players (RB Tavares Pressley and WR Corey Surrency), a Miami-bound player (FB Patrick Hill) and five Pac-10 players - WR Verran Tucker (Cal), DT Justin Thompson (Oregon), RB Jeremy Francis (Oregon State), OL Brent McNeil (Oregon State) and DE Simi Kuli (Oregon State).

Kuli, a five-star defensive end, needs to complete about 20 units by Aug. 1 before he can join the Beavers.

Hit the books my man! We want to see you in orange and black!

It's Super Wednesday (or LOI signing day)

Huge day for college football programs across the nation. The Beavers are reportedly signing 16 players in addition to the 3 JC guys who have already signed.

This class looks to address a number of needs. First and foremost, the defensive line. 5 star Simi Kuli looks to continue the tradition of great defensive ends at OSU. But also JCs Ben Terry (DE) and Stephen Paea (DT) should help with all the defensive line departures this year. We should have a good mix of new and returning guys up front.

Running back is clearly another area of concern. We recruited there hard last year and may be set with McCants and Mokhtar. However, JC RB Jeremy Francis and 2 HS RBs Jacquizz Rodgers and Jovan Stevenson should make the graduation of Yvenson easier to handle.

There's some very interesting guys in this class who are rated not so high but could turn into the next big thing at OSU. Especially at wide receiver. Keynan Parker is an athlete with 4.3 (!) speed. WR anyone? Also, Jordan Bishop is a big WR out of Salem who looks like he could be very good. WR Kevin Walker out of Cali is our highest rated HS player according to ESPN. He could get some serious playing time next year as a true freshman.

Walker is a thickly built, sturdy wide out that looks great on the hoof. He is a polished wide receiver and it is easy to see he is a coaches kid-- takes pride in the little things.

I like that we're getting another QB and 3 more offensive lineman. Got to keep that pipeline going. We're a bit light on LBs, but the one we got looks pretty good. We're stacked at LB right now anyways.


To get the up to the minute signing day action, go to OSUBeavers.com. Pure-Orange is bound to be hopping too: Recruiting.


NOTE: I heard Mike Parker on the national Fox Sports Morning Radio show talking about Bobby Knight. That would be a big hire for OSU. But would it be a good hire?

Congrats Derek and Chad!

Derek Anderson and Chad Johnson are going to the Pro Bowl. Great reward for a huge year by Derek!

They join T.J. Houshmandzadeh who was already invited.

Oregon State gets no love from recruiting rankings...does it matter?

Signing day is nearing and that means a new hope for the future and a chance to see how everyone stacks up for the next 4 years.

Unfortunately, other than a few stats and opinions by "experts" there's really no way to know how any of these kids will pan out. The ratings are a bit of a joke. They take into account some NFL-esque stats, if they will have a chance to have an impact as a freshman, and maybe one look from someone who knows football, then throws a star ranking on them. But what it doesn't take into account is potential. I.E. a safety who is really fast, but maybe slow for a safety, who puts on 30 pounds and becomes a stud LB who is hard hitting and fast (Doggett, Barnett, Ellison). Or a short, slightly slow RB who is very shifty, tough, and does all the little things right (Simonton, Bernard, Rodgers).

What I'm saying is it doesn't measure potential at all. But coaches like Riley, Banker, Langsdorf, Cav, etc all do. They can build players into something that Rivals, Scout, and ESPN didn't expect and mold a collection of individuals into something greater when they are on the field.

So I cringe when I see another article like this one on ESPN:

Class of 2008 Pac-10 recruiting overview, part one

Saying we're going to be in the bottom half of the Pac-10 for recruiting. Part of that is pure numbers. We had a ton of Greyshirts from last year's class that will add to this current year.

I agree with this assessment:

Underrated Class: Skeptics continue to overlook the Beavers


So stay tuned on February 6th and lets see what the future looks like!


Oregon State 2008 Football Commitments (15) - Rivals.com

Beavers Football Recruiting List - Scout.com

John, Giles gone

As the major newspapers reported, Jay John was fired over the weekend. Assistant Kevin Mouton takes over and looks down the barrel of a UCLA and USC home stand. Yikes!

What surprised me was that Mouton's first order of business was to kick C.J. Giles off the team. Bummer. Seems like you'd want to give the new coach a chance to do that himself. Too bad it didn't work out.

More on this later.

Coach John may be fired, but it won't help this season.

I haven't blogged about the Beavers Men's Basketball team this year, but after starting 0-8 in Pac-10 its time.

By the time you read this Coach Jay John may already be fired. I hope that OSU keeps him through the end of the season because it doesn't gain us anything to fire him now. It probably hurts the players. And really, only Pro teams fire coaches halfway through the season right?

Time to catch up with the season. It's been a disappointing season. I've watched a few games live and a few on TV. I've been a season ticket holder the last 4-5 years because I thought that Jay John knew what it would take to build a winner because he'd seen it at U of A. After that NIT season I really felt that he had brought us over the hump and we'd be back to the Orange Express in no time.

This is definitely Coach John's last season (if not his last days). I think it is time for him to go. I think he got spoiled at Arizona. He couldn't get elite talent, yet he wouldn't change his offense to help his players. The offense clearly relies on players to make plays. He's just not good enough with the X's and O's to overcome a lack of talent like say WSU can.

I think this season he may have the best collection of athleticism he's ever had. Heck probably the best since the Miller days. Quite a bit of talent too. But no leadership and no confidence really doomed this team from the beginning. Plus, there's the poor shooting. I think that goes with confidence, but its been a common theme with Jay's teams and really OSU teams for the past 15 years. I actually like alot of these players and I think its possible that the right coach could have a serious breakthrough next season.

So we'll see what happens this week. Thanks to Coach John for his effort and lets hope for a Dennis Erickson-type hire this time.


Makes you appreciate Mike Riley and Pat Casey, huh?

Bernard passes torch to Rodgers, Beavs beat Terps

OSU beat Maryland last night in a game that wasn't especially exciting for the neutral viewer. But for Beavers fans it was just fine. Sure, we were all cringing every time a QB dropped back to pass. But every time James Rodgers or Yvenson Bernard touched the ball something good happened.

It was like the past and future meeting up for a game. Yvenson Bernard handing the torch to James Rodgers. Both guys had over 100 yards rushing and combined for all of the Beavers TDs. And we needed all those yards because the QBs we a little shaky.

How about that Beaver D? Back to their late season form allowing only 19 yards rushing. And only 11 first downs. Wow.

The penalties and turnovers made for a sloppy and frustrating game, but a win is a win. The Beaver fans represented (9000 offical tickets sold, how many more in the stadium?). That will be great for future bowl games.

Some post-game thoughts:

* Maryland had some serious cheap shots all game. What was that about? We're they trying to channel the USC trojans? That was something I didn't expect.

* That last drive was money. Up by a TD. On your own 1 yard line. Oh, just drive the length of the field and kill the game. Nice.

* The Oregonian's coverage was a bit strange, eh? Between Canzano putting doubt in to Beaver Nation about Jaquizz and Ken Goe complaining about our bowl game (talk to the Pac-10, not us) it was a strange postgame day. Does Goe think we pick which bowl we want to go to?

* I'm gonna miss this defense. I'm gonna miss Yvenson Bernard. Thanks seniors!!!

Free Emerald Bowl Tickets from Qdoba and KXL

If you're reading this at work and want an excuse for a road trip to San Francisco, then tune into AM 750 and listen for a chance to win Emerald Bowl Tickets:

Hey Beaver Nation! Qdoba Mexican Grill is a proud sponsor of the OSU Beavers and we are giving you the opportunity to see the Beavs take on the Terrapins in this huge PAC-10/ACC showdown.

Tune in all this week to NewsRadio 750 KXL's Morning Sports Broadcasts with Jay Allen. Jay will be giving you the opportunity to win Qdoba Prize Packs, filled with Beaver gear and a Qdoba $25 gift certificate.

On Friday, December 21st, one lucky winner will receive a pair of tickets and a pair of hospitality passes to the Emerald Bowl. Not to mention, a $50 gift certificate and Beaver Gear courtesy of Qdoba Mexican Grill.

OSU's Mike Riley builds NFL QBs

While watching Matt Moore lead the Carolina Panthers to a win over the Seahawks yesterday, I had a thought. Coach Riley knows how to prepare QBs for the rigors of the NFL. In fact, he may prepare QBs better than most coaches in the Pac-10. This is fairly hard to prove, but I think we should play this up and see if we can get more elite QBs to come to play for Coach Riley and prepare for the NFL.

One of the knocks on Riley is that his system seems to be harder so new QBs tend to have a hard time adjusting to it. My contention is that this learning curve actually prepares QBs better for performing in the NFL. Its a small sample size, but Matt Moore and Derek Anderson have done very well in their first NFL action. Riley runs a Pro-style offense that demands a lot of its QBs. If I was a young QB with a strong arm, I would seriously consider OSU. Mike has coached in the NFL and he knows what it takes. And he gets players prepared for life in the NFL. Plus, the Pac-10 gets you prepared for the speed of the game as good and any conference.

Great job Beavers alumni!

Moore's first start sweet - Seattle P-I

ESPN Gives Derek Anderson some love - OSU Beavers Blog on OregonLive.com

Rodgers and Simonton: Deja Vu?

Wow, the similarities between the 1998 Simonton run in the Civil War and the 2007 James Rodgers run are uncanny.

Think about the situations. Both true freshman stepping up huge all season. Both in multiple OTs. Both to break some major Civil War streaks. I've got a good feeling about this guy!

Thanks to ThomasG86 for pointing this out! (Scout.com Board)

The photos:





Then the video:







Bring on the Terrapins!

Beavers Win Civil War in Double Overtime!

What a win!

After that "jumping and landing" call, I thought we were doomed. But when the kick was short, holy cow, that was some serious ecstasy! I can't believe we survived to go to overtime.

There's a lot of angles on this game. From Bellotti deflecting blame and crying about no measurement (has he ever "lost" a game?) to Matt Sieverson and Jonathan Stewart's huge rushing days to Rodgers' fly sweep for the TD and win. But I'm going to keep it positive here today and give props where they are due.

It's hard to pick an MVP (MOP?) for this game. There's Matt Sieverson running hard in the best game of his life. He was 27-143 for a 5.3 ypc average and 1 TD. How HUGE was that. He made us forget about Yvenson Bernard for a game. Fitting for a guy from Bend, Oregon who went through so much to get to this point. Mad props to Matt!

But what about Lyle Moevao? He was solid all game. 20-37 for 245 yards passing and a rushing TD. Sure he made a few mistakes when he was trying to make things happen, but he was a leader and played with moxie and love for the game. Great game Lyle!

You could give the award to the entire offensive line including the tight ends. Zero sacks and 214 yards rushing. Wow. Huge game from them. And the tight ends were catching the ball great. I'm going to miss this O Line next year. Great game guys!

How about James Rodgers? I have a man-crush on this guy. Our offense is now about 50% James Rodgers. Even when he doesn't get the ball the play-action with him running the fake fly sweep is big. The huge KO return when we needed it. And the game winning TD (shades of Kenny Simonton - more later). Great game Rodgers!



And I do have to give some props to the Ducks who played way better than anyone thought they would. Johnathan Stewart was huge against a D that just doesn't allow people to run like that. He was clearly hobbled but still got it done. I hope we don't have to see him again next year. That QB Roper had a fine game. He threw the ball well and put a huge scare into us. Good game to the Ducks. You made this a classic Civil War and a very tough game.



Some last thoughts. I just want to thank Mike Riley for putting together a team and group of student athletes that all Beaver fans can be proud of. Say what you will, but this guy can not only coach, but he does it the right way. Gracious in defeat and victory, never give up, and professional. Its just more fun that way.

I happened to see the UCLA vs OSU game from 2000 on Fox Classics this week. And that was a great team, but they really didn't know how to act on the field. They were celebrating for being the 3rd guy in to help with a tackle. OK, I know we needed to change our attitude from losers to winners, but it was almost embarrassing seeing all that over the top stuff. And the personal fouls! Yikes!

These teams are just great kids. They celebrate with the best of them, but not for plays that they are supposed to make. They act like they've been there and that even keel attitude is the difference when you're down by a TD and need a big drive to win. I'm just so proud of the team the last few years. And I'm excited for next season!


Lastly, I have to give props to John Canzano. He got it right this time. He was the only one to mention the dichotomy between the coaches and the teams. A must read for Beaver fans.

It's the Beavers' moment, and they love living in it - The Oregonian, John Canzano

After the game, while the Ducks were using words such as "miscommunication" and "measurement" in their locker room, the Beavers were talking about "character" and "resolve" in the winning locker room. And maybe it always ends that way, but when you look at what Riley has done at Oregon State -- winning down the stretch three of the past four years -- it's probably worth Oregon noticing.

Go Beavs!

Civil War - What's that huge sucking sound?

It's coming in the direction of Eugene.

I can't wait to see what the stadium look like inside Autzen because if there are empty seats or an inordinate amount of Orange, then I will never let the Ducks live it down. KATU did a story about the tailgating in Eugene last night which was much lighter than normal. They attributed it to the weather. No. Its because many Ducks have jumped ship.

If the ducks fans are as subdued as this guy, then the noise won't be at its normal level. If the noise isn't a factor, the Beavs will win going away.


Go Beavers!

Great Anti-Oregon Pics

Scout.com has a great collection of Civil War pictures from past to present:

The 111th Civil War - Anti-duck pictures - BeaverFootball.com


Here's my favs:

Some Civil War options...get your tickets now!

So I've done a bit of research. It looks like if you don't want to tailgate yourself, then the best and probably cheapest option is the Park and Ride. It's only $3 / person and has shuttle stops all over Eugene. Including downtown where you could get some grub and drinks before the game. Or just ride in and go to the Moshofsky Center for some beer and food.

UO Football Shuttle

Another couple of options include parking near the Albertson's on Coburg Rd and walking to Autzen. Or for some tailgating action hit the grass lot about 1/4 mile east of the stadium on Centennial Blvd.

Not sure about any specific Beaver tailgators. I know that there isn't an OSU Alumni one.

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On another note, if you want to go to a Civil War in Autzen, this is the year! They are going on Craigslist in Portland and on eBay for really good prices. Go buy tickets and let's get as much Orange in Autzen as possible!

eBay Civil War Tickets


Craigslist Portland Civil War Tickets - 284 sets of 2-4 tickets

Craigslist Eugene Civil War Tickets - 392 sets of 2-4 tickets

Craigslist Corvallis Civil War Tickets - 42 sets of 2-4 tickets

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If you haven't seen this, then check out this great call from a ref last weekend:



We need to give the Ducks the business this weekend!

Go Beavers!

I'm going to my first Civil War at Autzen! Any suggestions?

It's Civil War Week!

This year is extra special for me. Not just because I have a new Beaver Fan who arrive a couple of weeks ago, but because I have tickets to the game! This will be my first football game at Autzen ever. And what a year to go. Ususally in odd years Beaver fans don't have much hope going into the Civil War game when its in Eugene. But this year is different. We are bidding to have our first Civil War winning streak since 1974!

Since it's my first time, I need to know where I can tailgate or drink/eat before the game that is reasonably Beaver friendly. There's no OSU Alumni Tailgator so I'm kind of at a loss. I'll check out Pure Orange as well, but if anyone has any suggestions from parking to pre-game to getting out of Eugene let me know!


As far as the game, I'll be updating with my thoughts. But the weekend couldn't have been much better. The Ducks getting shut out in LA and well, that's it. I really hope Yvenson can play in this game because that would really seal the deal for me.

As of today the weather for Saturday looks like it will be sunny and cold. That would be fine by me.

More as I get time throughout the week!

Go Beavers!

Beavers Blowout WSU

Wow. This is setting up nicely for the Civil War. And I think we may have a QB controversy again.

My favorite parts of the game were Rodgers, Sieverson, Polk, and Moevao all getting their first touchdowns as Beavers.

52!

Thanksgiving will be a lot easier after this week if you have Ducks in the family!

Beat the Ducks! Beat the Ducks! Beat the Ducks!