New Recruit Report: Jake Gelakoska

Jake Gelakoska is a big QB who can not only throw, but run. If he has 4.52-4.56 speed, he might be like a Jake Zabransky-type QB. His speed could be a major plus on roll-out plays and escaping sacks.

Apparently he's a good interview as well. I wouldn't doubt it given the amount of articles that Jake the Snake has in local newspapers.


ESPN Profile

Scout.com Profile

Ht: 6-4 Wt: 215 40: 4.52

Big, strong, athletic prospect who will get bigger. Raw with some mechanics, especially with dropping the ball down while on the move, but already has a quick release. Also needs to work on becoming more accurate, but is a very hard worker. Has very good straight-ahead speed, but no shake.

Rivals.com Profile

Ht: 6-foot-3 Wt: 206 lbs Forty: 4.65 secs Vertical: 24 inches

	Rushing					Passing							Receiving
Statistics	Att	Yds	Avg	TD		PA	PC	Pct	Yds	TD	Int		Yds
2005 (Jr.)	88	360	4.0	7		136	275	49.0	1,938	17	6		12
2006 (Sr.)	56	213	3.8	-		148	89	00.6	1,148	14	7		-

Q & A with Marshall Lobbestael and Jake Gelakoska - Everett Daily Herald (Aug 2006)

Senior QB pumped for season - Everett Daily Herald (Aug 2006)

Gelakoska drew attention from a number of different Division I schools. This summer Gelakoska decided to verbally accept a scholarship to play football at Oregon State.

"The coaches are great and it is a really good situation down in Corvallis," Gelakoska said. "I decided to commit."

Drawing up a perfect QB class - Seattle Times

Gelakoska talks! - Yahoo

2007 Northwest Nuggets - Tacoma News Tribune

Wolfpack seeks balanced attack - Everett Daily Herald

He can't get enough football, now - Everett Daily Herald (2005)

Player Stats for: 3 Jake Gelakoska

New Recruit Report: Ryan McCants

Ryan McCants is a big running back out of Corona, California. He is a Steven Jackson-sized running back at 6-foot-2, 230. He's not quite as fast as Steven at 4.6 in the 40, but he will run over people, that's for sure. Won't need a fullback in goal line situations.




Scout.com Profile

Ht: 6-2 Wt: 230 40: 4.6

Rivals.com Profile

Ht: 6-foot-2
Wt: 230 lbs
Forty: 4.6 secs
GPA: 2.7
SAT: 1410 

	Rushing					Receiving			Defense
Statistics	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Lg		No	Yds		Tck	Sck
2005	224	1,439		13			3	73		50	2
2006 (Sr.)	112	780	7.0	9	71		-	-		-	-

Weekly Spotlight - Ryan McCants

OSU INSIDE SLANT - USA Today

Oregon State Coaches the difference in McCants' decision

Beavers excited about signings

Must read article about the Beaver coaches and recruiting

If you missed this article and are interested in how the OSU Coaches go about recruiting, read this. It's a great read in terms of recruiting strategy and about some of the new recruits and the coaches reactions to some of them.

Coaches sit tight on big day - Portland Tribune

At the top are the premier recruits.

“You have a couple of those, but you usually can’t spend a lot of time on them because the chances of getting them aren’t good,” Langsdorf says. “Then there are some middle to upper guys it’s going to be hard to get, but you have a chance for them, and there are more of those. Then you’ll have a baseline of guys you think you can get, but they have to be good enough to play in the Pac-10.

“You have to distribute your time and resources properly. If you waste too much time on the top guys you’re not going to get, you’re not going to get the middle or baseline foundation guys. There’s not an exact science to it. You have a group of guys you feel real good about, a group you’re not so sure, and you try to get the best of them. If there are four quarterbacks you like, for instance, and No. 4 is good enough, sometimes you decide to go after him. You don’t know if No. 1 is going to be there at the end.”

Cavanaugh says he tries to watch each of his prospects in person.

“I get out in the spring, when you get one academic evaluation and one athletic evaluation,” he says. “What you try to do is find a time to get to his school where he is practicing, so you can see him run and go through drills. If you’re the area scout, you’ve seen the kid, you pretty much know what he can do. Sometimes other coaches don’t like him, but all they’re seeing is (game video). The area coach knows the kid the best.”

Cavanaugh says he tends to go after the cream of the crop.

“We were in the dance with a couple of kids who went to SC,” he says. “It was early, and we got out of the dance quick. But I think our reputation is rising. More kids are considering us every year.”

Class of 2007: Colby Prince

Colby Prince is a local kid who looks to have all the tools to be a great pass-catching tight end for OSU in the future. From the video on the official site, he looked more like a wide reciever than a tight end.

He committed pretty early, choosing OSU over the Ducks.

Scout.com Profile

Rivals.com profile

Prince a rare mid-valley find for Beavers - G-T - article about his verbal committment.

Prince is officially a Beaver - Albany Democrat-Herald

“I’ll give you some things to remember,” he said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Prince, at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, was signed as a tight end.

He had 48 catches for 878 yards and 11 touchdowns this past season.

[...]

Nyquist said he heard from Oregon State’s coaches that Prince has the best receiving skills of any tight end in the program.

“We’re expecting big things from Colby,” he said.

Extra work pays off for Bulldogs - G-T - article on West Albany in the state playoffs. Prince prominently interviewed.

Couple of interesting mentions on OregonLive from old West Albany football season previews:

2005 Season Preview
2006 Football Preview

5A All-state football seletions

Signing away the state - OregonLive HS Sports Blog

OSU New Recruit Report: David Ross

Another BIG signing for Oregon State was David Ross, cornerback, from Dominguez in LA. He was all set to go to Nebraska, then pulled a 180 and committed with OSU. He is listed as a 4-star recruit by many services and will probably compete for a spot right away.

"He's a natural, he has long arms, a long lean body and is very physical." — Dominguez DB coach Martin French

Sounds like the kind of CB we like at OSU.

Rivals.com David Ross Profile

Scout.com Profile

Nebraska coach Bill Callahan complaining about losing Ross to the Beavers

Mike Riley Believes in New Beavs

Oregon State's New Recruits - Reggie Dunn

So far we have 33 LOIs for next year including the JC guys that may have already signed.

The OSU page listing the new recruits has been reorganized a bit and is easy to read as well as linking to a few articles about this class.

I'm going to try to spotlight a few of these new players and see if we can't learn a little bit more about them as we march towards spring football.


One of the biggest "gets" in this class is Reggie Dunn. He has rediculous speed (4.35 and apparently has been clocked at 4.28!) and is a 4 star guy according to many services. Here's what I could dig up on Reggie.

Rivals profile

Scout.com Profile

OREGON STATE SIGNS DUNN!!

Cool Video with Reggie in there somewhere (#9 I think)

I couldn't find any game recaps, only old recruiting updates. Bummer.

Welcome Reggie Dunn!

Commits as of 12:40pm

Well, we're probably about done with new players coming in. Here's the breakdown:

28 Letters of Intent

Offense: 14

QB - 1
RB - 2
WR - 4
OL - 5
TE - 2
K - 0


Defense: 14

DL - 3
DE - 3
LB - 3
CB - 3
S - 2
P - 0


That's an even split. Some notes, we got one long snapper who is listed as an O-Lineman. Our goals are always getting good lineman and we definitely got numbers there on both sides of the ball. And we got at least a couple recruits at every other position except QB. Assuming everyone qualifies of course.


To see a list of the Bios go here:

Football Letter of Intent Central

Football Letters of Intent Day!

Its finally here! Time to see who OSU got for football this coming season!

Go here now to see who we have so far:

Football Letter of Intent Central - OSU


Here's a list of projected signees:

OSU commitments (as of yesterday) - The Portland Tribune

And we are hoping to get two big potential signings: Reggie Dunn and Omar Bolden.

Should be fun!


Go Beavs!

Time to be the Florida Marlins?

If you are Jay John, is it time to play for the future? I say yes.

I think what happened over the weekend is what should continue for the rest of the season. Punt on 2006-07. Lets get our young guys ready for next season. Play Seth Tarver, Calvin Hampton, and Ruland Shaftenaar more. Keep playing Josh Tarver and Marcel Jones. Challenge the rest of the guys to play better or they sit.

Could the fans let this happen? I don't know, but I want to see what next season might look like now.

Is the competition in the Pac-10 too good for our Men's Hoops coach?

Recently I linked to a Sporting News article that identified the two worst programs in big time college basketball. One was Northwestern who has NEVER been to the NCAA tournament and the other was Oregon State. I think Northwestern is the clear winner, but its hard to argue against the fact that we haven't been great since about 1990. Most of us have lived through the past, so lets look at the future. Can Jay John get this program over the hump?

From what I have read we may keep Jay for at least another season purely for monetary reasons. Plus, with the addition of C.J. Giles there is a lot of hope for next season.


What I like about Jay John:

* He tells it like it is. As far as I can tell, he is honest to the fans and the players (no first hand knowledge there, but no evidence against it).

* He seems to be a players coach. He has been able to recruit better players over time and keep everyone happy and here.

* He coaches an uptempo game. At least compared to his predecessors McKay and Payne. He preaches playing up tempo is the way to attract high quality players and recruits.

* He's the first coach to take us to postseason since we got really bad. Hey, 2004 was fun even if it was the NIT.

* He looks to Europe to find quality players that we may not have been able to find here. He's clearly trying to find Pac-10 players wherever he can find them.

* I have the feeling that he would be a great coach with great players. Of course who wouldn't I guess.


My concerns about Jay:

* He hasn't recruited a truly big name player. The possible program changing player. Can he do it? I'm not sure I count C.J. Giles or David Lucas because they basically fell into his lap. Not that that is a bad thing.

* I've have questions as to how good he is at game management and X's and O's. I have a feeling he is learning on the job. But he has gotten better and will admit when he made a mistake.

* He may be outclassed in terms of coaching prominence in the Pac-10. This is the one that concerns me most going forward. Lets look at this further.


Coaching in the Pac-10 is Great

There's an article about the quality of the Pac-10 in the Tuscon Citizen that talks about how the Pac-10 is great this year because of the high level of coaches that have come to coach in the league (Gimino: Coaches make Pac-10 best - Tuscon Citizen). The quotes below are pulled from that article.

No question that the level of coaching in the Pac-10 has risen. First, look at the quality of Pac-10 coaches that have been hired over the last 2-3 years. Ben Howland, Herb Sendeck, Dick Bennett/Tony Bennett, and Tim Floyd. All established head coaches with success elsewhere in big time leagues.

"The big thing in the Pac-10 is that when I first came here, it was a case of when there were openings, a lot of times they were filled by assistants from good programs," Olson said.
"Now, we're getting head coaches from good, winning programs."

Then look at some of the existing coaches that have had success for a while: Lute Olsen, Lorenzo Romar, Ben Braun, and even Ernie Kent. Those 8 coaches all have more clout than Jay when walking into a room with a recruit. They have all taken multiple teams to the NCAA tournament and had success recruiting major players. The only one I don't see as really have much of a name is the Stanford coach, Trent Johnson. But he clearly has a huge advantage by way of the university.

"The league is tough right now," Olson said. "And from what I've seen with the recruiting, it is going to continue to be tough."

So Jay John is arguably the least known and one of the least experienced coach in the Pac-10 in terms of head coaching experience. And he coaches at a place with great history but pretty bad recent history. Let's just say the odds aren't in his favor.


The future

So what do we do? I think Coach John is doing an OK job chipping away and getting better slowly but surely. He has had a winning season which is great and was a ton of fun. But now do you need a hoops equivalent of Dennis to get us over the hump? Or do we go the Pat Casey route and stay the course? I would love to see Jay turn it around. And hey, I think if you give Jay 10 years, he will have this program turned around. But is that feasible in Men's Basketball when turnarounds happen instantly elsewhere?

I know what Beaver Nation thinks because they are making their opinions known all over the message boards and airwaves. The vocal ones want Jay out.

I don't know the answer, but I know one thing. If we can't hire a coach with a profile on par with the rest of the high profile coaches in the Pac-10, then I'd rather just keep Jay John and see what happens next season.

O State Ballaz are back

I wonder what new song Mitch Canham and crew will create for 2007?

I just stumbled upon this website paying tribute to the National Champions and the "O State Ballaz" from last season. Check it out:

O State Ballaz Website

They are starting off strong this season so far and a lot of the newer players are doing well already. The pitching was solid, the hitting was solid. Great first weekend by the baseball team. Georgia is next and that should be a great early season matchup to see where we are.

Go Beavs!

Beavers Baseball Previews

The college baseball season has officially started and the Beavs are 1-0 and haven't allow a hit yet!

Looking for more information on Beaver baseball?

Here are some previews from around the web:


Beavers Back, Minus Some Big Arms :: Oregon State looking to repeat as champs without big contributors - CSTV.com

Beavers To Take The Field As Defending National Champs - CSTV.com

Oregon State begins defense of CWS title; Rice, Miami among those in Omaha mix - SI.com

New season, new look for national champs - Register-Guard

Shaping into arms race - The Oregonian


I think that this team could be very good. Each of the last two years we've had at least two solid pitchers, a solid closer, and 2-3 unknown hitters step up and be really good. Gillespe, Bill Rowe, Andy Jenkins, Kunda, and Darwin Barney as a freshman were all pleasant surprises that really drove us to win. Oh and good defense and aggressive baserunning will be a must.

So who will be the unknowns or backups to break out this season? I'm calling Mike Lissman, John Wallace, and either Ogata or Wong to become offensive studs this season. Clearly Canham and Barney will be good or perhaps great, but that's no surprise. Pitching wise I think Eddie Kunz needs to step up a be the closer in all senses of the word and someone needs to step up and be a solid #2 behind Mike Stutes. Perhaps Anton Maxwell or Daniel Turpen? Or even better, one of the new freshman pitchers. Who knows, but it should be fun!

Recruiting update from Cliff

LOI signing day is fast approaching! In 2 weeks we will know who's in and who's out for football next season.

Cliff Kirkpatrick has a great update on his blog and it is worth a read:

More recruits on board, UPDATED II - Cliff Kirkpatrick Gazette-Times Blog

Robbie Findley drafted high by the MLS's LA Galaxy

OSU soccer forward Robbie Findley is playing with Becks.

The MLS had their amatuer draft recently and former OSU star was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 2nd round (16th overall). This is the second consecutive year an OSU player was drafted by the MLS. Findley is going to the LA Galaxy and will play with none other than David Beckham when he comes over from Real Madrid in the summer. Not only that, but he will join former OSU star Alan Gordon on the Galaxy.

Well done Robbie!

The only question remains, how could the Beavers not be better the last few years with 2 of the best players in the Pac-10?


Here's some more info:

Findley Taken by L.A. Galaxy - OSUBeavers.com

He is the third Oregon State player (and the highest drafted) to be taken in the MLS SuperDraft. Alan Gordon was taken by the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2004 (sixth round, 53rd overall). Findley and Gordon played together at Oregon State in 2003 and will be reunited with the Galaxy. Ryan Johnson was taken by Real Salt Lake in 2006 (third round, 26th overall), and he now plays for the Chicago Fire.

Findley was the first player from the Pacific-10 Conference chosen in 2007 and one of three taken by the Galaxy. Other Pac-10 players drafted were Ty Harden of Washington (2nd round, 23rd overall, Los Angeles), Tally Hall of San Diego State (4th round, 44th overall, Los Angeles) and Eric Ebert of California (4th round, 52nd overall, Houston).

Beckham Dominates Talk at MLS Draft - Associated Press

The Galaxy traded down twice in the first round and didn't select until picking Oregon State forward Robbie Findley as the 16th overall selection, the third pick in the second round.

"I've been looking up to him since I was a little kid," Findley said. "He's been one of the best players in the world. I've idolized him and now to get a chance to play with him, it will certainly help me learn the game and hopefully it will raise the level of the league."

Galaxy Get Top Forward, Two Partial Allocations - SoCal Soccer News

MLS: A fine day for a draft - Soccer America (Findley gets a mention)

Robbie Findley Should be Drafted Early on Friday by the MLS - Corvallis Soccer Blog

MLS: SuperDraft - highlight or sidelight? - Soccer America (Findley gets a mention)

An outsiders view of the Beavs hoops team: Greg Hansen of the Arizona Daily Star

I have yet to see a local media opinion or editorial about the Beavers and Jay John, but here is a good one from Tuscon. Of course Jay is from Tuscon and coached at Arizona for 4 years so they know him pretty well down there.

Opinion by Greg Hansen: It is difficult to watch John, true good guy, suffer at OSU - Arizona Daily Star

Here are some highlights:

In his fifth season at Oregon State, John has tested not only his patience but that of the Beaver basketball community. After a promising 2005 season in which OSU went to a postseason tournament (the NIT) for the first time in 15 years, John's young team is barely treading water, a shooting-challenged team that is superior in Pac-10 talent only to Arizona State.

Watching John's team struggle is unpleasant.

He is a good guy among good guys, and no one outside of John's immediate family could have been happier than UA fans last year when Oregon State extended his contract through 2010-11. He desperately needs the time; the Beavers have been the league's worst basketball franchise since Gary Payton left in 1990.

But you worry about OSU's administration and its capacity for patience; the league is so good that it's difficult to see Oregon State climbing over anyone this or next year.
It is likely that John over scheduled this club, playing LSU, Nevada and at Hawaii in the preseason. Had the Beavers been given Oregon's ridiculously soft schedule, they would have come in to Tucson at 12-4 or thereabouts.

John has also been the victim of some bad luck. The rotating Pac-10 schedule had his club opening against 15-1 Oregon, 14-1 UCLA and 13-4 USC, all at home, all while OSU students were away on winter break.

There is great circumstantial evidence that OSU is much better than its 8-9 record. That will not make Beaver fans any happier.

Well, that about sums it up in a few paragraphs. That said, it's going to be tough for the Beavs to get close to 13-14 wins this season unless the young guys grow up fast.

"Do we settle (for this)?'' John asked Thursday. "No. But that's where we are.''

Five of OSU's top six players return next year. The Beavers this week announced they have accepted former Kansas center C.J. Giles into school — Giles has experienced off-court legal issues in Kansas — and he instantly becomes the leading player at OSU since Corey Benjamin and Brent Barry a decade ago.

Every Pac-10 team recruits impact players — even ASU, with incoming James Harden — and Giles gives the Beavers a chance to fight back.

[...]

"This staff is coming off a four-year period in which we won more games (at OSU) than any coaching staff (at OSU) since Gary Payton,'' the Salpointe Catholic grad said Thursday.

[...]

Meanwhile, given his history as a workaholic, John will go back to the shop and try to get the Beavers to win 13 or 14 games this year.

On Thursday, OSU fell behind 10-0 three minutes into the game. John tapped his shoulders, signaling for a timeout. Stage fright. Thereafter, the Beavers played Arizona to a one-point game.

But, alas, in three minutes, too much damage had been done.

Such has been life for the Beavers this year.

I admit, it's going to be extra tough to compete now that the top 8 teams are actually pretty good. Who will we beat this year? Maybe ASU twice. Maybe we can upset Cal, Stanford, or UW at home. Can we win on the road? I don't know. I just hope it doesn't get too ugly this season.

Time to weigh in on Oregon State Basketball

Oregon State Basketball. Anyone feel some Deja Vu? To me it feels about the same as after the WSU game in the football season on the boards and blogs. I don't think people are motivated enough to put up a website, but there is a general unhappy feeling about the hoops team these days. There's a big difference. I don't think this team will make that kind of turnaround this season. Next season, I'm a bit more optimistic about. But not this season.

I have the weekend plan and all the Thursday Pac-10 games as well, so I've seen quite a few games this year and the last few years. I'm not sure if I've seen less energy in Gill since at least the Ritchie McKay era...if not the end of Jimmy's coaching tenure. I mean even against the Ducks and Bruins which were fairly close games it felt lame in Gill. Maybe it was because the students weren't back in town yet. I dunno. All I know is that the fans haven't really been doing much to help these kids get excited about playing at home. I guess people see the writing on the wall.

Of course it doesn't help that the team is struggling. I can't say that I didn't see it coming. I didn't think we'd be very good this season. Way too young. No experienced guards at all. That's a recipe for disaster. To me this was a rebuilding year. I know, I know, rebuilding from what? Last year I think we should have been better. Maybe another NIT bid or at least close to it. Especially with the way Sasa Cuic turned into the man on offense. But all of the studs from 2004 turned back into pumpkins or got hurt. That was an unlucky year for Jay. Unfortunately, this year was always going to be the rebuilding/down year.

However, until last week I wasn't sure what the future looked like. Was there some life left in the team? Could Jay recruit good enough players to come to Corvallis? Once I saw the C.J. Giles transfer, I perked up. Maybe it's the 10-4 football season high talkin', but it feels like maybe there is a future. What does the future look like? Hell if I know, but I have this Deja Vu feeling again. This time it's not related to the football team. The 2004-05 season keeps popping up in my head. I think that next year could turn out to be like 04-05.

I'm probably smoking some orange colored crack, but could next season really be like 2004-05? There are some parallels. The most obvious is the Nick DeWitz - C.J. Giles parallel. Another is the fact that there will be some decent senior leadership and proven scoring (Lucas vs. Jones/Cuic). Cuic was really good last season and if he can find his form again this year and improve next year, watch out. We have a decent point guard who can score (Hurd/Fontenet vs. Tarver). I think Josh Tarver has all of the tools to be one of the best at OSU. I'm really impressed with his outside shooting so far (now about the TOs...).

So what are we missing? Well, we need a shooting guard BAD. Chris Stephens was undersized, but he helped open everything up for the big men down low. I don't really see Wes Washington filling that role. Jack McGillis is more of a forward. Maybe Angelo will start growing into that this season. I love his effort and attitude. My guess is that one of the freshman will do it. Either Zach, Calvin Haynes, or Lathan Wallace will be a big surprise next season.

There will certainly be more talent on the floor and a lot more experience. Can Jay do it? Can he build the team into a winner again? I think he has to. His job depends on it. We have to go to the NIT next year. The Pac-10 is tougher now. If I continue to see growth this season, then I'm OK with giving Jay John through next season to see what happens. At this point I'd give anything for another 2004. That was a hell of a lot of fun. If you can't be great, then at least entertain me with some upsets and fun wins. What were we? 8-1 at home? That was fun.




On a more recent note, that wasn't a bad showing against UA. Sure, they got sloppy at the end but we made some plays and played with heart. And the guys started to look and play better. I think Jay has to play these young guys to get them to improve. And we need to drive and dish more. Oh and enough with the 3's! Gotta get a win in Phoenix.

Reser Stadium Phase 2 Construction

Not much football going on since the Sun Bowl. Now we're marching toward signing day. Hopefully with the huge season we had we can get some great recruits and lay the foundation for the next few seasons. Especially now that we are the premier Pac-10 football team in the Northwest (Ken Goe, Bud Withers). At least for the next 8 months.

The only thing happening lately football-wise is the Phase 2 expansion of Reser. It's looking pretty flat. You can see a time lapse of the progress on the OSU webcam site here:

Reser Stadium Phase 2 expansion time lapse

I went ahead and snapped some photos from ground level:

Hoops Civil War

The Beavs started off really well and really played good nearly all game except for one 7 minute stretch in the first half. A 3-point loss after being down by as much as 9 in the second half is a good showing.

Here's a couple pics I snapped with my phone...



Marcel Jones for the dunk! It was an exciting finish, but not the result we wanted.


Here's the final shot from Josh Tarver. An off balance 3, but we had to get a shot up quick. He needs to practice getting his shot off the dribble. He'll need that in the future.

UCLA next. That's gonna be a tough one.

Go Beavs!

10 wins

What an amazing game. Perfect end to the season. 10 wins. That evokes memories of the Fiesta Bowl year. Sure, the 2000 team was better but they were steamrolling people at the end. This year's team had a bunch of close games that they had to nut up and make some plays to win. When you're in the final four of the Pontiac play of the year voting, you made some plays.

This season felt almost more euphoric than the Fiesta Bowl year. In fact, 2006 was about as good of a year as you could have if you are a Beaver fan. We won the baseball NCAA national championship. We went to the world series in softball. The gymnastics team hosted the national championships and actually made it to nationals. The women's hoops team made the WNIT. Pretty good year. Oh, and the Ducks fell back to the earth and crash landed on football this year :).

10 wins baby!

Game Day: It's time for the Sun Bowl!

Game day!

I'm going to watch the Beavs in HD for the first time ever. Are you ready for the game?

Everybody seems pretty confident that the Beavs will win today. ESPN, the local papers, and almost everyone outside of Missouri. As long as the Beavs don't listen to those people, we should be alright.

On paper, the Tigers look tough. They only allow 172 ypg through the air and have 12 ints. Their offense is really good too. 415 ypg is nothing to slouch at. They are definitely explosive on offense.

Luckily there are a few things going the Beavers way. The allow almost 140 yards rushing. They don't have a ton of sacks. They have lost 3 of their last 4 games and 4 of 6 in the last half of the season. Plus, they have two key players ineligible and have had the flu running through bowl practice.

The Beavs have been very business-like during the last half of the season and have a great attitude going into this game. Plus, they have a major goal to still accomplish - win 10 games.

This bodes well for the Beavs. My prediction is the Beavs win 34-21.

Go Beavs!

Whoa. What happened to the Ducks

Come on Ducks, that was pathetic. I hope the Beavs watched that game and learned that they DON'T want to do that.

How did the Ducks lose 38-8 to BYU? Yikes.

Should be an extra great Christmas for those of us Beaver fans who have Duck fans in the family :)


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Riley not taking ASU job

Well, I would have been VERY surprised is Coach Riley took the ASU job. I don't think he was really ever a serious candidate for that job, but it was something to keep the beat writers busy.

Turns out Dennis Erickson will be coaching the Sun Devils for the next few years. That could be a big get for ASU, but I don't think it means ASU can dial in a trip to the National Championship in the next few years.

The job I was always concerned about was the Alabama job. Since Coach Riley went to 'Bama, I figured he'd take a serious look at that position. But since he turned them down a few years ago, maybe he burned his bridges at that school. My guess is Mike will be at OSU a long time.

Go Beavs!

YouTube and the Beavs

There's a lot of YouTubin' in Beaver Nation. Search "OSU Beavers" or "Oregon State Beavers" on YouTube and there's a bunch of great stuff.

Here's a great one from a Beaver fan:



Link

A little groggy, but happy

That was a late one last night, but it was worth every minute. Great win and another game that the Beavers hang on when I thought they were just possibly going to let the game slip out of their hands. Great win and great for recruiting too.

Some thoughts:

* Glad to see Joe Newton get involved in the offense in a big way. I'm hoping for another big bowl performance from him.

* Jeremy Perry was playing the game with his hair on fire. This was his Civil War game. I hope his knee is OK or at least he can get it ready for spring practice.

* If you listened to the ESPN announcers, then you probably didn't hear much about the Beavs. Their love affair with Hawaii was grating. If I have to hear about how the Hawaii recievers are taught to catch with their hands one more time I'm gonna hurl. Or was about that Colt guy and his accuracy.

* All in all that offense is very scary. Especially when you have a 295 lbs fullback and a 250 lbs running back ready to take shovel passes and run over every safety and cornerback in front of them. Those big guys were almost unfair.

* Game balls to Matt Moore, Gerrard Lawson, Jeremy Perry, Dorian Smith, and Sabby Piscitelli. Those guys made a big difference last night.


Good win Beavs!

Hawaii is Talking the Talk

Looks like June Jones and the U of H are mixing up OSUs over on the islands. Say it with me OREGON STATE not OHIO STATE.

June Jones: Bring on the best - starbulletin.com

At his weekly news conference yesterday, Jones addressed a comment he made after Saturday's victory over Purdue about being able to beat top-ranked and undefeated Ohio State.

[...]

Hawaii (10-2) leads the nation in scoring, total offense and passing offense. UH quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison -- not known for hyperbole -- said the Warriors offense "might be the best ever in college football."

Confidence is not lacking over there. But are they serious? Best offense ever? Beat Ohio State? Come on now. You've clearly lost 2 games this season and Ohio State hasn't lost yet. First they better be thinking about the other OSU. That would be Oregon State. I have a feeling that many Hawaii-based players on Oregon State's roster may think this is as big as the Civil War.




BTW, is this their RB? Wow, Nate Ilaoa is a big dude. He's gonna run over someone in our secondary at least once.



Clearly we're the underdog in this game for good reason. But I don't think we can count out the Beavs yet. If we can slow them down at all, then we have a chance. Plus, I think we will be in the right mindset in this game. There's too many Hawaii guys on the team to let people have a let down. At least that's what I hope will happen.


On a side note, did anyone else feel like the media was focusing on the Ducks a little too much after the Civil War. It's almost like they were surprised the Beavers won. Or maybe the Beavers didn't win, the Ducks lost. B.S. OSU dominated the first half and probably outplayed them in the 3rd quarter. Plus, the Ducks were a poorly blown whistle away from a fumble recovery for a TD which would have eliminated any chance of a comeback by the Ducks. Plus, Matt Moore engineered a great drive to get the game winning FG. Yet, all the talk is about Bullotti and the Ducks. Whatever. Give the Beavs their props. They are the best team in the state this season.

Reser Stadium Phase 2 Construction Starting Soon

Phase 2 of the Raising Reser project is underway. Soon the South end zone will be torn down and then rebuilt into a nice end cap to Reser.

Apparently the Reser web cam will be moved to show the contruction over the winter. Check it out here:

Reser Stadium, OSU Webcams, Oregon State University

A Game for the Ages!

Turkey on Thursday, Duck on Friday.

Great game. Lots of drama. Maybe too much...

The Beaver defense held, but it was close. Just a great, classic Civil War.

Go Beavs!

Oregon Uniforms aren't that bad...

What's so wrong about this?

OK, that's pretty ugly.

More here:

2006 hole photo review

Reser Construction, Phase 2 images

We have our first look at Reser: Phase 2. Thanks to Chris who sent me a link with these images of an artists rendering of what Phase 2 will look like.

I hope that this really keeps the noise in the stadium and makes for a louder gameday experience. And I can't wait for the huge jumbotron. Biggest in the Pac-10!

Click on the images for a larger view.

More Info on Reser II:

New AD Report and a key Measure on the ballot for OSU - September 27, 2006

Phase II Stadium Changes - August 9th, 2006

Best Civil War Ever: 1998

Need something to get excited about?! How about reliving the exctasy of the 1998 Civil War! That was the best in my memory. Excitement, drama, and the good guys won.

Watch it here:



Who will be the Civil War hero this year? I'm calling a Sammy Stroughter punt return for a TD. Sam-my! Sam-my!

I can't wait for Friday!

Two great OSU Civil War games being replayed this week

I love the fact that the Beavers have a good relationship with FSN.  The Ducks get very little regional play from Fox Sports (no review show, no previews, and no classic games) and that's fine by me.  Because that means during Civil War week we get only the best classic Beaver victories in recent memory. 

Set your TiVos or VCRs for these two classic replays.  Heck play them throughout Thanksgiving to get ready for the game.

 

TUESDAY, November 21st
7:30 pm
FSN Classics: "1998: Oregon at Oregon State" From Nov. 21, 1998

This was the game that put Mike Riley in San Diego and led to the first winning season in 28 years.

 

THURSDAY, November 23rd
12:00 pm
FSN Classics: "2000: Oregon at Oregon State" From Nov. 18, 2000

The penultimate game for a season that lead many Beaver fans to believe they could die happy.  The Fiesta Bowl was amazing and it was like a Beaver love fest.  Only the Rose Bowl could top it.

Beat the Ducks! Beat the Ducks!

That was the chant that the fans had for the Beavers football players after the comfortable win in Palo Alto yesterday. The Beavs are bowl eligible, but all that matters is beating the Ducks next week!

Quick Review of the Stanford game:

The Beavs started off playing uninspired and flat. The Trees scored like they were Boise St. and that woke everyone up. The Beavers proceeded to run the ball down Stanford's throat and pressured their QB the rest of the day. Game over, Beavs win 30-7. Nice win.

Now on to the Ducks.

They proceeded to get blown out by Arizona without their best QB in for most of the game. Turns out they didn't need a QB as the UA RB Henry did his best Julian Peterson impression and ran over the Ducks all day. He was so good they didn't need to pass.

IT'S CIVIL WAR WEEK!

The only thing that sucks about having the game on the Friday after Thanksgiving is that I can't stick it to Ducks fans in my family after we win. But after that loss to Arizona, I should have plenty of ammo. I actually found myself watching the end of their game more than our game (with a BIG smile on my face the whole time).

If you need some more ammo, I've dug up the old links to some Duck jokes:

The Duck Hate Page
Duck Jokes: Dan Norz

We're winning!! Civil War Blood Drive





After another wild day in the Pac-10, here's the latest standings:

Team           Conf. W-L    Overall W-L
Southern Cal.     7-1           9-1
California        6-2           8-3
Oregon St.        5-3           7-4
Oregon            4-4           7-4
Arizona           4-4           6-5
UCLA              4-4           6-5
Washington St.    4-5           6-6
Arizona St.       3-5           6-5
Washington        3-6           5-7
Stanford          1-7           1-10

Beat the Ducks and we are in sole possesion of 3rd in the Pac-10! Come on Beavs! BEAT THE DUCKS!

Huge weekend of games

This weekend is probably the best college football watching weekend this year. Which OSU will you watch at 12:30?

The OSU vs. U of M game is huge. If it's anything like last season, it will be a great game. Then you've got the extra story of the Bo Schembechler story. I don't think it's possible to overhype this game. I think Ohio St. will win because of two factors: Troy Smith and being at home. Troy Smith will win the Heisman this weekend with a good performance. However...(not so fast my friends!) I have this nagging feeling in the back of my head that Michigan may play even better now that they have lost Bo. Will they win it for Bo? I have a feeling that they may come out really strong because of that. I wouldn't have given U of M a chance, but now I think they have a chance.

Cal and USC. It's the game we've been waiting for all season in the Pac-10. I'm pulling for USC because I want to be the only team with a win over the Trojans. Other than that, this game is a hard one to call. But I know it will be a good game.

Oregon State vs. Stanford. This should be a win for OSU. After a loss last week there should be no lack of motivation for the Beavs. I can't believe they are televising this game. It must have been scheduled before the season. I just hope the Beavs take care of it early so we can watch the big game (OSU/U of M).

Go Beavs!

Beavers Lose in the Rose Bowl

What a lame game. Total dud. The Beavs played OK defense and OK offense, but they didn't do a couple of the keys to victory. Too many TOs. Not enough pressure on the QB.

What could have been a great season now becomes a fight for a good season.

Is this the bizaro week in the Pac-10 or what?

UCLA game and a season snapshot

I was checking out the Beavers statistics comparing last season to this season and was a bit surprised to find that we're averaging 50 ypg less than we were a year ago. Yet our scoring is up by a point a game. The reasons are probably fairly obvious why that is. First, we are turning the ball over less. Second, we have more pressure on the QB. Third, our defense is better. Fourth, our punt returns are way better.

Here's the comparison (2005: 11 games, 2006: 9 games)

                     2005    2006
Interceptions         23       8  
Fumbles Lost          13      10

Sacks                 22      32
Tackles for Loss      81      78
Pass Defense        298.7   205.2
Run Defense         108.0    95.9
Total Defense       406.7   301.1

Punt Returns TDs       0       3

Well, those numbers are shocking. 100 less ypg allowed? 10 more sacks in two less games? 15 less interceptions? That's a great turnaround.

That's what the Beavers need to continue to do to beat the Bruins. No turnovers, strong defense, and pressure on the QB.

The Bruins will be fighting from the beginning. I think it will be a tough game. But winnable.

Go Beavs!

Beavers Men's Hoops Win First Game

I went to the Oregon State Men's basketball game last night against Portland and I figured I'd respond to Matt's request for some thoughts on the game.

I was a bit surprised by Seth Tarver starting at shooting guard. I thought Wes was the starter, but I glad he got so much playing time. I think Seth is just a bigger guard and gives them more flexibility defensively.

Early on the team relied heavily on Sasa Cuic to score inside. Other than his fitness, he's in good form already. They did a good job getting offensive rebounds and converting on those. Josh Tarver was confident and looked good. He looked to score more than Hurd ever did and is big so he can guard and rebound like Hurd. He did have a few unforced turnovers, but they were mostly when he was trying to make plays.

Midway through the first half they had a nice stretch of steals and layups while applying a half press. Overall the first half wasn't that impressive, but OK.

The second half was much better as the D started to clamp down and they Beavers were stealing and fastbreaking a lot. I think they can do that a bit this year if they really concentrate on dominating on defense. They should matchup well with most teams defensively. Of course UP couldn't throw the ball in the ocean in the second half and the Beavs were rebounding pretty well. So they pulled away and probably could have won by an even bigger margin if they played better in the first half.

Cuic will be the go to guy. He is the #1 option clearly on offense. I think Jeffers could help inside a bit more but Cuic will get 75% of the looks inside. Marcel was almost non-existent in the first half, then got going in the second with fast breaks, offensive rebounds, and a long shot or two. He may be our solid #2 option.

Josh Tarver will be a good supporting scorer IMO. He looks confident and looks for his shot. And he can shoot the three. He won't hit seven 3's in a game anytime soon, but he's got a good shot. He hit a 3 off the dribble that was sweet. Seth looked a little tentative on offense. A non-threat. But he had flashes. He moves and looks like a player so I think as he gets experience, he will become a threat. Looked good defensively and pretty good passing too. He has a high basketball IQ from what I could tell.

The good thing is that the bench looks as good as its been in a long time. Jack McGillis, Wesley Washington, and Angelo Tsakarakis can all provide instant offense. The new freshman, Shaaftenar, was big and moved well. Not a threat offensively, but he played well offensively and seems to know the game well. Oh, I was impressed with the new backup point guard Silvar. He was quick and looks injects energy into the game when he gets in. I think he could will be good. Calvin Hampton didn't get as much PT, but had a great move inside at the end of the game. I think he should play more. I was disappointed Liam didn't get in, but he'll probably play as the weekend goes on. Unfortunately, I won't see any of those games.

Well, that's it. No season predictions yet, but we should be competitve. The burden will be on our young guards to get the ball to the bigs and play off them when they are guarded well. If they improve quickly, it could be a surprisingly good season. I'm hoping for better than last year.

Go Beavs

New rules make cut plays out of games

I don't know if anyone noticed, but games have been considerably shorter this season. I actually don't think that it's such a bad thing. TV games last year dragged on to nearly 4.5 hours last season. This season I don't think we've hit the 3.5 hour mark. The new rules definitely shorten games. The question is, how do they affect games. And more importantly, how do they affect the Beavers?

One site has done a study of games from this year in comparison to last season. Here are the results:

The Losses Continue to Pile Up : The Wizard of Odds

Overall...G........Plays......Plays/G....Min.......Min/G......Time/G 2005......488.....82324.....168.70.....97698*....200.61.....3:20:37 2006......531.....80996.....152.53.....99069.....186.57.....3:06.34 * missing game duration of Toledo-Ball State 10/15/2005
Year......G........Points.....Pts/G
2005......488.....25494.....52.24
2006......531.....25069.....47.21

Year.......G.....1H Pts....1H Pts/G...2H Pts....2H Pts/G...OT
2005......488...12842.....26.32......12315.....25.23.......337
2006......531...12985.....24.45......11755.....22.14.......329

Here are the shortest games from Week 9:
Buffalo-Boston College: 2:25
Arkansas State-Florida Atlantic: 2:26
Wyoming-Texas Christian: 2:39
Minnesota-Ohio State: 2:50
Auburn-Mississippi: 2:50

Here are the longest games from Week 9:
Ohio-Kent State: 3:41
Texas-Texas Tech: 3:35
Washington State-UCLA: 3:34
Florida-Georgia: 3:33
Michigan State-Indiana: 3:32

So we're losing an average of 16 plays per game and about 5 points per game. That may not seem like a lot, but it could be huge. The Beavers season could have been affected in two ways.

First, if USC had 16 more plays to score again the Beavers may not have held on for the upset. Who knows how many plays would have been added, but we clearly were helped a little by the new rules.

Second, would the WSU game have gone any different? We may have kicked a FG on 4th down in the game ending drive because we knew that if we held on defense we probably would have got the ball back.

Other than that, it probably hasn't affected OSU much. Clearly the rules change the game. But the real question is: are the changes for the better? I submit yes. I think the games we getting too long and I like the 3.5 hour games. Plus, I like the fact that there will probably be more upsets in a season because the big teams won't have as much time to mount a comeback. Plus, I think the truly good teams will be the best teams because they can't rely on crazy comebacks like UCLA did last season.

What do you think?

The "incident"...or Coker-gate

One of the big stories coming out of the win last Saturday was how ASU walked through the Beavers pre-game field goal practice which led to a confrontation with the big man, Curtis Coker. Coker said that Carpenter had popped off to him, which prompted a response and got him and other teammates fired up for the game. Here's the quote:

“Why would I let them do that in my house?” Coker said. “So I was going to show them how it is, and Rudy Carpenter goes, ‘Oh, No. 98, you’re a bad (dude), aren’t you?’ I said, ‘Oh, yeah? You remember No. 98, because I’m going to tattoo it on your backside!’ ”

In classic Dirk Koetter form, he denies it happening because "he was there".

ASU's Carpenter falsely accused | EastValleyTribune.com

At Reser Stadium, both teams head to and from their locker rooms through the same tunnel. At the same time the Sun Devils headed off, Oregon StateÂ’s band was on the sideline, preventing ASU from leaving the field via that route.

Sun Devils coach Dirk Koetter said his assistant coaches formed a chain, allowing his team to pass between the OSU players and band without making contact.

“There was no altercation,” Koetter said. “The closest person to their team was me. We asked (Oregon State) to look into it, and it was just one of their players popping off about something. . . .

“It didn’t happen. I was there.”

Strangely, we don't hear a word from Rudy Carpenter in that article, or in another incidentbout the incidient out of Arizona. However, coach Riley is denying the incident as well.

Torain, Herring sit out but will play on Saturday | The Arizona Republic

Both teams go onto the field at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore., through the same entrance. ASU players were blocked from going around the Beavers by the Oregon State band, so ASU coaches and staff funneled the Sun Devils onto the field between them and the band.

"In no way did Arizona State disrespect the Oregon State football program," Riley said. "I applaud ASU head coach Dirk Koetter for his courtesy in allowing our team, band and cheerleaders to enter and exit the field."

Of Coker, Riley said: "Our players have no business talking disrespectfully to an opponent before the game."

I agree that OSU has no reason to talk before the game. Isn't that what got us in trouble against BSU? We were trash talking before the game and it got them all pumped up.

Obviously this story isn't that big of a deal, but I think it's funny how much press it's received.

Mike Riley love web site :)

Is this the answer to the negative web sites from earlier in the season? LOL.

Mike Riley you are mighty - Aninote.com

Beavers Stay Steady and Win

I say we make it a university rule that we can only play the Arizona and Southern Cal schools in November. ASU looked like they wanted to go home at about the start of the 4th quarter. They were beaten and miserable. It was POURING.

Enough about them because the story is the Beavs. They are acting and playing like a team on a mission. Not too up, not too down. Just steady. Like coach Riley preached before the USC game. Steady.

Matt Moore was steady and then some. 44 yards rushing! And 282 yards in the air...on a rainy day. Great job Matt. This feels familiar. Senior quarterback was a rough start to senior season. Then a win over UW sparks a great win streak in the middle of the season and the QB looks great the whole way. That was Derek in his senior year. Matt is looking poised, confident, and good.

Our RB situation is starting to look iffy at best. Our two best RBs are now the walking wounded. Ev had a gutsy performance, but he's 75% at best. I don't think he moved laterally once all game. Carrasco did look good at the end of the game. Maybe he can plug in and contribute. I hope Ev and Clinton can heal up quick.

The D was great yet again. I looked up at one point in the 2nd quarter and ASU had 4 yards passing. Wow. Sure they were running pretty well on us, but not well enough to overcome their anemic passing game. Or the 2 interceptions.

On to UCLA after a great win over ASU. Go Beavs!

Reser Stadium and the fans getting some props

I'm actually really concerned about this game on Saturday. ASU always seems to beat us even when we outplay them. Plus, I'm very concerned about a post-big win letdown. I mean, I'm still buzzing about it so it must be tough for the players. I think this game is probably the second most important game of the season so far. Because they can't have a let down like they did after beating Cal last season. They need to take care of business.

Beaver Nation sure came ready last week. Now that we have a bit of a rep, we need to keep it up and make Reser a tough place to play.

Here's some accolades about the stadium, fans, and the noise:

Devils’ Payton to see familiar face vs. Beavers - EastValleyTribune.com

Complicating matters for ASU will be the fact that the upgrades to Reser Stadium have turned it into a pretty tough place to play. Recent renovations added nearly 8,000 seats to the stadium, which now seats 42,300 and will continue to grow in the next few years.

Then-No. 3 USC found out just how loud the venue is when it was upset in Corvallis.

“Now it is a big-time college football atmosphere, and their fans are really into it,” Koetter said. “The crowd is really loud there. I think it bothered USC at times. They had four or five false-start penalties due to crowd noise. In Corvallis, they support the Beavers hard.”

Go Beavs! Focus and Beat ASU!

Never chant overrated again.

While reading to post-USC win mania I came across a great entry by Ryan White of the Oregonian in his blog. He makes a great point on a subject that's bothered me for years. The "Over-rated" chant. Why? It belittles the accomplishment that your team just did.

OregonLive.com: In Conclusion

The celebration was on and the stadium began the chants of, "Overrated," which is something that's never made any sense.

Why, folks, would you want to belittle your team's accomplishment? Because that's what that does. If Southern California was indeed ranked higher than it deserved to be, than Oregon State's win wasn't as impressive as it appeared on Saturday.

But if the Trojans were correctly placed in the national order behind Ohio State and Michigan, than what the Beavers did here was huge.

The overrated chant is like running to the mountaintop and shouting, "We beat a team that wasn't nearly as good as other people thought they were! They were so not as good as other people thought they were that even our inferior team was able to win!"

There's no fun in that.

USC was absolutely the third-best team in the country. Oregon State definitely beat the Trojans on Saturday. Barely beat them after holding a huge lead, but barely counts just the same.

I totally agree. The ONLY time a chant of overrated is warranted is when you're the better team and you beat a ranked team close to you by a ton of points. If the #5 team in the country destroys the #10 team in the country (Fiesta Bowl 2001 anyone?) then you can chant overrated.

However, how about a new chant? "Under-rated!, Under-rated!" I think that would be more appropriate. It say hey, my team is better than you thought they were. We deserve some props for this huge win.

Let's start that when we beat Oregon in November. :)

OK, OK, no more looking ahead. Let's focus on ASU. They always give us trouble and seem to eek out wins even when we are controlling the game. This year we need to finally take them down.

Go Beavs!

Quotes from the Beavers huge upset over USC

Clinton Polk:

"I was so nervous I threw up. That's how nervous I was," said Polk, a junior college transfer from Scottsdale Community College. "But after throwing up I think I was ready."

"My teammates were behind me," said Polk, a 6-foot-2, 214-pound junior. "All my coaches, they were in my ear letting me know that I was ready. They just made be believe."

Mike Riley

“How ’bout those Beavers!” shouted OSU coach Mike Riley as he weaved and bobbed through the ecstatic mob en route to the Valley Football Center.

“I’m really proud of Clinton. This was a big game for him, and what he did for this team,” OSU coach Mike Riley said. “Every time you go in and produce you earn respect, and show (coaches and teammates) ‘We can rely on this guy.’ ”

Mark Banker

“Maybe early on we didn’t play up to our expectations. It was just a matter of this group jelling,” OSU defensive coordinator Mark Banker said. “Today we saw three tailbacks, six receivers and three tight ends who will all be drafted.

“They didn’t let that effect them. They believed in themselves as a group, bowed up and got the job done.”

USC Coach Pete Carroll

“This is a great day for Oregon State’s football team,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “My hat is off to Mike (Riley) and I thought they did a great job. They played great the whole day and they did a bunch of stuff that we wish we could have done. I think it’s a great win for them and a very difficult loss for us because we made it.”

Sabby Piscitelli

“This is what you play for,” safety Sabby Piscitelli said. “That’s what everyone plays the game for. You ask for big players to step up and make plays. We made a lot of great plays. It was just intense.”

Added senior safety Sabby Piscitelli: “I told Clinton all week it was his time to shine. He’s such a great player, and he really showed it. SC, that’s no walk in the park. He really stepped up.”

On QB Matt Moore:

“He’s a stud,” safety Sabby Piscitelli said. “I think he’s faced the most adversity of any individual player at Oregon State. And I’ve been watching this kid in practice for two years, and I tell everybody he’s a great player. He made some rookie mistakes (last year) but he showed his leadership and athletic ability today. He took over that offense and made some great plays.”

Alan Darlin

“We love our fans and we love it when they love us too,” Darlin said. “We definitely felt the positive energy coming from the crowd. That was great and I hope it continues.”

On the last play of the game

“I saw Jeff tip it,” said linebacker Alan Darlin, who had seven tackles and a fumble recovery. “We knew we had the game, that there would be no overtime. It was just a great heads-up play.

“We knew we had to attack and finish, and that’s exactly what we did. We have to play with an attitude. The bottom line is, we’ve been having a ton of fun out there.”

Joe Newton

"Personally," OSU tight end Joe Newton said, "it was probably the most fun I've ever had in a game in my life."

“It’s the best performance I’ve seen Matt put together,” tight end Joe Newton said. “I’m proud of the way he played. I think he answered a lot of his doubters today.”

Whew!

Oh man. The drama, suspense, ecstasy... that was an amazing win. I can't believe we hung on. Just unbelievable.

Best win in 40 years? I'd say so. Are you kidding me?!? #3 USC goes down to the Beavs!

Great game by the defense. Great game by the offense. Matt Moore made only one or two mistakes all game. Polk was solid. Sammy was stellar.

I knew that a Sammy punt return would win us a game at some point. Well, this was that game. Sam-my! Sam-my! Sam-my!

Just awesome! GO BEAVS!

It's USC, of course they will play

Yvenson Bernard and Kyle DeVan will contribute this weekend.  They will most definitely start and play some against USC.  Ev for one will play with almost any injury (except for maybe a broken leg) and Kyle DeVan hasn't missed a game since 5th grade.  So count on them. 

The real question will be how effective will they be?  Can Kyle get power out of his legs and block.  The center pulls a lot so can he do that with his injury?  Can Bernard cut and juke like he has this year or will he be reduced to the hobbled RB of the end of last season? 

We won't know until Saturday what will happen but the first quarter will be fueled by adreneline so I can guarantee neither will feel pain until the second half.

Important Win at Arizona

That was an important win at Arizona to keep the bowl hopes alive and confidence up.  How much does that WSU loss hurt now?  Anyways, it wasn't pretty and a bunch of key guys got hurt, but a win is a win.

I was able to watch the game on TV thanks to Beaver Nation Online streaming the JumboTron feed.  The camera angles were bad sometimes and if I have to see another spinning "A" it will be too soon.  But it was a treat to watch the game nonetheless.  We sure got a good look the fans at every opportunity.  Too bad the cameraperson didn't focus more on the fairer sex.  There's got to be more good looking women at Wildcat games that that!

On to USC and a chance at an upset.  Although with our injuries, and USC coming off a bye week, it will be an uphill battle.  The fans need to bring it early and get some major energy in the game.  The team will need it.

Go Beavs! 

Arizona game will be streamed on internet!

Now this is exactly why I have the Beaver Nation Online subscription. To watch live events that I would otherwise not be able to see. I was just waiting to see if they would out the Arizona game on the internet and they did.

Arizona Football Game Can Be Viewed Online - Official Site of Oregon State Athletics

Well done to all the people who worked to make this happen. Woo Hoo!

Oregon State golfer featured in Golfweek

Mitch Gillis has been tearing it up this season and even made an appearance in Sports Illustrated.

This week he has a nice article written about him in Golfweek magazine. Cool!

Intelligence Helps Gillis Win - Golfweek

Congrats Mitch and way to go!

Beavs Win in Seattle

Sometimes a change of scenery can do you good. I mean I'm totally rejuvinated as a fan :). And it appeared to help Matt Moore and the team as well. That was a great win and an important win on the road back to a bowl game. The fans who made it to the game were great and it was actually...fun!

Here's why we have a shot of the rest of the season. First, the defense has been good these last two weeks for one reason: pressure on the QB. Sacks and TFL are huge in stalling the other team. The new guys (Butler, Smith, and Vea) are coming up BIG. Plus, that pushes the starters to keep improving or risk losing a job.

Second, the running game got rolling against UW. That wore down the Huskies and setup some long passes by Matt. We are at our best when the running game is a weapon.

I say well done by the coaches the last two weeks. First, Mark Banker sucked up his pride and added a Nickel package. That was at Coach Riley's prodding. Second, Riley put Canfield and Polk in the game to help rest the starters and to give the offense a different look. Both came in when the game was in the balance and gained valuable experience. Great job.

Next up Arizona on the road. There's nothing to look forward to except Arizona and getting revenge for last season.

Go Beavs!

Going to the game Saturday

I'm heading up to watch a game in Husky Stadium for the first time ever. It has a chance to be a very good game if the last couple of years are any indicator.

The key will be the defense. Keeping Isiah Stanbeck under control is key. The D needs to give the offense a chance to turn this thing around.

One area where we could get a momentum shift could be in Special Teams. Sammy nearly broke for a TD on punt returns last week and the Huskies apparently haven't been great on special teams this season. Another TD from Sammy would be HUGE.

Go Beavs!

Defense plays better. Now the offense is really under the heat.

Congrats to Mark Banker, Sabby Piscitelli, Joe Lemma, and the rest of the Beaver D who brought it all game and really gave the team the opportunity to win. Special teams were pretty good again and I felt that maybe Sammy Stroughter would pull out a Reggie Bush like performance and win the game on a punt return. The offense on the other hand, wasn't great. Just punchless. I really felt like that game would have been a great time to inject a Canfield or Polk just to see what happens.

I'm going to the UW game. I'm hoping this will be the turnaround game like a few years ago. If the defense can stay improved then the O can't help but get more confident.

That game felt like Stanford or Arizona from last year. A game we should have won, but found a way to lose.

Ugh

God I hope we win pretty today so I don't have to read another post about "...it's the WAY we lose thats the problem...".

A loss is a loss.

What happened to the Defense?

There have been two articles this last week in the G-T and the Oregonian about the offense and where the unstoppable offense has gone. However, I'm wondering where the defense has gone over the last couple of years. Youth? Less speed? Less talent? Poor playcalling?

I honestly thought the defense would make a considerable jump over last season with the young LB talent and another year of experience in the secondary. Plus, I was hoping Dorian Smith, Joe Rudolph, and Pernell Booth would make a big difference in the pass rush.

The key I think is the pass rush. It feels like we hardly ever blitz and when we don't we rarely get pressure on the QB. Everything starts there in the pass defense. If you give a Pac-10 QB 4-5+ seconds to throw every pass, then the secondary is going to have a tough time covering that long.

The secondary hasn't been as bad as last season, but they seem soft. Last year we were beat long all day. This year we are letting more simple underneath passes that we seem to be playing off 5-10 feet away on. Also, they really need to contain the run when it gets past the linebackers. Solid tackling to keep the big running plays into hue running plays.

The linebackers I'm not really sure about. I simply haven't seen much that's spectacular out of the LBs. I think sometimes that the 2nd team looks better than the 1st team. I don't know. The jury is still out for me on these guys, but they need to start stuffing the run hard soon.

I don't know how to fix the D, but it needs to be fixed. What I don't understand is why more people aren't talking about the defense. Where's the outrage over Mark Banker? Can Canfield play defensive end?

Cheer on the defense early and often today and hope that they step up early and make a big step forward. Because without a defense, the predictions from SI and other "fans" or a 2-10 season may come true.

Game thoughts and fan thoughts

We've got Wazzu this weekend and nobody really knows what to expect. I know that the Beavs need a win. This stretch coming up has the Beavers playing 3 teams the before the season were marked as W's on the schedule by most Beaver fans (WSU, UW, UA). The Beavs need a big home win to make that happen.

The Cougs are now the media darlings because they nearly upset USC. They are a decent team, but everyone forgets the blowout to Auburn and barely sqeaking by Baylor. So they are beatable.

Last year the only way the defense could stop the Cougs was to force a turnover. They scored on a few of those turnovers as well which helped immensely in the comeback. The Beavs need to step up the defense and pressure the QB Alex Brink and cover the heck out of Bumpus and Hill. The Cougs can usually run pretty well, but I'd concentrate on the pass if I were the Beavs because that's what killed us last year.

The offense should be able to move the ball against the Cougs, but their D isn't bad. One guy, Mkristo Bruce, has 8 sacks already this season. Watch out Matt! Ultimately, the Beavs need to run the ball better and challenge WSU deep downfield. I love the screen passes, but you can't hit those 5 times in a row. You have to take a shot downfield to keep the defense honest. Maybe line up Jackson more often.

On Saturday the Beavs are facing a team that they should matchup well against. It's a game they have to win at home. With the defense the way it's been I think the offense needs the mentality that they have to score every time down the field. I honest have no clue what will happen this weekend, but if we win I have a feeling the score will be like 37 - 30.


On another note...

Can you be a Fan and root against your team?

I understand not liking a guy. I understand wanting the team to play better. But to actively root against your team and coach 4 games into the season with a 2-2 record and 9 games to go? That I don't understand. I've heard on talk radio and in the message boards about how some people are hoping the Beavers only win 2 games so coach gets fired. What? Do you think that if we go 2 and whatever that we will magically be 11-1 next season just because we have a new coach? Changing coaches bring uncertainty, players leave, and recruits change their mind. Change isn't always a good thing. And I guarantee this fan base will be clamoring for a change if the new guy doesn't get it just right in year 1.

But honestly, how can you call yourself a fan and root against your team? Really I want to know. If anyone has an answer post a comment.

Really, Beaver fans have been bad fans since 2000. We got spoiled that season and have never been quite the same, have we? Every season it's something. For years it's been the QBs fault. Every QB has come under fire since Johnathan Smith led us to a 5-6 record in 2001. Will we ever learn? If Canfield gets the job, how long before we start clamoring for his job? 4 games? 2 games? a season? We've had some good seasons since 2000. Only 2 losing seasons. Yet with the attitude of Beaver fans every year who would know? And you know what? It makes it less fun for the fans in general to watch the games. When the loud minority is always complaining about something it makes things less enjoyable for the hardcore and casual fan. As if a simple loss (or blowout) isn't enough. It's been 6 years of this stuff and I guess only another 11-1 season will make it let up.

Whatever. I'm going to go to games and yell for my team to win. If they don't I'll still support them. If at the end of the season I think it's time to change something, then I'll make it known. Bobby D knows what he's doing people. Let him do his job.

Cal Loss

Well, I think most of us kind of expected this to happen after seeing Cal blow out ASU. I place the blame squarely on the defense in this one. They play better than against BSU, but still let them continue drives after getting to a 3rd down situation early in the drive. I don't know what the problem is because they seem athletic, fast, strong, and skilled. Perhaps it's experience or youth. I don't know. But I do know if our defense doesn't start making stops consistently, we're screwed. Say what you want about the offense, but the key is the defense. If they score on 5 or 5 drives in the first half, the game is over.

I do think the fans brought it early and tried to will the defense to shutting them down. But the defense has to use that energy and be good or else we're just going to get quieter and quieter because it's clearly not helping. And don't complaing about the fan noise in blowouts. We'll be loud if you can keep it close and make the game exciting.

WSU feels like a must win game to me. However, it seems like everyone else in the conference has gotten better this season. Well, except for Stanford, ASU, and USC. This next 3 game stretch against WSU, UW, and Arizona is huge. I don't know that we have to win all 3 but we need 2 out of 3. These are teams that are not top 25 teams and we should matchup well with. We need to now go out and prove we have the ability and will to win.

I'm personally not going to talk about coaches until the season is over (figuratively or literally). I don't think it's fair and you can't tell what this team is yet. Except I'm pretty sure we're not top 25 material.

As far as QBs. I didn't think Matt Moore was bad against Cal, but he did have some drive stoppers on a couple of badly thrown balls. If he gets a slow start against WSU, I say try Canfield. He's the future and he looks ready. Plus, maybe it kickstarts the offense for a drive or two.

Make some noise!!!!

This is a make or break game for the Beavs and if Reser isn't loud, then I don't want to hear any complaining about the player's performance. We need to leave everything on the field this weekend and be LOUD!

Here is DL Curtis Coker's take on the fans:

OregonLive.com: Coker: We need the fans!

"'I don't ever really get to hear the crowd noise when I'm playing because I try to block it out,'' he said. 'But here's a challenge to the fans. We need a 12th man on defense. It's disheartening as a player when I hear the student section (being) mediocre and the other side of Reser is just kinda quiet. ... Boise State's 29,000 (actually, it's more than that) sounds like LSU's 90,000! I mean, I'm sitting there trying to talk to my coach at Boise State and as soon as the (scoreboard prompt) for NOISE pops on, I can't hear what he's saying. Here (at Reser) I can talk for days while everybody's yelling because it's not that loud.

'It CAN get loud here, and that's what I want. Soon as you see that 'Make Noise'' thing pop up on the screen, make some noise, because that means (the home team) needs it. Oh yeah, you feed off it. It helps disrupt their offense. It helps a lot.''

So a little reminder to Beaver Nation. ... when Cal has the ball, and QB Nate Longshore is trying to bark signals, turn it up, will you? ... don't make the players climb into the student section in the fourth quarter. ... 'I don't ever really get to hear the crowd noise when I'm playing because I try to block it out,'' he said. 'But here's a challenge to the fans. We need a 12th man on defense. It's disheartening as a player when I hear the student section (being) mediocre and the other side of Reser is just kinda quiet. ... Boise State's 29,000 (actually, it's more than that) sounds like LSU's 90,000! I mean, I'm sitting there trying to talk to my coach at Boise State and as soon as the (scoreboard prompt) for NOISE pops on, I can't hear what he's saying. Here (at Reser) I can talk for days while everybody"

Cal Game

I don't have time to do a full analysis tonight but I will give a few thoughts from Cal and what they have done so far.

* They're averaging 2 int's per game. Even without their starting safety they have a dangerous secondary. Hughes has 5 ints alone. Don't throw it near him.

* They're schedule looks tough, but they've had 3 straight home games. This will be the first game on the road for them since Tennesee.

* Cal game up quite a few yards rushing to ASU and are allowing 164 ypg total. After what OSU did to them last season either they will key on the run and force the Beavers to pass, or the Beavs will run over Cal again.

* Their defense has 10 sacks in 4 games and 18 tackles for loss.

* The Bears are passing much better at 287 ypg and only 4 ints total (3 from Nate Longshore). Last year they couldn't pass to save their lives.

* The running attack is less a two-headed attack this year with Marshawn Lynch taking over and averaging 112 ypg. Justin Forsett is not performing quite as well as last year.


This will be a huge test for the Beavs. They need their best performance of the year this weekend.