General Discussion
Since things are so slow, let’s voice concerns, intrigue, etc. I’ve written down a few questions I have as well as my thoughts on them. Feel free to respond, or voice your own concerns.
1. Will Ryan Katz be a capable starter?
Probably, but he’s a bit in love with his arm. He might be a lot like DA, Brett Farve, etc–guys who make boneheaded decisions because they fall in love with (and thus over estimate) their velocity. That’s the impression I get from his spring performance.
2. Will the Beavs beat Boise State or TCU?
It’s too early for me to have any strong feelings. My gut says they won’t be able to stop Kellen Moore. That guy plays with moxie and confidence, and the Beavs don’t. I see him dicing the defense. I see both games as loses, albeit different types of loses. Here’s to hoping fall camp is impressive enough to change my mind.
3. Should the Beavs start the season ranked?
No. Losing the Vegas Bowl coupled with a green QB…something like 35th seems a fair starting point.
4. What is the team’s biggest weakness?
Specifically it’s LB. Keith Pankey is not good enough to start. Wilson looks good, but he’s green. More generally speaking, the lack of experienced depth is an overall weakness.
5. Who do you think will have a breakout year?
This is a no-brainer for me: Wheaton on offense. Poyer on the defensive side.
6. How do you like this recruiting class?
I see four Pac-10 caliber players and five projects.
July 16, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Apparently this guy committed:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/houston/football/recruiting/player-Brandon-Bennett-115484
July 17, 2010 at 12:28 am
Nice catch… only a blurb in the old Chronicle. It’s a nonchalant mention.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/hs/fb/7110102.html
July 16, 2010 at 9:45 pm
i bet McCants will have a break out year, angry.
July 17, 2010 at 12:27 am
Last year’s early season was disappointing, with a predictable win over PSU and a narrow win over UNLV. TCU and BSU present a much more challenging non-conference schedule, and I see OSU losing both unfortunately.
Katz DOES have what it takes, and his ability to scramble will add a heretofore unseen dimension to OSU’s offense. If he can buy himself even a few extra seconds when protection breaks down, it could pay off with big plays to James Rodgers, Halhuni, and Wheaton. DB’s simply won’t be able to staff with all of them if Katz buys more time. Then there’s Jacquizz out of the backfield. Or just throw it away…
The recruiting class is a bit befuddling. I would have predicted a very hard push on DE’s and O-lineman that will be ready to contribute early in their careers. Seems like a bunch of projects, including one at QB that maybe isn’t necessary with the current depth. Also would have expected OSU to capitalize on Quizz more and get a highly ranked RB. I think its going to be a relatively weak class barring some late, quality additions.
Team’s biggest weakness is, in order of magnitude, lb play, de play, safety play, and OL play. There’s a lack of experience at LB with the loss of Pa’Lhui (sp), the d-line will miss LaGrone, who was just growing into his role and would have teamed well with a more experienced Miller. The deep middle still worries me until proven otherwise, and the O-line failed to spring Quizz against tougher competition last year. Rarely has OSU had so much talent at the offensive skill positions.
Beavs should not start the season ranked, and should be ranked unless they win 2 of 3 non-conference games. Don’t worry about rankings until at least week 5.
July 17, 2010 at 2:10 am
I’m going to start on the high side. I think we should be ranked where we are (15-20) to start the season. The skill players and returning O-line should get us that nod. And if I were to be critical of all others, I would find much less to be happy about from some 100+ teams.
That feeling may change after the first couple games. Or it may become unreasonably high.
TCU lost a lot of good, long-time starters from their defense and their O-line. They can have the best prospects/back-ups taking over. But they are green at CB, DE, LB and OT. Patterson is a good enough coach to shore up those holes, but his recent success came with the experience gained over the three years all these players meshed.
Wilcox is a huge loss for Boise State, but bigger still is the ‘loss’ of Ryan Clady. I know he was gone a couple years ago, but his play against Swancutt was the reason for our embarrassing loss in our last visit… that and Zabransky’s ability to scramble to his right (away from Swancutt). Remember that Oregon plays safeties at LB… and LB’s on the D-line. Boise State is geared to handle much stronger defenses. And that’s what OSU provides next year.
I have a dim outlook of both games because of our poor start record. But I can see where we should win at both. We should be able to beat TCU with dumps and blasts to our skills, and we should be able to beat BSU by simply pushing them down the field.
July 17, 2010 at 8:13 am
It seems reasonable to say Wilcox will be a huge loss, but I think Boise State’s defensive tenacity is a reflection of their head coach, too. I doubt the new guy from Montana will be a slouch. I think the two things that push Boise State to victory in this game are (a) Kellen Moore and (b) Smurf Turf. I can’t get the Beavs last visit to BSU out of my head…up 14-0 on the Stroughter punt return only to get demolished on national tv.
July 17, 2010 at 8:18 am
But then again, does anyone feel confident predicting these games right now? If the DEs have a great camp (and Taylor Henry high is on my watch list), and Pankey gives way to a better LB, maybe we’ll feel differently. Right now this prediction is a “hunch” based on past performance and the Beavs inclinations more than anything else.
July 17, 2010 at 5:40 pm
What happened to the idea of “Be confident in your team, but not arrogant”? I mean, your comments as of late are ones to make me feel like I want the Beavs to come out and prove something to the Nation. This year we have talent at positions we haven’t had much talent to look at in a looong time…WR we’re set, OL are improved from last year, the changes on the DL were necessary ones and I feel they have a better combo there, Quizz, DB’s I’m ok with now that they have had a year under their belt…last year was a “rebuilding year” right? This year is just breaking in a few new guys! I mean really…I feel more confident about this team this year than the past 5 teams! This to me has a 2000/2001 OSU Beavers team esque feel to it. They have a chance to prove to the voters in the polls that we deserve to be ranked! It’s not up to us to decide that…it’s those voters…the fact that they have more confidence in OSU football than the fans do….that makes no sense whatsoever!!!
July 18, 2010 at 1:05 am
Don’t we always want our Beavs to come out and prove something to the nation? I’m with you on feeling alone. I say we deserve the 15-20 rankings. But I also say that BSU and TCU deserve their high rankings before the season begins. I love our chances in Dallas. I love our team but not our odds in Boise. I can’t help but have a good feeling about this coming year, but I have not much on which to base this feeling.
July 18, 2010 at 1:06 am
And pre-season polls are crap anyway.
July 18, 2010 at 6:04 pm
I concur on the notion of pre-season polls. All they do is base their rankings on what looks good on paper and who returns more players and has a good chance to have a run at the National Title game. I don’t really look at standings…I look at publicity and every time the OSU vs. TCU game @ Dallas Cowboys stadium comes up…It’s Oregon State that get teh publicity, not TCU. They don’t talk about the TCU players at all on College Football Live. I’ve seen Quizz’s debut on that show and have not seen a single blip about TCU’s team. They don’t care about rankings either…they have to have questions about how the Beavs will perform in this game and Boise State. Idk..I just have a really good feeling this year. I feel that a QB who can scramble, throw on the run, and throw a deep ball is more valuable than we realize.
July 17, 2010 at 10:03 pm
The idea has always been to be realistic. Whenever I/we talk about confidence it’s that the players need it in themselves, not that the fans need to be (falsely) confident.
What’s curbed my enthusiasm (hah!) is Katz’s spring performance. I thought he was better than that. Forcing passes, missing targets, a lot of interceptions, etc. I’m not down on Katz, just cautious.
Why is this team better than past incarnations?
As far as last year being a rebuilding year…I have no idea about that. It seems every year they’re always one or two pieces short and things never align correctly. This year the starters are solid across the board except the key unknown quantity at QB.
I’m not making any predictions until after fall camp. At this point anything written is a “concern” not a prediction. My concerns are QB decision making and defensive depth.
July 17, 2010 at 8:21 am
Sort of off topic, but NCAA 2011 was released this week…just starting up the playable demo now. This game jumped the shark 5 years ago when they refused to make any improvements to the gameplay, but I’m still curious to check it out. I’m also curious to see the accuracy of the Beavs’ roster, though I doubt it will be an option to be OSU in the demo.
July 18, 2010 at 7:27 pm
I just started with this franchise. It includes three people who shouldn’t be on the roster: Bubba, Matt LaGrone and Lalich. It has our offense as an A- and our D as a B+. I think the scheme reflects our offense decently well but Quizz has more breakaway speed than he has shown in his career (although I think he will show it this year).
July 18, 2010 at 7:51 pm
I picked it up yesterday. It’s way better than the past few years, but the menus are painfully slow to load and navigate. Quizz looks NOTHING like the real quizz. He looks more like Marshall Faulk. It’s very odd.
They also don’t have Tony Wilson or Jordan Poyer (have David Ross instead).
July 17, 2010 at 2:28 pm
It seems like Pa’aluhi doesn’t know what he wants. Hope he can figure it out and make the right decision.
“Two former standout Pac-10 players – quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and linebacker David Pa’aluhi – will not be joining the University of Hawaii this year, according to people with close knowledge of the situation. Both had contacted UH. But it was mutually decided Masoli would not join the Warriors, according to sources. Pa’aluhi, who was set to sign enrollment papers at UH, instead reaffirmed a previous commitment to enlist in the military with the intent of joining Special Forces.”
http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com/2010/07/16/masoli-paluhi-wont-join-warriors/
July 17, 2010 at 10:08 pm
This guy is dead to me.
Actually, who am I kidding, I loved his style of play. It’s a bummer he left. He was one of a handful in the USC game who looked like he could play for the other side.
July 17, 2010 at 10:52 pm
Old news?
http://oregonstate.scout.com/a.z?s=182&p=9&c=2&cid=984276&nid=5075179&fhn=1
July 18, 2010 at 1:11 am
Yeah. Read the first line of the linked article. When the player gives the reporter the feeling that this will be his last football game, there’s not much that screams walk-on, let alone scholarship player.
Ironically, Scout’s boo-boo may get the kid some scouting, and he may end up somewhere as a walk-on or better because of it. I doubt it, but publicity is publicity.
July 18, 2010 at 5:05 pm
I think that people tend to forget that last years team was off the charts in ball security (BYU game not withstanding) and finished the year second in the nation with only 11 turnovers. How do they repeat that with a new QB? I am not sure it is possible, that is why I am a little concerned about the season as a whole.
I guess on the plus side, maybe the defense will be better in creating turnovers and it could end up a wash. Last year was unique in the looking at turnover margin because if the defense was a better it could have been a special season or if the offense had been worse it could have been very disappointing. Teams live and die by turnovers and a new gunslinger type QB and inexperience at LB make me very nervous.
July 18, 2010 at 5:44 pm
2 of the 3 line backers have been playing a lot for 2 and three years middle backer is the only spot without experience and backups. No matter what you think of pankey he has been around and so has roberson and we got two talented guys competing for time at middle. Seems like we got about 6 guys competing for backup duties also. Call me crazy but I think we will be in good shape at linebacker. I think the most important position will be oline. We will be improved no doubt about that but how much improved? Our receivers are going to be so talented that Katz will have a outstanding season IF Quizz gets good holes, and Katz gets time end of story, our defense will hold its own and create more turnovers and sacks than last year. That I will bet whatever you want on
July 18, 2010 at 7:36 pm
I would tend to debate a lot of what you have said. Robinson doesn’t provide much in the way of linebacking, he doesn’t feature much toughness (a main reason we lost the civil war game). Camat doesn’t provide much either. I tend to disagree with Angry, I am not done with the Unga brothers yet, I think they still need time.
As far as the offensive line goes, I think they will be improved but I am not too worried if for no other reason than the leadership of Linnenkohl. He is one of the most intelligent players I have ever met. Losing him next year will cost us, maybe a few games. Quizz will get his yards, period. Katz needs more than time, he needs to be comfortable. He needs to not be a gunslinger (all of our worries) and feel comfortable scrambling for a few yards while avoiding happy feet. The other thing Katz must remember, Quizz was number 2 in overall receptions in the pac-10 for a reason (outlets when it gets ugly).
July 19, 2010 at 1:42 am
I think along the same lines as you in that there’s more talent in the Ungas than was first suspected, though I think Feti is a step slower and not as talented as Uani. Uani was showing later last year that he wasn’t going to let people handle him.
Robinson has the same problem Pankey has always had. He’s undersized, and he’s too slow to compensate. Neither have the ability to meet and shed a block in the hole. So they both take odd paths to the backfield and end up getting stuck in the line somewhere. If either Pankey or Robinson have put on 15 pounds, then they can blow through the hole with strength instead of trying to be clever… and failing.
If you’ll notice, our safeties have been racking high numbers of tackles for the past couple years. That’s a bad sign for any defense. It’s a horrible sign for Banker’s defense.
There are pros and cons to allowing the true frosh to get in and play at LB. Right now, the pros far outweigh the cons.
July 19, 2010 at 7:13 am
“Pankey or Robinson have put on 15 pounds”
This is the #1 problem with both. Robinson looks like a 100lb weakling. Pankey, even as a senior, looks only a little better. Pankey arm-tackles, too.
July 19, 2010 at 7:14 am
Robinson also looked stiff to me.
And Pankey takes bad angles.
Forgot those criticisms!
July 19, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Above all, the lack of toughness on Robinson’s part is crippling. He is also not a player. He choked coming in during the 4th quarter of the civil war, I know its a tough situation but you gotta want to be there. He obviously looked timid instead of amped, that will dog his entire career.
July 19, 2010 at 2:12 pm
He’s quite a bit younger than Pankey and was thrown into the fire. I’m neither impressed nor ready to write him off at this point. This year we’ll know.
July 19, 2010 at 10:31 pm
Robinson was 17 years old when he played in the Civil War. True Freshman and a young one at that. Might be a bit early to base his career on that game.
July 19, 2010 at 10:38 pm
I think you meant to respond to the comment above this one. You basically rewrote the comment you replied to.
July 20, 2010 at 8:47 am
Canfield signed…of subject a bit. That’s great, and I think he’s in a great spot. I was going to post a comment to the article on O-live, but it was just a Duck bash/Beaver bash waste of friggin’ time like usual.
I think Sean is in a good spot. Sort of like Brady was at NE. A great team surrounding Brees, but his slight stature and injury history could create a situation where Sean could come in and play with a Superbowl contender in the thick of things. If he has the time to learn the offense like Brady did before taking the reigns, he could really benefit.
Plus, just getting to play for a winner from the get go has to be nice (sorry, Joey H., Derek A., and we’ll throw Jon Kitna in there too…).
July 20, 2010 at 9:47 am
Moore latched onto a winner before they suddenly were not. Maybe the time in system can help him to make Carolina a contender immediately.
I like the match for Canfield. New Orleans has a lot of different sets and plays that rely on quick, precision passes. Their offense relies on a thinking QB rather than one with a gun and happy feet. A couple years of watching film with Brees can’t hurt the mental game either.
And any QB who’s thrown in the fire has less of a chance to succeed than one who gets his sea legs first. I really think QB’s need at least a year on the bench (to start their career) to learn the NFL game. Otherwise, they’re more often than nought ruined.
In today’s NFL, Dan Fouts would have been bounced from the league after his fifth bad year… just in time to avoid his breakout year and a hall of fame career.
July 20, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Hopefully Moore can dispatch of yet another Notre Dame primadonna better than DA did in Cleveland. I love that Notre Dame (God’s gift to football) has highly recruited, touted, hyped and drafted players having to beat out ‘lowly’ Oregone (notice the pronounciation of Oregon – ‘gone – as those East Coasters often call us) State Beaver QB’s. Add the twice pounding by the Beavs in recent history…and it’s a nice paradox!
July 20, 2010 at 1:45 pm
P.S. Love Fouts. Despite his Duckness, he usually speaks well of the Beavers. He basically made me the Charger fan I am today. My dad ran into him in Eastern Oregon somewhere once when I was a kid and got his autograph for me…I pee’d my pants I think!
July 20, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Anyone see this quote:
“I believe in a few years we’ll have at least the national championship.”
— Ricky Heimuli, Oregon defensive tackle
Better question, anyone believe it to be true? I think they got a great class and have a great coach but I don’t think Kelly is around for the long-term. I think that Rich Rod is done at Michigan after this year. Harbaugh and Kelly are choices #1 and #2 respectively.
July 20, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Oregon has established themselves as a “good job”/landing spot for good head coaches. I don’t think they’ll have a hard time filling the position with someone better than Kelly if he leaves. I see him staying a while…he fits well.
That Heimuli quote is incredible. If he believes they’ll *at least* have the national championship, what does he think they’ll have “at most”?
Oh, and I do think it’s possible Oregon wins one. Tip your hat, they’re going after big fish and getting bites.
July 20, 2010 at 4:51 pm
I think right now they have the competitive mind set that makes them the front runners to be the new dominant team. I am not sure what he means by at most. Maybe repeat championships and/or Heisman athletes.
I am not sure they get a coach as good as Kelly, I think they get Belloti back. They aren’t going to spend 3+ million on a coach, which is what the “best” are getting. The main reason I think Kelly leaves, he is an east coast guy. This is the only time he has ever spent on the west coast.
July 20, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Kelly has a clause in his contract that lets him walk away if he wins 19 regular season or 20 total games over the span of any two consecutive seasons.
If Rich Rod is out at any time this year, we may see a bunch of maize and blue Duck fans around the country.
If I were Michigan, I would rather have Harbaugh and his style of play. But Kelly would be the best choice to take the athletes on hand and carry them immediately into the national spotlight.
And every athlete better want what Heimuli wants. They don’t have to say it out loud, but they better think it.
I don’t think it’s possible in this BCS format for UO to win the NC. Their offense is such that their QB’s will be dinged and broken during the season. Losing even one game due to injury takes them out of the NC conversation.
And then there’s their defense. If their offense falters for at least one game, they’re in deep trouble. ‘Bend but don’t break’ looks good when you score 40+. When you score 10-20, it’s just ‘break’.
Though I find it unrealistic, I still admire the bravado.
July 20, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Okay, I’ll bite; I know Michigan is a storied program and all, but honestly, what would be the big benefit of Kelly moving there? More money, nope. Better facilities, nope. Conference winner… I am not sure other than old tradition what the bait would be? Oregon’s recuriting class ended at 13th a year or two ago and has ended in the top 20 several times, so I am not sure how much better that can go at Michigan.
Secondly, although a Nat Champ is improbable, it is not impossible. It was only 3 years ago Oregon reached #2 in the nation with only 3 weeks left to play when spider legs went down. The team is more talented now and better coached AND the SEC seems to be a little down AND SC, the 800 pound gorilla, is a little ill at the moment. I think Oregon might be able to give it a run if all the stars line up. I don’t see any team going undefeated this year. If and that is a BIG IF, we get good QB play this season, we should be improved over last year as we are returning a ton on both sides of the line and have had very solid recruiting over the last 4 years.
Alright, I know I have green and yellow glasses, but I really think Ricky has a least a chance to be right.
July 20, 2010 at 11:40 pm
“More money? Nope.”
If tripling his salary isn’t more money, what is? That, and Michigan is the crown jewel of the anti-Nike. Michigan plays in a place called the Big House, while UO plays in a place named after a Beav and half the size.
I’m not saying it will happen. I’m not even saying there’s no chance that UO wins a NC in the next couple years. I’m just saying that the likelihood is slim for a variety of reasons.
July 20, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Personally, I doubt they will win a championship. It seems like a program has to be in the hunt every year, and then hope the dice roll their way. For all USC’s dominant years, they only “won” one BCS championship. Ohio State, Oklahoma, Miami- same deal. I definitely don’t think Oregon is at that level currently, and I doubt a school in Oregon will ever be. They are building a pretty good product though, so who knows.
I don’t know about Kelly leaving in the short term. He seems to like UO quite a bit. And like Angry said, it has become a pretty attractive job. It seems like a happy medium, where football is big and important, but not quite the pressure cooker of an elite football school. And at this point, you could make the argument that Michigan would not be a step up from Oregon. Though in salary and fan base it likely would be.
Unless I’m mistaken, Kelly’s from New England, not the Midwest. So Penn State might be the only program I could see him going to if he wants to return closer to his roots. And if Michigan does not like Rich Rodriguez, then Kelly seems like too similar a coach for them to make that swap. I could definitely see them wanting Harbaugh though.
July 20, 2010 at 9:08 pm
I think it’s way too early to say Michigan would want Kelly. Harbaugh, sure, and I think that interest would be mutual. Kelly? Are they going to be interested in another spread offense coach with one year’s experience who has questionable control over this teams? I think Mighigan goes back to a traditional offense (i.e. pro set/i formation), and a coach with a storied track record on their next hire. By the time the job is available Harbaugh will be burning out on what he can do at Stanford and want to go to his Alma Mater.
I think Kelly stays at Oregon. It’s a good match. Thing is, he’s shown questionable leadership, and I think that ultimately comes back to kill him. They’ll go through lean years under this guy. It won’t be due to talent but discipline. Another problem with Kelly is his message (all that “win the day” garbage) comes off as a contrite, hackneyed, and insincere incantation that he lifted from cheese ball motivational speaker Tony Robbins. If I’m an 18 year old kid I am not buying into that message. We’ll see if he can keep fooling them.
July 21, 2010 at 12:08 am
I don’t think the Michigan brass go after Kelly given the chance. But I imagine a lot of fans would jump on that wagon. And Adidas might toy with the idea enough to make Knight open his pocketbook a little more… or Kelly might do it himself.
Kelly seems to be adding good talent, but the read option will eventually go the way of every other option. I’m surprised it’s worked for as long as it has without killing some QB’s along the way. Coaches’ complaints of O-linemen yanking jerseys and facemasks and clipping D-linemen in pursuit away from the pocket will get serious looks from the officials. There’s no reason their offensive line should have made those plays in the first place, let alone get away with them.
July 20, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Tyler Johnstone commits to Oregon. It’s hard to figure why a lineman with pro potential would go there.
July 20, 2010 at 9:40 pm
That is very true, maybe because they got a lot of uniforms and nice facilities. Thats my guess. Same story as a quarterback that wants to play at the next level. Or heck why would a receiver play in that system either?
July 20, 2010 at 9:53 pm
I guess the answer is that the NFL doesn’t seem to penalize these guys for playing in the spread. Tebow, V. Young, Alex Smith, Drew Brees, D. Dixon, etc. The bottom line is they draft talent.
It’s probably the same for O-linemen. Chip Kelly must have a list of them who made it to the NFL. Or he’s paying recruits.
July 20, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Euscher commits too. I’m not very happy at the moment. My friend at UO guaranteed that Johnstone would be a Duck, but I didn’t believe him. I thought he was going to study the sciences.
Euscher is easy to figure out. He has one BCS offer, and their OL spots are filling up quick.
And don’t knock Greatwood too much. He’s no Coach Cav, but he’s put a couple players in the NFL over the years.
I was reading a blog a couple weeks ago which compared the All Pac 10 first team OL with their star ratings over the past couple years.
USC gets a couple on the list from four and five star players. Stanford and UO get a couple on from two and three stars. Coach Cav has someone on the first team every year from zero to two to three stars.
July 21, 2010 at 12:14 am
Check that. My friend says Euscher committed two days after he visited. Oh well.
July 21, 2010 at 7:52 am
The thing is, Kelly is raising the competitive bar at UofO and it is possible to win a N/C – IF ALL THE STARS line up. I also understand it is possible that the team has some type of meltdown too, but if you are truly examining the program with an open mind, you would be hard pressed not to see that the team has moved forward almost every year since Kelly arrived. Call “win the day” cheezy if you like, but I think it makes a point. I know you hate to hear that the Ducks program is gathering steam, but it appears to be true from most folk’s view. We now have additional O-line talent coming next year too. Perhaps I am simply all giddy over nothing, but it sure feels like the future is bright for my boys. Now if we could only get some more D-Line to come our way. Ugh!
July 21, 2010 at 8:39 am
I envy the O-line talent committing this year. But history proves it’s a craps shoot whether they’ll actually succeed. And that’s pretty much the case anywhere.
And while the offensive talent seems to be faster, I don’t know whether they’re better than they were in the past. I don’t see any UO RB’s that I liked as much as I did J Stew. The QB’s are as big or a bigger wonder than any other position. While I like Maehl, he’s not good enough to play on some past Ducks teams.
And other than the secondary, the defense fails to play as a cohesive unit year after year.
But the offensive scheme works for now, and that may be enough to get them there. You’re right. All the stars have to align. But isn’t that true for anyone?
I think the Ducks have a better shot to win out than do the Beavs because of both teams’ non-con schedules. But I think they’re about even odds for taking the conference. If one team wins out in conference, they’re NC contenders. The other is more likely to just get a Rose Bowl. That would be the stars aligning for either.
And even that doesn’t take into account the hiccup that either will surely have during the season. Even though the Ducks have set up their schedule to give them extra time before what they think is every big challenge, there always seems to be a let down somewhere. And the later it occurs, the worse it is for their NC hopes in terms of polls and perceptions.
If I was to look at the Ducks’ chances with reality in mind, I think their best case scenario nets them 10 wins this year. And I’m a little more rosy than most Duck fans I know (or live with). Reality is a little more harsh for the Beavs due to their non-con schedule. If they start off hot, will they falter? If they start off cold, will they take it out on the rest of the conference? Or will they just start off poorly and keep taking hits?
I think the Beavs win 9 this year. The talent level says they win 8. The coaching will win two extra, but they’ll also lose one.
With the same eye looking at the Ducks, I think they win 8 and disappoint in their bowl. Other teams were solving their scheme late last year, but talent helped them over the hump. I heard some Duck fans complaining that Ohio State was stealing signs or some such stupidity. Well those Duck fans weren’t watching the same games. The offense was giving tells toward the end, and there were a lot. I haven’t gone back to look at early games to see if they were there, but you can bet a full off season of tape in the hands of d-coordinators who get paid to do this stuff doesn’t bode well for Kelly’s scheme.
If he’s as lucky as he was last year, then I don’t know what he does. The facilities are hard to leave, but the money is better at almost any other power school. I think he only has a small window for success before he needs to move on.
Either that, or hire a real d-coordinator so the team can be a contender every year instead of just when the QB isn’t broken.
July 21, 2010 at 8:43 am
It really is a crap shoot. I was looking over the rivals top 150 of the past 8 years. Soooo many nobodies/failures on that list. Ryan Perrilloux gave me a hearty laugh.
July 21, 2010 at 9:14 am
Is their 150 their list of 5 stars? That’s the one thing that bugs me about whenever someone somewhere decides to tout these pay services. They point to something like 30% success and say that’s a good thing. When they give a fifth star, it should be a guarantee minus death or injury. I don’t care about a kid’s failure due to attitude or worse. That should be a factor in their rating. It is in reality.
Speaking of… the biggest waste of talent scouting/recruiting on UW’s team was bounced. I was never sold that Kavarrio Middleton was even half as good as anyone told me he could be. I heard that Sark was starting to see what I saw, then took his attitude into consideration, and the kid no longer has a Pac 10 home.
July 21, 2010 at 9:31 am
Concur with most of wht you say Jack. Our defense was actually pretty stout last year – for a change. Our O-system is sooooo dependent on the QB making a good read. If not, we end up looking like we did in the Boise State Game – which is HORRIBLE. If the QB does it right, we kill. The trick is for the D to confuse the QB with small fakes. I REALLY WORRY about a new QB, but if Kelly gets some time with anyone, and Greatwood gets the O-line to click, it is mighty hard to stop.
Like any fan, I have faith, but that is all it is – pure faith. But recent history is adding to my faith – which is nice. Time will tell though.
You are correct about our wideouts. We need some improvement there.
July 21, 2010 at 10:43 am
I’d give Costa’s game against UCLA a pass. He wasn’t practicing as the primary QB, and that offense needs precision timing to work. A whole fall camp will make him a different QB, but I think Thomas better be ready given Costa’s fragile nature.
And the Ducks have good to great TE’s and at least two O-lineman I saw worth a damn in Thran and Holmes. Maybe it’s unfair of me to be so harsh with York, since I watched him closely after the non-call during LMJ’s 60 yd run against Stanford. If I hadn’t watched him so closely, he might have just been another hoss on a successful offensive unit.
The balance of the skill on that team remains in the backfield speed. There may be questions about the character of Seastrunk and Williams, but their skill only adds to that of LMJ and Barner. Many Beav fans would gush over that depth on their own team, so what’s the difference?
July 21, 2010 at 8:42 am
Well, I don’t hate the Ducks. I hate obnoxious Ducks (Masoli) or obnoxious Duck fans. But, that goes for any team, sport, or fan base. I feel pretty unbiased. Unlike a lot of Beaver fans, I care waaaay more about my team improving to the level of the Ducks than sitting around writing passive-aggressive garbage about why the Ducks aren’t good. The latter is just lies to self, and that makes for nothing but an obnoxious/annoying Beaver fan.
July 21, 2010 at 9:01 am
Agreed. I envy their recruiting abilities and football facilities. And I think they’re in a better position than OSU is to maintain the talent level they currently have because of those two things. We rely on the staff in place too much, while they’ve shown they can kick a great coach to the curb and maintain or get better.
I’m still mystified as to why they built the design they did for hoops–the bowl seating itself, not the concourse and practice courts. You would think they learned over the years that steep multi-deck arenas just suck for hoops. At least it looks nice from the outside. And hopefully the I-5 bridge and Franklin exit are done by the time it opens.
July 21, 2010 at 11:39 am
Agreed. If the Dux (look how cutting edge that looks, “Dux”, I’m surprised that’s not being used yet) just keet in mind when assessing themselves and the Beavs, that they enjoy the larger population of Eugene, and the Daddy Warbucks effect from one dude, then more level heads would prevail.
Uniforms. I don’t hate the Green helmet. I don’t like the extra shit, like the feathers, the diamond plate, the twelve different patterns. Their basic white road uni’s, before the feathers and shoulder pad crap were pretty clean. Just a solid Green Jersey with the black sides, even with yellow numbers would be okay.
You don’t need whacky to get cool uni’s. Lots of peopel still like the Penn State, Nebraska and Notre Dame Uni’s, and there’s not much too them.
July 21, 2010 at 11:54 am
That’s diamond plating? I thought they were tire tracks across their shoulders and thighs.
I need to alter my fashion sensibilities in order to accommodate this revelation.
Now their uni’s make sense. NOW they’re cool!
July 21, 2010 at 2:16 pm
That diamond plating was embarrasing and NOT COOL. I don’t know how many times I voted to get rid of it. However, I kinda like the feathers. Kinda Roman Empire/Legion-ish.
You guys got some cool uni’s though. Hard not to like what my Harley Davidson wispers to me. Believe me, It is hard knowing mike bike is a traitor.
July 21, 2010 at 3:36 pm
The feathers were very bad. Yellow and green are eye-catching when mixed. The O is simple and minimal. They have a good thing, and they ruined it with feathers.
July 21, 2010 at 9:31 am
I got tired of the other ‘theme’, so I changed the hoops site. It still needs some work, but I like it more than the other. Maybe it’s just change that makes me feel better.
http://orangeexpress.wordpress.com/
July 21, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Wowsers. Not bad. The change is nice.
July 21, 2010 at 9:32 am
I saw from a Registerguard comment that 2010 Cal recruits Chris Martin is transferring and Cecil Whiteside might not be academically eligible. That’s big. Those were two of the highly regarded front seven recruits that Lupoi has been getting signed. I wonder where Martin’s going.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/cal-bears/ci_15560828?source=rss&nclick_check=1
July 21, 2010 at 10:01 am
There were some mumblings of him heading to ND
July 21, 2010 at 10:52 am
He was committed to ND before Weis was fired, so that would make sense if they have the space.
If Whiteside doesn’t make it, then they’re losing big. McCain is already an academic question, so he’s gray shirting. And I think Martin was the guy recruiting all those front seven players. I wonder how much his leaving will affect attitudes.
July 21, 2010 at 11:39 am
Cal fans can be pretty naive at times. It’s as if they never left campus during their whole college career. Some of their blogs wonder aloud why Martin’s ‘distractions’ would be a problem when he would be consumed by school and football.
Does nobody understand that ‘distractions’ in Oakland can come looking for you with lethal consequences in mind? You would think even the dullest Cal student/alum would know that the East Bay has some unsavory characters living there.
July 21, 2010 at 11:52 am
The rich get richer. Son of a gun. I’m not a Cal fan, but I like to see talent stay in the Pac 10.
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/gatorbytes/2010/07/21/football-picks-up-big-transfer-in-lb-chris-martin/
July 21, 2010 at 12:51 pm
At least there are no distractions in Gainesville. I wonder what Cal fans are thinking at this moment.
I mean, it’s not as if Florida makes Oregon look like pre-school for malcontents.
July 21, 2010 at 11:33 am
The Oregonian says Oregon State has sold a record number of Season tickets. Lowered prices and donation minimum, got some of those higher up seats sold it seems. Good move I think. Get people in the seats.
July 21, 2010 at 11:50 am
“We kind of evaluated it, and it wasn’t a demand issue,” OSU ticket manager Matt Arend said. “In hearing people’s comments last year, it was a price issue.”
It appears some people don’t quite get the idea of supply and demand. High prices=low demand. Low prices=high demand.
Amazing how simple that concept is.
July 21, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Yes…sort of intertwined they are. If you put up a sign, “Free Dog Turds”, you might find some demand if that price is low enough.
July 21, 2010 at 3:35 pm
No, but if the said said “100$ to eat free dog turds”…
July 21, 2010 at 3:41 pm
It’s not that they’re intertwined. Price point is a part of the product itself. I still remember Professor Vars explaining the value of price as a component of the product itself.
His example, if anyone out there remembers, was Cool Whip. They introduced the product for $.05, and it sat on shelves because everyone thought it was inferior due to price. So after focus groups they raised the price to $.15 or $.25, and they couldn’t keep up with demand.
Obviously, that’s the exception to the rule. Most marketing misses on the high side. That was the case for the Valley View seats, and a restructuring of the product was necessary in order to fill them. People felt differently about the product, and they bought it.
And it doesn’t matter who bought the tickets either. Selling that product for $5 is better than not selling it at all. Bobby D was right to be upset about not filling the stadium. He was just upset with the wrong people. I’ve never sat in a meeting and listened to a veep yell at potential customers for not buying the product. It’s usually the sales director catching the heat.
All that said, I think the empty corners were a product of poor design. Autzen doesn’t have empty corners because they have no corners. There’s something to be said for bowl design. UO is going to face the same dilemma at the new hoops arena. Fans aren’t stupid. Those seats are an inferior product, and they should have been considered as such from the beginning.
Beavs hoops will be filling again in the coming years due to better play. But Gill itself is an amazing court when it rocks. With the exception of McKale and The Pit (the real one), Gill is the best arena in the west when the team is rolling.
We’ll have to see how the upgrades to Pauley end up. I love the history of that place, but it was worse than Gill in terms of the facilities. If they close in that one open end, it could be a lot better. But I think they’re going to simply move the court to make both end lines equally open. There’s only so much they can do I guess.
I haven’t been to Galen yet, but it looks like they hosed the upper deck fans in order to install luxury boxes and relieve the lower deck bowl incline.
I have to say that McCarthey Athletic Center has to be the best new build in years. It’s capacity is only about 6K, but everyone sits on the court, and it gets loud.
July 21, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Has anyone else ever had the thought that you can tell if a guy is going to be good/bad based on his face? I know I know, it’s wackier than phrenology, but I still believe it. For example, the guy on the cover of Rivals right now: http://oregonstate.rivals.com/
no chance he is good.
July 21, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Dude, that guy looks like he’ll make you squeal like a pig.
But hey, if he’s not a criminal he’ll probably just kill the opposition on the field.
July 21, 2010 at 8:46 pm
I realize that wasn’t going to be a popular stance, but I feel it’s true. You can deduct a lot from a mug shot.
July 22, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Hey Angry, I am curious who you would be recruiting? your top 10 recruit targets and why? This would be pretty interesting to me and prob. other peep.
July 22, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Good idea.
July 22, 2010 at 9:19 pm
Shirley to UW. So funny that just last week when a small tid-bit of news said Shirley might consider UofO the Husky Blog faithful went off on Kelly and Oregon…. So funny the very same are hailing Sark and the kid just made a mistake like so many kids do. I really don’t blame them for being excited about grabbing a great recruit who made an error, but it is amazing how blind love is. If he had come to the Ducks, the very same would be going off about how glad they are they have such an upstading coach that would never do such a thing. I guess whatever helps you sleep at night.
July 22, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Perception is everything. Does a “kid” really make a mistake in choosing Stanford or Cal or Washington over OSU? Probably not. Those schools offer the same things athletically, and a better academic reputation. But Beaver fans will write time and time again “the kid made a mistake”…pretty much the only time a Beaver fan can utter that phrase and be right is if the recruit picks Washington State. Even then it’s not accurate, but it has some justification. The recruit ultimately goes where, after weighing all variables, he thinks is best. It’s only a mistake if he goes for the wrong reasons or isn’t 100% sure, and that’s a lot for a fan to assume.
July 23, 2010 at 12:10 am
Sounds like the conversation I had with my buddy about Tyler Johnstone. If he truly wants to be an engineer, then he actually did make a mistake in choosing UO.
Blah, blah… perception isn’t reality… blah, blah.
Maybe it would be fitting to call Oregon a bunch of late bloomers. We took control of the nursery industry and simply ran away with it over the last 20 years due to the spectacular ag and ag econ innovations developed at OSU.
You can thank us for your beer… if you drink beer. If you drink Bud, then you have my condolences.
Though I can not stand the sight of it, your lawn was developed somewhere.
And I’m a tree hugger, but I really like this idea… an idea which will net billions for Oregon State.
http://www.nuscalepower.com/
Because we are so late to the party, and because we an everything grant university, researchers and corporate sponsors have found a palette free of the clutter some other schools carry as a burden. We’re not so heavily invested in the old ways that we can’t see the reality that is the future. We’re not so strapped to aging facilities that we can build new and be done with them for years.
And if you can’t find a reference or source for anything you’re studying at OSU, then you really haven’t tried. Our library can reach out to anyone in the world or sift through its own archives with more efficiency than just about any other library in the world.
I’m getting bored with this whole perception/education argument. There are areas for improvement. Ray has targeted those areas and set goals for increasing enrollment and raising stature to be a top ten land grant institution. The steps that have occurred in the last decade alone have been remarkable. I look forward to the next decade.
And yeah… UW fans don’t get a prize for being hypocrites. I’d gladly trade Middleton for Shirley. But I would have traded Middleton for just about anyone, and I’ve said as much to anyone who ever mentioned his name to me. UW fans defended against my ‘ridiculous opinions’ of him with tooth and nail, but now they always knew he was trouble.
What a bunch of hacks.
July 23, 2010 at 7:31 am
By perception is everything, I mean from the kid’s perspective he is making the right choice, but from the fans of 9 other Pac-10 schools he “made a mistake”. Both can’t be right or wrong unless perception is reality. But as soon as you mention the word perception the conversation inevitably leads back to the tree falling in a forest debate. But I digress…
The OSU library is incredible. I think it won Library of the Year in 1999.
Ray’s first goal should be getting us out of 3rd tier status, whatever it takes. As flawed as those rankings are, they exist and 99% of people take them as gospel. They are a huge eye sore to every non-OSU human being looking at the school, whether it’s a recruit or not. I think you’d see huge strides (and fast) in every facet if that scarlet letter were lifted, because well, perception is everything. Well that was circular.
July 23, 2010 at 8:12 am
I agree, to me US News school rankings are about like recruiting service rankings for high school football recruits or SAT scores for individual academics. Condensing all the factors that influence success into one index score far from tells the whole story, and sometimes unduly affects perceptions. But, they are often times a little more accurate than those of us who aren’t top 25, 5 stars, or 1500 care to admit.
July 23, 2010 at 8:36 am
I could be wrong, but I think UofDuck was referring to the “mistake” the kid made by stealing a purse…UW fans were poking the Ducks for wanting to sign a petty thief, but when he landed at UW, all of a sudden, they’re saying that the kid just made a minor error in judgement (the theft) and that he really is a good kid…typical of most fan bases…
July 23, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Exactly, thanks GreatWhite.
July 23, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Ah, gotcha. Very typical.
In my experience, most football players are not “good kids” or “good guys”. The line between the name on the front of a jersey and the name on the back becomes blurred by bias.
It’s interesting that fans act like they know the kid, too. “Oh yeah, so and so is a great kid”…okay, sure, like you know him, guy.
July 24, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Haha, the ones that I claim to know I actually do know. I am a recent grad who has spent a significant chunk of time around some of the players.
July 23, 2010 at 8:49 am
“The OSU library is incredible. I think it won Library of the Year in 1999.”
Indeed. I wonder if they still have locks on the little private study rooms that you can check out with a simple swipe of the SB card…best part of the whole library…and I’ll leave it to you to guess why…
July 23, 2010 at 9:27 am
Ummm… ewww!
July 24, 2010 at 6:51 pm
They do still have locks. They do have big windows on the doors though…
July 23, 2010 at 9:56 am
I don’t even know what 3rd tier means. I’ve looked at USNews’ methodology for the rankings, and OSU beats several ’1st’ tier schools by leaps and bounds in many sectors.
The only thing I can think of is that the subjective surveys sent to administrators of colleges and universities comes back weighted in their own favor.
Duh!
And the response rate comes in at a ridiculously low 73%. I think thy tout it to be higher, but apparently they were lying. And that’s only the overall survey. They survey specific departments to rate themselves and others as well, and the response rate is less than 30%.
There’s absolutely nothing OSU can do to change its perception with USNews short of waving a wad of cash in front of the editors. That’s how many on the ’1st tier’ list ended up there in the first place.
I always liked this article:
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2007/05/10/mccormick
In summary, the author says there are two things wrong with USNews’ rankings:
1. Their extremely lazy classification system
2. Everything else
There’s not even a devil’s advocate position for their rankings which any thinking person can pose without falling on the floor laughing halfway through the presentation.
All that said, it’s extremely hard for any athletic recruit to choose poorly when considering any Pac 10 schools. Engineering at UO is about all I can think of.
If a kid is truly a good student, s/he will succeed wherever they go. If they’re just spewing stupid idioms, then it is what it is.
July 23, 2010 at 10:17 am
angry, I checked out your new site. Are you going to segregate sports in the forum? I know you want to limit it to the big three. I would suggest putting the ‘main theme’ bar above each of the three sports and allowing limited visibility (five posts for football, three for the others) on your forum main page. You’ll probably also want to add a fourth category for ‘General Discussion’ and a fifth for ‘Troll Threads’… the last being a dump site for the inevitable.
July 23, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Actually, I am going to try to integrate it into my main theme/style sheet so it has the same look as the blog. The girlfriend’s parents are visiting so I’m completely swamped with that. Hopefully this weekend. I like the idea of “football” and “everything else” as categories, but maybe “football”, “other sports”, and “general discussion” is better.
I’m working on a wikipedia. It’s almost done. It’s going to allow users to do write ups on players etc. I’d like an accurate portrayal for historical purposes. For example, there would be a page for Kristick and we’d all contribute to writing it, and we’d all have our say. People 20 years from now would see the conflicting opinions etc and get a true picture of the player. I think this is important.
July 24, 2010 at 8:34 pm
What’s the new sites domain name? Are you not posting the link for personal reasons or is it for certain peoples viewings only? I’d like to see your handy work and still follow you on that web site as well.
Go Beavs!
July 24, 2010 at 11:53 pm
I found it by looking for it. I was not invited, and I told angry about it because it’s not public yet.
I duly request that the forum section does indeed have a segregated area to dump stalker threads.
July 25, 2010 at 11:41 am
Oh ok. Good to know JackBeav.
July 23, 2010 at 12:57 pm
It almost looks like our recruiters just walked into the locker room at Oak Ridge Military Academy in NC and offer the entire team a scholarship…
July 23, 2010 at 2:50 pm
One thing I’ve been pleased with over the past five years is the steady improvement of our cheerleaders. They’re actually cuter than the Duck cheerleaders at this point. I remember a few years back I’d have to turn the channel during commercials if my buddies were around. Between this and my observation that you can determine how good a recruit is based on his face, you can see anti-angrybeaver was accurate in his assessment that I’d like to be a professional journalist.
July 23, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Basketball too. I caught a few games FSNW this last year here in Nebraska, and I was glad I was watching on my projector. Normally you wouldn’t want to see them on a 10′ screen. This year it was a plus!
July 23, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Probably should not have written this with the girlfriend’s parents in town (I don’t think she knows I run this blog, thankfully).
July 24, 2010 at 8:29 pm
Now she does.
July 23, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Hey Jack:
USC just offered Tyler Johnstone (after he committed to UofO). Think he might jump ship? You seem to have a pretty good pipeline. Thanks.
July 23, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Not a chance.
July 23, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Johnstone must have been given a higher rating. Fink doesn’t offer a kid unless he’s 4* or higher. He has a recruiting class ranking to win.
It was funny last year when I was reading the Tennessee blogs about who Fink offered. If you just looked at every top 100 list for every position, he offered the top six or so. When one committed somewhere else, he would just offer the next on the list. But he rarely dipped into 3* country. I think O-line was the only place that happened since the recruiting services have no clue as to how an O-lineman should be evaluated.
I guess it’s possible that Fink just saw that Greatwood nabbed Johnstone, so he thought he must be good. Greatwood ain’t the best developer of talent, but he has an excellent eye for it. I think Max Unger was something silly like a 2*, but many, many people on the West Coast knew how good he really was. Two conditions kept him from being a 5*. He was in Hawai’i, and he wasn’t on the Rock–he was on the Big Island. But he was a monster nonetheless.
July 25, 2010 at 10:50 am
Music to my ears. Thanks.
July 23, 2010 at 5:11 pm
One cool thing about having Fink in our conference is that the rest of the Pac 10 has to stay on their toes with his tendency to try and poach other players. Those schools don’t have the extra time to try and poach on their own.
July 23, 2010 at 11:51 pm
I thought this was a funny quote from Steve McNair Jr:
“Most people think they want to go to a big time college, and then they are happy. I do not want to go to some big time school for the prestige. I just want to go where I am needed, not even necessarily where I like it the most.”
Good stuff.
Apparently Oregon showed some interest before he committed to Southern Miss, but he’s not going to pass clearinghouse so it’s moot.
July 24, 2010 at 11:59 pm
All right…
http://twitter.com/Oregonstbuzztap
I’m not going to dignify the site with a hit, but it seems the very first post on this thread was in fact stolen information from Blitz.
Wake me when the stalkers are done whining about whatever they whine about.
July 25, 2010 at 2:04 pm
JackBeav, I just sent you an email. Let me know if you can help.
July 26, 2010 at 12:58 am
No wonder ducks have horrible uniforms…they allow the players to design them!! Surprised they don’t have white and black horizontal stripes on them! Nah, that’d clash with the Referee’s if they did that. Also the Fairy wings apparently serve as a wear and tear prevention on the shoulder pads. I think that’s what we saw with Keaton Kristick wearing a practice jersey with a similar design on it in a previous video last season on Oregonlive.com
Posted both links:
http://www2.registerguard.com/cms/index.php/duck-football/comments/new-uniforms-coming-in-2010/
http://videos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2009/08/osus_keaton_kristick.html
July 26, 2010 at 10:50 am
Just looking at the 2010 schedule. With the tough non-conference schedule, unless this turns into a special team, I could see this being a 6 or 7 win season.
I can see wins coming from games with Louisville and ASU. 1 or 2 wins amongst the UA, UW, and UCLA road games. Home wins against Cal and WSU. And splitting the USC and Oregon home games.
To me, based on superstition, the Cal and Oregon games seem like wildcards. They should beat Cal at home, but that would mean 4 wins in a row against them. That seems unlikely. And the defending champs, Oregon, seem better on paper. But the Beavers losing at home- making it 3 losses in a row to UO also seems unlikely.
Any thoughts on my guesses?
July 26, 2010 at 12:16 pm
09/04/10 vs. TCU (L)
09/18/10 vs. Louisville (W)
09/25/10 at Boise State (L)
10/02/10 vs. Arizona State (W)
10/09/10 at Arizona Tucson, Ariz. (L)
10/16/10 at Washington Seattle, Wash. (W)
10/30/10 vs. California (W)
11/06/10 at UCLA Los Angeles, Calif. (W)
11/13/10 vs. Washington State (W)
11/20/10 vs. USC (Toss up)
11/27/10 at Stanford (W)
12/04/10 vs. Oregon (W)
It’s a little optimistic, but close o how I think we’re going to do.
July 26, 2010 at 12:58 pm
09/04/10 vs. TCU (L)
(I’m optimistic, but first starting QB makes me think we lose in a close game or get blown out)
9/11/10 BYE (W) (We tweak our mistakes and come out with a win next week.
09/18/10 vs. Louisville (W)
09/25/10 at Boise State (Toss up)
10/02/10 vs. Arizona State (W)
10/09/10 at Arizona Tucson, Ariz. (Toss up)
10/16/10 at Washington Seattle, Wash. (W)
10/30/10 vs. California (W)
11/06/10 at UCLA Los Angeles, Calif. (W)
11/13/10 vs. Washington State (W)
11/20/10 vs. USC (W)
11/27/10 at Stanford (W)
12/04/10 vs. Oregon (W)
I don’t think USC is overated and they’ll come in too cocky and confident that we are not that good (depending on how my predictions go. If we gel and finish strong like past seasons…we win this game..if we struggle all season we most likely lost more games than not.
I also want to point out that we don’t know what it’s like to have an athletic QB in the mix since we haven’t had a true scrambling QB in Riley’s system before. I’m curious to see how fast he can run away from guys. I’m thinking he’ll play a bit like CAL’s QB when we beat them in Berkley, Cal in 2007. Riley came in and he could scramble and run the offense as a back up…it would be a similar situation I feel. Different offense, but a different look that other defenses haven’t seen, much like Quizz and James Rodgers when they first arrived. No one knew their potential until they saw game film and played him live. I am hopeful of this season because we have enough talent to succeed, we are just inexperienced. after our 3 non conference games, that will help Katz get more experience than playing E. Washington because it will be a top ranked team and win or lose, he knows he played against a top ranked team in the country and knows what it’s like. If nothing else this upcoming season, that is more valuable than playing weaker opponents.
July 26, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Guys,
The new site, forum, and wiki are (essentially) complete. I’m opening the new site tonight.
http://angrybeavs.com
Look for it within the hour.
July 26, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Before I agree to the terms I must ask for my safety to ask you angry, “Did you set up any back doors or any kind of encryption that would allow you to gain access to my computer by any means?
July 26, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Ha. You should be good, b4l.
July 26, 2010 at 7:20 pm
I like the Jobs listing with the “Journalist: Forging your credentials to gain access to coaches, staff, and players for interviews.” lol Nice touch!