Looking ahead to Oregon State
by John Berkowitz on Nov 10, 2009 9:21 AM PST
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PrintWashington's post season hopes are hanging by a thread going into this encounter witht he Oregon State Beavers. Like all Mike Riley teams this squad keeps improving each week and most importantly keeps winning games. Last week it was on the road against Cal and this week it will be at home against Washington.
The Beavers are 4-2 in the Pac 10 race and 6-3 on the season. The losses were to Cincinnati, Arizona, and USC. Left on their slate is Washington, WSU, and Oregon so a finish as high as 9-3 is very possible this season. Even with only two losses the Rose bowl is unlikely. USC would have to lose one more time, Arizona would have to lose twice, and of course they would have to beat the hated Ducks.
The Beavers aren't what I would call a dominant team going into this one but Washington on paper doesn't match up well with these guys. Offensively the Beavers have a lot of firepower with the Rodgers brothers and Sean Canfield. Washington's defense hasn't been able to stop anyone lately and the Beavers sport one of the more explosive offenses in the Pac 10. The top passing team in the Pac 10 isn't a great match for a team ranked 7th in passing defense.
The Beavers lead the conference in passing averaging 279 ypg and balance it out with an average of 131 ypg on the ground. Jacquizz Rodgers averages 109 ypg which isn't that eye popping. What is eye popping is his 15 TD's this season which leads the league. The hidden ingredient in the Beaver's overall stats is all purpose yards. James Rodgers leads the league with an average of 179 ypg! Washington needs to be very careful when they kick the ball in James Rodgers direction.
Defensively the Beavers started the season young and challenged but the front seven has matured enough to start putting pressure on opposing QB's. The defensive backfield is still susceptible to giving up some big yards if you can get time to throw the ball. The Beavs give up an average of 264 ypg through the air and only 100 on the ground.
If Washington is going to pull off the upset they need to be able to run the ball to set up the pass. Chris Polk picked up 134 yards against UCLA on 15 carries. Coach Sarkisian says that when teams aren't expecting the run UW does fine. When teams are looking for the run the Huskies tend to get stuffed which has contributed to the problems scoring in the red zone this season. Washington needs to run the ball better to beat OSU.
Washington also needs to win the special teams battle in this game to have chance to win. James Johnson provided some spark to the return unit against UCLA which is something the staff has been looking for all season. The key in this one is containing James Rodgers on kick and punt returns. Washington can't allow him to get loose.
Jake Locker hasn't had a great game in some time. He is going to need one if Washington is going to have any chance of beating the Beavers in Corvallis. The quad bruise limited his mobility last week even though Sark called a few designed runs for him. Jake was still fast but you could tell he was running a little choppy. Another week of treatment in the training room should help with that.
Jake needs to take advantage of a Beaver secondary that has a propensity for being burned. The Beavs have some fast athletes back there so it isn't like he is going up against a bunch of stiffs. It is just a young secondary that is learning every game. Jake needs to take advantage of their mistakes. Despite the inexperience back there the Beavers play quit a bit man to man coverage. The Washington receivers need to expoit that early and make Oregon State play from behind.
Game Notes
Reggie Davis the Beavers’ first-year running backs coach, is a former Husky tight end and UW graduate.
Washington leads the overall series with Oregon State 57-32-4.
The teams first met on Dec. 4, 1897, with Oregon State earning a 16-0 home win.
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The Beavers
Kind of funny, but I do not have anything bad too say, or animosity toward the Beavers. I think their coach and team are very blue collar types.
We appreciate that.
I would say about 75% of Beaver fans hate UW with almost the same passion as they do the ducks.
The Cougs we’ve always kind’ve liked for some reason, although lately they’re a little hard to watch.
ArbyOSU, I’m not a UW alumnus. My point of view doesn’t necessarily represent the UW alumnus viewpoint.
Funny thing
I tend to think that OSU is our “favorite” school in the Pacific Northwest. We hate Oregon, we hate Wazzu, and OSU just seems to slip under “our” radar.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
I believe your “under our radar” feelings might contribute to the feelings many Beavers have for your program. There’s a certain arrogance—which seems rather out of place nowadays—that many UW fans have. You guys used to be really good and it made sense to behave like that. But now?
Here’s my view on Oregon State:
Under Mike Riley, it’s hard not to admire the program. They are tough players; they typically have a really good running game, QB’s that are developed well for the pro game and a tough defense.
Sound familiar? To me, Mike Riley is very similar to Don James. It’s not a perfect comp, but there are a lot of similarities.
The fact that Oregon State has built themselves back up into a very good program after 2 decades of utter futility is also admirable.
Also, and maybe it’s a mistaken impression – I don’t get the same sense from Oregon State fans of them acting as obnoxious as Oregon fans. It feels like they appreciate their success but remember what it used to be like, unlike Duck fans that seem to have no memory of the world before 1994.
So, yeah – I don’t really have animosity towards Oregon State, not like Oregon or WSU. I respect the job that Riley has done, I respect their style of play and I don’t see a whole lot of obnoxious Oregon State fans rubbing their recent success and our recent failures in our face.
except DJ never left to the NFL, got his arse spanked and got a second chance.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
I think the only time you’ll hear smack talk from a beaver is when we get dismissed by either husky or duck fans, who often times like to cite the past as a reason for them being a better program or stronger in anyway. It’s especially annoying when the past ten years have been quite the equalizer for all three programs.
That said, we also remember getting our butts kicked, which is a reason we have built up animosity toward uw and why we’ve enjoyed the past five games in the series so much.
Duck fans don’t like it when I point this out, but from 2006 onward it’s virtually a dead heat between Oregon and Oregon State as to which team has been the best in the PNW. I’d much, much rather see the Beavers in a Rose Bowl than the Ducks, and will be pulling for you guys to do so if you beat us this week.
That said, we Husky fans are going to remember how the tides turned, and we will look forward to turning them back. That may take a while – it may require Riley to retire before the UW dominates Oregon State again, if ever – but history is on our side :)
agreed.
… there really isn’t anything to not like about OSU. They were losers for so long that it dulled our senses to them. Since Riley came on board, the program has been a model – coached well, managed well, out of the press for the wrong reasons and consistently getting the maximum out of undervalued players. It could be different if Erickson had stayed there a long time, but lucky for OSU he didn’t.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
To be completely honest, I was sick when Erickson left and Riley came back. I didn’t think we’d be any good and I thought the program would plummet back into the basement of the PAC 10. I’m glad Riley put my worries to rest but a little part of me always wonders what would have happened if Dennis would have really been able to build here.
Then I look at ASU and see how behind schedule they are and I quickly thank the football gods for sending Riley back.
Press
Gecko wrote : , out of the press for the wrong reasons
Memories are short, the only reason I remember this is because it was so humorous. The football player who was caught with a sheep in his pickup truck borrowed from the vet school. LOL
Corvallis
Funny things happen in farming communities.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 11, 2009 11:58 AM PST up reply actions
:)
The funny thing about that supposed sheep story is it reminds me of an incident that happened in Greek Row at the UW when I was a student there. Pretty much same story – a station wagon was found with a sheep loaded in back in an alley behind the Theta Xi house. The sheep was going to be used as a prank in their initiation process, but a UW officer discovered the sheep in the car before the prank could be pulled off.
I vividly recall the description in the police beat article of the sheep being “hot and agitated”. I also was sad, as that incident pretty much was the last straw for Theta Xi at the UW at the time and it had been my grandfather’s fraternity.
Kids doing stupid stuff in college is pretty much universal – doesn’t matter what town you’re talking about.
Doing stupid stuff in college is pretty much mandatory. Unfortunately, the sheep incident is too good, too strange and too hilarious for anyone to forget.
The sheep was going to be used as a prank in their initiation process…
This is a great argument against ever joining a frat. Precisely the reason I was scared off—weird initiations? No thanks!
I can only assume, since I wasn’t in that fraternity, that they were going to have their initiates blindfolded and led into a room with the sheep and made to believe there were supposed to do something with it (bugger it? kill it?) as a prank before revealing it as being a prank.
Stupid stuff indeed. But that’s pretty much the definition of what most kids do at college…
that's is old seattlelite's the kingdome is still in the picture
it was imploded six or seven years ago.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Nov 12, 2009 5:26 PM PST up reply actions
I bet you guys like WSU for the same reason we like OSU.
We feel the least “threatened” by OSU, as OSU probably feels the least “threatened” by WSU.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
You feel the least threatened by OSU? Still?
It’s been a while since you last beat us. I’d feel threatened.
I mean, no flame intended, but I’m just curious why we’d be non-threatening… we’ve won 6 of the last 10 meetings, including 5 straight (three at your place).
I don’t mean to insinuate you guys will never be good again because obviously that isn’t true, but we recruit well, go bowling regularly and our rise has pretty much coincided with your fall. I’d hate to think that UW fans can’t respect that…
I completely understand where you are coming from.
No worries, I can fully understand how our attitude has helped OSU fans to dislike us. Seattle is a big city, with a big university, with a big football program and big resources. So we have to look at two things, on field performance, and overall program. On the field you have owned us lately, but so has everyone else. Off the field Corvallis will never be able to compete with Seattle as far as supplying resources to run a big program, and in the great USA, it’s all about money.
The UW will always have a top notch program, the problem lately is translating that into on the field results. For instance, WSU only pays their head coach $600,000 per year, we pay ours three times as much. You can’t have long term success without the resources to continue that success.
Is that cocky, yes. Is it entitled, yes. Is it true, yes.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
I would also say that UW currently couldn’t be counted as a “top notch” program. You guys seem to be on the fast track back and have undoubtedly been the sleeping giant over the past decade as things have throttled down and gotten bad. But right now, the only thing that has been impressive has been your S.O.S.—I’m incredibly jealous of that. Oh, and Jake Locker too. That dude’s an animal.
Depends
If you look at the entire program, and forget the on field results, we still have a top notch program. Now I’m the first to admit that on field results are ALL that matters, but we still bring in 70+ million per year, we’ve just had complete and total morons running the program for the last 15+ years. Now that we have football minded people in place, we will return to the top of the Pac10.
P.S. – I know I’m coming across as entitled, but college football has proven over and over and over again, programs with the most money and resources will have the most success over the long term.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
depends on how you define program
… if you elect to use the narrow definition that describes its performance at a point in time, that is one thing
… if you expand the definition to include tradition, historical accomplishments, association with university, status of fan base and booster, etc … then we have a much different story.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
I guess in this case it would depend on how you'd define "define"...
It’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at. Right now, you guys are far from “top notch”… again I’ll say that your road back is probably much shorter than the rest of the PAC 10 would like to admit, but right now, UW can’t be counted among college football’s “top notch” programs, let alone the northwest’s.
Maybe this will clear it up . . .
UW is a top notch program, but not a very good team.
WSU is a piss poor program, and a piss poor team.
Oregon is a good program, and a good team
OSU is a average program, and a good team
USC is a great program, but this year they are a good team, last year they were a great team.
Notre Dame is a top notch program, but just an average team.
Needless to say, Program is different than Team, they can be completely seperate from each other.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
It’s all semantics. Just be glad you guys have a great coach in Riley and enough program support that Parker Stadium got renovated into Reser Stadium, and enjoy the ride – it can go away just like that.
Believe me, I am.
Been down, enjoy being up.
I was just trying to make sense of nonsense, that’s all. Everyone loves there team and no one, myself included, can take off those rose—in this case it’d be orange or purple—tinted glasses, at least not all the way.
Threatening
WSU is more “threatening” because they are the in state rival. We have to put up with WSU fans day in and day out.
Oregon is more “threatening” because they are currently successful and have Pimp Daddy Knight’s checkbook.
Even though we’ve been owned by OSU lately, we’ve been owned by just about everybody. OSU just doesn’t create the same sort of passion/venom/animosity that WSU and OU create. Sorry.
All that being said, I fully expect OSU to beat us easily on Saturday. And I fully expect UW to beat WSU in a few weeks. OSU just happens to be UW’s 3rd most hated team in the PNW, which is the same as saying the most liked team.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
Well, I won’t argue with the obvious. OSU certainly doesn’t try to compete with UW off the field. Different type of university, different type of community and a different type of culture overall. Neither one of us would switch places, I can guarantee that.
I guess right now I’m just happy that for the past ten years we’ve gotten the better of UW on the football field. Can’t say I’m offended by your lack of hate for OSU now that you’ve explained it. For now, you and WSU are a better fit. I mean, location aside, I can understand why you’d feel threatened by them.
6 of 10 over 10 years is hardly dominating over that time period...
… our collapse and your “domination” (hard to use that word as everyone has dominated UW over that span) is a five year phenomenon. Too bad you couldn’t take advantage and get to a Rose Bowl one of those years.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
Didn’t really want to start a flame war, but can you really talk smack after going winless? Come on, man, simply trying to converse with some semblance of civility here…
I didn't realize that I was talking smack when I acknowledged that we've been dominated by everyone and that it is too bad you haven't gone to the Rose Bowl.
Did I miss something?
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
ahh - I did miss something...
… OSU fans hate UW so anything that could possibly be perceived as a slight will get magnified the way UW perceives comments coming out of UO and WSU camps. I get it now.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
The Rose Bowl observation came across as a slight, mainly because it had little to do with how our two teams have matched up over the years. Rather off-topic if you ask me, even if it is true.
But since you brought up the Rose Bowl, losing to Stanford was the worst thing that could happen to us last year. Friggin’ disgusting. Oh, and there was that civil war too…
For whatever reason...
in my personal experience WSU & UO fans always tend to be “mouthy” and almost intolerable (especially my Coug friends) when we talk football. All the OSU fans I know have always been very pleasant to be around while football is discussed
We try to be civil.
Ducks usually bring out the worst in us too.
As for the Cougs, there’s a kindred “state school” spirit thing going on, so I think they spare us their BS. I’ve only run into problems with them at basketball games.
well, when you brought up "10 years" I, of course, immediately recalled the fact that the UW has won a Rose Bowl in the last 10.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
Hmm… I guess we’re going to have to disagree on this then. I don’t see where that fits on how we’ve stacked up against each other in individual games. I mean, I don’t think we played you in that Rose Bowl, ya dig?
disagree on what?
what we have hear is a failure to communicate. You mentioned 10 years. I pointed out that UW has not been futile for 10 years having produced a Rose Bowl victory in that time span. Just reciting facts.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
I pointed out that UW has not been futile for 10 years…
At any point did I actually insinuate this? I’m seriously curious. If so, I mistyped.
Let's just start over. Hi, my name is Gekko.
I like the taste of my own eyeballs.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
Come on...
…you can’t be that naive! Wazzu is our instate rival and we LOATHE Oregon! Do you want us to hate you?
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Jordan James Recruitment
Hi John, I see that Jordan James will be announcing his commitment on Thursday. Do your sources think UW has a shot? Thanks
James will not be picking the UW – he ruled them out a while back. He’ll be picking from Cal, UCLA, Arizona and Notre Dame.
No they don't
Sorry, but Scout.com’s database info is out of date. Scott Eklund has confirmed that James has ruled out the UW.
Brandon Huffman, West Recruiting Manager for Scout.com on Nov 10, 2009 made that statement of Washington being on James list. Not saying he is coming here, but Huffman stetd it in his featured article.
by bigdawgdaddy999 on Nov 12, 2009 10:33 AM PST up reply actions
Brandon is out of date on that:
http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4642610&name=West_Recruiting
Scott Eklund has said basically the same thing. You can choose to believe that the UW is still on his list, but you’d be wrong.
Once we got Deontae Cooper...
We were not going to get James….four stars tend to spread out. I am thinking Notre Dame or Arizona.
by John Berkowitz on Nov 10, 2009 10:54 PM PST up reply actions
Time for a Nate Robinson
to jump start our wayback. Why is it OSU has a very youngOL/DL yet continue to improve every week while we scream for out unknown young freshmen to play and then throw them under the bus by seasons end. Just asking? I think sometime soon, the UW needs to quit playing the freshmen early, suck it up for a year versus 4 years and get them Pac 10 ready both physically and mentally
A very long shot at best to beat the Beavs, but thats why they play the game versus mailing it in.
Why is it OSU has a very youngOL/DL yet continue to improve every week while we scream for out unknown young freshmen to play and then throw them under the bus by seasons end. Just asking?
Answer:Recruiting and coaching. Two things our coaches do very well in Corvallis. We might not get top ranked kids all the time (true Frosh OT Michael Philipp was very highly rated by most BS recruiting services but is starting now and looks great) but our coaches are great about molding what they have into top flight PAC 10 linemen. For example, there are two (possibly three) walk-ons in our OL rotation right now.
All that said, I hope the continued progression doesn’t waver.
James still on UW's list
James has stuck with five schools throughout the majority of the process. Washington, Notre Dame, California, Arizona and UCLA
by bigdawgdaddy999 on Nov 10, 2009 4:24 PM PST reply actions
Out of date
James will choose between Cal, UCLA, Arizona and Notre Dame. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but he ruled out the UW a while back.
We've got 2 RB recruits commited
I don’t see James committing. I see him at either Arizona, Ucla, or Cal. Notre Dame and Tennessee would be iffy. We’ve got great personnel at RB so losing James services is not and end all.
We need another inside LB, another DE, safeties, and corners to fill up this class. Anything else is gravy.
All I saw was purple
Oregon State
Is going to chew us up and spit us out. We beat WSU, but lose miserably to both Oregon State and Cal. At this point in the late season we don’t have the required depth to stay with folks and that is how you win in mid to late November. A sucky Ucla team and we lost to them. Why? Because they have more depth.
All I saw was purple
Yep
A sucky UCLA team, who happened to be 9th (I think) in total offense in the Pac10, and they put up 450+ yards of offense against us? And they did part of it with their back up QB. That’s really bad, no matter how you slice it. At least my fantasy team will benefit from Jacquizz ripping us a new one.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
Ucla
Did in fact play the beavs to the wire at their house.
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
Beavers are known for improving throughtout the season
They are also known for not playing too well at the beginning of the season. Either way, UCLA is not a good team. Losing to them really hurts, it puts us squarely in 9th place in the Pac10, not much different than Willingham teams.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
Yes it does...
…hurt but they DID in fact play the beavs to the wire at their house.
Washington Husky Football-Undefeated 1991 National Champions 12-0!
disagree, crazi
Cal at this time is too hard to pick. Will Best be cleared to play and if so, is he going to give his all and risk possible further damage to his NFL future. Will Cal be playing for a Las vegas or Emerald bowl and really care? Will it be miserably cold and drizzly in early Dec at 330 kickoff. When we get to Cal week, I might be agreeing with you then, but right now I like our chances with Cal.
That is the reason why I was so torqued we gave away the game to UCLA, as I think we could have been playing Cal to be bowl eligible. I do not think we can beat the beavs this weekend, but then again I didn’t even dream we would beat USC.
Disagree if you want
I liked our chances vs. Ucla, Arizona State, and Stanford. The trend is not looking good to finish the season off on a good note. As of right now we aren’t good enough to play with Oregon State or Cal. Something could happen between then and now, but I’m not holding my breath. We need depth and better talent all around to win consistently.
All I saw was purple
I actually can appreciate Da Beavs
Oregon State is classy! They’ve got a classy coach and they play with class. I can’t say the same thing about the other Oregon school though.
Losing to Oregon State is not the stomach turner that Oregon is (as bad as that sounds- it’s true).
All I saw was purple
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