1990 part deux?

Riley has lost all credibility with his team and the fans. His kids play like idiots who haven't been coached before. 

Oregon wiped up the field with Oregon St today. It wasn't a game after the first embarrassing offensive series of the game. Final score was 49-21. Oregon racked up 670 yards on offense. 

There were so many mistakes by OSU coaches and players it's hard to analyze the game. 

One thing I can say was that the game today was an example of a "system coach" versus a "player's coach".  It was a fundamental battle. The players coach looked like a tool.

A system coached based football program puts the system above the player. If a player fails they are replaced until a competent replacement is found. In a players system, there is favoritism, undisciplined actions, and waves of success- if the program gets good players they win. 

Chip Kelly has a system, the players respond to the fact that they will be replaced if they don't execute. 

This is not the case with Oregon St. Sean Mannion should have been benched repeatedly this season and wasn't because "he is the future".  Sean wasn't the only inept player, and yes OSU had a lot of young players. But coaches know this, and they should scheme to manage this. OSU's coaches did nothing. They bungled the Katz to Mannion transition miserably.

Favorites in a program suck. Especially if they are freshman. This doesn't resonate with Seniors who have to live with a noob's mistakes and a team's poor record. 

Riley is flawed, and so is the program.  Riley tried to be a "players coach" in the NFL and failed miserably. He is failing now too.

I don't think the "players coach" model works in college. The system is tied to the program. The system is more important than the individuals who participate in the program. If the player is smart they will commit themselves to the system and succeed. This typically results in the team winning too.

OSU looked like buffoons on national TV today. If Ed Ray is not paying attention- he should. 

The next question is not about the players or the coordinators that should be fired, it's about who the next major OSU donor, who will step up like Al Reser and get rid of the current incompetent coaching staff.  Cash is the only carrot that works these days. It will take a lot of $$ to get rid of Riley- I think it's necessary. He could wipe out all of the success he helped create with continued failure.

* The 1990 reference in the title had to do with Dave Kragthorpe's last year when the OSU team was hopeless. I may post stuff on that season and the similarities to this year. 

Energy

"In physics, energy (Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια energeia "activity, operation"[1]) is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems.[2][3] Since work is defined as a force acting through a distance (a length of space), energy is always equivalent to the ability to exert pulls or pushes against the basic forces of nature, along a path of a certain length."  Source: Wikipedia

If there is anyone out there who thinks the current coaching staff is energetic, let me know. As far as I can tell they are lost in space and embarrassing the university with their performance. Energetic behavior is not just about effort, efficient intelligence is also part of the program. Intuition/Quant/Qual skills are required. Boohoo. Life is tough.

I know this is harsh for some folks, but when you make $1M a year in salary the pressure is on. A 2-6 record shows a lack of energy on a monumental scale.

PS- I think the players are playing with energy- unfortunately misdirected by knucklehead coaches.

ASU game thoughts

Photo Source: Unathletic

The Beavers are traveling to Tempe to try and avoid an 0-4 start. The point spread is around  +18 ASU.  Agnew might play, Rogers is playing. Maybe it will be a close game.  Maybe ASU gets pass happy and blows out OSU.

Apparently none of the OSU coaches feel fan frustration with their performance this season.  I find this disturbing, but understandable. The coaches have to focus on what they can control. The fact that they are incompetent based on performance and fan opinion doesn't really matter. 

The Beavers have to get better from the coaches down to the training staff if they are going to win even one game this year. The question is what is Riley going to do about the situation? What if the Beavers start 0-4? 0-5? 0-6?

I believe there could be a fluke win or two this year, but that's all they will be, flukes. Damn shame. 

My prediction ASU 35- 14

*Please prove me wrong OSU

It's do or die for the Beavers

The ramifications of this game are huge for the Beavers. Win and the team builds confidence. Lose and this season is going to be more brutal than it already is. 

If the Beavers win they can gather momentum for a tough ASU game away. Winning by 10 or 1 doesn't matter. Even if they lose by a point, it won't help the situation. 

There are no moral victories.  The Beavers need to win. 

Good news- James Rogers and joe Halahuni are supposed to play. I have no idea how healthy he really is,  but even at 90% of where he was before will be helpful. 

I am predicting an OSU victory, something in my gut tells me the Beavers will rally. Somehow. 

UCLA usually doesn't like playing in Corvallis. See below:



Kickoff is at 12:30 PDT. Unfortunately it won't start raining until the evening tomorrow. I am looking for help from all sources these days.......

Who decided on the stupid plan?

Riley is now admitting the situational quarterback plan was lacking.

Really?

Who came up with this moronic plan in the first place? Hmmm. Sounds like a set up to me. Who do you think approved the plan?

This is like a cheap soap opera. 

Riley's handling of the QB is a symptom

It's a much bigger problem. Mike Riley probably lost all credibility with his team after pulling some of the most bizarre coaching moves I've ever seen. Urban Meyer said the same and he's been around way longer than me.

Obviously Ryan Katz is a wreck mentally. But can you imagine being a player on the sideline or in the huddle and watching this stupid strategy unfold. I bet the wheels came off in practice this week. What we witnessed today was just a replay of practice. 

Riley's handling of the QB's is sign that he doesn't have any answers. A confident coach, a prepared coach, a coach with some fire, wouldn't do what he did today.

I really feel sorry for the OSU players. I think they are physically talented enough to at least compete.  Mentally they are weak. This is a direct result of Riley. 

Mike is a very nice person, but he has brought this on himself. I have a feeling that this is going to be an expensive divorce between OSU/Riley, it might not happen even if the team goes 2-9.

Even if OSU somehow turns around their season, the second half comeback that Riley teams are known for seems harder given their schedule + no above average athletes. A losing season is almost guaranteed. 

The Oregon St program is going in the wrong direction.

What is up with the black uniforms ASU?

If anyone else is watching the Mizzu vs ASU game, did you get a load of ASU's uniforms? Really? 

This is getting ridiculous. Every team that has a hint of black is changing their uniforms to ALL black. This is a stupid trend. Has anyone seen the Green Bay Packers uniforms lately? Or Boise State? Really?

Oregon State's colors are black and orange. All black or all orange or a mix makes sense. 

I am sorry, but ASU's colors are not black. Erickson is trying to emulate OSU, since that is the last place he was successful at I guess.

*if I am using the term "really" too much, I am sorry this world is full of donkeys that never cease to surprise me.

PS- ASU is up 16-10 at halftime- maybe it's the uni's......

Agnew likely out for Wisconsin

Malcom Agnew, OSU's new RB star, reported that he heard a pop when he hurt his hamstring in practice yesterday. 

He has a history of hamstring problems, and in fact missed most of his senior year because of hamstring issues. 

Sorry to burst your enthusiasm Beaver Nation, this story could have an unhappy ending. I hope he is not seriously injured and can contribute for the rest of the year, the Beavers need his help. Hamstring injuries are brutal, one degree below rupturing your achilles. 

Mike Leach, really?

While I believe that Mike Riley has hit the wall with OSU, I don't think Mike Leach is the answer. This dude has issues. There a tons of Beaver Nation folks who think he is the answer, I disagree.

 Leach’s dismissal came after he was suspended by the university from coaching in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday for what it said was his mistreatment of one of his players, Adam James, a sophomore receiver who is the son of the ESPN broadcaster Craig James. Leach was accused of isolating James in an equipment garage and a media room while he was sitting out practice with a concussion. Texas Tech officials said that Leach’s actions, including not signing a letter spelling out guidelines for dealing with players, and his reaction to their investigation forced them to fire him. 

 Read More from the NYT

“He was simply fired because he mistreated a young student athlete with a concussion, and then refused to work with Tech to try to solve the situation. We’re confident that the Supreme Court will find that he doesn’t have a case factually or legally,” Grigg said. 

The latest on Leach's case and the Texas Supreme Court- Read More

During spring training in late March, Leach had demoted wide receiver Edward Britton for failure to regularly attend class and maintain good grades. Leach ordered Britton to study at a desk at midfield in 30-degree weather, albeit in a heavy coat. 

Read more from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Leach's Response:

At least our cheerleaders are hot

I am still trying to get over the Sac State game, I am starting to rationalize a brilliant OSU upset of Wisconsin. It could happen- right? Ok, I'll have another drink.

Anyway, the OSU Cheerleaders are getting MVP love in the latest OSUBFB poll. :) They deserve it! Yes, Agnew looks like the latest and greatest OSU RB MVP, but come on.

Source: Cal Bears Online

Honestly, there are not that many pics of Oregon State cheerleaders on the 'net...folks need to take more pics of them at the games and give these girls their props!

If you want pics of OSU's prior Playboy Playmates of the Year, you will have to go to another site.  

Lowlights from Saturday

More:

Looking for silver linings

Original Photo Source: AP

Beaver blogs are heaping praise on Malcom Agnew, who had a great statistical game Saturday. 

Fumbling the ball at a crucial time that contributed to your team's loss does not deserve admiration however.

It's great that Agnew is the nation's leading rusher. Running up 200+ against a D II team, that was 6-5 last year, is not that impressive in my opinion. 

Let's see how Agnew does against Wisconsin. Lord knows Langsdorf will have to feed him the ball. 

There is a chance that Agnew will get a bunch of yards against Wisconsin. It would be due the Beavers getting blown out and Wisconsin playing second string defensive players. 

Coach Zombie

As I stated in my prior post, Oregon State lost today because of Mike Riley(and his coaches). He had the ponies to win today and didn't. He embarrassed the university and alumni. Does he realize this? Or is he a zombie?

I am not sure. I am sure that there hasn't been a year Riley & Co has had the team prepared- hard schedule or not. Smell a trend? It's not an elephant, it's a corpse in the living room. 

To lose to a FCS school, like this, is unforgivable unless OSU goes to a BCS bowl this year. Then all is forgiven. 

Will OSU go BCS this year? Yes, as soon as I find an antidote for zombies. 

OSU's administration is going to have to do some real soul searching this off season regarding the head coach for football. My take is that Riley is not the answer. He has done a good job, but I think the run is over.

What do you think?

Katz vs Mannion

I didn't think this would even come up to be honest. Not at this point in the season.

It looks like Katz is a liability. Mannion is upside. 

Agree or disagree?

(Update- Riley has admitted to a closer competition between Mannion and Katz, but didn't want to go public and start a QB controversy. Which is possibly the stupidest thing I've ever heard of for dozens of reasons.) 

Ooops. The Beavers officially suck

Source: OregonLive/AP

Well my prediction was wrong. I did not expect Riley/Katz/Romaine/Coaches to suck as bad as they did in this game. Sac State just clowned Oregon State. The coaches are to blame in my opinion. Again.

Sac State was 6-5 last season. They are not even a D-1 school. Really? WTF? Agnew ran for a large number(233), which is impressive for a frosh. Other stats in the game were good, but it didn't matter. The Beavers made mental error after mental error in key situations. This means they were not prepared, a consistent theme under Mike Riley. He can't get his teams ready for a season on time- EVER. Yes, OSU's players need to make plays, but when a team makes as many self inflicted wounds as the Beavers did today, it's not the players.

 This game reminds me of 1990 against Montana. OSU just had a losing season, was supposedly rebuilding, had a cupcake opener and boom. Montana upset us. It was my first collegiate game, I had a few catches. One key first down catch I had in the 3rd quarter was called back because of a bonehead offensive lineman holding. We lost. It was so embarrassing, the team never recovered. Riley reminds me of Kragthorpe. Kragthorpe was the WORST motivator ever. His practice and pre-game speechs were horrible. They were actually de-motivating. Have you watched a Riley practice or pre-game speech on YouTube lately? It's beyond lame. What's going to happen the rest of the season for the Beavers? A lot of pain. It's going to be ugly, perhaps with some highlights sprinkled in. A losing season is damn near guaranteed.

The OSU players are not going to be able to get over this loss easily. They will be embarrassed on national TV, and the internet for losing to a FCS school for the week. Their lack of confidence is not good. Wisconsin is going to absolutely obliterate OSU unless they come out over confident and very sloppy, based on what I've seen from Wisconsin's coaching staff that is not likely. Box Score

Sac State prediction

Oregon State should win 35-7.

Reason why: better athletes

What will it take for Sac St to pull the upset? OSU's skill players choke and Sac St scores off multiple turnovers.

Odds of an upset? 1000 to 1

PS- Wisconsin looked very good against UNLV last night. OSU better put an ass whipping on Sac St to send a message and build confidence.Utah and ASU looked good too.Yes, I know that they played inferior schools, but still, they did what they were supposed to do.

Here's highlights from Wisconsin's win against UNLV:

Who is Coach Seumalo?

Who is Coach Locey?

What did the Beavers do this off season?

Who is Coach Langsdorf?