Saturday, September 21, 2013

San Diego State game day preview

Well another Saturday of college football is upon us and here is my game day preview for Oregon State @ San Diego State. Despite the Aztecs 0-2 start to the season they do have a respectable team that fields 12 returners from last seasons Mountain West co-Championship Poinsettia Bowl team.

Stats from Beavers vs Aztecs

Games:3

San Diego State leads 2-1, first meeting between the teams was in 1972 and San Diego State won 17-8. Last meeting was 2000 and Oregon State won in Corvallis 35-3.

What to look out for from San Diego State: They have a tough defense that blitzes frequently. With Oregon State's banged up offensive line the protection of quarterback Sean Mannion is critical. The offense of San Diego State returns injured running back Adam Muema who rushed for over 1,400 yards last season. With the Oregon States defense not able to wrap up and stop some running games this could be a key to San Diego State being victorious.

San Diego State also will be playing with a chip on their shoulder after losing their first two games, one to FCS opponent in Eastern Illinois and in Columbus to Ohio State.

What to look for from Oregon State: One thing we can look for is the emergence of a running game. With Storm Woods out due to injury Terron Ward and freshman Chris Brown will be stepping up to carry the load. Let's hope they can hit some holes and the Beavers can get over the 100 yard rushing mark for the first time this season. Will the defense be able to contain and hang on? Last week with a 17 point lead the Beavers defense squandered it but eventually held on to win the game in overtime. If the Aztecs decide to have their quarterback run will they be able to contain him?

Overall I think this game will be a hard fought match up but eventually the Beavers will find the momentum they need in order to win. Sean Mannion and Brandin Cooks are quietly putting together a solid season. Presently Cooks has 498 receiving yards with 7 touchdowns. Mannion has completed 73% of his passes for 12 touchdowns, 1237 yards, and he is presently the nation's leader in touchdown passes. Oregon State also goes into the game leading the nation in passing with 438.7 per game. This contest can go either way and don't be surprised in case the Beavers get upset, but for the sake of Beaver Nation let's hope that they don't lose this game.

Final Score Prediction: Oregon State 37 San Diego State 23

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

7th Best Beaver game is...

#10 Oregon State @ BYU

On October 8th 2012 Steve Fenk pulled Mike Parker aside during a commercial break of the Joe Beaver Radio Show and said that Head Coach Mike Riley would be making a serious announcement in regards to the Oregon State offense. That being said Jon Warren was curious so when it came time to do the post practice interview many of the media folks were ready for this announcement. Cody Vaz would be the starter against BYU because Sean Mannion had injured himself against Washington State. This went over the airwaves, over twitter, and I immediately posted it on facebook. Many people didn't want to believe my post and several people, unfortunately, ruled the Beavers 4-0 start down the toilet once this happened. But how wrong they were, I told many people who reacted negatively to the news who still attended classes on campus to go to practice and watch Vaz play, they did, and it gave them hope. On Friday October 12th The Barometer Newspaper posted a quarter sized page that said WE BELIEVE IN YOU CODY VAZ!

Once the game had started it was Oregon State receiving the ball first and they didn't disappoint. Vaz made several key throws and the Beavers were up 7-0 and the game continued to roll from there. The defense made several key stops and had a great interception. But the Cougars of BYU continued to show drive in the game. Tied 21 at the end of the third quarter the Beavers started to have some pretty dumb luck working in their favor.

To start the scoring off in the 4th quarter tight end Colby Prince reeled in his first touchdown pass of the season on a deflected pass from Cody Vaz. It went up into the air and he boxed out the defenders, like a basketball player, and came up with the ball. Watching this game on television I thought that the ball had been intercepted but watching the replay it was a touchdown. Then on a poorly thrown ball by Riley Nelson it tipped off of his receivers shoulder pads and went into the hand of Jordan Poyer who returned it for a touchdown. His second pick six on Riley Nelson in two years. The Beavers scored 21 points in that fourth quarter to show they were, indeed, for real as a contender for the National Championship, Rose Bowl, and most importantly contenders for anything and everything.

Without further ado here are some highlights to that game so you can relive the greatness of the Beavers winning:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHBYM1-oJcs

Utah experience overview

Well my travels to the great state of Utah were very fun and interesting. I would go to a game in Salt Lake City again in a second. The fans very welcoming, polite, and friendly, even in the loss. During the game they were a little bit upset because their team was losing during the first half. But before the game my best friend and I were walking around looking for different tailgaters to see what was going on. We showed up at a group who had a television set up and they had the final minutes of the Alabama @ Texas A & M game on. They were kind enough to give us chairs, food, and drinks.

The only complaint that I have in regards to the fans during the game was that they wanted a flag thrown for every little thing, even when a player dropped a pass and a defender wasn't near them. It was a little questionable, but there were a few calls that could have gone either way and questionable. However, when Oregon State eventually pulled out the victory my friend and I had to get to the trains to get back to his house and we were the only Beaver fans on one of the cars. But the people talked about how great the game was and it couldn't have been better, but if Utah had won it would have been better. We discussed their 2008 undefeated season while passing through different stops. Only a few negative comments were said by a couple of people but all in all it was a wonderful trip.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

#8 Best Beavers game I've seen is...

Arizona State @ Oregon State 2006

It was  pouring rain on November 4th 2006 when the Sun Devils visited in Corvallis for their match up against Oregon State. After upsetting #3 USC the previous week in the final seconds many people wondered if the Beavers would be able to answer the call against ASU. My ticket to the game was in the end zone on the student side with the band. For those that don't know this, you used to be able to sit in the bands area. It wasn't as large then, and it was pretty darn noisy. Also the whole end zone where the jumbo monitor is at now wasn't there in 2006. I attended the game with one of my good friends from the dorm, Erik Guiremand, and we both were anticipating the same outcome: A Beavers Victory, and boy did we get it.

Aside from how cold and rainy it was outside I was pretty happy about it because it was the first time I got to wear my Oregon State game day poncho and it was really cool. Once the game started it was all Beavers in the first quarter going up 17-0 by the awesome play of Matt Moore and Co. The play of Yvenson Bernard was exceptionally amazing running for two touchdowns in that opening quarter. The Beavers would continue to pour it on from there leading 31-10 at halftime. I remember Matt Moore rushing for his touchdown in the second quarter because he scored it on our side of the stadium and shook hands with fans. I was fortunate enough to take part in that celebration but I can spot Erik and I in the highlights.

The defense remained stout by intercepting ASU quarterback Rudy Carpenter and shutting the Sun Devils out in the second half and sacking him four times on the day.  The Beavers went on to score 13 unanswered second half points. As cold and rainy that day was it held a significant meaning for both Erik and I. My cousin is an instructor out at ASU and he had a friend that went to school out there so it gave us bragging rights for the season with people we both cared about. It was also the game I learned what it meant to be a true Beaver Believer. It was my first game sitting in pouring rain, but it wouldn't be my last. Below is a compilation video of the 2006 season where some ASU highlights are at, I apologize but there aren't any highlights to this game on youtube or even ESPN. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvSwLHjPbnA

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

#9 Best Beavers Game I've ever seen.

#13 Wisconsin vs Oregon State September 8th 2012

Sure people say that this game was absolutely boring to watch due to the low scoring involved but it kept you on the edge of your seat and it came right down to the end. Some "experts" felt that Wisconsin was robbed of victory because an Oregon State player had touched the ball before the kicker had let it go 10 yards, BOLLOCKS! People were just in shock that Oregon State had beat their first ranked challenge. After not playing against Nicholls State the previous week due to Hurricane Isaac the Beavers continued to train hard. Even when Bret Bielma didn't want to send game film to the Beavers they still came out with the victory.

The scene was set, a decently filled Reser Stadium with fans who were ready for a fresh start after the dismal 2011 football season waited for kick off. But pre-game festivities honoring the 1962 Liberty Bowl team and the 50th Anniversary of Heisman Winner Terry Baker took some time. We also honored our lost player, Fred Thomson, who died tragically at Dixon Rec Center while playing a pick up game of basketball. As the players took the field the fans started getting into it more and more.

The first quarter was slightly rough for the Beavers, it seemed that it took some time to get in the grove of things. Especially on the punter getting wrapped up. The one thing that was consistent in this game was defense. They played tough. While entering the second quarter Coach Riley took a risk on second year kicker Trevor Romaine, and it paid off. Romaine hit a 43 yard field goal, he would miss one later on the day. But at half time the Beavers had a 3-0 lead and looked to continue to deliver the knock out punch in the 3rd quarter.

If there was a roof on Reser it would have been blown off because when Brandon Cooks hauled in Sean Mannion's 20 yard touchdown pass as he tip toed in the back of the end zone the crowd went NUTS! Leading 10-0 with less than two minuets left it looked as though the Beavers had it. But several long pass plays by Wisconsin quarterback Danny O'Brien helped the Badgers score a touchdown with 1:31 left in the game...Well good passing and a heck of a pass interference call on Oregon State player DJ Alexander. He turned, had his eyes on the ball, knocked it away cleanly, but PI got called. Even the announcers didn't agree with it, but hey at the end of the day the Beavers were victorious and it went on to be a great season for a team that nobody expected to do that great winning their first six games in a row for the first time since 1907.

Here are some of the best highlights of the game I can find, enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNEVX52mFbI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnnRpp1MF8k

# 10 Best Beaver Game I've ever seen.

#10 Best Beaver game I've seen is involved with the wretched 2011 season. As bad as their season was this was the last home game of the season and it was a good one. The Beavers came out strong on senior appreciation day. Leading at halftime by 3 they were strong in the third quarter holding Washington scoreless. Then the Beavers exploded in the 4th quarter by outscoring Washington 21-7. The clock ticked down and the final score was 38-21.

This was quite the game where Washington not only used Nick Montana, but brought in Keith Price to relieve him. Montana was less than stellar completing 11/21 passes for 79 yards in his first career starts. Price would throw a costly interception to Ryan Murphy on the one yard line that would lead to the Beavers victory.  Jovan Stevenson of Oregon State ran the ball in for three touchdowns and Sean Mannion threw for 339 yards. A tremendous game and one for the ages. Below are links to the highlights from that game. The first one is from the first half and the second one is for the second half. Keep reading my blogs to know what #9 is. I hope to have it out by Wednesday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_jdx3zd3WU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmP_po4sur0