West Coast/Pac-10 Week 13

[Conan]

Hope you're right. In hindsight, I actually think the missed XP helped them and totally changed the philosophy of Arizona on offense on their next series. They were just looking to grind it out and kill the clock at that point, which of course was stupid by Stoops. Had it been tied at that point with nearly 4 mins on the clock and with OSU's defense being exposed on the prior drive, Arizona would've looked to do more on offense. The fact that Arizona didn't throw to their TE on any of the 6 plays they ran on that offensive series was flat-out stupid, playing not to lose.

HFA will have to make-up for Oregon's extra rest with two healthy QB's in Roper and Masoli going in, not to mention a plethora of helthy RB's to take advantage of OSU's somewhat undersized DL who insists on sending their speedy ends up the field each time. This will be a very, very tough game for OSU and the questionable status of Moevao and Jizz won't help either. Canfield threw some great deep balls yesterday and I assume they won't be as conservative on offense as they were yesterday. Some of those playcalls to McCants were ridiculous and beyond vanilla, especially the 4th down call at midfield which totally swung the momentum and almost cost OSU the game. Riley looked really bad there actually, which is rare for him overall.

I agree about the muffed XP. It set things up for a win.

I was thinking the same thing about McCants rushing up the middle as my grandmother could have coached the defense on that play. I expected something a little more creative on that 4th down call. *BUT* in the overall scheme of things, (McCants was brutal when he felt it) it kept Zona's LB's guessing and James Rogers ran that fly sweep like a top notch mechanic. Time and time again Rogers got the ball and made just the right cut at the right time. Credit to their WR's blocking for making it work. Pags mentioned that it's a very hard play to defense safely and he's right. What impressed me most was how frequently they used it with success. Even Zona's RB Antolin ran it a few times. I wonder if we'll see it used more around the country next season?

Either way, Moevao or Canfield, I think the Beaver offense is in good hands. It will be interesting to see how well the Beaver D shuts down Oregon's offense. Zona's is comparable if that's any indication of what will happen, though the Duck rushing game is about as good as it gets. Both are equally explosive and the Beavers showed that their defense is not to be ignored. They stress speed at every position and make up for their smaller size and fatigue factor by rotating their players often. (However Stephen Paea isn't exactly a midget.)

You seem to want an Oregon St. Rose Bowl as I do. Aside from them getting a rematch with PSU, it will give USC what it needs most which is a chance to take down one of the so-called SEC elite. I can hardly wait to see it. I sure hope the opportunity presents itself. This board can use something to shut up all those SEC blowhards.

 

[Conan]

PS...

I bet you that drop by James Rogers towards the end of the game won't ever happen again. He's got 2 more years to go of eligibility and Quizz has 3. This team will be heard from for a while. (Both Moevao and Canfield are Juniors too.) Then there's that new kid from Virginia who's name escapes me at the moment. He quit the team and came west after the USC game. Reminds me a little of Mustain.

 

[CoachLT]

How Bout those Beavers! :toast: LT

 

[Conan]

How Bout those Beavers! :toast: LT

They are a bigger BCS buster than anyone else if they get it done Saturday. How long has USC won the Rose Bowl berth over all the other Pac-10 teams? That would be an historic accomplishment if you think about it. Who'd have picked the Beavers to unseat USC?

 

[UoweDucks]

Nice day.

Biggest CW in many years coming up. Quizz has sprained shoulder no word on whether he plays but that is a tough injury. Surprised he made so long this yr without injury as hard as he runs.

Without quizz I think Oregon has a MUCH better shot at winning this game. First time this year the ducks will be almost 100% healthy. Can't wait for this one. Two teams that have shown a lot of heart this year.