Postgame Reaction Part II: OSU 21, Maryland 14

by Jake Bertalotto on Dec 31, 2007 11:33 AM PST in Football Comment 0 comments

I'm back situated in Oregon, so Emerald Bowl recaps will be forthcoming. Lets start things off with the second part of the Postgame Reaction.

The game (outcome) was... Ugly, but we got the job done. Twenty six days is a long time to go without playing in game situations, but after a shaky start, Oregon State overcame turnovers and put enough drives together to win the game. I never feel comfortable when we get into a habit of switching quarterbacks during the game, but sometimes there's no way around it. I was excited for Lyle to try to push his record to 4-0 as a starter, which he did, but not in the manner we all had hoped. For those of you who didn't know, Lyle exited the game twice with injuries. In the first quarter, he hurt his funny bone, which was caused some temporary issues with his accuracy. Later on in the first half he suffered an ankle sprain, and we didn't see him again. Although Canfield marched the Beavers down the field for a touchdown in his first drive since he was hurt November 3 at USC, expect an interesting quarterback battle in the off season.

The game was over when... Oregon State ate up six and a half minutes of clock on a 14 play, 92 yard drive that ended at the Maryland 7. After Maryland downed a punt at the one yard line with 6:24 on the clock, the long methodical drive was exactly what the Beavers needed. Highlighted by four Rodgers fly sweeps that totaled 65 yards, Oregon State was able to run the ball at ease against Maryland's defense. The Beavers picked up six first downs, and only one pass was thrown the entire drive.

The offensive MVP was... James Rodgers. Although Yvenson Bernard had a great last hurrah as a Beaver (177 yards, 1 TD) just a handful of weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery, James Rodgers was unstoppable in the Emerald Bowl. His 170 all purpose yards (115 Rushing, 40 Passing, 15 Return) and two touchdowns were crucial for Oregon State to get the led, and retain it in the fourth quarter. His recovery of Yvenson Bernard's fumble inside the 2 yard line saved the game for the Beavers. Another turnover deep in Maryland territory would not have been good for the Beavers. And the touchdown he scored on the slant route in the first quarter? Wide open.

The defensive MVP was... Derrick Doggett. He led the team in tackles (7 solo, 8 total) and sacked Chris Turner for a 14 yard loss. Although the interceptions by Payton and Drayton were important (even though we coughed the ball back up both times), Doggett's numbers were impressive as usual.

The play of the game was... James Rodgers' recovery of Yvenson Bernard's fumble inside the 5 yard line. If we lose that fumble, the game remains tied, and Maryland starts the fourth quarter with momentum and the ball. Instead, the Beavers go up 21-14, and go on to win the game by the same score.

Heading into the off season... we have a lot of work to do. Many, many seniors are gone including Bernard, Serna, Schuening, Doggett, LaRocque, Darlin, Dorian Smith, Gerard Lee, as well as many others. Although those are all tough losses, they can all be replaced in the off season. Sammie Stroughter is expected to be back next year, and with James Rodgers, Sean Canfield, Lyle Moevao and others returning on offense, we'll have a good nucleus of guys to work with. We lose a lot of defensive lineman, but we're deep at that position, and a lot of guys play as is. We'll need a new trio of linebackers to step up, and some new faces in the secondary. And not to mention a replacement for Alexis Serna, both punting and placekicking.

Click "Read More", copy and paste the questions into a comment, and post your responses to these questions as well. I'd love to hear your voice.

GO BEAVERS!

--JB--