Game Recap: Oregon State 66, Washington State 13
The Beavers did what they needed to do- and a bit more- on Saturday afternoon, beating the Washington State Cougars 66-16 in front of a sun-splashed crowd of 45,289 at Reser Stadium.
Oregon State made it look easy in the first quarter, when they moved the ball at ease. Lyle Moevao picked up two quick touchdowns through the air to two of his favorite targets: Sammie Stroughter and Shane Morales.
The touchdown from Moevao to Stroughter was Oregon State's second offensive play of the game- the first play was a reverse from Jacquizz Rodgers to James Rodgers that went for 24 yards.
Oregon State looked to take a four possession lead on their next drive, but OSU quarterback Lyle Moevao threw his first of four interceptions of the day to Washington State free safety Xavier Hicks in the back of the end zone.
However, the Oregon State defense would force Washington State's offense to punt after just three plays, and Jacquizz Rodgers scored from five yards out five plays later, giving the Beavers a 21-0 lead.
"To be able to score on every one of those [opening] drives, it was good" Jacquizz said after the game.
Perhaps the overconfidence set in for Oregon State at this point, as Lyle Moevao threw three more interceptions in the second quarter, leading to two Washington State touchdowns. Washington State weak side linebacker Louis Bland returned one of those interceptions 17 yards for a touchdown.
"The kids started believing and made a few plays. That's what I've been trying to get our players to do all year: to make some plays, whether it be on offense or defense" Washington State coach Paul Wulff said after the game.
The thirteen points that the Cougars scored in the second quarter guaranteed that their streak of 279 games without a shutout would continue.
Justin Kahut would add a 28 yard field goal just before halftime, but the Cougars had reason to be optimistic trailing by 11 at halftime.
However, the momentum the Cougars built up in the second quarter seemed to vanish as they crossed Ralph Miller Drive and regrouped in the bowels of legendary Gill Coliseum.
The Cougars would endure a grueling second half, in which they gave up 42 points- 21 in each quarter.
"We started playing in the second quarter which was good but we came out flat in the second half" WSU cornerback Romeo Pellum said after the game.
Five different Beavers accounted for the six touchdowns of the second half. Freshman wide receiver Damola Adeniji scored two of them- one after blocking a Reid Forrest punt and diving on the ball in the end zone.
Adeniji's other touchdown came on a 39 yard reception from junior quarterback Sean Canfield, making the score 66-13 after the extra point. That touchdown caused many complaints among Washington State fans, and gave the Beavers a 53 point lead.
Oregon State's eight offensive touchdowns were scored by eight different players. The top three running backs on Oregon State's depth chart- Jacquizz Rodgers, Ryan McCants, and Jeremy Francis- all scored, as well as Lyle Moevao and flanker James Rodgers. Sammie Stroughter, Shane Morales, and Damola Adeniji were all on the end of receiving touchdowns.
Oregon State, now 3-3 on the season and 2-1 in the Pac-10, will travel to Seattle next weekend to battle the sputtering Huskies, who've yet to win a game.
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Having been in the Palouse for the previous two weeks, hearing all of the Cougar radio rhetoric, I was convinced that this would be a blow out. The Cougars didn’t have any more of a chance of winning this game than a beach chair taking on a tidal wave. Not a chance, not even if the styrafoam beer cooler came over to help.
So I went deer hunting high in the snowy mountains. As I was doing so, I was able to get text messages at the end of each quarter, updating me on the score.
Thanks for the recap. I was wondering how it all went down.
Jeremy
by olzeke on Oct 12, 2008 5:35 AM PDT 0 recs
Lyle
I’ve seen Lyle have these kinds of games before where he almost zones out and goes into “crappy football land” for a little while. 3 of those interceptions were really bad throws that he shouldn’t have made. He seemed to recover though and looked like he had a decent game overall. What is the feeling on Moevao in Corvallis these days? Solid support? Some concern? Calling for Canfield?
--Dominic
Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die." - J. Brady McCullough, The Michigan Daily.
by dvieira on Oct 12, 2008 10:33 AM PDT 0 recs
I would say he has solid support.
I think that things came so easy in the passing game early that he got overconfident. On his first interception, he had Jacquizz wide open on a screen-type horizontal pattern, but instead tried to force it into the end zone. It happened again on another interception— one that was batted. Jacquizz came out of the backfield late and ran straight up the middle and camped between the linemen and the linebackers, but Lyle went deep.
I think that we’d be crazy to call for Canfield at this point. Lyle is the dominant leader between the two, which is very important, I think. Sean may possess more skills as a Pac-10 QB, but Lyle is so competitive and passionate that he fits in better.
--JB--
by Jake on
Oct 12, 2008 11:27 AM PDT
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Agreed
Lyle is the QB to the end of this season IMO unless he just gets really really bad.
Next year’s QB competition could be interesting though…
-RVM
by rvm on
Oct 12, 2008 1:07 PM PDT
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I will add
That I really like Lyle and how he fits the OSU/Mike Riley system and attitude.
-RVM
by rvm on
Oct 12, 2008 1:09 PM PDT
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True
Lyle/Sean/Ryan Katz/Lalich
I still like Lyle though. He should only get better.
I think the Katz/Lallich competition will be more interesting in two years.
--JB--
by Jake on
Oct 12, 2008 2:09 PM PDT
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It won't be that interesting.
Lyle is the leading passer in the conference.
There will be no competition, even though Sean throws a pretty pass.
by CV3000 on
Oct 12, 2008 3:29 PM PDT
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I think
That overall in the end you probably are correct about next year, I still don’t see stacking the QB position w/o opening it up a bit to some competition. It will continue to make Lyle better too for we’ve seen what happens when he becomes a bit too over-confident :)
Again, I like Lyle a lot and he has my vote for the top QB until he graduates, but that in no way makes it a sure thing.
-RVM
by rvm on
Oct 12, 2008 3:53 PM PDT
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Some Concern
There is some concern for Lyle but very little. The good thing is that he has a great attitude and is always smiling, so it won’t effect him that much.
by OSU on Oct 12, 2008 10:59 AM PDT 0 recs
QB Questions
First, Canfield to Adeniji TD? = Come on the guy hasn’t played for how long? Riley has to let him throw a couple and you know what that’s all he threw a whole 2 tosses! It wasn’t like he was back in the shotgun chucking it all over the place to rub it in. I find this an unfair criticism.
Second, Lyle’s 4 INTs? = Personally I’m willing to give him a pass on that. I think they got up 21 – 0 and he just completely lost focus and it wasn’t only him, though his brain freeze was the worse. He recovered well and I give big time props to Riley for calling that going for it on fourth down and calling a throw for that was a big time sign of confidence in your starter. Now if Lyle throws a bunch in a later game that changes the game and possibly the season I think the questions should come out, but until then it still was a good game really on his part. He throw some horrible ones yes, but also threw some incredible ones.
-RVM
by rvm on Oct 12, 2008 11:00 AM PDT 0 recs
True
Like I said above, when you start the game making passes at ease, you’re going to feel overconfident and make some throws you shouldn’t. So it’s hard to blame him for that.
--JB--
by Jake on
Oct 12, 2008 11:28 AM PDT
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Yep
It wasn’t like New England Patriots running up the score.
Your friendly neighborhood placekicker.
by butthol on
Oct 12, 2008 11:38 AM PDT
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Anyone else surprised how well WSU fans traveled?
They had a ton of fans in the stadium and out tailgating. Way more than I’d ever expect for a team that’s considered one of the worst in the country. Also, partied/talked with some of the WSU fans before and after the game. Real nice people it seemed like. They take losing as well as anybody in the country. I don’t imagine we receive the same welcoming from UW this weekend.
The Artist Formerly Known as OrState GoBeavs
by The VD Special on Oct 13, 2008 12:32 AM PDT 0 recs
I thought the same thing
I was also thinking it when I watched the Oregon/WSU replay on my DVR. They were getting killed, but the fans at Martin Stadium were still having a good time.
They’ve got basketball to look forward too…
--JB--
by Jake on
Oct 13, 2008 1:03 AM PDT
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Yeah, wish we did too
Some day, we’ll be back
The Artist Formerly Known as OrState GoBeavs
by The VD Special on
Oct 13, 2008 2:28 AM PDT
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