Beavers "Have Work Cut Out" Against Bruising Stanford Rushing Attack
by Jake Bertalotto on Oct 6, 2009 7:14 AM PDT
in Oregon State Football
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PrintThe Beavers won't have to deal with Stanford in a season opener like they did last season, but the Beavers will need to make a statement Saturday at Reser Stadium to validate their victory last week in the desert, and make a push towards bowl eligibility and beyond.
In order to do that, they'll need to find a way to stop Stanford's prolific running back, Toby Gerhart, who has been dismantling defenses so far with his speed, power, and quickness. He's a unique back in the fact that he can run over --or away from-- opponent defenses.
Stanford is 4-1 on the season, and they sit atop the Pac-10 standings at 3-0 under head coach Jim Harbaugh. It's the first time Stanford has gone 3-0 in the Pac-10 since 1999 when the Cardinal made a trip to the Rose Bowl-- it's also Stanford's best overall start since 2001.
It's no secret that the Cardinal are getting it done on the ground this year behind the legs of the Pac-10's leading rusher, Toby Gerhart. He added 134 yards on a career-high 29 carries last Saturday at UCLA, bumping his season average to 130 yards per game.
UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel felt they had the sheme in place to stop Stanford's attack, but couldn't execute:
"In some of the run fits when they were running power, there are particular gaps that you have to be in," Neuheisel said. "We worked on it all week. And then some of the time we weren't where we were supposed to be. When we were, it worked very, very well. When we were not there, we were vulnerable. Stanford, being as talented as they are, made us pay for it."
You can imagine that Oregon State defensive coordinator Mark Banker is staying up late this week, formulating a plan to stop the Pac-10's top rusher and Stanford's smash-mouth attack. Gerhart gave the Beavers fits last year, when he rushed for 147 yards and dealt the Beavers one of what would eventually become just two Pac-10 conference losses.
Oregon State head coach Mike Riley has repeatedly told the media that he is a big fan of Harbaugh, who he coached as a Charger.
"You could see it building (at Stanford) over the last few years,'' said Riley. He's changed the whole identity of that program.''
It seems like just yesterday when the Beavers handled Stanford easily week-in and week-out. In fact, the Beavers have won six of the last eight meetings, counting the loss last season.
The Beavers found a way to win last Saturday in Tempe, and that was by taking advantage of opportunities and controlling the flow of the game. More of that would likely go a long way to giving the Beavers a shot against the Cardinal.
--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)
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How illuminating
What’s that ya say, Slick Rick? Like, yer defensive guys are supposed to be in certain spots and if they aren’t then there’s nobody there ta tackle the running back?
I gotta think about that. It’s heady stuff.
Because I’ve never seen a dead horse that didn’t deserve a kickin’, I’ll say it again….turnovers and penalties are the key. The Cardinal has put the ball on the ground 12 times (twelve!) to their opponents 3, and penalties are likewise lopsided: 30 for Stanford and 18 for the opponents. Sure, you might say these aren’t a big deal because Stanford’s current record speaks for itself, but if nothing else it seems to be an area of vulnerability that can be exploited especially against a team whose last road game was a loss four weeks ago. Long, clock-killing drives are good and can pad the stats but if you get all the way down there and get stripped….well, that just angries up the blood.
Check out NFL take on Athlete tragedies
http://tightend.blogspot.com/2009/10/it-was-all-good-2-seconds-ago.html
"Don't Be Afraid to Stand on a Pile of 'No's' for one 'Yes'"
Am I missing something
But what does this link have to do with anything in the original post or this entire thread?
-RVM
by rvm on Oct 7, 2009 9:45 AM PDT up reply actions
I was wondering the same thing
But it was a pretty good article.
Hi, my name is Connor. Except over on ATQ where I am known as, "JConnor."
that may be so
But I still don’t know why it was posted here and especially in response to Joe A’s comments.
Anyway, moving on…
-RVM
I said it at the beginning of the year and I'll say it again
Stanford was my darkhorse pick to move into the sealed top 3-4 of the Pac10. Now, as it seems Cal and SC are down, and they have Oregon at home, Stanford could very well make a move to the Pac10 championship.
They are a very talented team and extremely well coached. This is going to be a good proving game for us— Can we step up and stop a team with a lot of momentum?
I hope we win on Saturday. Man, I hope we win.
I support Takimoto in his effort to support Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.
If it can't be us, let it be Stanford... with ONE conference loss to OSU, of course.
Gotta say that out of every PAC 10 team, I admire Stanford’s style of play the most. Tough, hard running, beat you up kind of football. I like it.
This Saturday I want to see my Beavs beat them at their own game. The D needs to continue to build and the Offense needs to take the next step up from last week. This is going to be an interesting match up but one that the Beavs can win if they get it going early.
Hey, we owe them one from last year.
Stanford is an interesting team for sure. At the beginning of the year in some Q&A somewhere I said they would end up disappointing. They have the potential and the coaching (and I kind-of like them too!), but feel with every win they are building up expectations that I don’t know if the program can handle in the long-run (this year that is, for they seem to building a program down there again).
But that said they will be all the Beavs can handle this weekend, and I’m looking forward to a great game. And overall I would not be surprised if Stanford finishes well and gives some of the bigger teams something to think about. That UO game could well be very very very interesting I think.
Oh, and I’m not so sure USC is as down as you are implying. Cal, sigh what can one say, is down and out in terms of the Pac-10 run this year, but SC is right there. SC scares me a bit now in that they have seemingly got their one ugly loss out of the way. For how much UO run all over Cal, USC just seemed in total control and picked Cal apart on both sides of the ball. And McKnight is a bit too much under the radar for my comfort level. Not a good sign if this means SC is on the path of steadily improving.
Lastly, I agree with what everyone has said so far about Stanford matching up with the Beavs, but will add this that I’m sure the Cardinal is equally concerned about how they match up with the Beavs. This is going to be a game that will tell us a lot about both teams.
-RVM
Read about Cal's season at californiagoldenimplosions.com
I also don’t buy that SC is necessarily “down” but more or less feel that they’re just starting out uncharacteristically slow. The QB play is the answer to why Carroll wanted Sanchez back so bad (that and he clearly has never had a QB that dreamy—no coach ever has) and the rest of the Offense just hasn’t hit its stride.
The later in the year you play SC, the better they are going to be. While that’s not really going out on a limb or anything, I simply think that players will emerge and they’ll get rolling.
Cal. Wow. Six points in two weeks? The Cal game this year turned from a “Hope We Win!” game to a “Saint Damian’s Beard, We BETTER Win!” type of game. Cal seems to be one of those teams that gets so emotionally beat after a loss that once they are knocked off of their perch they don’t get back up. The year the Beavs upset them as they were poised to take the #1 spot they went on to do what, lose 6 of 7?!
All of this bodes well for Stanford, I guess. But first they need to get past the Beavs, and I have a feeling OSU is going to be up for it this weekend.
and what the heck happened to Best?
55 against UO and 40 something against SC? Guess they relied on him too much and the passing game has not taken the pressure off enough.
I totally thought this could be “the” year for them. They can recover a bit I guess, but these last two games don’t bode well at all for the Bears or their program.
-RVM
I'm hoping Beaver Nation
shows up Saturday against Stanford. We have fallen short of sellouts so far. Wouldn’t it be something if Reser was sold out for the fist time this season to let the Beavs know we’re behind them. It seems to me that this will be about the biggest home game of the season. This will be the first game that my son and I have been able to attend since 1998. GO BEAVs !!
If it makes you feel any better
Student tickets sold out in 1 day. If nothing else, these students are flying high behind them
I support Takimoto in his effort to support Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.
by The VD Special on Oct 7, 2009 10:29 AM PDT up reply actions
That's awesome
Good for them.
Hi, my name is Connor. Except over on ATQ where I am known as, "JConnor."
Check out NFL take on Athlete tragedies
http://tightend.blogspot.com/2009/10/it-was-all-good-2-seconds-ago.html
"Don't Be Afraid to Stand on a Pile of 'No's' for one 'Yes'"
Alternative title: "Apropos of nothing...."
I already did, George, the first time you directed me to up above. What, are you my mother all of a sudden? I’ll clean my room when I get home fer chrissake! (slams door dramatically)
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Pacific-12 Conference Standings
(updated 1.2.2012 at 11:12 PM PST)
| North | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
Oregon Ducks
|
8 | 1 | 12 | 2 |
|
Stanford Cardinal
|
8 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
|
Washington Huskies
|
5 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
|
California Golden Bears
|
4 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
|
Oregon St. Beavers
|
3 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
|
Washington St. Cougars
|
2 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
| South | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
|
USC Trojans
|
7 | 2 | 10 | 2 |
|
UCLA Bruins
|
5 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
|
Utah Utes
|
4 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
|
Arizona St. Sun Devils
|
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|
Arizona Wildcats
|
2 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
|
Colorado Buffaloes
|
2 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
Pacific-12 Conference Standings
(updated 2.8.2012 at 11:00 PM PST)
| Conf | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
|
Washington Huskies
|
9 | 2 | 16 | 7 |
|
California Golden Bears
|
8 | 3 | 18 | 6 |
|
Colorado Buffaloes
|
8 | 3 | 16 | 7 |
|
Oregon Ducks
|
7 | 4 | 16 | 7 |
|
Arizona Wildcats
|
7 | 4 | 16 | 8 |
|
Stanford Cardinal
|
6 | 5 | 16 | 7 |
|
UCLA Bruins
|
6 | 5 | 13 | 10 |
|
Oregon St. Beavers
|
5 | 6 | 15 | 8 |
|
Washington St. Cougars
|
4 | 7 | 12 | 11 |
|
Arizona St. Sun Devils
|
3 | 8 | 7 | 16 |
|
Utah Utes
|
2 | 9 | 5 | 18 |
|
USC Trojans
|
1 | 10 | 6 | 18 |
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