Who Killed the Season? A Beaver Football Mystery
by scotty256 on Dec 4, 2010 2:31 PM PST
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PrintSeptember, 2010. It was lining up to be a good season of Beaver football. A few months later, we have a 5-7 team that's put in dismal performances. Who is responsible? Who killed the Beavers' football season? You decide!
(Promoted to front page.)
The Usual Suspects (Round 'em up!)
Mike Riley and the coaching staff (The kingpins)
Coach Riley kill the Beavs' season? Yes, I'm serious. While I usually lay off the coaching staff given their scrappiness with resources, this year they're fair game. The coaches are ultimately responsible for the team's performance, and therefore a natural place to look when something goes wrong. Some of the team's issues existed before the players even took the field. Out-of-conference away games against Boise State AND Texas Christian? Not the best recipe for starting the season strong. Leaving the customary cupcake in place instead of scheduling TCU likely means the Beavs are 6-6 and in the Holiday bowl. Recruiting hasn't been going so well either, and it raises eyebrows when our O-line has three walk-ons. Coming out as ridiculously flat and uninspired as we did against the Cougars is largely on the coaches, as well.
Do you know *anyone* who was fooled by that fake 52-yard FG attempt? Yeah, me neither.
The case against: They're probably the best we can get, and they've done a good job overall lately. The TCU hoopla will be a great memory for the players and was fun when it happened.
The Majority of the Players (pretty much everyone but Quizz and Paea)
Did you know that the Beavers went 1-6 in games where they trailed by even ONE point at ANY TIME during the game? 0-7 when they trailed any time after the first quarter. That shows as much heart as the Tin Man from Oz. This is why I'm posting this just after halftime, even though we're only down by 9. The missed tackles this season were almost comical. Mike Riley and Mark Banker can't play the game for you, men.
The case against: Given the brutal schedule this season, seven losses might not be as horrible as it sounds. They're (probably? usually?) doing their best, and we might need more from the OC and DC.
Other Likely Suspects (The butler did it)
Adam Hall (The Arizona player who put the season-ending tackle on James Rodgers)
Nothing much against the guy personally. But following through on a tackle several yards in the end zone when Rodgers long since had possession and finished the play is questionable, to say the least. Hats off to Markus Wheaton for stepping up for some good plays, but the Beaver offense was never quite the same after Arizona. If not for this ill-fated play, the team probably beats Washington and UCLA. And if we're rolling with victories instead of reeling from losses, there's almost no way we get blown out by Wazzu at home.
The case against: Injuries are part of the game. Plus, if the loss of one player (great as he is) leads to the performances we saw against UCLA, WSU, and Stanford... you have other issues.
The O-Line (AKA the "Uh-O-Line" or "O-Crap-Line")
Run, Ryan, Run! Oh for the love of Beaver throw the ball away before you take another - [cringes while our QB gets drilled into the turf AGAIN for a 10-yard loss x_x ] While Katz is getting pried off the ground, someone should tell Quizz that if he's looking for holes, he'll have better luck trying a lead brick. Our offensive line thinks blocks are for Tetris.
The case against: Ranked team players versus walk-on Beaver players is generally a bad matchup, and you can't fault them for that. They aren't responsible for letting every opposing QB with functioning legs run to convert 3rd downs, either.
The Sneaky Shadow Suspects (Oooh, a plot twist)
The Ducks (Boo! Hiss!)
They're only responsible for one of our seven losses, but let's be honest. This season wouldn't feel quite as crappy if it weren't for the banner season our rivals have been having down the road. It's been impossible to enjoy a nice Saturday of football without hearing about Ducks this, Chip Kelly that, tempo tempo LaMichael James national championship blah. Nothing like getting Duck Store commercials while Stanford's laying a shutout on your team. Furthermore, if we had beaten the Quacks last year (i.e. the game wasn't at Autzen) we would have been fresh off a Rose Bowl trip, feeling good, and not suffering from our second straight season of Duck overload. This is like a two-year (three, actually) screwing over.
They have more money, more fame, their own cheering squad of a cable channel, and it's starting to make me sick. Broadcasting from Eugene, even the local news station is in the tank for them. There is no escape, and it doesn't look to be getting better anytime soon. This season feels like your neighbors winning the lottery while you're getting laid off.
The case against: It's not as if the Ducks having a bad season would have made us beat anyone else. Their NC run setting up two BCS bowls for the Pac-10 will also help Oregon State monetarily.
The Fans (What? Us?)
We're 5-7. Remember when we had five-win seasons, and they were huge? The football program has grown, and as fans, so have our expectations. We have the second-lowest football budget in the Pac-10, yet we're consistently in the top half of the conference. Is it really a surprise that we'll have a bad year and not always be playing for a conference title? Our own high expectations might have killed this season more than anything else.
The case against: Beaver Nation shouldn't be happy with losing seasons! Besides, losing is one thing. Blowout losses at home to WSU are another.
Suspect With Diplomatic Immunity (can't seriously pin it on them, but it needs to be said)
ESPN GameDay (wtf!)
We've been ranked in the top 15. We've played for the Rose Bowl twice recently. The team's been, well, GOOD before this year. And the first time ESPN College GameDay comes to Corvallis is now?! For the Ducks?! I can't get on board with everyone being so excited about it. It's a huge slap-in-the-face insult! Who cares that they're here? They obviously weren't here for the Beavs, but instead for the Ducks. You know, the same Ducks they visited for the Stanford game and the USC game. The ones they visited at Autzen last year for the Oregon/USC game. They might as well house Lee Corso in a skybox at Autzen. And now, despite good seasons in recent years, they decide to show up in Corvallis when we suck. For our rivals. Nice. Come on, ESPN, it's not like there was an SEC Championship game going on today featuring the #1 and #19 teams, or the Big 12 Championship with #8 and #13. You know, games expected to be competitive. (Didn't see that Duck head coming! What a surprise!)
I know these guys have nothing really to do with our season, but good grief. This whole thing left a funny taste in my mouth.
The case against: At least we got our signage on.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or the Building the Dam staff. FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable Oregon State fans.
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Hope this isn't too argumentative
But really this and some of the other fan postings need some perspective. Sure it was a disappointing season and in my opinion this team and coaching staff underachieved this year, even with the injuries. Sure I hate losing to the ducks once again. Sure I’m bummed we aren’t playing any more games this season, and so on…
Let’s look at a little history first, and 2005 was also a crappy year and people were calling for Riley’s head as a totally downgrade from the Dennis E. years, but the program built from there for some of its best run of seasons in the program’s history as well as including some of the best wins (again IMHO). So let’s not jump ship yet.
If we are really declining like I’m reading as happening in some of the comments we will see in the next two years. Say for instance if James and Quizz come back and the team is still performing like it did this season and say yes by all means let’s ask the hard questions.
But seriously as fans I think it is time for us to move on from this season and look forward to what we are bringing back next year. Should we accept it all as “aw shucks” that’s just the way it is? No, but at the same time going the complete other way is just a bit self defeating.
Now I want to really emphasize here that I’m not just going all “aw shucks” myself on everyone, I’ve been down in the dumps about OSU sports myself and I really do have pretty high expectations (probably MUCH too high for something I’m just a fan about and really have no direct connection with). So even though it might seem this way I’m not trying to call out people really.
Again, I hope no one takes this totally the wrong way, I was frustrated and disappointed this season, but geez it is just college football and I’m still proud of what this coaching staff has done with one of the WORSE programs in the history of college football. I’m willing to give them a pass this year and if that makes me a ‘homer’ fan then that’s the way it is I guess.
So in answer to the initial question above, I don’t know if anyone or anything specific “killed” or is to blame for the season, it just wasn’t the best of years and things did not work out very well. Let’s see what 2012 brings and then have some larger program questions if things again don’t work out.
-RVM
Don't worry, we're all Beavs here ;-)
A lot of us probably didn’t get much sleep lately, and it was one of those games, so we’re way on edge. We almost need a week-long moratorium on sweeping statements about Beaver football so we can see that the sky isn’t falling. I’d be curious to know what the coaches and players really think about this season. No one has more skin in the game than they do, after all.
I actually agree with everything you said. My inclusion of the coaching staff wasn’t because I think they should be thrown out. That would be silly. They do, however, shoulder much of the responsibility for this year. I know they have a super-tough job putting things together at OSU, and mistakes will happen.
It wasn’t any one thing that “killed” the season. It was all of the above. I’m still interested in which aspect stands out to people, though.
Having basketball to look forward to now as a consolation prize…. Well, that doesn’t make things feel better :-p
probably should have posted this in the game thread
For those are the comments that I was more reflecting upon, but this one just seemed like a nice summary one overall and all to respond to, which granted I guess I ended up responding more here to the other “jumping off the bus” and all the coaches need to be replaced comments in the other thread instead of this one!
Basketball? Lots of work is needed there with this year’s team. Right now I’m upgrading (downgrading?) my pessimism to a “work in progress” approach with this football season and also the basketball season. I’m sure I’ll have more flip-flop comments about basketball as we move forward into that one!
As for today’s game for whatever reason I just was more depressed by the ducks winning versus OSU losing if that makes any sense at all (!). It wasn’t the greatest of games but I thought the Beavs held their own for a lot of that game and really who else played them as strong for four quarters besides Cal? Maybe WSU actually, but I thought the game today was actually in doubt until that pass interference call and the UO TD after that in the fourth, and the duckies had their chances to put us away and couldn’t do it until the end, which quite honestly surprised me a good deal. But I’m still been pretty cranky at times tonight!
-RVM
I wasn't liking that call, either
Let’s mash that in with “The Ducks”
I don't get what you mean
Why would they do that?
As in
the coaches put the players in a place where all they could do was nothing
WTY's ERA+ = 135 I WIN!!!!!
How does Boise State do it?
The former junior college in Boise, Idaho is several rungs lower on the academic ladder than OSU, and it has fewer students, a smaller athletic budget, plays in a smaller stadium, has fewer alums, is geographically isolated, etc., etc., etc. But their football coaches and players overcome those liabilities to win lots of games. Admittedly, they play in a weaker conference than OSU, but they’ve certainly done well in non-conference games, including bowl games, against the likes of Oklahoma, Oregon, TCU, Virginia Tech, and yes, Oregon State. If they’d gotten one more field goal this year and made it to a BCS bowl, perhaps the championship game, you know they would have shown everyone watching the game that they deserved to be there. They expect to win every game they play, and that attitude has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
So what are BSU’s coaches and players doing that OSU’s aren’t? I don’t claim to know their secret of success, but don’t you think coach Riley and his staff should be taking a look at the Boise State football program, as well as other successful programs, to see if perhaps there’s something they might learn?
I read in today’s paper that Riley is standing pat with his coaching staff for 2011. I hope that doesn’t mean he’s also standing pat with his and his staff’s whole approach to the game. Their team appeared unprepared and uninspired for several games and regressed in many ways during the season. I saw little innovation or evolution in OSU’s attack and defense. There were many instances of poor in-game adjustment and decision-making. Standing pat will only guarantee more seasons of frustration for fans.
If the Beavers had beaten the Cougs, Riley would have earned a bonus for achieving a 6-6 record and qualifying for a bid to a meaningless bowl game. Would that have satisfied YOU? If so, cheer up. You can look forward to a satisfying 2011 season!
Thanks, will do
If the Beavers had beaten the Cougs, Riley would have earned a bonus for achieving a 6-6 record and qualifying for a bid to a meaningless bowl game. Would that have satisfied YOU? If so, cheer up. You can look forward to a satisfying 2011 season!
Thought you were a Bruin anyway?
Like we have SOOOOOOOOO much control over who the program hires and which players get to play and all that.
-RVM
You're right, of course, we have no "control"
On BtD, we wax philosophic on the deeper meaning of sports, while elsewhere, others pull the strings and run the plays. But our perspective from the stands, or in front of the TV, somehow gives us greater insight into the games than mere coaches and players can apprehend. Generously, we share the Great Truths we have discovered. If only those in control would take the time to visit BtD and soak up the Wisdom within, surely there would be a renaissance in Beaver athletics.
(I can substitute BN/Bruins and TDG/Gophers for BtD/Beavers above, and my logic remains flawless. Indisputably, the fans of my favorite sports blogs all know more than the coaches and players, as the records of those football teams and the online comments by fans prove conclusively.)
Hmm, with all I have said this season then the Beavs 11 and 1 and going to the Rose Bowl ranked #3?
Damn…
Maybe I can work my magic on the basketball team for they seem to need some major help too! :)
-RVM
by rvm on Dec 6, 2010 1:39 PM PST up reply actions
Riley's not listening to you, rvm
I’m afraid coach Robinson is also uninterested in your insights, but apparently you really got through to coach Rhode of the women’s soccer team.
kudos and.....
1.Kudos on the analysis
2. I don’t think the argument should be that this year is ok because we used to really suck.
That’s loser talk.
3. Staying with the same coaches after 3 losses in a row to the ducks is unbelievable.
1. Agree: Not sure I totally agree with the analysis but it was well done.
2. Disagree: That is giving the program kudos of how far it has come. And not sure anyone is really saying it is “ok” the way the team performed this season, but what I have been arguing we can’t yet base everything on one season. Both Riley and Erickson had them and Riley has actually showed he can bounce back. If it is a continuing trend over the next couple years I think the program should then be re-evaluated. If that’s loser talk guess I’m a loser, but I think a near-sightedness approach is possibly more a losing proposition. This is called trying to have perspective and I’m tired of this “loser” chicken little talk by short-sighted fans.
3. Disagree: It seems fairly believable to me since two out of those three seasons have been winning seasons. Unless you in your upper admin channels of college football have some excellent candidates lined up.
-RVM
by rvm on Dec 7, 2010 3:48 PM PST up reply actions
Josh McDaniels got fired........
……………….hold on, I can’t stop laughing.
I just said Josh McDaniels. Damn, I am really funny.
I met Joe Halahuni's parents.....in Alaska. Jealous?
that was a reply to your #3, but no way was I being serious.
I met Joe Halahuni's parents.....in Alaska. Jealous?
You saying hire him?!?
Well as fanoverboard has pointed out not sure anyone in the upper admin positions are listening to us sergey606!
-RVM
by rvm on Dec 7, 2010 4:18 PM PST up reply actions
no
you just asked about some “excellent candidates” and I threw out McDaniels’ name, I would not be happy if he was ever hired at OSU. Maybe he’s a better fit for USC, but not for the Beavs. I just associate hate with USC, so maybe that’s why I think he’d be a good fit, same with Kiffin, Carroll, Belichick, etc.
I met Joe Halahuni's parents.....in Alaska. Jealous?
man hate to admit this but
I actually kind-of liked Carroll at SC. Do I trust the guy and all that, nah, would I want him OSU’s coach, no way, but I liked what he brought to their program.
-RVM
by rvm on Dec 7, 2010 4:40 PM PST up reply actions
true dat
i can see him convincing me to get a 1977 AMC Gremlin
I met Joe Halahuni's parents.....in Alaska. Jealous?
What if he threw in a National Championship?
-RVM
by rvm on Dec 8, 2010 9:58 PM PST up reply actions
Or a Heisman trophy!
in small print:
….it will be taken away in the near future.
I met Joe Halahuni's parents.....in Alaska. Jealous?
new coaches
My upper admin credentials would get you someone from Walmart.
However….
I hate the way our db’s are coached, the athletes they recruit, and on defense in general we seem to be falling farther and farther behind. Watching the defense play this year was like watching puppies on an ice rink-totally clueless way too often.
I think Riley’s sent some kids to the nfl, doesn’t seem like a douche, and the cost of living in Corvallis makes pay package seem reasonable. I think we need to change and OS would have some coaching prospects looking at us.
Yep, we've all been talking about the D
I can go there a bit more on the defensive side of things (though have to admit some of the play calling on the offensive side has been a mystery to me too). We’ve been talking a bit about the recruiting too for it just seems to not match the schemes at all, so indeed either has to change (I’m like you I think and I would like both to change).
Just think quite honestly we will never do much better then Riley and if that means putting up with his choice of staff then guess I have to go with it, but hell yes the defense needs to change up things.
Again though it is one bad season out of what four pretty good ones, and also ones that seemed to be getting us closer to the Rose Bowl, so I’m totally ok being a loser here and say give the program a pass. And again if this keeps up next year I will be much more willing to have more critical discussions about the staff.
Dang about Walmart for that is maybe about my level of pull too, doesn’t any one around have any strings to pull? :)
-RVM
by rvm on Dec 7, 2010 6:56 PM PST up reply actions
"Never do much better than Riley"?
Again I ask, “How does Boise State do it?” They may not hire coaches with the name-recognition of a Mike Riley or Pete Carroll, and as pointed out above they have far less in the way of financial and other resources to work with than Oregon State does, but they still expect to win every game and play in a BCS bowl every year. Why should the Beavers aspire to any less and settle for any less than Boise State does?
by fanoverboard on Dec 7, 2010 10:43 PM PST up reply actions
One could always aspire...
However, if things were that simple and easy, UCLA wouldn’t be stuck in a cycle of bad coaches. WSU would have some 3+ win seasons lately. The Big East wouldn’t suck.
Speaking of UCLA, they generally lament that they hired Karl Dorrell instead of Mike Riley when both applied for the job. Last year USC wanted to hire Riley, as well, and they definitely expect greatness. I don’t think the AD said “yeah, let’s snatch Mike Riley so he can get us 7 or 8 wins a year.” Give him the recruiting power and resources at USC, and he’d do better than he does here.
If our program took Boise State’s place in the WAC this last decade, we’d probably have gone undefeated some of those years, too. They’ve been great, but let’s not go crazy here. Even with BSU’s success, they couldn’t win the conference in 2007, and they couldn’t make it to the BCS or beat Nevada in 2010 with what was hyped as their best team ever.
I understand the frustration, though, having come so close and then not being able to close it out. Things could always be better… but right now they’re good overall. I’m happy to wait another season before calling for heads.
This!
If our program took Boise State’s place in the WAC this last decade, we’d probably have gone undefeated some of those years, too. They’ve been great, but let’s not go crazy here. Even with BSU’s success, they couldn’t win the conference in 2007, and they couldn’t make it to the BCS or beat Nevada in 2010 with what was hyped as their best team ever.
Sorry fanoverboard but scotty256 has summed it up, Boise State is a poor comparison. I would add in another way of thinking about it and what if BSU was in the Pac? Would they have the same level of success as they do in the WAC? My guess is not even close.
-RVM
by rvm on Dec 8, 2010 8:27 AM PST up reply actions
That?
Well, you know that Boise State deserves to be in a BCS bowl this year, since their one-loss season includes a victory over BCS-bowl-bound Virginia Tech. It’s only the usual East coast, SEC-ACC arrogance that’s keeping the Broncos out.
I agree that the comparison between BSU and OSU is flawed in many ways. The only point I am making with such a comparison is that BSU has shown that you don’t need a lot of resources to put winning football teams on the field. And as others have pointed out, even if you have a lot of resources, as UCLA has, it’s no guarantee you’ll put much of a team on the field.
Feeling that the Beavers can’t ever get a better coach than Mike Riley, or beat the Ducks a few years in a row, or contend for a national championship, is needlessly self-limiting. With the right combination of coaches, players, scheduling, and ATTITUDE, anything is possible.
And this :)
Things are skewed a bit right now because the Ducks happen to be on an incredible, and unprecedented in their program, upturn for the moment. That doesn’t mean our entire program and the coaches are just so-so now. We couldn’t beat the Ducks this year? Well, neither could anyone else. We couldn’t beat them last year? We came super-close (waaaaaay closer than anyone else did at Autzen, where they usually won by 20+.) The timing is just very unfortunate for us Beavers.
Now, if we can’t get 7+ wins next year, I’d say something is definitely wrong and major changes should probably be made. If we can get 9+, I’d say things are fine.
Feeling that the Beavers can’t ever get a better coach than Mike Riley, or beat the Ducks a few years in a row, or contend for a national championship, is needlessly self-limiting.
Perhaps… but it’s kind of like if I wanted to land a supermodel and decided that not chasing only supermodels is needlessly self-limiting. You have to be realistic, or you end up alone and even more frustrated (i.e. with losing season after losing season like in the past.)
We’ve been thisclose to winning the Pac-10 two out of the last three years. Unless crappy seasons like this one become the norm, there’s no reason to shake things up a ton. Adjustments need to be made, but there’s much more going right overall than wrong.
I don’t know, look if you or other fans of the program think I’m limiting the team’s potential to win NCs, beat the ducks (which I actually thought they could last year and had moments towards the end of the week before the CW this year thinking it was possible), and so on because 1) I still think Riley can give us successful seasons, and 2) just happen to think that we yes realistically won’t do much better than Mike, then I guess that’s the way it is.
And here is my thought I think that maybe some of the admin have seen the effect Riley has on his players and teams that they think is working out ok and has some potential for better things in the near future. Plus NCs? How many teams really compete for those every year and how many don’t? There are expectations and there also has to be some realism. I totally agree with scotty256 below and this duck deal has got people a little out of whack about OSU. I don’t care what anyone thinks I know that program puts a ton of money and resources into its program and has finally got its peak payoff, and realistically if that is what it takes to get there OSU will never be able to match (nor honestly do I think they should for an athletic program in our economic times). Anyway to be more pie-in-the-sky I do also think OSU can capture that chemistry once in awhile like 2000 showed us, but again for realism did Dennis ever match being that close ever again? Who knows maybe Riley could too, he actually has brought this program closer to big things than people seem willing now to give him credit for in 2008 and 2009.
Look I might be missing the point of some of these arguments, but it seems like some people are implying that if I as a fan have these views I’m a loser and setting up the team for complacency or worse. I find this annoying, I just want some perspective when it comes to this season. That’s what I believe, others don’t, which is ok I just don’t like this loser fan deal. I’ll keep going to games, keep writing on the blog here for awhile, and overall will keep being a fan. But also realistically that does not win games for I don’t go out and play the games and as noted above I really have no effect on whether this team wins or not.
And by the way sorry but the Boise State argument is still a shitty one. I think that actually I think mckalk made a much more interesting and better one with Utah.
-RVM
mckalk?
Where would I find mckalk’s post about Utah?
And yes, you apparently are missing the point of some of these arguments. Nobody’s implying that you are a loser.
by fanoverboard on Dec 8, 2010 10:47 PM PST up reply actions
The loser one was in another post I thought, a that’s “loser” talk comment, and I guess I was seeing the “I” as more general as fans like me who think that as far as this program has gone from what we are used to in the not so distant past that I’m ok giving Riley a pass season like this one. Sorry, I left out a lot of nuances to my argument above, and I can see that now. Well the “shitty” comment wasn’t so nuanced now that I look at it! That was just plain cranky speak! Sorry about that.
Guess I’m a little frustrated with some views seem to be that every season has to be all or nothing for OSU and that’s just not the case nor do I think it will ever be the case, and when I just want to try and step back (which yes was hard for me this week after the CW loss) some respect for what Riley and his crew have done and also do we really all know better than the admin and the coaching staff in creating a BCS type of team. I don’t like the Texas or Oklahoma fanbase stuff like that and hope we in Beaver Nation don’t go there.
Anyway, here is the comments from mckalk I thought had some interesting points:
http://www.buildingthedam.com/2010/12/6/1860379/beavers-faced-3-of-4-heisman-finalists#53970313
I just thought the Utah comparison made more sense than say Boise State.
-RVM
by rvm on Dec 9, 2010 8:36 AM PST up reply actions
Can't blame you for being cranky
And I agree that mckalk does make some good points. Of course, if you really do buy into his comparison between Utah and Oregon State football, that means that Riley gets fired after two or three losing seasons and another coach comes in to lead the Beavs to victory over Alabama or some other highly-ranked SEC team in the Sugar Bowl. Is that your prediction?
No, not my prediction, but
I will also admit as much as I respect what Riley has done and how much of a fan I am of him, I still find him a mystery.
He seems to have this strange mix of the long haul and being fairly conservative in his attitudes, then at other times seems very open to changing things up and being more liberal in his attitude. An example, and I don’t think (know if) this is all Riley, and the passing offense. He’s always come across as someone who wants a smash-mouth offense where everything is established through the run, but then he also will open up the passing game like no one’s business and sometimes to a fault it seems. I’m thinking across all the QBs we have had during his second tenure.
So I will admit though the possible Utah comparison is still kind-of interesting to think about Dennis Erickson did just that after Riley left, and with basically all of Riley’s recruits Erickson took the team and went to the Fiesta Bowl and beat up on Notre Dame!
Anyway, personally I don’t see that happening now, the Utah type of deal. I don’t know maybe I’m being totally naive, but I first of all just don’t see anyway that Bob D. would ever fire Riley, unless we got consistently WSU bad but even then I think Riley would be the one to step down. And to be possibly even more naive even if Riley stays with everything the same scheme and coaching staff wise I really think they will be competing enough to be considered successful. And I just personally think they will change things up and make the adjustments.
But that said please don’t take out your mortgage to place your bets on next year because of any of this!
And also I’m still concerned with some troubling trends that seem to be going on a little too long IMHO, like the defensive schemes.
Phew, ok, that’s a little more reasoned and level-headed response I hope! I know it is yet again long! I’m working out things!
-RVM
by rvm on Dec 9, 2010 8:50 PM PST up reply actions
Sweet!
My first promotion, yay! Makes me feel all warm and gushy inside. I bet it comes with a 20% raise, too ;-)
Well deserved!
Ah, we get raises for that kind of thing?
Hold on you getting paid for any of this?!?
-RVM
by rvm on Dec 9, 2010 8:37 AM PST up reply actions
Hold on you getting paid for any of this?!?
Maybe it’ll make more sense if I tell you that I already got my 5000% raise :-p
If I understand SBNation correctly, blog “official” authors get a bit of money from ads, but they have to write all those main articles on a consistent basis about this or that… No thanks. Much more fun to sit back and snipe a few things from time to time!
Boise State/UCLA
I think where BSU has succeeded in comparison to us, ucla or anybody else
is that their AD is extraordinarily good (or dang lucky) at picking coaches. The nation freaked when Hawkins left, and BSU pulled Pederson (sp?) out. Pretty good hire.
BDC has done an extraordinary job w/ facilities, but has been horrible in marketing (I think things may be turning there) and not so great at picking coaches/extending contracts. I’d also like to see President Ray keep this department on it’s toes. BSU made a commitment to winning big time football, I believe we should as well.
I think Riley is a pretty good coach when motivated, so I’m ok if “he’s as good as we get”. Frankly that’s pretty damn good. But he has to keep reaching higher, and so do we.
Even though you might not think so, I do agree with this
But he has to keep reaching higher, and so do we.
-RVM
by rvm on Dec 8, 2010 8:28 AM PST up reply actions
Clever post, scotty256
Just wanted to commend you for the clever “whodunnit” approach to post-season analysis, before the thread completely wound down and nobody was left to chime in with their congrats, too.
I'd say it was a mix
of Adam Hall and the two early games against TCU and fBSU.
I think you’d have dealt with UCLA, the fuskies, and Wazzu just fine if you had a healthy James Rodgers for Katz to throw to. Also, you lost to the (now) #5 team in the country by 9 points, the (now) #10 team by 13, and the #2 team by 17. Them’s some respectable margins right there.
I can’t help but think that your offense will be much more potent next year, what with both Rodgers brothers returning alongside a more-experienced Katz. I’m just glad the Civil War’s at Autzen next year.
BCS stands for Boise Can Suck it. I am naturally a proud supporter of the current BCS system.
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