Oregon State vs. TCU - In Progress on ESPN from Cowboys Stadium
Halftime thoughts:
First-time starter Ryan Katz made more good passes than poor ones in the first half, and is doing all that was expected of him. He had James Rodgers open on the first play of the game but the ball was overthrown-- he would later hit a wide open Rodgers on a seam route for the first score of the game. He made some mistakes and still has things to learn, but Oregon State fans have to be happy with Katz's performance. He's doing a good job eluding the blitz, and has been well protected by the offensive line.
Jacquizz Rodgers has had no room to run so far in this game. TCU's run defense is no joke, and it probably doesn't help that they're bringing a safety up towards the line of scrimmage at times to help stop the run.
"He can run, we just need to find some lanes for him," Mike Riley said before going into the locker room.
Mark Banker and the defensive staff need to find a way to stop Andy Dalton from scrambling-- the Horned Frogs have been able to run on every third and long, which they shouldn't be able to do. To me, it seems like the defensive line is getting a good rush on Dalton but sometimes are getting pushed behind Dalton, out of the play. With the linebackers and secondary having to pay so much attention to the litany of receivers TCU is sending out, there is open field in front of Dalton once he gets in front of a few of the OSU defensive linemen.
All-in-all, a good first half. The Beavers are making plays, but they lack consistency. The Hekker fake punt was awesome, but it's basically a non-factor now as Hekker's poor punt resulted in a TCU touchdown. That three-and-out right before the half was killer, but this is still anyone's game in the second half. I'll take it.
The Beavers need to come out of the locker room and get a stop on TCU, then go to work on offense. But I'll take that first half.
--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)