So there has been a lot of conversation since Saturday about Lyle Moevao and his 4 interceptions against one of the worst teams in the country. I have decided to write my take on the matter and let us battle it out in the thread.
To start things off, I am going to publicly say that I support Lyle Moevao through and through. Anything negative said about him in this article is to either bring up a positive or just stating fact.
But guys, when was the last time you saw a QB with this much swagger about him? When was the last time you saw a QB throw and INT and run over to the bench with a smile on his face? To an outsider, this may appear to be a quarterback who doesn't care. But to anyone who has followed the Beavs since Moevao become defacto starter, we know that he is really saying "Damn. I'm an idiot. What was I thinking? I'll get it next time..." After the Stanford game, Moeavo took the blame on himself. He said that the loss was his fault. He did this publicly. He didn't blame anyone else but himself.
But the kid loves Oregon State. He loves the Beavs. When was the last time a QB risked injuring himself to lay out a defensive end so a running play could gain 4 yards? When was the last time you saw a QB have a near perfect game versus USC? When have you ever seen a QB throw 95 times in his first 2 games, then 65 in the next 2 and be happy because it's what the team needed to win? Lyle Moevao doesn't need to be in the spotlight. He thrives on being the guy next door. Probably the most approachable Division 1 QB as you'll ever meet. Never puts himself above anybody, and loves the team-first concept.
Lyle Moevao is a gamer, and he does what it takes to win. Yes, he forced some things in there against WSU. Yes, he had a couple AWFUL passes against the Cougars. And yes, we should be thanking our lucky stars that those 4 interceptions were against a team so bad that they still only amounted to 13 total points. But remember, he still threw 3 TDs and had a good 1st quarter and 2nd half. I will accept this poor performance against WSU with the notion that he helped win the game against USC.
The reason I am writing this is because we don't need to get down on the guy. His interceptions may look eerily similar to what Matt Moore went through his junior year, but Moore got down on himself and never really recovered, especially when the boo birds came out (until of course, his SR year, and we all know how that story ended). So let's not jump ahead of ourselves. Our team is good elsewhere. We have a solid OLine, great set of running backs, and a defense that just doesn't quit. Lyle "The Smile" Moevao doesn't need to win games. He just needs to sit back there and keep doing what he does: loving this team and loving this school. What more can you ask from a QB?