The Oregon State Beavers won their first conference opener since 2003 Saturday evening, defeating the Arizona State Sun Devils 31-28. ASU jumped out to a 7-0 lead early on, but could not quite get enough big plays when they needed them. Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns, including a career long 74 yarder. - Initially, it looks as if the tough opening slate of games has paid off in the maturation process of Ryan Katz. As well as completing 19 of 29 passes, he found nine different receivers in the absence of play maker James Rodgers. His mobility in the pocket saved some plays, and again he did not throw an interception.
- The coaching staff did a nice job of mixing up the play calling enough in the first half to keep the aggressive ASU defense at bay. There were enough effective short passes, as well as enough deep throws to keep the Sun Devils honest. This helped Jacquizz break free slightly more than the games against Boise State and TCU.
- The defensive line play was fierce. Stephen Paea took out his frustrations from the first three games on the Sun Devil offensive line and quarterback Steven Threet. The supporting cast also did a good job of collapsing the pocket on Threet, forcing him to either make poor decisions down field or hold on to the ball too long and take a sack. Not an easy task to do against a quick paced spread offense.
- While the d-line did a nice job against the pass, it was still suspect against the run. ASU was consistently able to gain 5-6 yards on the ground up the middle, as both of their running backs hit the hole hard and kept their feet moving and pushing the pile forward.
- Cameron Collins' move to linebacker will prove to be one of the best coaching decisions made during the season. As he gets more comfortable in that role, his ball hawking abilities and knack to fly from sideline to sideline will be the difference maker on defense.
- Vontaze Burfect should not be allowed to play football. It seemed time after time he was throwing small jabs at players and yapping his face off. There were also a few times where he lead with his helmet, using as a weapon, as well as seemingly choking some of the offensive linemen on multiple occasions. His dirty play will catch up to him.
Next up for the Beavers are the No. 9 Arizona Wildcats in Tuscon. Arizona had a bye week this week to rest up for the Beavers. Their previous game was a sloppy affair with the Cal Golden Bears, which they won 10-9 after trailing most of the game. The Wildcats defeated Oregon State last season in Corvallis, but have not beaten the Beavs at home since 1997, Mike Riley's first season as OSU head coach.
No comments:
Post a Comment