After watching the spring scrimmage last Saturday here are some predictions on the upcoming season.

• Obum "Boom" Gwacham will start at some point during the season over Jordan Bishop. After watching Jordan Bishop for the last few years, it seems that he has all the athleticism in the world, but just could never put it together on the field. I thought Boom needed a lot more playing time last year, but he only got real time in the Washington game where he had some great catches. In summer practices last year I always thought he looked goofy in drills, but in scrimmages and 7 on 7 drills he always showed up in a big way. In the spring scrimmage if we were giving away MVP awards I would have picked him without a doubt. He has continued to improve and he looked hungry in the spring scrimmage, I believe that eventually he will break into the starting lineup.
• The offensive line will improve. There are three reasons I actually believe that this will happen. The first is Isaac Seumalo, he might be slightly undersized, but that's nothing a college weight room can't fix. He is going to start and frankly he will be an upgrade over whoever he replaces. Hopefully incoming transfer Stan Hasiak can come in and play as well, he has not had a good start to his college career, bouncing around, but hopefully settling down here, and being a productive player. Lastly and possibly more important could be the return of Michael Philipp. Him missing last year hurt, and when he was in the scrimmage he played well. When I was focused just on him, he did well especially against Dylan Wynn.
• The development of Sean Mannion will not be as swift as we would hope. He will hopefully improve, but he looked to be forcing balls the same as last year. From most reports he was supposed to be having a nice spring, but in front of the crowd he looked rather average. He doesn't look ready to lead a team still, hopefully the incoming offensive lineman can help with that though.

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Now that the season has come to a close, and with a mention of Cunningham testing the draft waters, it seems like a good time to evaluate the individual talent of players on the OSU basketball team. I did one evaluation earlier in the year, but frankly that was an early analysis and there were still several games left, with development still to come. Here are some updated thoughts about the draft chances for the Beavs.

Jared Cunningham

Jared has a genuine chance at getting drafted if he were to leave this year, but he really shouldn't leave just yet. He has okay size for a PG and has great athleticism. He has okay ball handling abilities, his shooting stroke looks good, and it shows that he has been developing a midrange jumper. Overall his offensive skill set is actually looking quite good, the only problem being that if he is projected as a point guard then he needs to work on his vision and get some practice running the offense. This would help his prospects, but seems unlikely with the current OSU roster.

On the defensive end he had been playing pretty well before the last CBI game, where he just kept getting beat. Some was due to poor help from the man guarding the screener, but a he got beat off the dribble once or twice as well. The steals numbers look good and those are for real, he has great anticipation in the passing lanes. Jared can be a great defender, but sometimes it looks like his focus is lacking.

In terms of NBA comparisons he actually has very similar numbers and award histories as Shannon Brown, now with the Phoenix Suns. Brown was drafted in the 1st round, pick 25, which might be in part because of the talent in that draft, which looks pretty bad in retrospect. There isn't a lot of talk about Cunningham on draft sites, but from what I could find he seems to be right on the cusp of being drafted. My opinion is that he will probably still go undrafted this year, but if he returns and really blows it up next year he could end up as high as Brown. At his current playing level I do not see him getting drafted.

Cunningham can declare he is NOT going into the draft up to April 10, which is National Letter Of Intent day, but actually has until April 29 to withdraw his name so long as he does not hire an agent (and Cunningham does not intend to).

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Final Score: Stanford 87 Oregon St. 82

Same teams, different location, same outcome. Again when the Beavers need a big bucket on the road no one can come through and the Stanford Cardinal prevail. This game can be simplified to three sections, the first half where neither team could pull away, the early second half where OSU could not hold onto the ball, and the final flurry where the Beavs would not go quietly.

No one player stood out for the game, several made plays at various points in the game, but the Beavs were led in scoring by Jared Cunningham with 22 points on the night, with Roberto Nelson right behind him with 19 points. The Beavs were led in rebounds by Eric Moreland and Joe Burton, who ended up tied with 8. That only left 4 rebounds for the rest of the team, as the Beavs only gathered 20 rebounds, which was dwarfed by Stanford's final total of 33 rebounds.

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Despite this OSU basketball season not following the script that Beaver fans had imagined, this team still has some talent. To make it in the NBA a player needs to have at least one skill that can be used in the pro game, a player like J.J. Redick comes to mind, terrific shooter, but only acceptable in the rest of his abilities. Von Wafer, former Trail Blazer and current Magic player has solid ballhandling skills and is alright on the offensive side, despite some glaring defensive issues. Some of the current Beavs should get a glance at the NBA, but they really need to finish developing some skills that will make them possible rotation players in the NBA. I'll take a look at which players have a genuine chance at making it to the pros and what skills they need to develop to become rotation players at the next level.

Jared Cunningham

Cunningham has the most potential out of any Beaver on the roster right now. His athleticism is off the charts and he has acceptable size at 6-4", and he is a decent scorer. His ability to shoot coming off of screens has improved this year and his ability to slash to the hoop has stayed consistent throughout most of his time here. To really complete the offensive end he needs to work on a jump shot off the dribble, he has been trying it more the last couple games, but he really hasn't been hitting them. This would really complete his arsenal, his ballhandling will improve as he continues to play and if he can consistently hit a jumper he will be a real offensive weapon. To help his stock he will need to play more point guard, but quite honestly as the best offensive player for the Beavs that will not be developed as much.

On the defensive end Cunningham has improved throughout this season, he started off poorly, as did every OSU guard, but he has showed improvement the last couple of games, he is the only guard that is consistently able to keep his man in front of him. With his steal numbers as well, this is certainly an area that scouts will look favorably on. Cunningham is on the right track, but I do believe he needs one more year at school before he will be really ready for the NBA.

If he left this year I would not expect him to get drafted, but if he stays one more year and continues to develop I see him as a mid-2nd round pick. If he continues to grow on both ends like he has over the last couple years he could definitely exceed this early evaluation though.

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Although the box score may cause some alarm, there is no reason for Beaver fans to panic just yet. This team is still capable of winning games and making the tournament, they just lost to a more talented team. It is far from the end of the world, the Beavs were fairly competitive except for the beginning and until things fell apart in the endgame. There are weaknesses in this squad and they were exposed in this matchup, but the majority of those weaknesses can be rectified.

The same problems from old games resurfaced in this one, poor free throw shooting being one of them. The Beavs left a lot of points on the court because of missed free throws, there were a couple missed on the front of a one and one, so really even more points were lost than just the eight missed free throws. When playing as talented a team as Washington, the Beavers cannot afford these small miscues, the way to beat more talented teams is to execute better than them, and against the Huskies the Beavers failed to do so.

Rebounding is becoming more and more of an issue as well, it was hard enough to get defensive stops, but when Washington did miss, the Beavs often let them have second chances. This problem is a little simpler to fix than free throws, free throws are sort of a mental game, but rebounding is more of a matter of a focus. Every player needs to make sure they are boxing out somebody, unless they are supposed to be leaking out for a potential fastbreak opportunity. It was a disheartening to see the good defensive efforts be wasted by letting the Huskies get the offensive rebound and put it back up.

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After the Idaho debacle the Beavs have come back strong with two dominating performances against UIC and Howard. OSU played very well in these last two games doing what they do best, creating turnovers and converting those turnovers into points. In the last two games a trend has started though, something which might really help OSU especially once Pac-12 play starts, and that's the recent emergence of Roberto Nelson. He has scored at least 20 points in the last two games and while the opponents are not of the highest caliber he still scored that much. Against Idaho when the offense stagnated he looked like the only guy who could create something for himself.

Nelson has had the ability and that was recognized when he was coming out of high school, but then he had to redshirt his freshman year due to academic difficulties. With that year off and with a learning year in the previous season he looks like he is finally getting comfortable. It seems like the quick hook has stopped coming as well, so he is allowed to be more creative with the ball, he gets the same sort of freedom with the ball that Joe Burton has.

The main weapon that can make Nelson a threat on the court is his shot, he can make his mid range jumper, and he can shoot from most everywhere beyond the arc. If his shot is back on target like it has been in the last couple games he will see the floor a lot and it should open up things for Jared Cunningham who has been struggling from three point range, but is still a dynamic slasher and finisher. Against zones Nelson can be the zone buster, who forces opponents to back out of the zone to match up with him. Right now he is the missing component for the Beavs, one more scorer who can keep other teams honest, so they can't cheat on Cunningham.

For me, this is what the Beavs are missing, a consistent shooter and a guy who can create without needing to be next to the hoop or relying on back door cuts. Starks can be a shooter, but his size limits his effectiveness closer to the basket. If Nelson is able to be a dependable scorer, then this OSU team will be an offensive force, because somebody will be able to win an individual matchup and if the opponent tries to cheat towards anyone, everyone else can make them pay. For these reasons the development of Nelson becomes more and more important as we get closer to Pac-12 play, with a full power Nelson this team has a geniune chance to win the Pac-12.

Go Beavs!

While the OSU football program finally ends this year's debacle, a new season has begun for Oregon State basketball. The Beavs were expected to place low in the Pac-12 this year, but with improvement from almost the entire team they have begun to appear on some analysts radar. This team is talented enough to make the NCAA tourney, but will they? Let's delve into some of the reasons that Oregon State could finally get back into March Madness.

Positives:

• Depth - The Beavs actually have a fairly solid 8 man rotation, and against lesser teams they can rotate in 10 guys. This allows for the Beavs to play aggressively and try to get the steals that they thrive on, since OSU really is at their best in transition. It wasn't a real obvious advantage coming into the season, but with the emergence of Eric Moreland and the continued growth of all the returners this year has really made Oregon State a more complete team.
• Potential - This might not be as much of a tangible positive, but the fact is that Oregon State really has not played up to their full potential yet. Against Vandy there were a lot dumb mistakes, miscommunications, and occasional periods of poor offense. The best part about this Beaver basketball season is that it feels like that the Beavs could really do so much better. If this team ever completely locks in, and plays to their maximum in every facet of the game, they can beat a lot of teams.
• Star Power - For the first time probably since Gary Payton the Beavs have a player to build around. Jared Cunningham has exploded for 35 and 37 points against Hofstra and Texas respectively. When he is locked in, he can lead the Beavs to victory. He has had some down games the last two games, where he was well-defended in the Vandy game, and he was a little too passive in the Towson game. He has all the skills to be a star player and has a shot at Pac-12 player of the year if the Beavs do well.

Some thoughts about what might hold the Beavs back after the jump.

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No TV / KKSN-AM 910 / KTHH-AM 990 / ESPN3.com live stream

This might not be the biggest OSU sporting event of the day, but it is still an important game for the Oregon State basketball team. After a tough loss 64-62 loss to 18th ranked Vanderbilt, the Beavs will play a winless Towson University team on the road. These are the type of games Oregon State had lapses of concentration in last year and if the Beavs want to earn an NCAA tourney bid (which continues to look more and more realistic) then OSU needs to dominate these sort of matchups.

Towson Tigers (0-4)

The Tigers have lost to two ranked teams this year in Michigan and Kansas, but have also lost to Belmont and UNC-Greensboro. They are led by senior forward Robert Nwankwo who is averaging 13.8 points and 9.3 rebounds, both team highs. The Tigers are led in assists by freshman Kris Walden with 3 assists, but he also averages 7 turnovers per game. In fact, as a team through four games they are averaging 23.8 turnovers a game. This sounds like an ideal matchup for a steal-happy Oregon State team.

Oregon State has some things it can practice in this game, primarily on the defensive end. Through all five games that OSU has played so far they have struggled to really guard on the perimeter. There has been way too much penetration into the lane, which leads to easy shots for opposing offenses. This is the primary issue dogging OSU, it makes it difficult to get out on shooters, and it makes it tough to start the offense for the Beavs. The second thing they need to work on is outside shooting. The Beavs are pretty efficient from inside the arc, if they convert a couple more of their outside shots, suddenly the lane will open up even more.

This game should be easily won by OSU, but there is plenty to work on. The Beavs should win by a mile, but they need to prove that they can win against teams they should beat.

Go Beavs!

Today was a rare occurrence for any university, it was a gameday for both the football and basketball teams. Let's wrap up today's activities with a bow.

Football:

• Finally a victory! Both the fans and the seniors deserved this one. The fans deserved it for sticking through this terrible season, and the seniors gave the fans a wonderful couple of years before this one.
• The "son of Montana" did not quite live up to the hype and the Beavs did a great job of capitalizing on his mistakes today. When Price did play though I did wonder if Washington looked down on OSU and thought they could win without him. It would have been a different game with a better UW qb, but "what if's" don't really matter after the fact.
• The defense played better today too, notably tackling in open space. They also created turnovers, a late forced fumble by Scott Crichton led to the score that really helped OSU open up the game, and a Ryan Murphy red zone int really sealed the deal. The Murphy int is encouraging too since he will likely get a lot of playing time next year.
  
• The offense mostly finished in the red zone with touchdowns, instead of settling for field goals. The running game was much more present, although Washington is pretty awful against the run.
• Probably the best moment of the day was James Rodgers becoming the all-time reception leader at OSU. He really earned the record and it was great to see him get there. There are plenty of other things to cover, but these things stood out the most in my mind.

Basketball comments following the jump.

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Despite all the woes of the football team, basketball season has started in Corvallis. This is an important season for the Beavs as the rebuilding phase should be over, and this team should be ready to compete. The regular season started last Saturday against the Roadrunners of Cal State Bakersfield, and the Beavers played a decent game against them. This year's team is much more athletic than the last few years, and so talent should not be a reason for any more losses. I have been waiting to make any sort of judgements until I got to see them play, but now here are some thoughts about each player.

Jared Cunningham

He is the best player on this team. He has a solid handle, is a pretty good shooter, and is ridiculously athletic. He is a really good player but he has some issues that have happened throughout his time at OSU, sometimes the offense gets stagnant and he will force a drive where there is no driving lane. He also occasionally has trouble finishing at the rim, but both issues looked alright in the game.

Ahmad Starks

The diminutive guard is mostly a shooter, he was billed initially as a point guard, but he seems to be more of a shooting guard. When his shot is on he can be a weapon, but if it is off he can be a bit of a liability. Defensively people can just shoot over him, so when OSU plays higher quality opponents it might be more of a problem. Rebounding is also tough, if he tries to box out, then opponents can just grab the ball right over him. He can be good, but there are games where he'll be less effective.

Joe Burton

Joe can be quite good at times, and at other times he can be pretty awful. The fulcrum for his effectiveness is his creativity, sometimes it works really well, as he has a terrific passing touch, but sometimes he overthinks and throws a pass that should not have been thrown. He is a decent shooter and demonstrated during the game that he has improved his shooting range to 3 pointers as well. He'll have good games and bad games, but the good games will be important for an OSU victory.

More profiles after the jump.

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Gill Coliseum / No TV / KTHH-AM 990 / KKSN-AM 910

The Oregon State Beaver basketball team will begin regular season play against the Roadrunners of Cal State Bakersfield. The Beavers played Pacific University in exhibition last Friday and won 64-33 led by Jared Cunningham who scored 12 points and grabbed 3 steals.

This is a make or break year for Craig Robinson with previous records of 18-18, 14-18, and 10-19, from the 2008-2009 season to the 2010-2011 season. He has brought in good recruiting classes, but the team was still yet to really improve. The talent is there now, so the blame will likely fall to Robinson if this year goes wrong.

There is now a shift towards man to man defense, thanks to a higher talent level. Some fans have been clamoring for this move for a long time, and now they've finally got it. It should be the right move, as it was pretty successful last year when the Beavers would move to it.

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In the aftermath of last week's game versus Utah, an interesting debate occurred. When the offense falters where should the blame actually fall? Is it squarely on the shoulders of the offensive line? On the arm of Sean Mannion? Maybe even on the wide receivers? The real truth is there is no easy answer to this question, and it will vary week by week, but excusing Mannion because of the offensive line is not correct either.

Mannion is going to be the deciding factor in every game that OSU plays unless the defense becomes dominant. That seems unlikely, so for the immediate future how he plays will decide games. The offensive line could certainly help him more, the receivers could drop fewer passes, and the coaches could try and set a new gameplan to get the ball out quicker. In the end though the bottom line comes down to the quarterback. But for the sake of fairness let's give an argument for each group being at fault.

• Offensive Line: The obvious candidates. They are currently the weakest unit on the team and have trouble pass blocking and run blocking. There is very little offensive balance because the Beavs are forced into throwing more than they really should. They are the easiest group to blame because their mistakes are the most obvious, when Mannion has no time or there are no lanes being created for the running backs. They also get some terrible penalties as well, a holding call is sometimes acceptable to protect your qb, but a false start should not happen. When the Beavers lose in the trenches they lose on the scoreboard too. This problem has been masked for the last few years by Jacquizz Rodgers, but the line has had trouble run blocking for a long time, Rodgers simply created lanes that did not exist and gave the appearance of good run blocking. This is a talent issue, but the incoming recruiting class seems to have more offensive line talent coming in.
  
• Receivers: It seems less obvious, but this is another potential unit to blame. Some plays I choose to watch a receiver and see if he wins his individual matchup against the cornerback, but I actually rarely see them win. They need to create some sort of separation, but it seems to not happen as often as it should. That's only one half of the negatives though, there are a few too many dropped balls as well. Markus Wheaton has had a few notable ones and Brandin Cooks has juggled some passes also but got away with it. The dropped passes are tough to deal with, especially when the offense is already in a rut.
• Running Backs: The backs are guilty primarily of one thing, fumbling. We had gotten spoiled in the Quizz era, but now we have seen the ball hit the turf on real fumbles, not on a fluke of a lateral pass. It brings the offense to a screeching halt, and it generally seems that the offense cannot recover very quickly and things begin to snowball. The Beaver offense is already unstable, and extra misfortunes just further weaken the confidence of the team, the running backs are not free of blame here either.
• Coaches: There needs to be some more creativity here, the old tried and true system did work, but now that OSU has had real exposure, defenses know exactly what they are dealing with. The scheme has not changed at all, with the addition of the fly sweep a couple years ago, but even that has become mildly predictable. They had tried the Beavercat (not the Wild Beaver) and that was an interesting idea, but the whole wildcat idea has since fizzled out everywhere. The coaches really need to look at their talent and figure out the best way to utilize that talent. The most dynamic unit is the wide receiving corps, but the scheme restricts them to 3 wide receivers, it just seems like a misuse of talent. I still hold out hope that the 5 wide sets are being saved for the Civil War, but it would be a good time to maybe try some new things.
• Quarterback: In the end every other part of the offense has an effect on the game, but only one player has the ability to sway the game one way or another. This job falls to the quarterback. One could say that it's unfair to place all the blame or glory on one player, but this is the job of a quarterback, the expectations come with the job. This applies to all teams, some have the dominant defense to deal with a middling quarterback, but most teams need that quarterback and the Beavs do as well. I know Mannion is young, I know the line is shaky, but when it comes down to it he has to perform at a high level. Excuses are made, but in order for this team to win Mannion must overcome what happens around him.

In the end, it all comes back to the quarterback, he can cover up bad play by his teammates and still get OSU a victory. Other players have put out great efforts, but it will still be decided by what Mannion does.

Go Beavs!

That was an embarrassing loss. Let's look at some numbers that decided how this game went.

• 225 - Utah's rushing total. I gave a telling statistic in the pre-game write-up that when Utah had won they had averaged 185.7 yards per game and 58 yards per game in losses. So naturally you game plan to stop the run right? Even the opposing coaches questioned the lack of trying to stack the box against the run. It was an atrocious gameplan, the goal of the coaches should be to tailor a plan for each opponent and they failed to in that game.
• 14 - This is the number of passes that Utah QB Jon Hays threw. This is the point that seems most important, he was probably the weak link for the Utah football team, and he was barely even tested. Once again, even the most talented teams need the coaches to do a plan well. Teams can get away with less talent, look at the Buffalo Bills in the NFL, they have no spectacular players, except for maybe Fred Jackson, but their coach Chan Gailey worked to maximize what he talent there was. The Beavs seem to work exclusively out of the same old sets with no new ideas. Even if the talent level gets all the way back to be able to beat most teams using vanilla schemes, to beat the elite there has to be something tailored for each opponent.
• 6 - The number of sacks given up by OSU. The offensive line couldn't hold up and Mannion couldn't do anything to help. This unit is just not up to par, even against WSU it looked like Mannion had discovered pocket presence, it didn't really look like the line had really improved. There is still no way to really fix the line this season, they just have to play better until more players get a shot next year.
• 3 - The number of interceptions and turnover differential. Mannion got rushed into bad throws and then started to regress in his progressions. I thought that his growth from the WSU game would just continue trending upwards, but it appears that I was wrong. It is far from being all on Mannion's back but if the Beavs are going to throw 49 passes he has to perform better in spite of his line's play.
• 1.2 - OSU yards per carry. Another thing that falls to the offensive line, they need to at least open a small crease for any of the Agnew or any other tailback. The passing game will not be open if OSU cannot run at all. Things need to improve to at least 3 yards per carry for the Beavs to be competitive, and if it doesn't expect more beatdowns like what Utah just delivered.

There are not any real positive numbers to draw out here, except maybe Johnny Hekker's 52.5 average yards per punt. The Beavs regressed against Utah and to expect them to draw out a better effort against Stanford seems foolish. The only way the Beavers will compete is if the gameplan becomes much improved. To beat a talented team like Stanford it is going to require a perfect game out of the Beavers, and even then probably a little luck too.

Go Beavs!

While watching the WSU game, I found that it was like watching a completely different team than I had in weeks past. That includes the Arizona game where while OSU did win, they were not dominant and required a special teams touchdown to help spark the Beavs. The victory against WSU finally saw OSU beginning to play up to their talent level, a prolific passing offense and an acceptable defense, which led the Beavs to a dominating 44-21 final score. In my eyes there were three factors that really lifted the Beavers, the first of these being QB Sean Mannion.

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So we have reached the halfway point in the OSU football season and while things are tough there are some good things going for this team. This brings up the idea of which player currently means the most to the Beaver football team. Several players could have an argument made for them, but I am going to list my top five in no particular order.

• Markus Wheaton: He is the top offensive weapon for Oregon State with a grand total of 46 catches for 548 yards and 10 rushes for 39 yards as well. The main problem with his stats is his lack of touchdowns, but the team as a whole is more to blame than Wheaton. He has exceptional speed, good hands and does just about everything for the Beavs on the offensive end and is far and away the most explosive player on the team. His value is obviously extremely high to the team as no one else even approaches his production on the field, Jordan Bishop has 21 receptions and 296 yards, and he is the closest to matching Wheaton's production. His personal accolades will be somewhat lost in the current void of success for the team, but he was still recognized as Second Team All Pac-12 according to Phil Steele, so he still garners some media recognition.
• James Rodgers: This is a list for most valuable, it is not strictly based on stats. Rodgers' value cannot be measured in the tangible measurements as he is one of the true leaders of the team, but his value was shown last year in his absence when the season got derailed with his knee injury. He may not be completely back to where he was at physically, but if anybody can recover it is James Rodgers. That is where he truly shines, very few individuals could recover from that level of injury so quickly and hopefully even when James Rodgers moves on, the remaining team members can remember his otherworldly work ethic.
• Scott Crichton: Here's an example of stats prevailing however. This kid is an animal, and certainly approaches being most valuable or even the most talented player on the team. As a redshirt freshman he has racked up 35 tackles, 8 for a loss, 3 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. He is being recognized by the media as well, being listed as 1st Team All Pac-12 by Phil Steele. He is helping to form a defensive line to be reckoned with for the next couple of years, with Dylan Wynn opposite of him, hopefully Fred Thompson will grow into a dominating DT, and depending on which line Isaac Seumalo plays on, the Beaver defensive line could become a strength of the team, led by the aforementioned Crichton.
  

More candidates after the jump.

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Does the OSU playbook contain any 4 or 5 receiver sets? I watched more of the formations today and I don't think I ever saw 4 receivers on the field at once. There are times when they move the running back or the H-Back out, but they never bring on a 4th receiver. Someone feel free to correct me or inform me of a case when OSU has done that. I found a study for a digital playbook project that some electrical engineers did and after looking over roughly 50 or so pictures of formations I found no 4 or 5 receiver sets through the entire set of pictures. I know that Riley has his specific pro-style offense but maybe an adjustment might help the anemic offense.

I know that most of the blame has to fall on the offensive line, and maybe the return of Josh Andrews will help the offensive line improve, but in the meantime when the running game begins to falter as it has every week, maybe spreading the field will make it easier on Mannion with more targets and also since the most dynamic players on the team are all wide receivers, it will help get more of the best talent on the field. The Beavs have five quite good receivers, starting with Wheaton, Rodgers, Bishop, Cooks, and I include Gwachum on that list. This would probably create more favorable matchups with some of the receivers versus linebackers and nickelbacks.

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So as it is reported today Sean Mannion is the new starter for the Beavs. While I have no problem with Riley selecting Mannion over Ryan Katz I don't like how Katz is getting treated. He came into the season the incumbent starter and worked through the entire camp as the starter as well, and after one half of football he is pulled and for someone of roughly equal value? Judging from what I've seen in games and in several fall practices I did not see anything to really separate one from the other. Mannion has greater height and his passes will not be deflected at the same rate as Katz (which seems fairly high). Mannion also seems to go through his progression better than Katz, which seems to be the main knock on Katz. Katz has the obvious edge in arm strength and athletic ability. Both have long wind ups, it seems to me that these abilities mostly even out. Now two games into the season Riley has taken Katz out in favor of the essentially even Mannion. This is the not the NFL, this is college football, it is not a business. Katz is a junior and cannot transfer now without using the Masoli/Russell Wilson grad school loophole. This is affecting the future of Katz, it goes beyond just a simple football decision. I really hope that Ryan Katz gets to transfer somewhere else next year, just because he won't be the starter here doesn't mean he cannot do well somewhere else. If RIley truly believes that Mannion is and will be the better quarterback then he should start him, but he needs to grant Katz an unconditional release for next year. That is the best thing that could happen for all parties involved.

First and most importantly, everyone see what I did with the title? Pretty clever right? Only kidding but we find ourselves in a precarious situation as Oregon State fans. One of the greatest players in Oregon State football history is leaving the program and the group of talent behind him is unproven or has proven to be mediocre. Last year, the offensive line was merely adequate, the defense was at times abysmal and at other times only poor. It seems ole OSU might be in a bit of pickle, but there is still a glimmer of hope.

Ryan Katz and the passing attack are the only thing that can save the Beavers from slipping into the bottom of the Pac-12. We have seen massive improvements from quarterbacks from year 1 in Riley's offense to year 2, and if Katz continues to improve then we could see him evolve, much like Derek Anderson, Matt Moore, and to a lesser extent, Sean Canfield. The receiving core remains deep, with James Rodgers returning, Jordan Bishop, Markus Wheaton, and a whole bunch behind them, including lots of new recruits, who will all likely redshirt. The offensive line loses Linnenkohl, which is a big loss but hopefully coach Cav can work some magic to help prepare a new center for the coming season. Although the offense still has some potential, the defense is even more of a question mark.

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Bumped up to the front page. --JB

Here are my thoughts from yesterday's game and from other various topics surrounding Beaver football. Here's to hoping that no flame war starts after I'm done.

Thoughts

1. Katz (below) showed up and showed up big time. This was easily his best game in his short career. I would not say the level of competition was that much lower, this was a solid ASU squad, but most of the time Katz was beating them. He delivered on critical downs, connecting to Nichols, Bishop, and hit "Joe the Tank" (Halahuni) for a deep TD strike. He looked fantastic yesterday, and we'll see how he handles another solid defense with Arizona next week.

2. It was good to see Quizz bust loose. He's been so bottled up lately that when he broke out for that 74 yard TD scamper it was a relief to see him return to normalcy. Also I definitely called that run to be  right off-tackle, with the receivers set on the opposite side of the formation. I was pretty proud of myself, just thought I would share.

3. The following is a note for future opponents of ASU. If the Sun Devils score, and their flag bearers run on your field, it is imperative that you chant USA as they run back the other way. It might not be very annoying, or even noticeable, but I felt that I should share this.

(Ed. note: I thought they were just very patriotic! - AW )

4. There was a fun moment with Quizz and Vontaze Burfict in the second half. There was an underneath route thrown and Quizz threw a cut block on Burfict at about the same time as the ball carrier went down. They had a substantial amount of jawing and then the next play Quizz was covered well by Burfict, and they had another bit of conversation. I thought it was pretty entertaining, with a game in a game.

5. The Oregon State crowd cannot clap along with the fight song.to save their lives. I cannot explain why an entire crowd starts doing a slow clap with the fight song. It is an odd thing to hear an entire crowd be unable to clap to a beat.

(Ed. note: We actually have a solution for that; its called paying attention to the guy conducting the song! - AW)

6. The pass rush came alive. 6 sacks, although some were coverage sacks. The entire defense played much better, but they will face a much tougher test next week when they stare down Nick Foles. They looked improved but not especially great, hopefully they continue to improve next week.

Stephen Paea makes one of six Oregon St. sacks Steven Threet.

7. Jordan Poyer is a special teams stalwart. I just wish that he could be on the field on defense, and be a productive player while on defense. He hasn't looked as good as a cornerback, he would probably be better suited as a safety. He needs to find more ways to get on the field though.

Jordan Poyer splits the ASU coverage for a 47 yard kickoff return.

[photos by Andy Wooldridge]

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Here is what's on my mind after the last game.

Thoughts

1. The defense is just not able to cut it right now. I'm sure everyone else is thinking about it too, and it is a serious problem. It is starting to appear that OSU just doesn't have the athletes in the secondary to keep up. When our best db, Lance Mitchell, cannot keep up with a receiver on a slant and whiffs on two tackles, there are some real issues. This is something that will not get fixed easily, they are going to have to be smarter than the opponent if they are going to be able to defend. As a disclaimer, Kellen Moore is incredibly accurate, but the dbs had a chance to make a play on some passes still. Also, I felt the D played better than the other games, but not well enough.

2. The lack of killer instinct. The play that defines this was Brandon Hardin's whiff on Kellen Moore. He had him clean, unblocked and when he arrived he did not wrap him up. This is a recurring theme, last week I watched Paea get to the Louisville qb clean and then whiff there too. Numerous other plays like that have happened and it's becoming less of a coincidence and more of a pattern.

3. The Broncos got cheap. Two plays. Knocking out James Rodgers. Throwing a helmet-less Quizz to the ground. I was already livid when they hit James with a cheap shot, then watching them try to eliminate Quizz well after the play had ended pushed me over the edge. If ever a Boise State player deserved a shot to the jaw that was it. Excuse me for that, but that really got me fuming.

4. The best unit on this team is the return unit. They were great, if not fantastic. The punt return scored by James was great, the kickoff returns consistently broke past the thirty and even Poyer had great returns. Also Poyer was fantastic as a gunner.

5. I have trouble blaming the offense for that result. The Boise State defense was absolutely lights out. Katz started to look jittery and I do not blame him for the sheer number of hits that were delivered to him. They ran Quizz as much as they needed to, but there was absolutely no lanes for him to cut through. Kudos to the Broncos, they completely won this game.

6. Joe Halahuni is one of my favorite players on the roster. With the exception of his missed blitz pickup, I love the way he plays. When he rumbles down the field after a catch he is looking for contact. Downright awesome.

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Bumped to the front page. --Jake

Here are some various thoughts from the game versus Louisville.

Thoughts

1. I hate the "Wild Beaver." Not the formation, but actually calling it the Wild Beaver. I would much rather call it the Beavercat, still ridiculous but at least it doesn't sound like we are talking about something much dirtier.

2. Katz still has growing up to do. He has the arm, he can make all the throws, but he has to be able to go through all his reads. In the red zone he scrambled for 10 yards, which would be good, except he left a wide open and frustrated James Rodgers in the flat. The obvious one is the missed read towards the end when he tried to force it to James, and overlooked a wide open Quizz. In short, the future is bright but right now he's got some work to do.

3. Brandon Hardin did not look strong. Louisville picked on him, this has already been talked about, but Poyer looked better when I focused on comparing them (when they were right in front of me mostly). I'm not giving up on Hardin yet, but we will find out what he's capable of next week in Boise.

4. The Beavers are stocked at receiver. My list goes James Rodgers, Jordan Bishop, Markus Wheaton, Aaron Nichols, and Darrell Catchings. With young talent as well, the Beavs are set up well for the next couple years.

5. The defense answered no concerns. The D-line, which should be the strength of the D, seems to be in position to make plays, but can never actually wrap up the ball carrier or finish a sack. This puts more pressure on the linebackers and forces the defensive backs to have to cover for unreasonable amounts of time. The whole defense needs to improve, I just wish there a simple way to make that happen.

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Here are a couple thoughts from last night's game, just what comes to mind when I rewind the game in my head.

Thoughts

1. Katz looked solid. He had lapses, especially the botched snap and a couple poor throws, but overall his poise and ability make me believe that he will be exceptional at the end of the season. This was the biggest question mark coming into the season, but I feel convinced that by the end of this season Ryan Katz will be one of the best qbs in the Pac-10.

2. The defense has a lot of work to do. This game felt awfully similar to USC last year when the Trojans ran for 6 minutes straight and OSU could not stop them for a final possession. While TCU had good blocking from their O-line and their receivers blocked stupendously, the linebackers have to be able to get off those blocks, or the spread will destroy the Beavs.

3. The unexpected losses of Matt LaGrone and Paaluhi hurt the Beavers pretty badly. The linebacking crew had serious trouble with getting to Dalton or the running backs, and while some of the fault lies with the OLBs, there was also Dalton scrambling up the middle for far too many first downs which should have been prevented. Also if the ends were able to get a little more pressure that opportunity to run wouldn't exist. One specific play stood out when Taylor Henry fell for a fake and Dalton strolled right by him. Maybe LaGrone would have missed too, but it would be a real pity if the season ends with Beaver fans wondering "what if?".

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