C'mon guys, it's Apple Cup week!  Where are the Husky jokes?  Heck, a Husky came over and FanShot-ed the Cougar joke page at UW Dawg Pound!  Step it up, Cougs!

To get things rolling, I'll donate the Husky jokes I put in my Civil War post at BtD:

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Once again, it's Civil War time, and people across our great state will be debating the Beavers and Ducks.  Here is some, uh, completely objective data so you can compare and contrast!

Top ten reasons the Beavers are better than the Ducks:

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Looking for an extra dose of fun while watching the Beavs take on the Utes this weekend?  Look no further than BEAVER BINGO!

It works just like regular bingo.  When something on the card happens during the game, mark it off on your card.  The first person with 5-in-a-row wins!  In the event that no one gets 5-in-a-row by the end of the game, the person with the most squares marked wins.

Card choices!

The Optimist "Beaver Believer" Card:

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I was thinking about Pac-12 football and stumbled upon an ugly, ugly realization.  I know the Pac is a generally progressive conference, but consider our coaches:

Jon Embree

Dennis Erickson

Chip Kelly

Lane Kiffin

Rick Neuheisel

Mike Riley

Steve Sarkisian

David Shaw

Mike Stoops

Jeff Tedford

Kyle Whittingham

Paul Wulff

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All Beavers want to win the Civil War, but other than giving our neighbors to the south the beating they so richly deserve, which remaining game most fills you with hunger for a victory?  Sure we would like to win them all, but if you had to pick one you could get a guaranteed win in, which would it be?

Here are the remaining games:

Arizona (10/8):  Mike Stoops is having problems this year, besides the usual ones that result directly from being Mike Stoops.  His team's only win is against Northern Arizona, and they were smacked down by Oklahoma State, Oregon, and Stanford, before losing to USC.  A tough string of games, for sure, but let's just say they didn't keep those middle three close.

Why we want to wallop the Wildcats:  This is our next game, it's at home, and 1-4 sure sounds a lot better than 0-5!  Plus it's Mike Stoops, and watching his sideline tantrums hijinks is always amusing.  But most of all, two words:  Adam Hall.  We all know Arizona was the turning point of the 2010 season for that 5-yards in the endzone tackle he put on James Rodgers.

Why it's not as big of a deal:  The Wildcats aren't even in our division, and their record is about on par with ours so far.  This victory might look better later, but it's not much to gloat about right now.

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I was listening to the Joe Beaver Show (like all good Beaver fans ;-)  ) and heard the interview Mike Parker had with Coach Robinson about the Glory Days event Tuesday about the desegregation of college basketball and about the OSU basketball team's trajectory.  Of particular interest to me was this quote:

I think where folks got a little bit sideways on what our progress should have been - There's sort of a disconnect because, you know, most people don't think of it the way that we think of it but each year, you know.  I wouldn't have gotten this job if the talent level hadn't been going down. So each year, my first year should've been my best year because those recruits were better than the recruits that came the year after that and than the recruits that came the year after that.  So technically, year three should be your worst year because if a team's going in the downward-sloping direction, that third year of recruits isn't gonna be as good as the recruits that you get - that you had when you first got there.  So now we're taking it back up again so we're at a positively sloping curve from a talent standpoint.

 

And philosophically, I don't believe in not coaching the guys that you inherit. I mean, you know, some people feel like you just cut the guys that you inherit and bring in your own guys right away. I just, I wouldn't want that done to me, I wouldn't want that done to my kids who play sports, and I wouldn't want to do that to other parents' kids who are playing sports.  So it took us a little bit of time to sort of work through that process, and thanks to Bob DeCarolis and the administration here, everybody is sort of on the same page.  So now that we're moving forward, we've got these, you know, more sort of talented, more athletic, a longer group of guys who are now have been - some have been two years now, some have only been here a year, but we're heading in the right direction.  So I am certainly putting pressure on myself to do better this year, and we'll probably have a more natural rotation in the lineup, but I couldn't be happier with this group of guys that we have.

                                          - Coach Craig Robinson on the Joe Beaver Show, May 16, 2011

Quotation from about minute 23 of this part:  ( Joe Beaver Show part 4 )

My general feeling from fanoverboard's end-of-basketball-season post was that Beaver Nation is "meh" on Coach Robinson's performance so far ("Beaverage" and "Below Beaverage" being the most common votes) and the declining year-over-year results were the main factor.

Does this quote (and the interview, if you listen to it) change your mind about the basketball team and the coach's performance in his first three years?  Does it change your opinion of Coach Robinson in general?

By now, I'm sure we've all heard about our "feathered friends'" recruiting scandal concerning their football program.  It's been all over the sports news, and I even took a moment to see the reactions on AtQ as they rolled in.  And I'm confused.

You see, I was sort of expecting to be eating it up.  Like "Ha!  So they start doing really well, and it turns out it was because they went SECheat with it!  Investigations!  Possible sanctions!  Wooooo!"  But that's not what happened.  Rather, I find myself cringing - sort of not really wanting to find out that anything wrong took place there, even if it would be a black eye for the Duckies.  Pulling for everything to be in order.

Why is this?  After the painful season we had, and the unprecedented success they had, I should be eating up anything that can help with a Duck return to earth.  And yet I don't want it to happen like this.  Maybe it's because I live in a little self-induced (delusional?) bubble of "yeah most people game the system and break the rules in college football, but that's [insert SEC/Trojan team here]!"  We're different!  I don't want to think of our lil' ole Northwest (Pac-12 North *cough*gag*) schools being engaged in that junk, even if they are of the yellow and green variety.  Maybe it's because for some strange reason I actually kind of admire the job Chip Kelly has done so far down south.  Several-game suspension for the Bronco-Puncher.  Giving Masoli the boot.  Punishing instead of coddling, yet still making it to BCS games twice in a row.  Sure, it wasn't all perfect (LGB back in '09 Civil War, etc., yes I know, I know...) But still, compared to the SECrap we see pulled on an annual basis and general major team slide into complete NCAA rule-flauting, the Duckies seem to run a fairly respectable organization.

I guess I want to believe you can achieve success "the right way".  I want to believe we do things right up here.  And that's why, even though it confuses the heck out of me, I am hoping to find out that no improprieties actually took place down the road.  Let the Reggie Bush and Cam Newton dramas stay far south where they belong.

September, 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.)

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It's Civil War week, and people across our great state will be comparing and contrasting the Beavers and the Ducks. To make things easier, here are the facts, and you can decide for yourself.

Top ten reasons the Beavers are better than the Ducks:

Top ten reasons the Ducks are better than the Beavers:

Greetings from Beaver Nation, Cougs!  Even with the recent 38-0 stomping the Trees gave us and the Civil War coming up, we have not forgotten our buddies to the north (that would be you.)  And we are your friends, right?  I mean, we have so much in common!  We both have the lowest football budgets in the Pac-10.  We both have in-state rivals who have way more money, prestige, and keep stealing all the glory.  We've both laid eggs during far too many games this season.

So buddy, pal, friend, brother!  I just need to ask you for a little favor:  PLEASE beat the Huskies next weekend!

Right now the Hated Huskies are 5-6.  They have one last chance to make it to a bowl game and save their season.  DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN!  Can you imagine hearing about Sarkisian's minions going to the Holiday Bowl?  Because with all the empty bowl tie-ins this year, there's a big chance that's where they're headed if you neglect your duties to justice and let them win.  Actually, forget hearing about them going there.  Can you imagine WATCHING them go there?!  Sure you can decide not to turn the TV on for that game, but I'm sure some of you have relatives you'll be visiting who might leave it on, and at the very least, think of all the promos and commercials hyping the 6-6 Purples.  It's sickening.  No one without DVR will be safe.

Excuse me while I get my barf-bag...

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We all know that the report card for the massacre Stanford game has nothing but F's.  Nothing even came close to an A.  Or a B.  In fact, as I said in the game thread, we should forfeit all rights to those letters for the rest of the week and be known as the Oregon Stte Fevers.  With any luck FORTUNE (don't want to say the L word after what he did to us) we won't totally wet the bed in the Civil War.  Then we can at least earn back a B and march proudly into the off-season as the Oregon Stte Bevers.

via i51.tinypic.com

And now, a word from our sponsor, the letter F:

F is for Fail:  what every unit did tonight

F is for False Start:  taking us out of a manageable 4th down situation in tree territory early in the game and forcing the punt

F is for Floored:  Katz, two seconds after every snap

F is for Fumble:  two of them lost this game, despite hardly turning it over all season

F is for Flimsy:  our O-line

F is for Fracture:  surprised none of the players suffered one tonight

F is for Flags:  how we probably got half our yardage, despite drawing more of them ourselves

F is for F**k:  my thought after almost every play

F is for Foul:  the stench emanating from Palo Alto after we stunk up the stadium

F is for Forty-one:  years since the trees last shut us out

F is for Fool:  Andrew Luck is a big one if he goes Jake Locker and comes back for another year

F is for Forty-Niners:  Bye bye Harbaugh

F is for Field Day:  what the Duckies are going to have next Saturday against our "defense"

F is for Fake Cramps:  the only way we don't lose the Civil War by triple-digits

F is for Five:  the number of wins we'll have at the end of the year

F is for Fired:  someone probably should be after this ridiculous season, but I have no idea who

F is for Frustrated:  the state of Fever Ntion

I hate the blue turf.  I hate the arrogant fans.  I hate the hits from the defense I perceived as cheap in certain games.  I hate how you can win out in a season packed with teams other conferences schedule as cupcakes and waltz into a BCS game.  You know, all the things you've heard before.

But I am starting to like Boise State.

No, not because I'm reveling in your loss or anything like that (though I'll confess I did, but kept that away from OBNUG, as is appropriate.)  It's because I can finally identify with you.

With this game, you rejoin the bulk of college football fans across the country.  Let's stand back and reflect for a moment.  How many other fans root for a team that they are so supremely confident will crush the competition week in and week out?  Florida with Tebow?  Alabama last year?  USC in the Carroll years?  And what do these fans of powerhouse teams have in common?  They are some of the most arrogant and irritating jerks to deal with.

That's right - with recent undefeated seasons and blowout victory after blowout victory, Boise State made its way to the top tier of the BCS.  Top 5 rankings.  National Championship talk.  Feature stories.  Kellen Moore for Heisman.  The Broncos were hovering near the top of college football, but it came with a price:  Many fans transformed from people who root for an underdog BCS-buster team who appreciated every win, and into arrogant powerhouse jerks.  Cinderella became the evil stepmother.

However, now Bronco Nation will be purged of the bandwagon fans.  Even the hardcore will have to accept that the team isn't invincible and would blow out the championship contenders.  And if you think college football is about more than just winning, this is the best thing that can happen to you.  If you think it's *only* about winning, you're no better than those SEC teams we hate.

Now you can enjoy games without having to worry about what TCU did, or how this voter liked you, or how that computer poll ranked you, or any of that junk.  Now you can remember what a regular season loss is like and therefore savor the wins.  Final outcome aside, wasn't that game one of the most thrilling you've ever seen?  The adrenaline rush, the suspense?  I imagine you haven't felt that since Virginia Tech, and it's one of the most awesome feelings you can get from your couch!

Overall, I think a theme for this college football season is empathy.  BSU got a taste of what it's like to play more teams that don't fold in the second half, and what it's like to lose.  Oregon (who I know isn't a favorite here :p ) got a taste of the pressure of expectations to be perfect, week in and week out, when they barely squeaked by Cal.  Though no one probably cares, I'll even throw in my Beavs and say we got fed a buffet of humble pie with our losses to Washington, UCLA and Washington State (basically the bottom of the Pac-10) and were reminded that bowl-eligible seasons shouldn't be taken for granted.

Your program has come such a long way, and with your move to the MWC to join with TCU, there will be many more big opportunities in store.  So next time the Broncos make a championship run, remember this season and be better fans for it.  I'll try to do the same :-)  I admit I semi-trolled (I'm a pretty milquetoast troll, haha) OBNUG a bit one night after the WSU loss, and I'm not proud.  I thought the defense would dial up the cheap hit on Kaep when it got close, but I was wrong about the team's character, giving into the total Boise demonization.  Hopefully others like me will learn from this season, too.

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Greetings, Oregonians!  With the resounding 36-7 victory over USC in Reser, Pac-10 Oregon teams are perfect in their last five games over good (sometimes phenomenal) Trojan teams.  Why can't USC win in the Beaver State?  I don't know, but it's not my job to find out.  It's just my job to enjoy it!

Trojans get blown out of Oregon.... Again!

via i54.tinypic.com

Yes, five times have our SoCal guests come up for a pigskin visit, and we've been graceous hosts, ensuring they always leave with a party bag chock-full of FAIL.  Since the Pac-12 expansion means we won't be kicking USC's butt here on a yearly basis anymore, it's a great time to reflect on our stellar run and enjoy some memories.

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Having gotten Hyper-Panic Mode out of my system, I decided it was time to regain a level head about our football season going forward.  What can we logically expect?  What should we logically expect?  These questions matter if we want to gauge if the team is improving from here or getting worse.

I looked up stats on espn.go.com regarding the teams we played our horrible games against:  Washington, UCLA, and WSU.  I chose them because they are three of the four most recent, and it's safe to say they exemplify where we fear we are.  Cal is omitted because of the Riley injury + Cal-road phenomena, but more relevantly, I don't think any of us Beavers are afraid of the team playing like it did against Cal.

Here is where these three opponents stack up, and how we performed against them (all stats exclude overtime points):

Yikes.  As we can see from the stats, on average, these teams lose by 2 touchdowns (13 points.)  And we lost to all of them. (I need a moment to mourn, continued after the jump)

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Wow.  Did you see what I just saw?  Did OSU just lose to the absolute worst team in the conference?!

NO.  Washington State just BEAT the absolute worst team in the conference.

That might sound harsh, but watching the Beavs play today, can we really say we're better than WSU?  No. Way.  The Cougs played well today, and we played so lifelessly for most of the game (with the exception of Quizz) I wanted to call 911 to get paramedics out to the Beaver sidelines with the defibrillators.

Having lost to Washington, UCLA, and now WSU, there is only one thing to do:

via i56.tinypic.com

Sure, panicking never helps anyone, but I need to get this out of my system!  What on earth happened to the team?!  Yeah, there have been injuries, but there've been injuries everywhere!  UCLA was injured, WSU is injured, and they won.  There was almost a comeback...sort of... but you CANNOT go down 21-0 in the 3rd against anyone!  Weren't we ranked for a few games this year?  Didn't we almost beat TCU on the road?  We did go into Arizona and beat a good Wildcat team, right?  Right?  I can't even remember a worse tank-job of a season.

Anyone talking about bowl games at this time is playing fantasy football. There is no way we lose to the 3 worst teams in the league and then win 2 of 3 against the best.

On the plus side, there is nowhere to go but up from here. Getting blown out in the Civil War will not come anywhere near to as bad as this.  Breaking the Cougs' 16 game conference losing streak is historical, in a way.  Sort of like losing to an 0-15 NFL team.

Not sure what happened, other than the team played sloppy.  We let Jeff Tuel run over us up and down the field all day.  I'm surprised our QBs aren't in the hospital with the way Wazzu was blowing through the O-line.  I'll still follow my Beavers and root for them, and I don't think firings are in order by any stretch, but what happened today is inexcusable. 

Completely 100% absolutely without-a-doubt inexcusable.  Someone dropped the ball, and it wasn't just the receivers.  We will see what the coaches and the players are truly made of in the coming games.  (Hopefully in a figurative way, and not in a literal way with Beaver guts splaying on the field. But I wouldn't be surprised by the latter.)

As an avid follower of the college football season, I've been having some good old-fashioned Schadenfreude fun at the expense of the Texas Longhorns.  After competing in the BCS Championship Game last season, they now find themselves with a 4-5 record and slim chances for bowl-eligibility.  Reading the game threads over at Burnt Orange Nation is hilarious and gut-wrenching at the same time.

Then I read a FanPost titled "A thought about what is going on this year with Mack Brown".  In particular, this section struck me:

With what is said above, I really think Mack Brown just isn't the same after these two years.  I think he was desperate for the second national title (he still is) and those two years had this big emotional negative effect on him and he hasn't been able to recover as seen by the team just not looking like a very good team this year.

Think back to 2008.  We tried really hard to get into the game we deserved to play in.  Mack tried hard.  And then in 2009, when Colt McCoy went down, I just think Mack lost it...... I can see how these two seasons can have an effect on one person.   Two legitimate shots at the national title and neither worked out fairly.  Yes, you play the game but I just don't think Mack Brown is the same headcoach he once was.  You can debate if he was ever good and blah blah but I think these two seaons changed Mack Brown...maybe forever.

I realized that if you substitute "national title" for "Rose Bowl" and "Mack Brown" for "Mike Riley" or "the OSU coaching staff", that sounds kind of like the Beavers.  Crap.

Now I'm not saying that Coach Riley and the staff have checked out or anything.  I don't think that's the case, and I sure hope it isn't!  But OSU has had two consecutive years on the edge of winning the Pac-10 Championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl, only to have our dreams dashed by the Ducks both times.  Chances like that do not come around often unless you're a program rolling in money and top recruits, and OSU unfortunately has neither.  Add to this the Ducks' success this year and for the foreseeable future, and you have the cherry on top of a regret sundae.  It's hard to imagine that these last couple of years wouldn't dampen the coaches' enthusiasm or optimism in some way.

I don't know what it is with this year's team, but it feels like we're getting worse as the season goes on.  We had a real chance to beat the now #3 Horned Frogs. We were in the game until mid-4th quarter at #4 Boise State. We beat Arizona.  And then after losing James Rodgers, we let the Huskies put 21 unanswered points on us and snatch an overtime victory.  We beat Cal soundly but Cal is horrible on the road, had their backup QB in, and our offense stalled in the second half.  We only put up a measly 14 points on a UCLA team that was allowing an average of 30 (26 if you don't count Oregon.) Yes, the James Rodgers loss was huge, but one player shouldn't make the difference between beating UCLA and only putting up 14 points.

A possible victory over a 1-9 Washington State team has never looked so questionable. I expect we'll win, but it's going to be close.

Both of our conference losses have come from opponents with losing records.  Worse, the team looked really bad in each of them.  I'm afraid something is going on here, and it's not looking pretty for the future.  Do you agree?  Or is this just a small pothole on Beaver Road?

Hi, Vol fans :)  I'm an Oregon State fan in Corvallis, so I watch all the Oregon State and Oregon games.  I started following your team when you guys played the Ducks and even watched a couple episodes of the Derek Dooley Show online.

Lately I've been seeing a lot of sad Vols here (which I understand) and saw the post referring to some in your area questioning whether Dooley was a good hire or not.  From my more unbiased point of view, I'd say he looks like the man for the job and needs your support.  Here's my reasoning:

1.  While there have been some crushing losses, you guys could easily be 3-3 right now (barring that strangeness at LSU.)  That's really not playing so terrible.

2.  The loss to #7 Oregon (now #3, and likely #2 when the next poll comes out) not only would have happened to almost any team, but you guys played an incredible first half.  Like an "oh crap, we're getting owned" first half to Duck fans.  The duckies were seriously worried, not just because of the score, but because you guys were running it down their throats.  As for the second half, while it looked really bad for you guys, the fact is that Oregon is a VERY impressive 2nd half team defensively.  They have only allowed 13 points in the second half total, all season.  To me, and many others, that game improved people's impression of your team, not lowered it.

3.  Going back to point 1, some might respond "yeah, but our 2 wins came against FCS/C-USA opponents."  Still!  I compare the situation at Tennessee somewhat to the situation the team up north, the Washington State Cougars, found themselves in.  To sum it up, their previous coach left the cupboards bare, and their program in disarray.  When their new coach arrived, they did not win ANY games that year until an overtime win against an 0-12 Washington team.  WSU went 1-11.  The next year they also went 1-11.  Believe me, when your program has a major shock like you guys had, it's a feat to not fold and to keep competing.  The last two years, WSU didn't even compete in their games and were the laughingstock of the Pac-10 (and all of CFB really).  Your team is still competing and winning some games.  That is a very good sign for the future.  (As for WSU, it looks like they're starting to compete again - it's about time!)

4.  As for Coach Dooley himself, from what I've seen, I like the guy.  He seems down-to-earth, takes responsibility, and is passionate about the team.  I remember watching him totally fired up on the sidelines in the Oregon game, and I can't say I've seen the same from Lane Kiffin (is that a bad word?) over in his games at USC.  It's like Kiffin has no fire now, but your coach does.  Coaches' attitudes are infectious, and their teams often take their personalities in some form.  That's a great sign for the Vols :)

5.  As the other post stated, negativity (especially after less than half a season!) doesn't help anything. It took a few years for good coaching talent (Mike Riley and Dennis Erickson) to turn the Oregon State program around back in the late 90's.  If we'd given them the boot after a year or two, we'd probably still be down in the cellar.

So...yeah.  I realize football is a way bigger deal over there than it is here for most fans, and losses really suck, but I still think you guys are going in the right direction.  That's just my view that I wanted to share over in SEC-land... even though I think the SEC is overhyped, as is my duty as a Pac-10/11/12 fan (but let's not get into THAT one ;-)  )

Good luck on your season!

Lucky to escape Bronco Stadium with only one casualty, the Beavers landed back in Corvallis to face the ASU Sun Devils and walking personal foul, Vontaze Burfict.  The game was pretty clean until the 4th quarter, when #7 seemed to snap, getting into enough trouble for Erickson to pull him out to avoid throwing the game away with a 15-yard penalty.  Also remember last week's flop-job by #7 against Oregon in what appeared to be a sickening-yet-hilarious attempt to slow down the Duck offense.  What happened to the good ol' days of "defense" meaning tackles and punching the ball out instead of sideline headbutts, flops, and punches?

(Side note:  Beavs need to quit biting on the personal fouls by opposing teams!  The offsetting-penalty shove after Burfict's headbutt cost a first down with a decent opportunity to run the clock out.  We saw the same opposing foul stuff last week after the punches.)

Anyway, it's safe to say we've made it past the teams that have the dirtiest reps on our schedule, so I ask you, Beaver Nation!  Time to compare!

Although half of you reading this have discounted me as just another Boise-hating BCS honk, writing this because the Beavers lost, that's really not the case.  I have been pulling for Boise State to get their chances on the big stage and didn't like how they usually get screwed by the BCS system.  We lost to TCU, and I have nothing but respect for their program.

Disclaimers done, let's start back at 2008 in Autzen Stadium.  People watching the score saw a 37-32 victory by Boise State, but people like me watching the game saw a grab-bag of cheap shots on Oregon players whenever the going got tough for BSU.  (For those who need a refresher course on that game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKQwuLjT09Q  )  It was a close game at first, until Ellis Powers knocked Masoli out of the game with a blatant helmet-to-helmet late hit.  Powers should have been ejected right there for that scummy play.  Instead, Boise gets a 15-yard penalty and a huge dent in the Duck offense. 

"But hey, let's not get carried away there.  I mean, that was just one player, right? Someone on every team pulls crap once in a while." I hear BSU apologist in my head already.  The cheap hits stopped as backup Chris Harper took over for Masoli and the passing game collapsed.  Oregon did little but get runs stuffed for a quarter before Belotti burned Darron Thomas' redshirt and put him in.  Thomas led an amazing comeback, throwing great passes and putting Oregon back in the game.  How did BSU respond?  Bronco players started targeting defenseless players, until the refs FINALLY called Jeron Johnson on a ridiculously cheap hit on a receiver and ejected him.  Johnson left the field, scoring low-fives and congratulations from his fellow Broncos all the way.

I lost much respect for BSU after that game, but fast forward to 2010.  Every time Boise State comes up in the media, I hear about what a great coach Chris Petersen is, what an upstanding guy he is, etc. etc.  I figure, "okay, every team has a game they're not proud of, and Coach Pete (as he is called by adoring fans) probably turned things around since 2008."  Boy, was I wrong.  We've all seen the game recently, so I don't need to go into a ton of detail on every point.  Quick rundown:

• BSU defender drills Quizz back 15-20 yards and shoves him in the ground after his helmet is off and the whistle is blown
• Tommy Smith swinging at two OSU players after a kickoff return (does not excuse Beaver retaliation)
• BSU defender trying to spear Katz
• Leading with head on James Rodgers on that infamous play that knocked him out of the game

BSU fan insists James was throwing a block and just got the worse end of a clean hit, and in my earlier gullibility and wanting to believe in some sort of Bronco goodness, I believed him for a while.  However, looking at the video again ( http://blip.tv/file/4169976 ) it became pretty clear that he was SHOVED into the path of Venable who took the opportunity to lead with the head.  Rodgers wasn't blocking, he was bracing himself.

BSU fan far too often has an innocent explanation for every late, dirty, or dangerous hit on an opposing player.  I'm 99% sure that if Venable had grabbed a baseball bat and started wailing on Ryan Katz, Bronco Fan would insist Katz should be more careful when he has the ball.

That brings me to Coach Petersen.  I really want to like the guy, but I just can't when he has had two years since the 2008 Oregon debacle, and he still hasn't instilled the proper discipline in his defense.  Because the dirty plays keep coming out in these big games, it makes me wonder if such plays are tacitly approved.  If the players knew that their coach was serious about these issues, and/or the players were being appropriately disciplined, these issues would stop.  It is the responsibility of the head coach to make sure that happens.  Coach Petersen either doesn't truly care about his team playing recklessly as long as they win (I hope this isn't the case, and I doubt it is), or he just isn't doing what it takes to stop such play.  Whatever the case, the results are what matter in such an important issue as safety, and that is on him.

I am in no way suggesting that everyone on the team is a dirty player.  Far from it, I'm sure most of the players are very hard-working, respectful, and respectable. (I like Kellen Moore, in particular.)  We saw great displays of sportsmanship by the Beavers and Broncos after the game, which was very heartening. That doesn't change the fact that BSU, on the whole, plays a reckless and dangerous brand of football.  If you have a bucket of the best ice cream in the world, but it has an ounce of poop in it, no one's saying you have a bucket of ice cream.  They're saying you have a bucket of poop.  The dirty-hitting defensive players are the poop in the Bronco ice cream (Just had to go Calipari on it there.)

I watch a lot of college football, and I'm well aware it's a violent, physical sport.  However, I don't see the level of nasty, unsportsmanlike, and downright dangerous play from other teams that I do whenever I see BSU playing OoC games.  They say teams leave Bronco Stadium in body bags.  That great teams go there to die.  If things don't get under control with that program, I'm afraid those sayings will eventually become true.

(note: edited Sept. 29 at 12:29 AM to be more constructive and less combative)