Oregon State Beavers Still Accountable, Still Defensive
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Accountability matters.
With this is mind, we decided to take a look back at one of our prior posts in which we suggested Oregon State’s defense was a strength, maybe even deserving of praise.
Has our stance changed three games into Pac-12 play?
Surprisingly, no. Well, maybe. It’s complicated.
Teams have been remarkably one-dimensional against the Beavers. Opponents are running the ball repeatedly, and whether that’s a case where that’s the only thing available (wishful thinking) or it’s something that is there for the taking (seems to be the issue) can be debated.
Numbers don’t lie, right? Oregon State gave up 200 on the ground against USC, 123 against Colorado and 229 against Utah. What does that tell us, strictly on the surface? Based on those results alone, if the Beavers don’t give up 200 or more rushing yards, they’ll win.
Quick FYI - Stanford, this weekend’s opponent, is averaging 139.9 yards per game on the ground, so there’s hope.
Obviously, it’s not that simple.
The loss at the Coliseum was a situation where things snowballed. That happens, especially against the Trojans. You can live with that - along with the 81-56 USC advantage in offensive plays and 34:45-25:15 edge in time of possession; the home team salted the game away late.
What transpired against the Buffaloes and the Utes is harder to digest. It was nip and tuck in Boulder, so the 431 yards surrendered wasn’t alarming - nor were the 77 offensive plays. Why? Because the Beavers won the time of possession battle - 32:59-27:01.
Playing along to what defensive coordinator Mark Banker told us late last month, the more time his defense has to rest, the better. Then again, Banker also wanted more points from the offense, but that isn’t likely to happen any time soon - especially this weekend against the Cardinal, who have already lost three games, including two in conference.
Applying that logic, his defense was completely worn down late against Utah.
The Beavers held the Utes without a touchdown for three quarters before allowing three - all to running back Devontae Booker - in the fourth quarter and overtime. Check the time of possession - it was virtually even at 30:16-29:44 although Oregon State held a decisive edge in total plays (83-64).
Yet again, there wasn’t enough help from the offense.
Bottom line? The defense has been good enough, likely deserving of at least one more win. That’s the good news. The bad news is Utah is reminiscent in a lot of ways of Stanford, and the Cardinals are fresh off a 26-10 loss at Arizona State and haven’t lost back-to-back games since Oct. 17, 2009.
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- What We Learned: Oregon State Vs Colorado
- What We Learned: Ducks Defeat Spartans
- What We Learned: Oregon State Vs USC
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