coating latest OSU defeat
Defense gives up too many big plays; penalties hurt, too
From a Sunday conversation with Oregon State coach Mike Riley, whose Beavers (4 5 overall, 1 5 in Pac 12 play) play host to seventh ranked Arizona State (8 1, 5 1) Saturday night at Reser Stadium
The Beavers' defense, strong through the early part of the season, has regressed. The Beavers let a quarterback making his first career start, redshirt freshman Luke Falk, throw for 419 yards and five touchdowns.
The OSU offense wasn't bad, with Sean Mannion throwing for 419 yards, Victor Bolden hauling in 10 receptions and Terron Ward and Chris Brown combining for 73 yards on 16 rushing attempts. But the Beavers were only 4 for 12 on third down conversions a problem all season and settled for field goals four times on drives inside the Wazzu 30 yard line.
The Beavers will be underdogs in their final three regular season games two against top 10 teams in ASU and Oregon and have lost four in a row.
"I'm very disappointed in losing the games," Riley said. "We have three games left. Our coaches have to in every way get these kids ready to play. We have to play smarter and play more physically than we played defensively. Our inability to convert third downs has been critical.
"Our biggest downfall (against the Cougars) was not executing and finishing drives and kicking Authentic Andre Johnson Jersey field goals. We're not scoring enough points to win these games in this conference."
Falk completed Brian Cushing Womens Jersey 44 passes, the most ever by a player at Reser and the most ever against an Oregon State defense. The Cougars who were 8 for 13 on third down didn't go deep often, opting to throw the ball into the flat, to open spots short in Andre Johnson Womens Jersey OSU coverage and on inside screen plays in which they were able to get wideouts and backs blocking downfield.
"The things we were doing pretty darn well earlier in the season getting people out on third down, tackling well we're not doing at as high a level as we once were," Riley said. The Cougars "ran a lot of bubble type screens where they take a back out of backfield and have him block out (on a defender). We're not attacking that as well as we once did, and not making enough tackles once we get there. Those eat you up. They had pretty good (short yardage) third down situations and hit on a high percentage."
Defensive coordinator Mark Banker knew pressure would be an important asset against Falk. The Beavers blitzed "maybe 40 percent of the time," Riley said. Four times, they got to Falk for sacks. It wasn't enough.
"Our biggest issue probably the biggest of the game was we couldn't do much with a four man rush," Riley said. "When we did blitz, our coverage guys were isolated and (the Cougars) made the plays."
Three Wazzu pass plays were killers for the OSU defense.
With Oregon State leading 10 7 early in the second quarter, the Cougars faked a bubble screen, and the Beaver defenders bit. Falk found Tyler Baker open for 21 yards and a touchdown down the sidelines.
"We went to sleep on the play," Riley said.
Just before halftime, Oregon State's defenders were looking to the sidelines for a signal from Banker. The Cougars quick snapped, and Falk threw to a wide open Vince Mayle behind coverage, a pass that the receiver took 48 yards for a TD and a 21 13 lead.
"We weren't lined up when they snapped it," Riley said. "Just a busted coverage. No excuse for that."
Early in the fourth quarter, with Oregon State leading 25 24, the Cougars had third and 16 at the OSU 18 after a sack. Falk rolled right under pressure and threw across his body to Dom Williams in the end zone for a touchdown. Riley said safety Tyreque Zimmerman was in position to make a play, but linebacker Michael Doctor got back late into coverage.
"I thought we we were going to make the play on the ball," Riley said. "'Zim' was in good shape, and it looked like he might intercept it. But Doctor was playing a little lower than Zim, reacted to the ball and ran right into Zim. Touchdown."
Clock management again was a problem before halftime. After Mayle's TD reception with 1:15 left, the Beavers marched to the WSU 25 with 30 seconds remaining. The Beavers had two timeouts left but didn't use one, and Mannion was sacked for a 10 yard loss. They called time with 14 seconds left, and Mannion hit Victor Bolden for seven yards, setting up Garrett Owens' 44 yard field goal with four seconds left.
But a timeout with 30 seconds left would have given them a chance to go for a touchdown had they gotten a first down on the next play. The opportunity to get seven important points was squandered.
After the Beavers scored to close to within 39 32 with three minutes left, they had one timeout remaining. With the way the Cougars had been moving the ball, an onside kick seemed the logical move.
But as the Cougars lined up to receive the kickoff, they had only one deep man, leaning toward the right side of the field. Riley and special teams coach Bruce Read asked Owens to pooch the kick toward the left side of the field, hoping the Beavers could chase it down. But Owens subbing for the suspended Trevor Romaine kicked it to the right side, and deep enough that it went into the end zone. The Cougars got one first down and ran out the clock.
Had the Beavers' ploy worked, there Andre Johnson Jersey would be no grumbling. But, really, the onside kick was the right move.
Even then, the Beavers bungled that by having too many players on the right side of the ball on the kickoff and were penalized for an illegal formation.
"One of our players didn't get the word we had Authentic Brian Cushing Jersey changed the play, and lined up on the wrong side," Riley said.
Penalties again were costly. The Beavers were whistled 10 times for 100 yards. None hurt more than Hunter Jarmon's down the field holding penalty on Bolden's 38 yard TD catch late in the third quarter, with the Cougars ahead 24 22. The Beavers wound up with an Owens field goal and a 25 24 lead, but it could have been more.
The officials did the Beavers no favors. Two fourth quarter calls, in particular, were costly.
With Washington State leading 32 25 early in the quarter and the Beavers first and 10 at their 29, Mannion's pass was batted near the line of scrimmage. The ball bounced back, and the Brian Cushing Jersey Beavers recovered at their 14. The play was ruled a backward pass. OSU challenged the call but, after review, it was upheld, though the replay seemed to show the ball was headed forward.