Sat, 09/18/2010 - 6:14pm
Jeremy Lloyd
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Last seen: 1 year 24 weeks ago
Joined: 2010-08-06
Two weeks ago at this time the Beavers were battling it out with #4 TCU in the spectacle that is Cowboys Stadium, and a week from today, they’ll face perhaps an even tougher opponent on the smurf turf at #3 Boise State. So it was understandable, I suppose, when Oregon State found themselves tied at 14 a piece with an unranked and unheralded Louisville team with 3:38 to go in the first half. After all, between looking forward and looking back, this is a team with a lot on their minds.
The first Louisville score came on a draw from QB Adam Froman (where have you seen that before, Beaver fans?), capping a drive that was a bit too quick and easy. But it could have been worse—not more than a few minutes earlier, Froman had fumbled the ball out of the end zone for a touchback. The Beavs responded quickly with a 9-play, 83-yard drive, orchestrated nicely by a confident looking QB Ryan Katz and capped by a 13-yard TD run from Jacquizz Rodgers. But then Louisville came right back with another efficient drive of their own to tie it up. Had Froman not fumbled on his first foray into the end zone, the Cardinals would have put up as many points at halftime as TCU did just two weeks earlier.
OSU was able to drive and score again before the half on the strength of a 63-yard kick return from James Rodgers to make it 21-14, but the underwhelming first half performance begged the question: The Beavers were physically in Corvallis, but mentally had they already boarded the plane for Boise?
It’s a relevant query, because this is a season where OSU can’t afford to go through the motions or look ahead to a big matchup, be it Boise State next week or the Civil War three months from now. Oregon State has athletic playmakers on both sides of the ball, a burgeoning young quarterback and a stout defense that held the high octane TCU offense to a single second-half touchdown.
The Beavers are a team that has always gotten up for big games, most notably two upset wins over USC in recent years. But if they really want to achieve the status of college football’s elite this season, they will have to bring it every minute of every game. It’s a mindset of dominance, and all top notch programs have it ingrained in their collective DNA. Maybe his type of mindset won’t mean the difference between a win or a loss against a middle of the pack Big East team, but it certainly could be the difference between a fourth place finish in the Pac-10 and a chance to upset Oregon in the Civil War to earn a trip to the Rose Bowl.
That’s right, I said it: This could be a special season for the Beavers. I believe it’s possible, and you may too, but does this team? You can see this belief manifest itself on the field when a superior team squashes an inferior opponent like an annoying insect, and the Beavs just didn’t have it.
Of course we all know how this story ends. Oregon State dominates the second half, puts up a bunch of points and wins with ease, right? Right?!? Well, not exactly. The Beavs put together two quick and efficient scoring drives of less than a minute and a half each to make it 35-14 with 9:28 to go in the 3rd quarter. But then Katz got knocked around, the offense faltered, the defense caved, and Louisville came right back with two scoring drives of their own to make it a 35-28 single score affair with just over 13 minutes to play in the game.
Please place your seat backs and tray tables in their upright position and get ready for takeoff… It’s 60 degrees and partly sunny in Boise. Thank you for flying Mental Departure Airlines, OSU football.
After a series of stalled drives and punts by both teams, Oregon State faced the unthinkable: Louisville ball with 1:33 to play and a chance to drive 93 yards for a touchdown and the tie, or go for 2 and win the game. Ironically, OSU found themselves in this very same position against TCU, backed up against their own end zone with 4 minutes to play and a golden opportunity for an upset. We all know how that went—the ball was snapped over Katz’ head for a safety to squash the OSU comeback attempt.
But on this drive, Froman had the Cardinals at midfield before you could blink. In the end, it took an athletic interception by James Dockery to seal the deal for the Beavers and avoid disaster on their home turf.
If you pick up the postgame box score, you’ll see that Jacquizz Rodgers had a nice 132-yard, 2-touchdown performance, and you might notice that Katz once again took care of the ball with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions—a good sign for a young quarterback. But the Beavers’ failure to put away an inferior opponent early at home, at least juxtaposed against the lofty aspirations of the program and its fan base, was a disappointment.
Soon OSU will get its wish—a real, not imaginary, trip to play Boise State—and you can bet that unlike this game, they’ll be up for it. But winning habits aren’t just formed during big games; it’s also in how you scrimmage, how you run drills, how you prep for gameday, and yes, how you play a team like Louisville. The Beavers may have won the battle today, but they took a step back in their war to break into the ranks of college football’s elite.
So keep your seatbelts fastened, OSU—it's a bumpy ride to the top.
