Oregon State QB Sean Canfield started the season playing his best football in college. Read all about how he’s doing this season in my Wednesday story in the GT.
He’s coming off an strong outing at UNLV where he played well and was tough against the rush. Canfield continues to earn respect from teammates with each outing.
“I’m proud of him,” coach Mike Riley said. “He really competed in that game. He fought through and stayed poised and made plays. His efficiency was good.”
The offense had done what it needed to win the first two games, but must play better to help the defense this week against Cincinnati. It could turn into a shootout. At the very least OSU must control the tempo.
“We haven’t turned the ball over and we have thrown for a high percentage,” Riley said. “However, we’ve sputtered on offense. We haven’t been as effective as can be.”
Over the years the Beavers have been know for their fast starts in games and then hold on for the win. They outscored opponents 209-68 in the first quarter in the last 41 games and 174-44 in the last 17.
That hasn’t been their signature this season. They’ve won games in the second half with offensive outbursts in the third quarter, scoring 24 point in that time period in the two games this season.
“Now we have to balance things out and sustain the offense throughout the game and get a better start,” Riley said. “We took some time getting it going in the first two games. But overall there’s some good signs there. That all looks good.”
8 comments
JoeAvezzano says:
Sep 16, 2009
Turnovers kill victories and reduce the lifespan of fans. I'm encouraged so far.
Cliff, is there any specific area the coaching staff is concentrating on offensively? Balancing things out and sustaining the offense is nice, but that sound bite offers nothing about the problem. How's the O-line so far as compared to expectations? Has anything of substance been revealed?
ckirkpatrick says:
Sep 16, 2009
The O-line is a work in progress. Young guys are doing fine and will get better. OSU's stance is let them develop and things will improve.
Catchings returns this week. That should help the deep threat. Throwing over the middle is what worked. The TEs is one thing, but Jordan Bishop emerged a little last week. Between Joe Halahuni and him, and Catchings, OSU has other options in the passing game this week.
DaMonkey says:
Sep 16, 2009
Cliff…
Am I the only one who thinks Cincy is a freakin lightining bolt ready to zap the Beavs? I mean 58 points a game??? Can we compete with that??
ckirkpatrick says:
Sep 16, 2009
The Beavers can compete. They have the ability. They just have the execute to near perfection. And Cincy may have its own meltdown on the road. It won't be easy for either team.
I think it's going to be a relatively close game. The best part about sports is finding out when the game comes.
JuneauJim says:
Sep 16, 2009
No doubt that the Bearcats will be a formidable test, but let's see, they beat Rutgers (currently 93 by Sagarin) and SE Missouri State (currently 193 by Sagarin). The Beavers have also proved to be a team that gets considerably better as the season goes on. They've only lost once in the third week since 2003 (at Louisville). It's not going to be 34-3 like it was at Cincy.
SonomaBeav says:
Sep 16, 2009
The 2007, 34-3 game score is irrelevant when you look at how the Beavers gift wrapped the game for UC. First of all, neither team could run the ball, and the Beavs actually outgained UC by 90 yards.
But when your mistakes (6 int's and 1 blocked punt) result in TD drives of 31 yards, 1 yard and 2 yards, you've pretty much cost yourself the ballgame no matter what else you do.
Canfield and Moevao both threw 3 picks as Sophs and two years later, they're both much better than that, you have to think…
JuneauJim says:
Sep 16, 2009
Exactly! Not only are the QB's better, but you'd have to figure they'd like some redemption too.
angrybeaver says:
Sep 17, 2009
Angry's analysis of this weeks game:
http://angrybeavers.wordpress.com/