Oregon State S Lance Mitchell told me Tuesday the defense will spend more time going over mistakes from the TCU game than usual during the bye week.
The Beavers hope to make a big jump in improvements for Sept. 18 home opener with Louisville. Read more about the team in my Wednesday GT notebook.
“We played hard,” Mitchell said. “I like our effort, but there were a lot of plays that could have changed the game. I’m proud of being a part of this defense. We’ll look back at our mistakes and fix that more with this bye week. We all know what to do. The game is over. There are a lot of mistakes we made and a lot of upside. We still have a lot to play for.”
Mitchell expressed a frustration about not being able to stop the spread option. It’s just a matter of reading what’s going on, taking care of your responsibility, shedding the block and playing fast.
“We are going to see that type of defense more,” he said. “It’s responsibility football. The ball is everywhere – outside, inside. Everybody has a certain place to be and a certain person to take care of. It’s hard to do that and then get to the ball.”
Good times
The Beavers enjoyed the southern hospitality of the Cowboys Classic even in the loss. The experience went smooth and it was everything they hoped.
“It was awesome,” coach Mike Riley said. “It was well done by everybody. Everyone on our team wouldn’t have wanted to pass this up. Losing is hard, but in the end we’ll learn a lot to go on and it will be a great experience for our players.”
6 comments
JackBeav says:
May 18, 2012
I'm glad the team could do something like this. Are there any plans for doing something similar in years to come?
How did the national numbers pan out? I suppose the number of actual eyes on the game might have some bearing on our ability to sell our games/teams/school going forward.
Mitch Barnhart and Bobby D have done a lot to bring this program back from the wreck it was after Lyn Snyder's administration. But there's more to do. How much did this help in OSU's drive for national prominence?
As a sidenote, I would like to know what status the T&F programs (men's still proposed of course) have attained thus far. I know they're still in the fundraising stages, but I've heard very little about even the fundraising… fromthe school itself, let alone the media.
ckirkpatrick says:
May 18, 2012
There was a bunch of track in the GT in the spring. They are breaking ground on the facility in spring 2011 or soon after.
And here's a TV rating report: http://www.sportsmediawatch.net/2010/09/more-coll…
JackBeav says:
May 18, 2012
Looking at the SMW link, it appears that 2.6 was better than good. With less market penetration, we almost outdrew the LSU/UNC game on ABC… head to head.
http://www.sportsmediawatch.net/2010/09/rough-sta…
It looks like ABC showed the wrong game on their flagship network. I can't wait to see the market by market numbers.
JackBeav says:
May 18, 2012
I ate up everything you guys offered about T&F in the spring. I was wondering about the facilities/programs themselves. The AD doesn't seem to be putting any kind of priority on publicizing any of the good info. I remember the stock gift in fundraising news. Was that enough to secure funding for the facility and maybe move toward endowing scholarships for future teams?
And a 2.6 overnight is pretty darn good. How do you translate those numbers going forward? You said you had a lot of media requests leading up to the game. Has there been much follow-up?
ckirkpatrick says:
May 18, 2012
More fundraising is needed. It's enough to start.
And no, I have not follow ups. Radio and TV stuff I do usually previews a game. It will be quiet until Boise State week.
rooruns says:
May 18, 2012
There is a lot of track & field fundraising going on through track & field alumni. First phase is done and they will begin work this spring I believe. Field will be next to the softball field. Dick Fosbury is the chairman of the fundraising. There will be a track & field alumni gathering at the Alumni Tailgater before first home game. They will have information I am sure. Check the Alumni page to see if there are links for more info, or contact OSU Women's Track coach.