Check out the above video of Oregon State football coach Mike Riley talking about Saturday’s game against Southern California on Saturday. QB Ryan Katz is in the below video.
Much of the questions probed into what’s going on, and what is being done to turn the season around. More will be in Wednesday’s GT, but here’s Riley’s basic idea.
“We still have the capability to do it,” Riley said. ” It hasn’t been that long ago that we played a good overall football game when we beat Cal. I’m not going to lose the faith we don’t have the potential to play that kind of football.”
As for injuries, Riley believes FB Will Darkins and MLB Tony Wilson will be available for the game after head injuries suffered against Washington State.
They are added to a long list of wounded. I’ve said this before, but that’s one of the biggest reasons for the problems OSU faced. There’s a lack of continuity because of injury.
“Injuries are a cop-out. We can’t do that,” Riley said. “We have played better without these guys and are capable of it. We are not going down that road.
“We have played better without some of those guys who are hurt, like James (Rodgers). We have not shown improvement. We have digressed, and we have to find a way to resurface.”
Here’s Riley’s response to the flack he’s taking in the media and message boards. It’s long, but he was ready with an answer.
“As you know I’m not totally aware of what you (the media) are saying, but I’m aware of what’s going on out there,” Riley said. “We don’t live in the world of trying to defend or make a statement. We just work. We know it’s not going good as a coaching staff. I have veteran coaches who have been with me a long time, and have been part of good teams and winning seasons, and winning games — winning big games. I don’t think any of them have gotten dumb or stopped working. I’ve got a real sense of confidence in how they do their job and how they feel about things. When you commit as much as we do, it’s going to hurt badly. No matter how bad everyone else feels out there, there’s no one who feels worse about it. We have a job to do, so the preparation has to overcome the feelings. Who cares. We have to go to work. We need the best plan we can, and I have great faith this coaching staff is doing it all the time. We will do our best to get our team to fight out of this. We’ve been through this a long time. If you are in coaching very long, I’ve been in it 35 years. It’s not the first time you go through hard times. There’s a recipe of for getting out of it and that’s preparing your team and wining the game.”
DT Kevin Frahm and LB Cameron Collins were named first-team all-academic all-conference Tuesday. This is the second time on the team for Frahm and third year for Collins. LS Marcus Perry, S Dax Dilbeck, OT Wilder McAndrews and CB Brandon Hardin were named second team.
The honorable mention guys are P Johnny Hekker, K Justin Kahut, QB Ryan Katz, C Alex Linnenkohl, WR Aaron Nichols, TE Colby Prince, DE Andrew Seumalo, LB Tony Wilson.
OLB Dwight Roberson chipped a tooth in the last game and will see a dentist this week.
15 comments
tradernum1 says:
May 18, 2012
Hope Riley's right.
Go beavs.
GoBeavs64 says:
May 18, 2012
I am curious Cliff or anyone else with the info please feel free to answer , does anyone know what the coaching experience was of Banker and Langsdorf before Riley , what the records were of the teams that they were previously with ? I am just curious . Riley says they have been with winning teams in the past , does he mean Oregon State ? Weren't they with him in the Canadian Football League and or the Chargers , stints that did not work out well for Riley , and oh , does anyone happen to know what Riley's record was when he was not coaching the Beavs ? His previous career record that is .
OSU4life says:
May 18, 2012
Danny Langsdorf's experience is found on the link below: He took over play calling duties from Riley full time 2 years ago, and he has coached at OSU since 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Langsdorf
GoBeavs64 says:
May 18, 2012
I just emailed and faxed nc_ducks comments to Mike Riley and Bob DeCarolis in hopes that they might show them to the Beavers and use them to get the team fired up for the next three games especially the Civil War. True that not all Duck fans are raving lunatics like nc , I have met many good people here in Eugene who are , friendly , civil Duck fans , but the Ducks and people like nc need to be brought back down to earth.
ckirkpatrick says:
May 18, 2012
Five of seven winning records in the CFL, one .500. He won a Grey Cup three times. The Chargers were bad years. One of two winning seasons in World League.
As for Banker, he's mainly been as assistant with Riley since 1996 at USC. His other big stop was 11 years with Cal State Northridge.
JuneauJim says:
May 18, 2012
And let's not forget that the Chargers told Mike to win with Ryan Leaf. Good luck with that!
GoBeavs64 says:
May 18, 2012
I just finished watching ESPN Classics replay of our 2008 victory over then number one in the Country USC and the wild celebration afterward . I plan on charging the field after the game this weekend , how about those of you who will be at the game as well ? We can do this people ,we can beat the Trojans and derail the Ducks . GO Beavs !
OSU4life says:
May 18, 2012
I love the enthusiasm but, I will believe it when I see it! If the Beavs come out of the inflatable helmet and onto the field like they did vs Wazzu….They'll get killed again. Either way, I still be there to cheer them on!
GoBeavs64 says:
May 18, 2012
Come on man , we've all been through the down times and we have survived . The Beavs need our optimism , not our cynicism leave that for the idiots like nc_duck who have nothing better to do than show off their lack of maturity. The Beavs can and will bring the Ducks and their fans down off their pedestal … BELIEVE !
OSU4life says:
May 18, 2012
I'm honestly more concerned about the Beavers right now than I am about the ducks or anyone else! The Beaver's biggest enemy right now, is themselves!
GoBeavs64 says:
May 18, 2012
I understand that and your right to feel that way , they have to find themselves and turn things around in a hurry mentally and otherwise . I am just saying that the Beavs always seem to do their best work when faced with a situation they have been given little to no chance of overcoming.
OSU4life says:
May 18, 2012
Cliff, when you go to an OSU practice, do you usually watch the whole practice? If so, what is the mood/emotion like from the team? Could you tell how the team would perform, based on how they practiced? Also, everytime I've been able to watch a practice, (which isn't too often) I've noticed that mostly the offense practices in Reser, the defense must be in the indoor practice facility?
ckirkpatrick says:
May 18, 2012
During training camp and spring practice I'm at the entire practice every day. During the season I catch the last hour or so.
The team is usually business-like. They are young men. They have fun, too. There's no dragging the feet, if that's what you are asking.
During the season the offense practices in the stadium, even if it's cold, wet or whatever. Twice this year it was bad and went indoors. The defense usually goes to the indoor center whatever the weather is.
ckirkpatrick says:
May 18, 2012
Fans can go inside.
73GradMike says:
May 18, 2012
I am TRULY not interested in coach-bashing. I just want to hear ONCE that an OSU coach admits that HE can make an adjustment to maximize his players talents or to minimize their inabilities to succeed in the current system. (Don't make me reference a certain coach at a school roughly 40 miles south of Corvallis who preaches building systems to help players to succeed.)
I really do appreciate most of what our coaches have done during our recent history. Yes, they have developed players who succeeded in their usual schemes for several years. And I am very happy with the success of the OSU football team in the recent past.
But this year's team is different. It does not appear to be a simple matter of improving players to fit the system. It appears as if the coaches need to make adjustments to help the players succeed. The most glaring example is the inabilty of the defense to contain runs around the ends. Even if it's the players' fault, even my 83-year-old mother could teach them how to avoid those repeated errors.
Come on … isn't it just possible that the coaches need to adjust (improve)?