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Post by wilkyisdashiznit on Mar 3, 2018 22:16:50 GMT -8
The Fiesta Bowl was the best sports experience of my life. You'll get no arguments from me on that one. I was so fortunate to have that season happen at that time. And that game never would have happened without a soft OOC schedule to get the new elements (the Presidents, TJ and Chad were all notably fresh JC transfers) to gel together. We had to gut out a road game at New Mexico State, had a 2 point victory at home over EWU before stomping a 3-win SDSU team which saw Ted Tollner fired at the end of the season. Playing a solid P5 team in the early season would have de-railed the Fiesta Bowl appearance. New elements? Fresh JC transfers? Grant, Housh, and Jackson all played in 1999. There were two big things in 2000 that slowed Oregon State out of the gate. The first was that Adams, Newson, and Prescott were suspended for the first three games. Adams and Prescott committed what would eventual result in a felony assault conviction. (Adams subsequently transferred out as a result of the conviction.) Newson did not participate in the fight but was lamentably at the same party, so he was suspended as well in an oddly atypical and Draconian move on Erickson's part. The second was that Allen got hurt in fall camp. Allen was not healthy enough to play until the USC game and did not start until the UCLA game. I have no idea who the starter was for Eastern Washington, but Nick Barnett was watching from the sideline, when the defense trotted out for the first series. Barnett's first start was against New Mexico in Albuquerque. (Oregon State struggled against New Mexico State in Las Cruces in 2001, which may be what you are remembering?) Playing a solid power five team might have derailed the season, but take a team like Alabama. The Tide were a top five team to start the season in 2000 but dropped home games to both Central Florida and Southern Miss (by 21 points). Ole Miss was a top 20 team to start in 2000 but lost to that Alabama team by 38 points. Oregon State could have defeated either to start the year. And the experience from those wins may have propelled Oregon State to a win in a Seattle, rather than a loss. Or not. |
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Post by wilkyisdashiznit on Mar 3, 2018 23:38:44 GMT -8
And that game never would have happened without a soft OOC schedule to get the new elements (the Presidents, TJ and Chad were all notably fresh JC transfers) to gel together. We had to gut out a road game at New Mexico State, had a 2 point victory at home over EWU before stomping a 3-win SDSU team which saw Ted Tollner fired at the end of the season. Playing a solid P5 team in the early season would have de-railed the Fiesta Bowl appearance. The Pac-10 was pretty soft as well, that year. Let's not kid ourselves. And were it not for a timely Marty Mauer offsides penalty vs. fUCLA - no Fiesta Bowl. The Pac-10 was strong in 2000. Both Massey and Sagarin had the Pac-10 as the top-rated conference in 2000. According to Sagarin, there was more separation between the second-best conference (the Big East) than there was between the Big East and the next two best conferences: the Big 12 and SEC. Sagarin's rankings only go back to 1998, but the 2000 version of the Pac-10 was the best version of the Pac-10 between at least 1997 and 2010. Washington beat #2 Miami (Big East Champion) by 5 and #14 Purdue (Big Ten Champion) by 10. Stanford beat #5 Texas by 3. Oregon beat that same Texas team at a neutral site at the end of the season by 5. UCLA beat both #3 Alabama by 11 and #3 Michigan (Big Ten Co-Champion) by 3. Arizona State beat #14 Colorado State (Mountain West Champion) by 3. Washington State beat Boise State (Big West Champion) by 7. USC beat #22 Penn State by 24. The Pac-10 went 26-10 (.722). 25 of the 26 wins were against 1-A teams. (Only Oregon State played a 1-AA team, Eastern Washington.) The Pac-10 went 3-2 in bowl games, wins against Texas, Purdue, and Notre Dame and losses to Boston College and Wisconsin. Outside of the bowl games, the Pac-10 went 23-8 (.742). The eight losses included one to #5 Wisconsin in Madison, two to #11 Notre Dame, one to #18 Ohio State, and one to #19 Illinois. |
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Post by Henry Skrimshander on Mar 4, 2018 10:33:30 GMT -8
We won the Fiesta Bowl. Washington won the Rose Bowl. oregon won the Holiday Bowl. The top of the Pac-12 was strong.
We also led UCLA by two TDs after McCall's run with under two minutes to play before giving up a window-dressing TD in the final seconds. We still would have won that game.
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Post by RenoBeaver on Mar 4, 2018 10:52:07 GMT -8
While I hate the bodybag games, I'd like to see OSU get to that Boise State mentality that we can compete with anyone. Sure it's easy for Boise State because its their superbowl, but it's not this game is sandwiched between USC and Washington.
Where this program is at, probably best to schedule a home and home with Rutgers or another MWC team. But hopefully niner instills some of the Boise State mentality to these kids, then coaches balls to the wall and throws everything at them.
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Post by wilkyisdashiznit on Mar 4, 2018 15:36:32 GMT -8
The Pac-10 was strong in 2000. UW 11-1 OSU 11-1 $uck$ 10-2 UCLA 6-6 ASU 6-6 U$C 5-7 Arizona 5-6 Stanford 5-6 WSU 4-7 CAL 3-8 10 more wins than losses, 10 more wins than losses, 8 more wins than losses, .500, .500, 1 more loss than wins, 1 more loss than wins, 2 more losses than wins, 3 more losses than wins, and 5 more losses than wins. 16 more wins than losses total with a schedule that featured only one 1-AA team (Eastern Washington). Of the 36 non-conference games, 14 were against teams that were rated at the time. 11 were against teams that were rated at season's end, and the Pac-10 went 8-3 against those teams. The only times that the conference has been stronger since 1997 was 2010 and 2013. Outside of those two years, since 1997, please let me know, when the Pac-10/12 was stronger than 2000. Look at last year. Last year, the Pac-12 went 29-16 in non-conference with eight games against FCS teams, 21-16 against FBS opponents. That is four fewer wins against FBS opponents with an additional two teams in the conference. In 2016, the Pac-12 went 29-13 with seven wins (and a loss) against FCS opponents, 22-12 against FBS opponents. That is three fewer wins against FBS opponents with an additional two teams in the conference. |
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Post by wilkyisdashiznit on Mar 4, 2018 15:48:54 GMT -8
.....or do we gain needed experience to beat Washington later on in the season in what amounted to our first true road test? Then we're still 10-1, but 8-0 in conference and in the Rose Bowl vs. Purdue. A win over Notre Dame is almost always better than a win over Purdue. If we had to play a terrible non-conference schedule to play the Irish, so be it. I personally would like to get to a point, where Oregon State can beat anyone, anytime, anywhere, but I do not think that 2018 will be that year. Until the Beavers can get to a point, where qualifying for a bowl game is pretty much guaranteed, I would rather we schedule a bunch of cupcakes to boost the record. Of course, if Oregon State is probably going to get smoked, no matter the opponent, I would rather the Beavers schedule tough non-conference games. Personally, I think that this whole who do you schedule debate is a false choice. Oregon State should schedule a bunch of paper tigers and dreadful FBS and FCS teams. That whole Eastern Washington debacle is something that never should have happened. Any FCS team with a pulse should never play in Corvallis. Oregon State should not sign up for a bodybag game, unless that team is returning one or two starters or is now on probation or just lost their coaching staff to the NFL. The Beavers should consistently play a schedule that looks great on paper but is actually a huge mismatch in favor of Oregon State. |
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rob85
Freshman
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Post by rob85 on Mar 4, 2018 16:02:11 GMT -8
To answer the original poll question, I like to see the Beavs win, so I would take the mid- or low-level bowl game over a big name/stadium game.
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Post by drunkandstoopidbeav on Mar 4, 2018 16:31:23 GMT -8
The Beavers should consistently play a schedule that looks great on paper but is actually a huge mismatch in favor of Oregon State. I wasn't sure if this was serious or tongue in cheek. It would be a pretty big order to do this unless you schedule nothing until months before the season starts. |
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Post by orangeattack on Mar 5, 2018 10:37:23 GMT -8
And that game never would have happened without a soft OOC schedule to get the new elements (the Presidents, TJ and Chad were all notably fresh JC transfers) to gel together. We had to gut out a road game at New Mexico State, had a 2 point victory at home over EWU before stomping a 3-win SDSU team which saw Ted Tollner fired at the end of the season. Playing a solid P5 team in the early season would have de-railed the Fiesta Bowl appearance. New elements? Fresh JC transfers? Grant, Housh, and Jackson all played in 1999. There were two big things in 2000 that slowed Oregon State out of the gate. The first was that Adams, Newson, and Prescott were suspended for the first three games. Adams and Prescott committed what would eventual result in a felony assault conviction. (Adams subsequently transferred out as a result of the conviction.) Newson did not participate in the fight but was lamentably at the same party, so he was suspended as well in an oddly atypical and Draconian move on Erickson's part. The second was that Allen got hurt in fall camp. Allen was not healthy enough to play until the USC game and did not start until the UCLA game. I have no idea who the starter was for Eastern Washington, but Nick Barnett was watching from the sideline, when the defense trotted out for the first series. Barnett's first start was against New Mexico in Albuquerque. (Oregon State struggled against New Mexico State in Las Cruces in 2001, which may be what you are remembering?) Playing a solid power five team might have derailed the season, but take a team like Alabama. The Tide were a top five team to start the season in 2000 but dropped home games to both Central Florida and Southern Miss (by 21 points). Ole Miss was a top 20 team to start in 2000 but lost to that Alabama team by 38 points. Oregon State could have defeated either to start the year. And the experience from those wins may have propelled Oregon State to a win in a Seattle, rather than a loss. Or not. Man I had forgotten all about RP being suspended. Now that you mention it I do recall that CJ was the only one who was brand-new to the program. We can point to individual lucky bounces that got us there, but those lucky bounces happen all the time to teams of destiny. What was truly amazing about that season was the altogether lack of injuries. The Beavs suffered precious few key injuries and when they did have them, the backups were stellar (see backup Jake Cookus' performance in the Civil War). |
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Post by obf on Mar 5, 2018 10:40:47 GMT -8
Wins are never guaranteed. I've never been one to say "well, if the Beavs don't make a bowl game this year, I'm not renewing my season tickets. I don't go to games to see wins. I go because I enjoy college football. If we win, great. If we lose...not great, but at least I got to grill some meats and hang with my dad for an evening. I don't care if we lose by 50. It's not my preferred outcome, but just like I've seen us knock of #1 USC or #2 Cal when nobody gave us a chance, I've also seen us lose to Sac St. and EWU. I've seen the basketball team lose by 50 AT HOME to Seattle and beat Arizona in McKale in the same season. You never know until you play the game. You can't beat Ohio State or Florida State or any other big time team unless you play them. Totally agreed. The unfortunate reality for MOST fans is that NEITHER choice above is realistic. I go to a majority of the home games, I rarely (okay, never) go to away games, most of them I don't even get to watch, I mostly listen to the radio broadcast. Home games >>>>>>>>>>> away games, for the vast majority of fans. Which is why in my world view the only thing that really matters is maximizing home games! So, if Ohio State, or Michigan, or Alabama want to do a home and home with us.... GREAT, sign me up! Otherwise, playing anybody at home, regardless of whether we are projected to win my 50 or lose by 50 is always going to be my preference. Even if it means we make less revenue. Even if it means we risk losing to an FCS team at home. Even if it means we miss out on the small (but never zero) chance of having a huge upset of a highly ranked team on the road. IMHO the Wiscy series was the ideal, a big time road game against a good opponent, who came to Corvallis the next year. Minnesota, while not as big of a name as Wisconsin, also gave us the return trip, so it's not like these series don't exist. Hopefully Barnes finds more for us. |
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Post by nabeav on Mar 5, 2018 13:11:12 GMT -8
Totally agree. Home and homes should always be preferred. If you've got an offer from Iowa for a home and home vs. a game at Florida only, you take the Iowa home and home every time.
In 1997, we didn't play a road non-conference game, but that's the only time in the past 40 years that I could find we didn't play at least once away from Reser/Parker outside of conference. Seems like at least one road game is a given, so if you've got a gap in your schedule where you need a road game and you've got nothing lined up and an opportunity like this pops up, I don't know why you wouldn't take it. I think it's a decent recruiting tool too. Come to Oregon State and you'll get to play in one of the most historic stadiums in the country on a channel that everyone in the country gets regardless of who their cable provider is. Obviously that's not a primary selling point, but it is something to sweeten the pot.
And yes, going to bowl games is an incentive as well, so I get that side of the argument.
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Post by ochobeavo on Mar 5, 2018 13:26:14 GMT -8
Wins are never guaranteed. I've never been one to say "well, if the Beavs don't make a bowl game this year, I'm not renewing my season tickets. I don't go to games to see wins. I go because I enjoy college football. If we win, great. If we lose...not great, but at least I got to grill some meats and hang with my dad for an evening. I don't care if we lose by 50. It's not my preferred outcome, but just like I've seen us knock of #1 USC or #2 Cal when nobody gave us a chance, I've also seen us lose to Sac St. and EWU. I've seen the basketball team lose by 50 AT HOME to Seattle and beat Arizona in McKale in the same season. You never know until you play the game. You can't beat Ohio State or Florida State or any other big time team unless you play them. Totally agreed. The unfortunate reality for MOST fans is that NEITHER choice above is realistic. I go to a majority of the home games, I rarely (okay, never) go to away games, most of them I don't even get to watch, I mostly listen to the radio broadcast. Home games >>>>>>>>>>> away games, for the vast majority of fans. Which is why in my world view the only thing that really matters is maximizing home games! So, if Ohio State, or Michigan, or Alabama want to do a home and home with us.... GREAT, sign me up! Otherwise, playing anybody at home, regardless of whether we are projected to win my 50 or lose by 50 is always going to be my preference. Even if it means we make less revenue. Even if it means we risk losing to an FCS team at home. Even if it means we miss out on the small (but never zero) chance of having a huge upset of a highly ranked team on the road. IMHO the Wiscy series was the ideal, a big time road game against a good opponent, who came to Corvallis the next year. Minnesota, while not as big of a name as Wisconsin, also gave us the return trip, so it's not like these series don't exist. Hopefully Barnes finds more for us. I believe we currently have future H&H's with Oklahoma State 2019/2020 (they come here first) and Purdue 2021/2024 (we go there first). In the not-so-fun category: we have Boise State 2023/2024 and Fresno State 2022/2024. Who is up for that Fresno roadie!! |
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Post by drunkandstoopidbeav on Mar 5, 2018 15:02:45 GMT -8
Oooh... I may have to go to Fresno to see the underground orchard. It's not overly high on my bucket list, I'd skip it if the Beavs weren't there.
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Post by drunkandstoopidbeav on Mar 5, 2018 15:06:37 GMT -8
I have to say it. This last season it was zero. |
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