The Unfriendly Skies
Image courtesy of Oregon State Athletics
Being a quarterback is a lot like being an airline these days. One bad experience, regardless of the number of positive ones you’ve had in the past, sends everyone running for Twitter to tag you, tell you how they’ve “never been treated worse” in their lives, and vow never to give them our business again. Chance Nolan Airlines got canceled this week. No longer praised for his improved passing the first month of the season, he’s now got everyone trying to book a flight on Gulbranson Air….until of course Gulbranson Air does something we don’t like.
The Bebes alluded to this on the podcast this week, but there are similar shades of the 2006 season. We had a QB in his second year as a starter in Matt Moore. We also had a backup in Sean Canfield who everyone was clamoring for. And just like 2022, we lost our first two conference games of the 2006 season, to California and Washington State.
The differences kind of end there. Moore didn’t get hurt and he didn’t throw a combined six interceptions in those games (though he did memorably throw six in one game against Arizona in 2005, a game in which the Beavs turned the ball over SEVEN times and lost 29-27. One of the most painful memories I have in Reser Stadium). People were holding CANFIELD signs in the stadium, openly calling for Mike Riley’s firing…it was tough. Moore eventually did get benched the next week at Washington. Riley made the switch despite Moore leading us to points on the first two drives of the game and a 10-3 lead. Canfield came in and after 13 yards on three carries from Yvenson Bernard, threw an incomplete pass that led to a punt. After another UW Punt, Canfield threw an interception on 1st and 10, and the Huskies tied the game up two plays later.
I was sitting in the stands at Husky Stadium that day, and I remember the absolute excitement when Canfield came in from the Beaver faithful sitting around me. It was as if all their prayers had finally been answered. They hadn’t been. Matt Moore came back in, threw an 80-yard-TD to Sammie Stroughter in the third quarter, and when Bernard scored a TD in the 4th to ensure victory, I remember Matt Moore taking his helmet off and running over to those of us in the end zone bleachers and yelling at us. The same fans that were so happy to see him removed in the second quarter were now applauding him as if he was Maximus Decimus Meridius in the Colosseum. At the time, I thought he was just excited to have put the game on ice and celebrate with Beaver Nation, but now I have to wonder if there was a little Maximus “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?” in him at that moment.
Nolan wasn’t good, but even the truly great ones have bad stretches. I heard one caller to the local radio show on Monday say that Chance’s decision making when he’s forced to make a quick decision isn’t good, and that’s the difference between him and Tom Brady. Yes, I agree that it would be nice to have a QB like Tom Brady running our offense. Good luck recruiting one of those.
I’m not saying that we aren’t allowed to be critical as fans. The QB play hasn’t been good. But I think there’s a difference between pointing out that someone didn’t play well and saying that we “hope they never see the field again,” or “Any idiot could’ve made that read.” You can’t. I promise you. Maybe my favorite clip on the internet right now is this guy….who is basically all of us if we ever got into a competitive football game:
Also the target of disdain was offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren, knocked for his “vanilla” and conservative play calling. Many people thought we threw the ball too much in the red zone, but inside the Utah 20 yard line, we ran 12 plays on Saturday, six passes and six runs. The six runs only generated seven yards. We weren’t running effectively in short yardage situations. Colletto was stopped on a 4th down as well during the game (albeit outside the red zone). The problem really was the passes were even less effective than the runs. Six passes, zero completions, two interceptions. Coach Smith mentioned in his Monday press conference that the decision making was “poor” on some of those throws. I don’t know if you put poor decision making on a coach, though some people will I’m sure say that the coaches hadn’t prepared the player to read the defense correctly.
Credit must also be given to Utah, whose defensive prowess probably encouraged us to throw the ball in some of those situations.
I know that it seems like I’m bagging on Beaver Nation for ripping our own players and coaches, but this isn’t a phenomena that is specific to us. Rather, it’s a (unfortunate) part of being a fan in general. Scoreboard is all that matters. Doesn’t matter we were a double digit underdog on the road against the 12th ranked team in the nation, who oh-by-the-way haven’t lost a game at Rice Eccles that fans were in attendance for since September 2018. Doesn’t matter that we went toe to toe with USC - we lost, and that’s what fans focus on. Look at Wisconsin, who just fired a coach who grew up in Madison, played for the Badgers, had a winning percentage as a coach of .720, and was 6-1 in bowl games, including wins in an Orange Bowl and a Cotton Bowl. Two losses in a row and a little bit of a dip in recruiting and he’s unceremoniously shown the door in the middle of the year. I remember being at a game at Autzen and the guy in front of me just endlessly complaining about how overrated Justin Herbert was, and how they were glad it was his final season, all while wearing a Justin Herbert jersey.
Point is, we’ll all be alright. Nobody (save Benjamin Lawrence Sebastian Wehage) was predicting an undefeated season. Few predicted wins over USC or Utah. Scoreboard may be all that matters ultimately, but we put up 417 yards of offense against Utah, despite turning the ball over 4 times. We held them to 361 yards, their fewest in any game this season. Wins are coming, regardless of who is under center moving forward. Both these guys are good and can win at this level. Think about this: Our third string QB is a 22 year old former 4-star recruit who has played in eight college football games. If we can keep that guy on the bench, we’re in good hands at the QB position.
Things for Beaver Fans to Gnaw On
D1Baseball.com just named OSU the 5th best program in the country, behind 4 SEC teams. The team doesn’t rebuild, they reload. Freshman Gavin Turley is a guy I think Beaver fans are going to embrace as they get to know him. If you have a subscription to The Athletic, I strongly suggest you read this piece about Turley, who taught himself to play the piano by ear and goes solo camping in the woods just to decompress. A fascinating kid who we’ll be lucky enough to watch for the next few seasons.
Sticking with baseball, native son Adley Rutschman became just the third Baltimore rookie since 1954 to be named the Orioles MVP by the local media.
I may have to miss the Washington State game next weekend, the first time I think I will have missed a home game since 2013 vs. Colorado. If I do, I’m calling in a favor, Beaver Nation. I know that the fan vote for the sing-along will go in favor of Miley, but do not give game ops a reason whatsoever to slide some other impostor song in there. I want “Miley! Miley! Miley!” chants in the stands as soon as they ask for the first song. I want dead silence when another song is suggested. Do not let “them” make a decision for you.
OSU men’s soccer is back in town this week for games against the Bay Area schools. Weather looks good, get out to Lorenz and support them.
