Versus Eastern Washington - 56-17, what can you say about
a game against a team like Eastern Washington? Eastern Washington played hard
but the Beavers had better athletes and players at every position, and the game
turned out about the way you expected it to.
Game notes:
- Perfect weather, lots of enthusiasm, student section very loud for a game
held before classes start.
- The mini-poms poms made their debut to mixed reviews. The reviews varied
from, "I think those look stupid." to "I think those look really
stupid."
Versus Idaho - 38-7, what can you say about a game against
a team like Idaho? Idaho played hard but the Beavers had better athletes and
players at every position, and the game turned out about the way you expected
it to. And, yes, that above sentence was written on purpose.
Game notes:
- Dennis Erickson rode into town with the Vandals. I guess
he will be riding back into town in the coming years. His new team will have
similar colors but will be slightly more athletic and Dennis might have a
couple more dollars in his recruiting budget.
- Matt's little sister came up big in her first home game as an OSU student.
She learned that true Beaver fans wear orange to games.
Versus California - 13-41, what can you say about a game
against a team like California except, "What the heck just happened?"
Game notes:
- The pregame parachute jumpers were definitely the high point of the game
for most Beaver fans.
- Alexis Serna kicked a 58-yard field goal that would have
been good from a much longer distance. Alexis's season had gotten off to a
bit of a rocky start, but he was coming on and he had an excellent season.
- There were a plethora of signs that had the names Riley and Canfield on
them.
Versus Washington State - 6-13, this was the turn around game
for the Beavers' season. The defense played terrific, the offense didn't play
so terrific but at least the Beavers showed some spunk and showed that they
were making progress.
Game notes:
- Pac-10 officials took instant play to a new level and reviewed 128 plays
and managed to get every call wrong. Just kidding! It only seemed like they
got every call wrong.
- I witness my first field goal being disallowed because the defense was called
for making "disconcerting signals."
- The Beaver defense uses the get-down-lots-of-dudes-playing platoon system
for the first time and boy does it work. They look quicker, faster, fresher,
and lots of other 'ers too. It was a portent of things to come for the rest
of the season.
Versus USC - 33-31, this was a game that 1,000,000 Oregonians
will claim that they attended. You shouldn't blame them. Who wouldn't
want to say they were there when the Beavers ended about 100 different USC streaks?
This is one of those games that remind a person of why they go watch live college
football.
Game notes:
- USC looked very confident at the start of the game. I watched the body language
of the USC players at their bench and they looked confident even when they
were behind, not counting the drubbing they received in the third quarter.
However, they were looking very confident again in the fourth quarter.
- It was LOUD at Reser. Everyone was screaming their heads off, especially
in the fourth quarter when USC was making their run. My throat was still sore
on Wednesday. Sore, but worth it.
- Matt Moore gave a dominating performance. He was totally
in control the entire game.
- Jeff Van Orsow's swat of John David Booty's
last pass is a play that will go down in Beaver lore forever.
Versus ASU - 44-10, everyone was wondering if the Beavers
could win a game the week after a huge emotional win. I guess the answer was
yes.
Game notes:
- We eschew the traditional tail-gater and have a breakfast feast at Matt
and Kate's casa. I eat too many breakfast burritos.
- The coaching staff does a brilliant job of game preparation. The Beavers
jump on the Sun Devils quickly and never let up, kind of like the rain in
the fourth quarter.
- The Riley and Canfield signs had disappeared.
Versus Oregon - 30-28, another year, another home team civil
war victory. At the start of the year, most people didn't think the Beavers
stood a chance of beating their arch rivals. But, the Beavs were on a roll and
they won a close one in front of a sold-out Reser stadium.
Game notes:
- Senior players made huge contributions. Matt Moore, Jason Vandiver, Ben Siegert, Sabby Piscitelli,
Ruben Jackson, and the list goes on.
- Alexis Serna had a slightly better day than the Oregon
kickers.
- Someone in our section threw up at the start of the game. Many scientists
say our strongest memories of events are olfactory. I hope that they are wrong
in this case.
- The student section hoists Matt Moore up on their shoulders
after the game. It is a fitting end after Matt's turnaround season.
- It was the last game of the year, and the mini-pom poms still looked stupid.
Who's Your Big Daddy?
***
Big Daddy Orange can be reached at bigdaddyorange@beaverfootball.com.