Lets talk about the other school in the state of Oregon. Yep, those Oregon State Beavers. The Beavers are coming off a tough year in 2013. It was an up and down year for the Beavs. They started off on a pretty rough note, losing to Eastern Washington at HOME. Ugh. That was certainly not a way to get the legions of faithful Beaver fans excited about last year. However they won their next five, albeit, against some suspect competition. They righted the ship, and then... it went down hill fast. They ran up against quality competition such as Oregon, Stanford, Washington. They won their bowl game in Hawaii against those pesky Broncos from Boise State. Now 2014 is approaching and I think we are headed for a slightly better year from the Beavers.
The positives the Beavers have is that they will have good skill players at those positions despite the loss of Brandin Cooks on offense and Scott Crichton on defense. Sean Mannion is returning for his senior season and that was a relief for most Beaver fans because he had a breakout campaign last year. Over 30 touchdowns and over 3,000 yards passing will make believers out of anybody. He showed more poise in the pocket, stronger arm strength, and just more confidence in what he was doing. His downside, he is not mobile. When the pocket collapses, so does he. He is Dan Marino quick which tells you everything about his mobility.
Most of the defense comes back and that will help points stay off the board. Last year was tough to watch due to the fact that experience with the defense was a non factor. This year it'll be a much improved defense. The defensive line will be strong and give people fits to game plan for, as well as a strong linebacker core. These guys will be responsible for giving the offense more opportunities to put more points on the board.
The area in which I have a little trepidation is the offensive line. They lost some talent there, but they will be anchored by their starting center, Isaac Seumalo. Seumalo has been starting since he was a true freshman. The whole left side of the offensive line is gone and being replaced. They will also be replacing the right guard position as well. Beaver fans, that means, Sean Mannions blind side is new and half the right side is new. That's a big deal to me and it should be to you. If these guys on the line can not gel together, then Mannion will be on his back many times and that'll lead to a frustrating season. I'm hoping that coach Mike Riley will get this line issue resolved.
Let's go through their schedule: Portland State: win. Hawaii: win. San Diego State: win. They get out of the gate 3-0. Next up USC: loss Colorado: win (easily) Utah: win. Now comes Stanford: loss, a big loss. California: win. Washington State: win. Arizona State: loss, close loss, but the Devils will be competing again for the Pac-12 south title and will be inspired. Here come the Huskies: win, the Beavs pull out a close win. Finally, the Ducks: loss. Even though the game was close last year, I see the Ducks winning by a couple of touchdowns. So, in the end the Beavers end up with an 8-4 record and another mid-level type of bowl.
Beaver fans want better, but considering the division they are in and the fact they play in the Pac-12, a conference in which everybody beats up on everybody else in the conference I think this is how it'll play out for the Beavers. I want them to finish with a better record, but I need to be realistic about the program and the talent they have. Just saying...
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