Nathan and I are predicting games every week over in the PI Blog.
Here are Nathan's predictions for week 1.
Oregon State 31, Stanford 17
Oklahoma State 38, WSU 20
Arizona 45, Idaho 10
Arizona State 46, Northern Arizona 19
Cal 33, Michigan State 27
USC 31, Virginia 24
Tennessee 30, UCLA 16
Oregon 31, UW 20
Here are John's predictions for week 1 under Chicago Dawg.
Stanford 20, Oregon State 17
Oklahoma State 45, WSU 17
Arizona 52, Idaho 3
Arizona State 52, Northern Arizona 17
Michigan State 31, Cal 24
USC 38, Virginia 7
Tennessee 42, UCLA 17
Oregon 27, UW 24
Last nights game between Stanford and Oregon State was viewed by most as a toss up and it was that way until later in the second half when the Cardinals started taking advantage of Beaver mistakes.
Lyle Moevao was 34 of 54 for 404 yards and three touchdowns. Sammie Stroughter had 12 catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and Shane Morales had 13 catches for 151 yards and a TD. You would figure with that type of offensive production that the Beavers would win this football game.
Stanford did two things much better than Oregon State. They ran the ball and didn't cough it up. Toby Gerhart had a career-high 147 yards and two touchdowns in his return from last years season ending knee injury. The Tree outrushed the Beavers 210 to 86. The Beavers had two key interceptions and two fumbles in the second half which sealed their fate.
You can draw more than a couple of conclusions about Oregon State from this first game.
- Oregon State's offensive line has a lot of work to do if they are going to compete against the better teams in the Pac Ten.
- Oregon State's defense is rebuilding not reloading. The Beavers have a long way to go to return to the level they have been at over the past three years.
- Lyle Moevao was able to get the ball to his receivers most of the night but the Beavers need to develop a running game to help him out.
- Sammie Stroughter is back and the OSU receivers are one of the top tier groups in the league.
Here are a couple things you may have picked up about Stanford.
- Being able to run the ball for over 200 yards during the game took a lot of pressure off Tavita Pritchard who was only 10 of 17 for 91 yards.
- The Stanford defense shut down the OSU running attack. They also picked up some key turnovers which was the main factor responsible for the victory.
- Harbaugh's Cardinals didn't turn over the ball.
- Stanford is still a work in progress on offense until they can get some semblance of a passing game going.
- Just by the way....Jim Harbaugh can coach!
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7 comments:
I can't say I was surprised by OSU turnovers. But, I agree with you, OSU's D looked like a far cry from the unit that led the nation in rushing Defense last year. The Huskies are definitely a better unit than either of the teams we saw last night (though we could have matchup issues with the OSU receivers)
Lyle Moevao was better than I thought he would be but the lack of balance put to much on his shoulders.
I think everyone will have match up problems with OSU's receivers. If you stop the run you can overcome that.
I was really impressed with the downfield blocking of the Beaver receivers, which is obviously critical for their offense as quick throws and fly sweeps are basically a substitute for a real running game. Donatell's switch to bigger, more physical corners and the depth at safety should help UW match up better than many against the OSU offense. I'll say this though, Lyle Moevao showed some decent composure at times, but his arm is isn't the star I'd like to hitch my wagon to.
Stanford looked good pretty good in the trenches, but that's about it.
Random question, guys...but I'm a UW football fan who recently moved to Chicago...is there a good spot to catch tomorrow's game? I read in the Sun-Times that Gamekeeper's was a UW Alumni bar, but didn't know if anyone could provide more insight. Thanks!
Chigago Dude - Send a note over to these guys and join the local alumni group.
UWChicagoAlumni@googlegroups.com
These guy's have viewing parties football through basketball season down in the Lincoln Park area.
I know they are doing something for the opener.
Rob N- The games are won in the trenches. I am developing a man crush on the way Harbaugh coaches.
John, Oregon just suspended their starting (left?) tackle Fenuki Tupou for the Washington game. There are rumors that Unger will move to his position and the backup center will move into a starting role. Do you think this will affect the game in any significant way?
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