| 05 September 2010
The Oregon State Beavers flashed potential on both sides of the ball, but missed opportunities and a missed snap help lead No. 6 TCU to a 30-21 victory over OSU in Cowboys Stadium Saturday night.
Offense shows inexperience and talent
It wasn't always pretty on offense, but OSU can take away some good points from this game. James Rodgers looks like a man who will be faster and quicker than the best defensive backs he'll face this season, and Ryan Katz makes the senior WR the team's top target. Katz can get the ball to James anywhere on the field, and it happened against TCU. James finished with 4 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, consistently torching talented TCU cornerback Greg McCoy. A couple of overthrown balls from Katz were all that prevented James from finishing with twice as many yards and touchdowns.
Overthrown balls, missed reads, balls thrown behind receivers, a snap through the hands leading to a safety: these are the lumps the first-time starter, Katz, endured in Texas. He finished the night 9-25 with 159 yards and 2 touchdowns, the second touchdown a perfect 34-yard strike to Jordan Bishop. First start, on the road, against one of the top defenses in the nation? The praise should be louder than the complaints about Ryan Katz.
However, add Jacquizz Rodgers to the list of people frustrated with the young quarterback at times. After Katz missed Quizz underneath the defense for about the third time, choosing instead to force a deeper pass to a well-covered receiver, Quizz tossed his arms, upset at another missed opportunity. He finished the game without a single catch. That might not happen again this season. After a first half that saw Quizz covered in Horned Frogs at the line of scrimmage, he finished the game with 18 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Grade: B-
Defense slowly run over, but Roberson steps up
The Beavers couldn't stop the TCU rushing attack, giving up 134 yards to tailback Ed Wesley, 74 yards to Matthew Tucker, and 64 yards to quarterback Andy Dalton. Stopping an effective top-ranked offense's option is hard for any defense, and OSU looked two steps behind throughout the game.
Senior linebacker Dwight Roberson was a bright spot for the Beavers. Roberson made a key interception to stop a meticulous second-half TCU drive, then followed it up with a tipped pass to halt another drive, almost single-handedly giving OSU a final shot to tie the game with 4 minutes remaining.
Stephen Paea, the senior defensive tackle and likely-first-round NFL draft pick, finished with a sack but also committed a costly offsides penalty. Overall, the defensive line looked decent but a bit outworked by a well-coached, athletic TCU offensive line. That line is the key to the Horned Frogs' potent offense and it performed as expected.
Grade: C+
Special Teams comes up short despite fake punt
The fake punt conversion pass by punter Johnny Hekker was impressive and bold, but that was one of the only bright spots for the Beavers' special teams units. Justin Kahut missed a field goal early in the game. The punt team was whistled for a delay of game, and a short, low punt in the second quarter led to a very short field and a key TCU touchdown just before the half.
James Rodgers looks ready for a good year returning kicks, and the kickoff return team meshed well enough for us to expect some big returns in upcoming games.
Grade: C
Final Thoughts
Coming into this game, one might think that if Katz were to finish with only 9 completions, and Jacquizz Rodgers would total only 75 yards, the Beavers would be blown out by TCU. What's worse, knowing you could have won the game with a couple more key completions and one less safety, or knowing you played perfectly but couldn't compete with the No. 6 team in the nation? The latter. A more experienced Katz and an OSU defense with better chemistry and timing might have won this game, and that's a good thing to take away from a tough season-opening trip to Texas.
Individual notes
TE Joe Halahuni finished with 2 catches for 26 yards, and it was clear that he needs to be a bigger part of the offense. Look for Katz to find him more frequently as the season progresses.
WR Aaron Nichols came down with a highlight-reel grab and finished the evening with 2 receptions for 23 yards, looking reliable and often open.
TE Brady Camp gave up a sack on the first OSU drive of the game, causing Katz to put the ball on the turf. The young quarterback needs to know he can trust his blockers behind him and Camp is usually reliable in that regard.
photo: daylife
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