BFS Story Archive BEAVERS RUN OVER THE LOBOS AND WIN THE 2003 LAS VEGAS BOWL 55-14 ON CHRISTMAS EVE Wow ! What a game. I have to admit that I did not feel good going into this game the way the Beavers had been playing in their final two games. They had been playing very inconsistent and not rushing the ball well in either of the final two games. Yes the passing game was their for USC but it was the play of the line in opening holes for Jackson and providing time for Anderson to pass that worried me the most. Also the linebackers had been beat up and not playing well. Well the Beavers came out and took the Lobos to the woodshed for a good old fashioned whipping on Christmas Eve. That has to be one of the best all around performances I have seen from an Oregon State team. Even the Fiesta Bowl performance was not as dominate as this was. It was the team that we thought we all had at the start of the season. It was the team that I said would be no worse then 9-3. The Beavers won nearly every statisical category their is for the game. It was about as one sided a game as I have seen. Oh, you can say that it was against a Mountain West team that was just outmatched. Well, the Lobos did beat Utah at Utah. Something that neither the Ducks or the Cal. Bears could do. They did have the #4 rusher in the country on their team, who the Beavers held to 5 yards on 11 carries. But it came down to a team effort. The running game was not there again early on and the passing game opened up the run by stretching the defense. The offensive line gave Anderson time to throw and he made the plays to make the Lobos defense sit back just enough to open up the line for Jackson. The Beavers defense played an outstanding game. Their team speed really showed up as they came flying in from all directions to stop the Lobos. I think that New Mexico's dependence upon the run was their downfall from the start. Without a strong passing game the Beavers were able to load up on the run and allow the DB's to play one on one against the pass. Our players had more speed in the pass routes and were able to contain the passing game of New Mexico for the majority of the game. The coaching staff had a great game plan and the players executed it very well. I gave my three girls all new Beaver shirts before the game for them to wear. My oldest receiving her long awaited Steven Jackson jersey to wear for his final game as a Beaver. I watched the game as I watch every home game all season. On my feet. Just like at Reser or any other game I attend I watched it standing, screaming and jumping up and down. I wanted to will the team onto victory. It would have been a blast to attend the game in person but Christmas eve is a bad time for a father to attend a bowl game with 3 young daughters. But now my oldest is almost old enough to attend a bowl game with her dad. This way she can keep me out of trouble. John Canzano wrote in his article on Thursday about what might have been for the Beavers. I don't think he meant it as a put down of Mike Riley but more of a what if. If Dennis Erickson had stayed at OSU and the players had not had to adjust to a whole new system this season, how good could this team have been. They lost at Fresno by 2 points. They lost at WSU by 6 points. They lost at home to a husky team that was awful. That is three games that the Beavers might have won. Could they have won them under Erickson without the new system? We will never know. I believe in Mike Riley and that in many ways he is a better coach for Oregon State then Dennis Erickson was. He has grown as a coach since he was here last and has more experience. I believe that the Beavers will see what they have needed for so long in this football program from now on. Consistency! With Riley as our coach we now have a coach who wants to be at Oregon State and wants to end his career here. Maintaining consistency in a system is important to developing long term success. Just look down the valley for a good example. Yes we will miss Steven Jackson, James Newson, Richard Siegler, Tim Euhus and all the other graduating seniors. And we will talk about their great games for years to come. But there will be others to step up and take their place. Beaver Nation will continue to grow and thrive as long as we as Beaver fans support the program, wear orange and scream our heads off for our teams. Congratulations to the 2003 Beaver Football team on winning the Las Vegas Bowl. IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE A BEAVER! GO BEAVERS!
BFS |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | Home | Blog | Forum | Archive | Mailing List | Links | Privacy Policy | Customer Service | This site is not affiliated with Oregon State University and is intended for support of Oregon State Athletics |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||