Happy Football Friday, Cougar Nation!……
And how about the game last night, Duck Nation?
Maybe if Dixon was on the field more and doing less of the “Lamar from Revenge of the Nerds Doin’ the Limp Wristed Javelin Toss Thing” then things would have been different for you. But, even with the Bye week, you did EXACTLY what Belotti coached teams do: YOU GOT TIGHT. Sorry little Duckies, despite your purported greatness, you now sit with two FAT L’s to teams that have a combined TEN losses..Too bad, so sad. “Duh-duh-duh-duh-duh OVER-RATED..duh-duh-duh-duh-dun OVER-RATED”
In regards to Cougar Bowl hopes, have no worries Cougar faithful. As of right now, we have the following teams bowl eligible: Oregon, USC, ASU, CAL, and Oregon State. That’s it. If the Beavs lose out, they are 6-6. UCLA WILL lose out and won’t be eligible. Arizona becomes bowl eligible with a win against ASU, but that ain’t gonna happen either. So the bottom line is that we have six bowl slots AND even if the Quack hadn’t choked last night, they weren’t going to the National Championship anyway…..Now, will that cost us an extra BCS slot? Maybe, but it won’t matter for us.
So, let’s focus on this weekend’s constest with the Chipmunks, er, Beavers. And perhaps it won’t surprise you that this is a tough call.
Similar to the Ducks, Brinkhater has been staring all week at Week 11, with a PERFECT 10-0 mark in predicting the fortunes of this year’s Cougar football team. Can I hang on? Can I have the perfect season of Cougar prognostications?? (Sedihawk is also perfect, I believe, and his pick diverges from mine).
Here’s Brinkhater’s take:
1) The Beavs will NOT be able to muster much offense in this game. If you compare the Beavs to Stanford offensively, you can see that OSU is MUCH better with the run game and not as good in the passing game (although the line is GREAT). For that reason, with the improved play of the defense, you have to think that the max that the Beav offense will muster in regard to touchdowns is two: That’s 14 points in Brinkhater math.
2) SPECIAL teams will be huge. For Brinkhater, Serna is one BIG key to the game–as well as how we play kickoffs. If we put the Beavs on the 40 or 45 after each score of ours, we will make it easy for them to chip at us because Serna’s range is so fantastic. For Brinkhater, I am thinking two to three fieldgoals from Serna are probable. So, add 9 to the 14, and you have the MAX number of points that OSU will score on Saturday: 23.
3) So, the key to the game will be the offense. OSU’s D is pretty stout against he run, and they love to GAMBLE against the pass. That means that the quick hitch to the TE and pass protection for the long ball will be key for us (and Alex, do you think you could hit a deep ball for six ONCE in conference play this year?). Simply put, we need three touches and a field goal. 24 points wins it plain and simple.
Can we do it?
Without sounding lame, either we will or we won’t. Brinkhater has waited all season for little Alex to have the type of breakout game that he had against Oregon and UCLA last year. You know, the kind of game that four year starters are supposed to have.
That said, a big part of Brinkhater “the fan” is feeling a BIG day four the Cougar Nation tomorrow: Like a 38-17 ROUT that will set up a very nerve-filled Apple Cup week.
But, with a 10-0 record in tow, Brinkhater can’t be a fan. I have to go with the same pea brain instincts that have yielded this perfect campaign:
Cougs lose a close one: 20-17 as Romeen finishes another episode of 20 feet wide left.
Other game:
CAL 28 UW 17. But nobody cares, right?
Enjoy the game.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!