Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 23, 2005 Beavers, Riley discouraged by sub-par effort against Bruins Beaver Notes By CLIFF KIRKPATRICK for the Mail Tribune PASADENA, Calif. — An assessment of the Oregon State football team’s defense Saturday night by Keith Ellison was that it didn’t take a step backward, but lacked improvement. However, the linebacker’s teammate, safety Sabby Piscitelli, was less generous. He accepted the blame of the loss for the group. It was a rough night in the Rose Bowl. The Beavers needed their best defensive performance of the year to challenge No. 8-ranked UCLA, and it didn’t happen. UCLA maintained its unbeaten status, defeating the Beavers 51-28 in a Pacific-10 Conference game before a crowd of 49,932. "That was a good team, and they are No. 8 in the country for a reason," Ellison said. "We played well, but we just gave up too many big plays." Bruins quarterback Drew Olson threw for 262 yards and six touchdowns. That was a UCLA record for TD passes in a game, and the most the Beavers (4-3, 2-2) allowed since Stanford’s John Elway accomplished it in 1980. Advertisement UCLA took advantage of OSU’s coverage scheme that asked linebackers to cover a running back. Standout Maurice Drew scored the team’s first two touchdowns on deep pass plays. "They definitely scouted us well," middle linebacker Trent Bray said. "They exploited some of our weaknesses. And we had a hard time tackling today." Then the normally tough run defense allowed 235 yards. Three ball carriers had at least one play of more than 25 yards. Drew only ran for 120 yards, while Chris Markey and Kahlil Bell combined for 121 more. "Our defense didn’t play the way we should have," Piscitelli said. "We gave up too many big plays. We just weren’t consistent. Our defense would step up and then give up a big play." There were pass breakups by the secondary, tackles for losses by the line and the linebackers contained Drew. Somehow the Bruins (7-0, 4-0) just found ways to score at a steady pace. Olson wasn’t pressured enough as he completed 16 of 24. Tight end Marcedes Lewis was difficult to cover, leading to six receptions for 65 yards and two touchdowns. "There were so many opportunities to turn the game around, but we didn’t," Piscitelli said. "We needed more big plays from our defense." Coach Mike Riley was upset afterward about how the Beavers gave the game away. He expected a better performance. The Beavers came out strong on their first drive to begin the game. Four plays led to a touchdown pass by Matt Moore to Mike Hass. There was pass-blocking, a running game and confidence. Then it all fell apart. "I thought we just screwed it up in the first half," Riley said. "Penalties killed us. I was really disappointed with that." OSU was flagged eight times for 68 yards. There have been worse numbers in the program’s history, but these came at a bad time. They were drive killers for OSU and sustained the Bruins on offense. It was everything from false starts, personal fouls and pass interference. "We did a lot of good things, but we shot ourselves in the foot all the time," Riley said. "We lost the opportunity to make plays. That was the difference to me." The offense put the defense in bad position early. There were three turnovers, but UCLA only scored six points off those plays. After keeping it close into the second quarter, the defense ran out of steam. And UCLA slowly pulled away. "This is a really good offense," Riley said. "They were balanced and we knew it was going to be tough." OSU had to play catch-up the rest of the way. That ended the plan of running the ball to control the clock against the worst run defense in the Pac-10. Yvenson Bernard still rushed 31 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns. "The way the game went early, it got us out of our plan to run the ball," Riley said. "But we were still able to run it well when we got the chance." Moore was 14-for-25 for 279 yards and two touchdowns, both of them went to Hass. Hass gained 199 yards and matched James Newson’s OSU career touchdowns receiving record of 20. However, it was a rough outing for Moore against his former team. He threw two interceptions and fumbled once. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Online Casino Advertisement s