The Oregon State Beavers have struggled through much of the season. After a 35-32 win over Portland State in Week 2, they've dropped five straight games and are currently 0-4 in conference and 1-6 overall. The record, however, probably isn't the worst of it. Gary Andersen, who surprised most observers when he left Wisconsin after two successful years (19-7) and headed to Corvalis, left the program earlier this month. His 4-8 season in 2016 seemed promising, but this season's rocky start led to his departure after just six games. The circumstances surrounding that decision are still a bit murky, but interim head coach Cory Hall has been tasked with salvaging the season and, possibly, rebuilding the program in the future.
With only a few hours until kickoff, we should probably just cut straight to the chase. Here's a deep look at the Oregon State program, courtesy of the ever enigmatic angry, who runs one of the most active fan message boards in the Pac-12, angrybeavs.com. (You can also read my answers to his questions over on his site.)
Go Mighty Card:
In a nutshell, what happened with Gary Anderson’s departure? How has this affected the team? How likely is it that Cory Hall keeps the job in 2018?
angry:
It's hard to say what happened with Gary Andersen's departure. There are all kinds of rumors. Based on the texts he sent John Canzano, it appears he had a breakdown of some kind and simply quit. He threw all his coordinators under the bus on the way out. Andersen had a personality flaw in that he had no patience. He tried to skip key steps in the rebuild process (despite his own slogan of "respect the process"), and ultimately those short cuts went wrong and got the best of him. He was also extremely poor in analyzing and managing quarterbacks. He ran off Marcus McMaryion (who was clearly the best option at the position), Cody Kempt (who is doing really well for Iowa State), and Luke Del Rio (who started for Florida); meanwhile, he recruited Jake Luton, a reject from Idaho who no other Pac-12 or power five school recruited. Andersen was an absolute failure with quarterbacks, and this went back to his days at Wisconsin where he mismanaged the position there, too.
I think Andersen's mismanagement ruined team chemistry. Many players wanted McMaryion to be the quarterback. He led the team to two victories to close last season. That momentum was set to continue, until Andersen tinkered and became infatuated with Luke Falk and the Cougar offense. Team chemistry is much improved under Cory Hall. Players are having fun again and playing loose.
The positives from the Andersen era are that facilities did improve, GPA of players improved dramatically, and the type of 2- and 3-star athlete he recruited was of a higher caliber than Mike Riley's. So whoever the next coach is, he will inherit a roster that has good athletes on it. They need coaching, confidence, and a clear scheme now. Cory Hall has done a good job of all that in just one week on the job. Is he the long-term answer? There is much discussion about that right now. Given the coaching pool isn't very impressive, I would be fine with giving him a chance if he wins some games to end the season, has a Rolodex with some good coordinators in it, and is willing to accept a lower salary. Since the odds of all those are low, I'd say the odds of Cory Hall being the next head coach are relatively low. I'd put it at 20% right now. He's probably going to be one of five candidates if he wins a few games. If he loses out, I don't think he's in the discussion. Most fans like him a lot and want him as the defensive coordinator if he doesn't get the head coaching job.
GMC:
It’s obviously been a disappointing start to the season for the Beavers. How much of that has to do with the brutal start to the schedule, and how much is about the product on the field?
angry:
The schedule hasn't helped at all, but the main problem is the Beavers graduated a large senior class right in the middle of a "rebuild." This goes back to Mike Riley, who didn't have the right numbers at each position. Gary Andersen tried to get the right numbers, but he lacked patience and would try to force things (e.g. constantly moving players or running off good talent). Andersen ran off Cody Kempt and Marcus McMaryion, for example, who are both excelling and winning games for their new teams. Meanwhile, the Beavs have lacked a quarterback all year. So these types of decisions, along with the youth across the entire team, are the main problems.
GMC:
What positive steps did you see last week against Colorado?
angry:
Interim coach Cory Hall went back to basics and has been running the ball. Fans had been screaming for Gary Andersen to run the ball all year. We thought it was the offensive coordinator, Kevin McGiven, not calling the right plays. Turns out, Andersen put cuffs on all the coordinators and was too involved in tinkering. With the shackles removed, the Beavs played much more loose and to their strengths. Hall seems like an upgrade over Andersen. Granted, it is just one game, but the approach alone was a huge upgrade, but the team was loose and in a good mood.
GMC:
Tell me about quarterback Darell Garretson. What are his strengths and weaknesses? What is he typically expected to do within the framework of the OSU offense?
angry:
Garretson would be better served as a backup. He's being forced to start because of Andersen's decisions, noted above. His strengths are probably his leadership qualities and running ability (but he's not even great at the latter). His arm is only average, and he lacks accuracy on deep outs. He was pretty good versus Colorado, so maybe playing looser is helping him as well. We'll see this week.
GMC:
Running back Ryan Nall had a huge game against Colorado, and I remember him playing well last year against the Cardinal. How has he developed?
angry:
He hasn't developed much at all because he's always been that good. Really. He's been a beast and man among boys since his first game. If he has improved at all, it's probably in blocking and pass catching. He's very good at making a guy miss and busting screens now.
GMC:
What can we expect to see from the Oregon State defense? Who are the stars on that side of the ball?
angry:
Honestly, you can expect a lot of blown plays, especially in pass coverage. There are no stars on the defense, and it's one of the reasons OSU is ranked near the bottom in all of college football. This goes back to the youth comment above. The defense is extremely young. I'd say the best player right now on that side of the ball is safety David Morris, but last I heard he might not play versus Stanford. There is nobody you guys have to worry about on our defense.
GMC:
What has to happen for Oregon State to pull off the upset on Thursday night?
angry:
They'll have to ride the emotion of their head coach bailing on them, feed of the positive energy that interim coach Cory Hall brings, rediscover their love of the game and competition, and play with an edge in the run game. If they can get the run game going, then it's up to Garretson to convert 3rd downs and move the chains. That's the formula on offense. On defense, there is little reason for hope. What they have to do is stop giving up the enormous plays (so many busted coverage this year) and get to the Stanford quarterback (very little pass rush). I just don't see that happening.
GMC:
What’s your prediction, and how do you expect the game to get there?
angry:
I'm going with 38-17, Stanford. Garretson is just not that good a quarterback, so Stanford will stack the box and force Nall and Pierce to beat that. Drives will sputter out, we'll punt, and then the defense will give up huge chunks. OSU is also an awful second half team. We might be in it during the first half (maybe something like 17-7 Stanford at the half), but they will fade in the second half. The program is so low, that seeing a full four quarters of effort would be a positive at this point.
