Mike Riley: Remains Proponent of Beavers Offensive Balance

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Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Jeffrey Martin, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Despite a deviation from course a year ago, Oregon State football coach Mike Riley remains a proponent of offensive balance.

Simply put, star quarterback Sean Mannion can’t stand in the pocket and throw the ball 603 times, as he did in 2013, if the Beavers are going to be successful. 

Or if Mannion is going to survive the season. 

Now, the soon-to-be all-time Pac-12 passing leader may have to fire away - not only if OSU’s defense is more porous than expected, but if the running game fails to materialize. 

Through the first two games of the season, though, the Beavers have had two different 100-yard rushers in each victory - Storm Woods’ 126 yards in the opener against Portland State and then Terron Ward’s 124 yards against Hawaii. 

While it might be tough sledding Saturday at Reser Stadium against stingy San Diego State (1-1), the production is still a far cry from a year ago, when Oregon State didn’t have a100-yard rushing effort a season ago until the regular-season finale against Oregon.

'A better start'

“Not that it’s ever what you want totally, but this sure is a better start this year than what we had a year ago,” Riley said Tuesday during his weekly segment of the Pac-12 coaches teleconference call. “It feels better... It’s certainly not perfect but it’s obviously a lot better.”

Officially, there have been 82 pass attempts and 73 rushing attempts, which is essentially a breakdown of 51 percent passing and 49 percent rushing. In 2013, when Mannion was airing it out en route to a conference record 4,662 yards, the split was 64 percent passing and 36 percent rushing.

The previous is considered balance, something Riley craved during the off-season. 

Team a mystery

In late August, during an interview with GoLocal, he mentioned how his team was still a mystery. 

“We have issues up front we have to solve,” he said. “… The receiving corps needs work. As a coach, that’s what you dwell on.”

He didn’t mention Mannion, obviously, but he also never referred to Woods or Ward, who have formed a more-than-competent 1-2 punch at tailback. 

“I think they’re a good duo together, and they both need to play,” Riley said Tuesday. “They’re both good players, and I think we’ll continue to have really good production from both of them as long as we can keep them healthy - and you have a better chance of staying healthy when they’re sharing the duties.”

Riley is one of the best offensive minds in the country. Every year, he knows what he wants his offense to resemble - the struggle is in arriving at that destination. 

But by leaning on Woods and Ward, who are also both capable receiving targets out of the backfield, and not just Mannion’s right arm, a clear path is emerging.

“I think what you have to discover as you go along is your identity, the way you’re going to find to win,” Riley said Tuesday. “And so it’s a process, the growth of your team.

"The more you find out, the more the players figure out how this team will win, the more it will help you down the road.”

Home Page Photo Credit: Monica's Dad via Compfight cc

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