What We Learned: Arizona State at Oregon State

Monday, November 17, 2014

Jeffrey Martin, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Sean Mannion of the Oregon State Beavers

It was a textbook case of dealing with prosperity and adversity.

Basically, the visiting Sun Devils failed to handle the spotlight and the opportunity yielded from routing Notre Dame on national television while the struggling Beavers put a dramatic end to weeks of frustration with a complete and thorough performance in the upset.

You could argue the weather played a role, but both teams were out there in the elements.

Even though ASU coach Todd Graham - much more on him shortly - warned everyone who would listen Saturday was the ultimate “trap” game, his players clearly didn’t believe him. It’s hard - after listening to friends, family and others talk about how good you are after beating the Irish, you almost start to believe it, and maybe your preparation and focus suffers.

For Oregon State, it was just the opposite.

After a month or so of being told you’re not very good, you eventually just get fed up, right? You do something about it.

That’s what happened to the Beavers, who were led by an unlikely group...

How about the defense?

Think beleaguered defensive coordinator Mark Banker has stopped smiling yet?

Consider Arizona State’s last two possessions - Michael Doctor’s 35-yard interception return for a touchdown to essentially put the outcome out of reach and then D.J. Alexander’s sack on fourth down were the type of timely finishing plays the Beavers had been lacking all season. Truth is, the unit hadn’t performed too poorly. Not great by any stretch, but not the sole reason for the five-game slide, either.

OSU limited versatile running back D.J. Foster to 51 rushing yards and kept all-world wide receiver Jaelen Strong out of the end zone. Taylor Kelly only completed half of his passes.

It was a virtuoso performance by a unit rarely lauded. As a result, the whole team benefitted from…

A well-deserved break.

Which isn’t to suggest Saturday was easy, but first, some background:

There is a stunning amount of evidence to suggest Graham is an egomaniacal jerk. It's true - go back and look at how he left previous jobs at Rice and Pitt, or you could just read this piece. He's all about Todd Graham, so when he began spouting off this week about how his defense was confounding foes essentially via the blitz, I knew the Beavers had a chance.

Why? Because it meant he was forced to continue to bring extra people for pressure, which means means single coverage on the outside, where young Oregon State wide receivers Victor Bolden and Jordan Villamin have emerged in recent weeks.

They could, using the vernacular, “win.” That’s exactly what they did, too, combining for 11 receptions for 199 yards and two touchdowns.

And we know Sean Mannion, even during a somewhat disappointed season, will find folks if given time. So it was just a matter of recognizing the blitz and minimizing its effects, which the Beavers did all night. Fittingly, Mannion was effective, pushing his team ahead on a 67-yard bomb to Villamin early in the fourth quarter.

Which brings us back to Graham, whose stubbornness provided a clear directive for a team desperate for something, anything positive - manage the pressure and prevail.

In a way, the sixth-ranked team in the country was just what the flailing four-win Beavers needed.