Oregon

What Trent Bray said after Oregon State rolled past Purdue

Published

1 month ago

September 22, 2024

What Trent Bray said after Oregon State rolled past Purdue

Trent Bray covered a range of topics with reporters after his Oregon State Beavers football team cruised to a 38-21 victory against Purdue on Saturday night at Reser Stadium.

Bray talked about the play of his defense, his quarterback and a big-play wide receiver who suited up for his first game with the Beavers. He talked about Zakiah Saez’s wild pick-six. He also answered questions about moving past the rivalry loss to Oregon, about being aggressive on fourth down and about the success of the Oregon State running game against the Boilermakers.

Here’s a transcript of Bray’s remarks, lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Next game: Oregon State (3-1) vs. Colorado State (2-2)

When: Saturday, Oct. 5
Time: 3:30 p.m. PT
Where: Reser Stadium, Corvallis
TV channel: The CW (Channel 32 in Portland)
Stream: Fubo (free trial) or DirecTV Stream (free trial). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.
Oregon State football 2024 season schedule, scores

Bray: Just thought it was a complete win. I think early on, the defense kept us in it. They had some big stops, turnovers in the red zone that kept us in it, and the offense got rolling. So very happy with the team effort. There’s things — definitely we can’t let them run the ball like that — but very happy with the effort, the way they responded and it was just a good game for us.

Q: Trent, what did you think you got from your defense today, especially those first two Purdue drives?

Bray: I think they did exactly what we asked. We tightened down our coverage. They challenged everything they did, and early on it showed up with results on the football field. So I was happy, especially early with how we played.

Q: When we talked to Isaiah Chisom earlier in the week, he talked about the linebackers wanting to get their swag back. Just kind of wanted to ask your perspective on that.

Bray: I’ll have to watch the film. But yeah, they were flying around. There’s going to be stuff that I’m going to highlight that happens every week. But yeah, they’re flying around and they’re young players that are getting better every week.

Q: Coach, Darrius (Clemons) didn’t play a ton, but just how would you assess what he brought tonight?

Bray: Yeah, he did what we like about him. He made some big plays, made some big catches. There’s a progression to him coming back, not just burning him out the first one. So I was happy with the production we got out of him tonight, especially for him being out so long.

Q: Is it sort of a ramp-up thing for him? Are you going to slowly work him into more stuff?

Bray: Oh, absolutely, as he continues to produce.

MORE BEAVERS VS. PURDUE COVERAGE

• Oregon State punishes Purdue with running game, pick-six

• Bill Oram: Oregon State really needed the reset

• Clemons makes debut, teases big-play potential

• Running game gives future opponents something to think about

Q: You talked about how much the defense kept you guys in early. How much do you feel like the offense fed off of the defense flying around like that?

Bray: Yeah, I think when the defense is playing like that, there’s definitely no panic out of the offense when drives don’t get points. I think that’s a big part of playing good defense, is you let the offense continue to operate and work the way we wanted to. And a big part of what we do is we wear people down, and the defense keeping us in allowed us to play that style of game.

Q: You got a lot of success tonight out of that option attack with Gevani (McCoy). Was there something you saw in the Purdue defense, or just the way Gevani’s been progressing? What led to such reliance on that tonight?

Bray: Yeah, there was definitely an attack on what they did schematically, but also, Gevani does a great job with it. He made some nice reads on that, some big plays. I thought he did a great job. He pitched it when he was supposed to pitch it. He took it up the field when he was supposed to. I thought he did a really nice job with that.

Q: Trent, we talked last week about wanting some more explosive plays in the offense today. It seemed like Darius kind of helped in that regard. It seemed like there was a bit more of the jet sweeps and had just bigger chunk plays offensively. Was that a priority this week?

Bray: Yeah, we’re always trying to look at how we can create explosives. We like the 11-play, eight-minute drives, especially at the end of the half. But we don’t want to have to live with that every single time we touch the ball, so we’re always looking at always the best way to attack defense, to try to create those.

Q: Off the field, what characteristics, what sort of mental, emotional things do you feel like the team really had to fix after such a tough loss to come out tonight to perform the way they did on both sides of the ball?

Bray: The thing that impressed me about them, even right after last week’s game, was no one hung their head when we were talking after the game. They’re very mature about handling our business. They were very good about taking criticism and using it constructively. And so I think that, from a mental standpoint, the ability for young people to do that is impressive, and they did a nice job with that. And I think that’s why the game looked like it did tonight.

Q: Seemed like Gevani back there, seems a lot more comfortable just and sort of building up his confidence. How do you feel like his progression is coming? Where do you feel like he is right now?

Bray: I said last week, I’ll say it again, I think he’s just continuing to get better every week. He’s taken a step forward every single week that we’ve played. So he just keeps doing that. But I like he’s at, I like what he’s doing.

Q: Through four weeks now. What do you feel like you’ve learned from this team?

Bray: Well, a big one, we’ve got a big-time running game. We are capable of playing shutdown defense. We should have closed it out tonight, wish we would have, but we’re capable of doing that against big-time talent. And then the resiliency of our players, their ability to not back down or blink when things go bad.

Q: Coach, a wild pick-six there. How would you describe that, the weirdness of the play, and then just starting off after last week defensively, what that did for you guys?

Bray: Yeah, I think it was an energizer for sure. I think early on, we don’t get the fourth and 1, we get the turnover. And then the pick six, I think that was just huge for their confidence and to light a fire under us.

Q: Purdue’s not expected to be great in the Big Ten, but nonetheless a Big Ten team, Big Ten size in the trenches in particular. How big was that to kind of bounce back this week against another team that wasn’t necessarily a step down in competition?

Bray: Yeah, I think anytime you play these type of teams, or out of conference, so to speak, you want to represent your conference and who you are. So it was just great, because, again, it was a good opponent that we played really well against. That’s the biggest thing.

Q: Your schedule breaks kind of uniquely this year, four, four and four with byes in between. Are you where you thought you would be kind of going into the bye week, and what’s going to be kind of some important things for you guys going into this bye?

Bray: Yeah, I think being 3-1 is good. Obviously you want to be 4-0, but we’re happy with where we’re at. And especially the progression. I feel that we’ve become a better football team over these four weeks. And so now we get a chance to get healthy a little bit, get rest and then go another four games. So I like where we’re at. There’s still more out there for us, but I’m happy with the progression.

Q: You were pretty aggressive on a couple of fourth-down calls tonight. What’s the thought process there and is that a decision you might continue to think of in the same way in the future?

Bray: Absolutely, the thought process is to go win. And so, we actually as a team, we watch a bunch of different scenarios Friday nights, and one of them was Kansas State-Arizona, fourth and 1 backed up in their own territory. They convert, they end up driving down and scoring a touchdown. So that’s seven points that wouldn’t be on the board. I feel great about, in those situations, our ability to get it. Are we going to be 100%? No, but I feel great about our guys’ chances to go get it. So we’re going to take a risk, but it’s an educated risk.

— Nick Daschel covers the Oregon State Beavers. Reach him at 360-607-4824 or @nickdaschel. Listen to the Beaver Banter podcast or subscribe to the Beavers Roundup newsletter.

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Oregon

Big Ten Power Rankings: Ohio State finds mojo against Penn State, moves back behind Oregon

Published

15 mins ago

November 5, 2024

Press Room

Big Ten Power Rankings: Ohio State finds mojo against Penn State, moves back behind Oregon

Groundhog Day arrived early in Pennsylvania, where Punxsutawney James (Franklin) saw his shadow, which means another long winter for Penn State after again losing to Ohio State.

The Nittany Lions, who have not defeated the Buckeyes since 2016, dropped behind OSU and Indiana after Saturday’s 20-13 loss. Oregon remains No. 1. The biggest stress points are in Lincoln and Madison, where Nebraska and Wisconsin suddenly are in jeopardy of missing bowl season.

1. Oregon (9-0)

Last week: 1

This week: vs. Maryland

What to know: The Ducks’ voyage to regular-season perfection is smooth sailing with only Maryland, Wisconsin and rival Washington left to play.

2. Ohio State (7-1)

Last week: 4

This week: vs. Purdue

What to know: With their season at a crossroads, the Buckeyes looked both ways against Penn State and then late in the game looked good both ways, on offense and defense.

3. Indiana (9-0)

Last week: 3

This week: vs. Michigan

What to know: Hand the conference coach of the year honor to Curt Cignetti now. No reason to wait. The Hoosiers are 9-0 for the first time in program history.

4. Penn State (7-1)

Last week: 2

This week: vs. Washington

What to know: : Penn State no longer controls its own destiny in the race to make the Big Ten title game, but the playoff remains probable, even if a deep playoff run does not.

5. Iowa (6-3)

Last week: 5

This week: at UCLA (Friday)

What to know: We’re not sure if the Hawkeyes are sneaky good or sneaky bad, but we’re willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

6. Minnesota (6-3)

Last week: 9

This week: at Rutgers.

What to know: A true test to see if the Golden Gophers are as good as their record. We think not, but Rutgers won’t prove us right.

7. Illinois (6-3)

Last week: 6

This week: idle

What to know: Once upon a time this season, Illinois surprised people. We’re no longer surprised. We figured the Illini eventually would fold like a cheap lawn chair..

8. Washington (5-4)

Last week: 11

This week: at Penn State

What to know: The Huskies can take heart in a hopeful stat: Since 2017, Penn State is 3-3 the game after losing to Ohio State.

9. Michigan (5-4)

Last week: 10

This week: at Indiana

What to know: Michigan optimism: Nobody really knows if IU is that good. Michigan reality: Everybody knows the Wolverines aren’t that good..

10. Wisconsin (5-4)

Last week: 8

This week: idle

What to know: The last time the Badgers finished with a losing record (2001), Barry Alvarez still had hair. Don’t look now but a sub-.500 season remains a possibility.

11. Michigan State (4-5)

Last week: 12

This week: idle

What to know: Green. White. Green. White. The chant you hear when Sparty waves the surrender flag on the field.

12. UCLA (3-5)

Last week: 16

This week: vs. Iowa (Friday)

What to know: News flash: UCLA is not awful. Still bad, yes, but not awful. Just ask Nebraska.

13. USC (4-5)

Last week: 13

This week: idle

What to know: Sitting here wondering if Lincoln Riley wishes he were back in Oklahoma. We hear the L.A. media wish he were.

14. Nebraska (5-4)

Last week: 7

This week: idle

What to know: We’re not saying Nebraska is regressing into the Nebraska of Scott Frost, but we’re not not saying it, either.

15. Northwestern (4-5)

Last week: 15

This week: idle

What to know: The Wildcats get a week off to celebrate their overtime win against Purdue. The party deserves to last 30 seconds.

16. Maryland (4-4)

Last week: 14

This week: at Oregon

What to know: The Terps always disappear in late fall, like a golf ball hiding under autumn.

17. Rutgers (4-4)

Last week: 17

This week: Minnesota

What to know: Upset special: the Scarlet Knights are due. The Golden Gophers are doo-doo.

18. Purdue (1-7)

Last week: 18

This week: at Ohio State

What to know: What hurts more? Having to play Ohio State or being 18th in the first year of Big Ten expansion when rival Indiana is 9-0?

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Oregon

Live updates: Oregon men’s basketball vs. UC Riverside

Published

8 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Press Room

Live updates: Oregon men’s basketball vs. UC Riverside

EUGENE — We are live from Matthew Knight Arena for tonight’s season opener between Oregon and UC Riverside.

The Ducks are favored by 16.5 or 17 points at all listed sportsbooks and the over/under is 144.5, according to Action Network.

Oregon is without forward Supreme Cook and guards Dezdrick Lindsay (shoulder) and Oleksandr Kobzystyi tonight.

Refresh this page to follow live updates from tonight’s game (7:30 p.m., B1G+)

HALFTIME: OREGON 51, UC RIVERSIDE 36

— Scoring: Evans 12, Angel, Bamba and Bittle 9 each, Shelstad and Tracey 5 each, Moss 2 | 10-0 UO on fast break, 24-8 UO in paint

— 9-0 Oregon run thanks to 4 UC Riverside turnovers

— UC Riverside racking up fouls in the closing minutes as Oregon picks up press defense

— Three-point play by Nate Bittle make it 47-34

— Kaleb Smith’s third foul with 2:45 to half

— Mookie Cook enters with 3:40 to go, leaving only freshman Jamari Phillips yet to play for UO

— 38-31 Oregon (U4: 3:53): Ducks up to 20-8 advantage in the paint

— Jackson Shelstad with 2 fouls at 5:13. Oregon with 3 fouls in less than 1:00. UC Riverside with two offensive rebounds off missed free throws.

— 8 Oregon players with 1 foul each at 5:26 to half

— 8-0 Oregon run, 34-28 UO. UC Riverside timeout (6:37)

— Tied at 28 (U8: 7:19): UC Riverside 5 of 10 from three. Oregon with 14-6 edge in paint.

— Oregon with a clear size advantage that Nate Bittle and Brandon Angel are exploiting

— Nate Bittle’s first basket of the season is a dunk off a pass from Jackson Shelstad. Snapped 0 for 4 start for Bittle.

— 16-15 Oregon (U12: 12:00): Ducks with 9-6 rebounding edge, 3-0 on offensive boards, but no second-chance points

— 10-9 Oregon (U16: 15:07): Kwame Evans Jr. with 7. Both teams shooting 50% from three early

— Oregon wins the tip

— Oregon starters: Jackson Shelstad, TJ Bamba, Brandon Angel, Kwame Evans Jr., Nate Bittle

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No. 1 Oregon set to battle Wisconsin in 2020 Rose Bowl rematch on NBC, Peacock

Published

16 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Press Room

No. 1 Oregon set to battle Wisconsin in 2020 Rose Bowl rematch on NBC, Peacock

Two teams with national title aspirations and two teams fighting to become bowl eligible will be featured on NBC Sports and Peacock during Week 12 in college football.

In a season full of firsts for the Big Ten, the No. 1 Oregon Ducks and Wisconsin Badgers will do battle for the first time as conference rivals when they play on Nov. 16 at Camp Randall Stadium, with coverage starting at 7 p.m. ET and kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

But before Oregon and Wisconsin take the field, the No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will host the Virginia Cavaliers at 3:30 p.m. ET, also on NBC Sports and Peacock.

The later game will be a rematch of the 2020 Rose Bowl, when Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert ran for three touchdowns to help his team beat Jonathan Taylor and Wisconsin 28-27.

The Ducks and Badgers have played six times, including the 2020 duel, with Wisconsin winning the first three games and Oregon winning the last three. Five of the six games have been decided a touchdown or less.

Led by star quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Oregon has been the best team in college football this season. They are 9-0 for the first time since 2012 after beating the Michigan Wolverines 38-17, and they will host the Maryland Terrapins before heading to Madison.

Wisconsin just suffered a big loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes, falling 42-10 on the road and dropping to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten. Coach Luke Fickell will have a bye week to work on improving his struggling offense and prepare for the Ducks.

Nov. 16 will mark the fifth time Virginia and Notre Dame have ever played. The Fighting Irish have scored at least 28 points and won the previous four matchups, including their most recent meeting, a 28-3 Notre Dame victory in 2021.

Notre Dame is 9-1, the winners of six consecutive games after falling to the Northern Illinois Huskies on Sept. 7. Coach Marcus Freeman’s squad will likely earn a berth in the College Football Playoff if they win their final four games, which include a home matchup with the Florida State Seminoles before a date with Virginia.

Quarterback Anthony Colandrea and the Cavaliers have lost their last three games, sliding to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play. They had a bye to get ready for their Week 11 road game against the 7-1 Pittsburgh Panthers.

How to watch Virginia vs. No. 10 Notre Dame:

When: Saturday, Nov. 16
Where: Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana
Time: Live coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET
TV Channel: NBC
Live Stream: Peacock

How to watch No. 1 Oregon vs. Wisconsin:

When: Saturday, Nov. 16
Where: Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin
Time: Live coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET
TV Channel: NBC
Live Stream: Peacock

How can I watch college football on Peacock?

Sign up here to watch all of our live sports and events, including Big Ten and Notre Dame football. If you are 18 years of age or older and are a current or incoming student enrolled in an undergraduate or advanced degree program at a Title IV-accredited college or university in the United States who meets verification qualifications, you may be eligible for Peacock’s student discount. Click here to learn more.