Injury Updates:
KJ Costello is somewhere between “questionable and doubtful” for the game Saturday versus No. 15 Washington. Shaw told media last week that Costello threw the ball a “minimal” amount last week. He will “try to throw some today (Tuesday)”. Shaw isn’t available to media Tuesday night but I’ll try to find out how that goes for Costello.
Shaw then dropped into an answer about Mills later that he thinks it's likely Mills will start against Washington.
Shaw added on Costello: “I don’t know if he’s been really healthy the entire year. Right now I know he’s dealing with some stuff.”
Devery Hamilton is out for Saturday. “We’ll see if he’s possible for the next game or if it’s another two weeks or so.”
Safety Stuart Head played some on special teams and late at safety. Cornerback Treyjohn Butler will practice this week. Cornerback Ethan Bonner “will be out for a while with a separate injury”.
Opening Statement
“I thought we played well. A lot of things to clean up. We played really well, honestly, as a team for about three quarters. Toward the end of the third quarter, into the fourth, we needed to get some stops on the defensive side, had a chance to put the game away on the offensive side, just didn’t make enough plays.
“Penalties showed up again, backed us up. Defensively after playing really well for three quarters (we) couldn’t get a stop. Oregon State really came alive. I thought they did an outstanding job coaching and playing. The big thing for us is that when we needed guys to step up we got a big kickoff return, the quarterback found a couple guys -- a great job by Osiris (St. Brown) making plays, great job by Cameron Scarlett making some runs -- a great job by the quarterback clock management-wise. I thought Davis did a great job of being composed in that part of the game to give us a chance to win.
“I thought overall special teams-wise we played very, very well. Really good on the coverage units, some outstanding returns -- Michael Wilson a punt return and Connor Wedington a kickoff return. It’s usually never just about those guys. It’s about the other guys blocking for them. As an entire special teams unit we played well. We had a huge kick to win the game and the difference in the game, depending on how you look at it, Obi Eboh blocking their field goal was as big as any other part of the game. Once again, Obi gave outstanding effort but it’s also the guys around him doing their jobs.
“Defensively we played really well for about three quarters. Offensively we were really good for a half. We just have to continue to push for consistency and not just consistency of not screwing up, but consistency of trying to play at a high level because that’s what it’s going to take this week against Washington. They are an intense unit -- they play hard, they play physical. All three phases they are non-stop. We can’t afford to have lapses against a good football team like this.”
Obviously Oregon State’s offenses’ own performance had a lot to do with their success. But was there anything other than their playmakers making plays that led to the defense starting to wear as the game went on?
“Usually when that happens it’s not that all of a sudden we traded our guys out who were playing well for a while. You wonder if … guys got a little tired, got too many reps. Offensively we didn’t sustain our drives, so they weren’t off the field for very long. You’re playing on turf. You’re playing in the rain. Who knows, but we didn’t have the same pass rush that we had earlier in the game when we put some pressure on them.
“We didn’t play as well up front later in the game. We had done a great job against the run the entire game and in the fourth quarter I think they broke three big runs, which didn’t happen at all earlier in the game. Whether it’s fatigue, whether it was not being able to sustain the momentum that we had -- because we had great momentum (with) all three phases playing really well at a high level -- (but) they made a couple plays and we couldn’t stop them.
“There was a lot of that that you take a look at it and make sure there’s nothing we’re doing technique-wise, nothing we’re doing scheme-wise, that that’s the issue of our guys not going out and getting stops.”
Did Oregon State do anything on the defensive side that slowed down the offense in the second half?
“No. It was the same bugaboo that has gotten us a couple times. We get a great punt return from Mike Wilson. We get a block in the back. Was it a questionable call? Maybe. But were there actual hands on someone else’s back? Yes. So, that screen pass to Dorian Maddox that gets us down to field-goal range but now we go backwards. We get a first and 20. We throw two bubbles to Connor Wedington and we get back to third and manageable and then we whiff on protection and get a sack. Instead of getting points we get a punt.
“Things like that when you already have a team down, you already have the lead, and you get field position and you give that up. Whereas usually that kind of field position you only need to make two plays and you’re kicking a field goal. Now the game doesn’t come down to that last field goal because we have a lead and they don’t have time to catch up.
“All those things we were doing so well early on getting positive yards … and converting on third down, we didn’t do that in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t anything drastic. It was the negative plays that harmed us. Even relatively late in the game we had another third and manageable and we had protection issue, quarterback had to escape and make a tough throw on the run to Simi Fehoko. Once again we don’t get the opportunity to keep the ball. Nothing drastic, just little things. But little things … when they pile up put you in difficult positions."
How would you evaluate Davis Mills after watching the film? What have you seen from him since his time against Northwestern and that first start at USC?
“Just growth, which you’d expect. The more you play the more comfortable you are. To have talent without experience, you’re going to get uneven play. Now really saying he’s played two and a half games, there are some throws he missed at USC that he didn’t miss this past weekend. It wasn’t anxiety or nerves, it was lack of experience. Having that feel -- there is nothing like the feel of a game and growing in that and getting experience from that.
“He was able to come back and make some of the same plays end differently. He had two great passes to Michael Wilson. He missed those throws at USC. You can do it in practice, but until you do it in games and get that feel for the adrenaline going in the game you can’t replicate that in practice. He got those in USC, made some corrections, really worked on it and came back and made some really nice throws. He didn’t play perfectly. He has multiple areas he has to improve in, but for the most part he took the next step and most likely he’s going to play again this week. Hopefully he takes another step.”
KJ Costello is somewhere between “questionable and doubtful” for the game Saturday versus No. 15 Washington. Shaw told media last week that Costello threw the ball a “minimal” amount last week. He will “try to throw some today (Tuesday)”. Shaw isn’t available to media Tuesday night but I’ll try to find out how that goes for Costello.
Shaw then dropped into an answer about Mills later that he thinks it's likely Mills will start against Washington.
Shaw added on Costello: “I don’t know if he’s been really healthy the entire year. Right now I know he’s dealing with some stuff.”
Devery Hamilton is out for Saturday. “We’ll see if he’s possible for the next game or if it’s another two weeks or so.”
Safety Stuart Head played some on special teams and late at safety. Cornerback Treyjohn Butler will practice this week. Cornerback Ethan Bonner “will be out for a while with a separate injury”.
Opening Statement
“I thought we played well. A lot of things to clean up. We played really well, honestly, as a team for about three quarters. Toward the end of the third quarter, into the fourth, we needed to get some stops on the defensive side, had a chance to put the game away on the offensive side, just didn’t make enough plays.
“Penalties showed up again, backed us up. Defensively after playing really well for three quarters (we) couldn’t get a stop. Oregon State really came alive. I thought they did an outstanding job coaching and playing. The big thing for us is that when we needed guys to step up we got a big kickoff return, the quarterback found a couple guys -- a great job by Osiris (St. Brown) making plays, great job by Cameron Scarlett making some runs -- a great job by the quarterback clock management-wise. I thought Davis did a great job of being composed in that part of the game to give us a chance to win.
“I thought overall special teams-wise we played very, very well. Really good on the coverage units, some outstanding returns -- Michael Wilson a punt return and Connor Wedington a kickoff return. It’s usually never just about those guys. It’s about the other guys blocking for them. As an entire special teams unit we played well. We had a huge kick to win the game and the difference in the game, depending on how you look at it, Obi Eboh blocking their field goal was as big as any other part of the game. Once again, Obi gave outstanding effort but it’s also the guys around him doing their jobs.
“Defensively we played really well for about three quarters. Offensively we were really good for a half. We just have to continue to push for consistency and not just consistency of not screwing up, but consistency of trying to play at a high level because that’s what it’s going to take this week against Washington. They are an intense unit -- they play hard, they play physical. All three phases they are non-stop. We can’t afford to have lapses against a good football team like this.”
Obviously Oregon State’s offenses’ own performance had a lot to do with their success. But was there anything other than their playmakers making plays that led to the defense starting to wear as the game went on?
“Usually when that happens it’s not that all of a sudden we traded our guys out who were playing well for a while. You wonder if … guys got a little tired, got too many reps. Offensively we didn’t sustain our drives, so they weren’t off the field for very long. You’re playing on turf. You’re playing in the rain. Who knows, but we didn’t have the same pass rush that we had earlier in the game when we put some pressure on them.
“We didn’t play as well up front later in the game. We had done a great job against the run the entire game and in the fourth quarter I think they broke three big runs, which didn’t happen at all earlier in the game. Whether it’s fatigue, whether it was not being able to sustain the momentum that we had -- because we had great momentum (with) all three phases playing really well at a high level -- (but) they made a couple plays and we couldn’t stop them.
“There was a lot of that that you take a look at it and make sure there’s nothing we’re doing technique-wise, nothing we’re doing scheme-wise, that that’s the issue of our guys not going out and getting stops.”
Did Oregon State do anything on the defensive side that slowed down the offense in the second half?
“No. It was the same bugaboo that has gotten us a couple times. We get a great punt return from Mike Wilson. We get a block in the back. Was it a questionable call? Maybe. But were there actual hands on someone else’s back? Yes. So, that screen pass to Dorian Maddox that gets us down to field-goal range but now we go backwards. We get a first and 20. We throw two bubbles to Connor Wedington and we get back to third and manageable and then we whiff on protection and get a sack. Instead of getting points we get a punt.
“Things like that when you already have a team down, you already have the lead, and you get field position and you give that up. Whereas usually that kind of field position you only need to make two plays and you’re kicking a field goal. Now the game doesn’t come down to that last field goal because we have a lead and they don’t have time to catch up.
“All those things we were doing so well early on getting positive yards … and converting on third down, we didn’t do that in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t anything drastic. It was the negative plays that harmed us. Even relatively late in the game we had another third and manageable and we had protection issue, quarterback had to escape and make a tough throw on the run to Simi Fehoko. Once again we don’t get the opportunity to keep the ball. Nothing drastic, just little things. But little things … when they pile up put you in difficult positions."
How would you evaluate Davis Mills after watching the film? What have you seen from him since his time against Northwestern and that first start at USC?
“Just growth, which you’d expect. The more you play the more comfortable you are. To have talent without experience, you’re going to get uneven play. Now really saying he’s played two and a half games, there are some throws he missed at USC that he didn’t miss this past weekend. It wasn’t anxiety or nerves, it was lack of experience. Having that feel -- there is nothing like the feel of a game and growing in that and getting experience from that.
“He was able to come back and make some of the same plays end differently. He had two great passes to Michael Wilson. He missed those throws at USC. You can do it in practice, but until you do it in games and get that feel for the adrenaline going in the game you can’t replicate that in practice. He got those in USC, made some corrections, really worked on it and came back and made some really nice throws. He didn’t play perfectly. He has multiple areas he has to improve in, but for the most part he took the next step and most likely he’s going to play again this week. Hopefully he takes another step.”
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