Jonathan Smith Says Oregon State Has Work To Do Ahead Of Showdown With Utah Utes
By STEVEN VAUGHAN, 750 THE GAME
It was a tough game from the get go for the Oregon State Beavers. On the second play of the game Cameron Ward hit Kyle Williams for a big touchdown to give the Cougars the lead and Washington State never looked back beating Oregon State 38-35.
A disappointing result for the Beavers, but the season is far from over.
Oregon State head football coach Jonathan Smith joined the Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano to talk the mistakes Oregon State that led to the loss up in Pullman.
“We busted our eyes in coverage early in the game,” Smith said on 750 The Game. “Gave up a 60 yard touchdown. That really is on us. We can’t execute a toss. The quarterback to the running back on a 3rd and 2, and I think we had a pretty good crease the way it was blocked. That turns into a 4th and 8. Things of that nature.”
Coach Smith wanted to make sure it was known that the Cougars deserved a ton of credit for how they performed. Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward threw for 404 yards and 4 touchdowns in the game. Smith gave Ward a lot of credit and also said this is just the beginning as the Pac-12 is going to be strong.
“The quarterback played really well,” he said. “The wide out making plays. There’s some contested plays those guys made. And that’s how these league games are going to be. This thing is going to be overly competitive. These games are going to be tight. We got to make sure we’re not hurting ourselves.”
For the Beavers, DJ Uiagalelei looked uncomfortable for the second straight week, finishing with only 198 yards passing. Canzano asked Coach Smith what he can do to make DJ Uiagalelei more comfortable.
“It comes with time,” Smith said. “It comes with reps. Because he’s in his first year of this scheme. We don’t have a back log of a scheme similar to year two. I do think the run game helps him. But at the same time because we run the ball it doesn’t give him as many pass attempts to get into a rhythm or comfortable. We have to make a couple of plays for him on the outside and boost the confidence of the passing game and we’re definitely working on that.”
The Beavers were down 35-14 heading into the fourth quarter and were then an onside kick away from having a chance to win the ball game in regulation. Jonathan Smith says that this team is going to fight till the end.
“There’s confidence that this team is going to play until the end. We were down three scores in the third quarter and to battle back within one score is something we’re going to have to do. We’re going to have to play well in the fourth quarter. Some things before that didn’t help us out, but even in the fourth quarter we had chances to keep it tighter, but you learn from each week. Gain some confidence and gain some understanding of things you have to do better.”
The No. 19 Oregon State Beavers have a short week as they take on No. 10 Utah from Reser Stadium on Friday at 6 p.m. on FS1. Washington State has a bye week but will then travel to UCLA on October 7th.
Listen to the full interview with Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith by clicking the podcast below. Catch the Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano weekdays 3-6 p.m. in Portland exclusively on 750 The Game.
