Practice Notebook: Beavers looking for first road win since 2014

OSU hasn’t been victorious on the road since 2014, but Cory Hall hopes to change that against Cal

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When asked by a media member if he knew that the Beavers haven’t won on the road since 2014, interim head coach Cory Hall had to do a double take before giving his response.

“Nope! I didn’t even know that,” Hall said with a chuckle.

It was a short answer, but it embodies the type of person and coach that Hall is. He is a here and now kind of guy that never looks backwards and always looks forward.

In order for the Beavers to get their first road win since 2014 when they won at Colorado, OSU is going to have to do something that they arguably have not done all season. Close out a game. No disrespect to the PSU win, but based on PSU’s ineptitude this season, OSU can say they got lucky there.

“The biggest thing is that we have to finish,” Hall said. “We have to minimize mistakes and create turnovers. We have to win the field position battle and so on and so forth. It’s going to come down to being disciplined, executing our assignments and not beating ourselves. It’s one thing when you shoot yourself in the foot and bleed out because of your own demise. That is one thing that we cannot do.”

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Quarterback Ross Bowers has been the straw that has stirred the Cal Golden Bears this season. In the games that Bowers plays well, the Bears have either won, or put themselves in a great position to win. In the games that he’s struggled in, the Bears have either lost or not been competitive.

Hall noted that the Beavers had a very good week of practice, and that they feel ready to go against Cal.

“I felt like we had a pretty good week,” Hall said. “They are a well coached team that has made many strides from last season. Ross Bowers is playing well right now, and he has a lot of weapons despite some injuries. This is going to be a war, and hopefully we come out on top.”

With Cal, it’s truly hard to prepare for the Bears because of their inconsistency. You don’t know if you are going to get the Bears team that was blown out by Oregon and Washington, or the team that kicked Washington State’s teeth in.

“I think that a lot of teams have come in and overlooked Cal which is something you cannot do in this sport,” Hall said. “I believe that a lot of teams see Cal for who they used to be and not who they really are. They are a team that is going to continually get better and once they get some guys back, Cal is going to be where they used to be back in the day under (Jeff) Tedford.”

Cal has been one of the surprise teams in the conference under first year head coach Justin Wilcox as the Bears defeated an ACC and SEC team in nonconference play. When you combine that with a big upset over Washington State, you could argue that Wilcox has exceeded expectations.

Hall noted that Cal is exceeding those expectations because they had none going into the year.

“No one expected anything from them, so anything they did this season would be like Hip Hip Hooray,” Hall said. “It’s always easier to under-promise and over-deliver. They’ve done a great job of building Cal. (Beau) Baldwin has done a great job and then you have Wilcox and (Tim) DeRuyter who are great defensive minds.”

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By now, most everyone has seen that linebacker and captain Manase Hungalu was cited over the weekend for violent conduct. Because of that issue, Hungalu’s status was in the air for arguably OSU’s best chance at a victory with the remaining opponents left on the schedule.

The good news for the Beavers and Beaver fans, is that Hall expects Hungalu to play. He noted that there is still a process for him to go through via OSU administration, but that he expects to see him out there against the Bears.

“Manase is fine,” Hall said. “Obviously there is a process that he is going to have to go through, and we are with him through the process. He’ll play. I think Manase is in a good place.”

Thursday marked the first time that the media was able to speak to Hall after quarterback Jake Luton met with the media on Tuesday. When asked about whether or not Luton would be able to play again this season, Hall seemed skeptical and noted that he isn’t going to push Luton or put any sort of timetable on the situation.

“It’s a day-by-day thing and we have to watch him,” Hall said. “It’s an injury that you shouldn’t take lightly and I told Jake that there is no rush because just playing quarterback and taking hits hurt. He’s going to continue to progress and I’m not going to put any timetable on him or any stress on that. We have to continue to watch him become more comfortable and be around the team, so you don’t want to put too much pressure on him to perform.”