The best thing about the GA era so far.

I'd agree, but another 2,3,4 win season here and things are not looking good in the neighborhood for Andersen. I doubt he'd get fired, but I think our AD would put a lot of thought into it. If you do not look like you have a positive trajectory, good luck with any kind of meaningful recruiting. 

You know... I have a big problem with that "history versus PSU" statement too. 

maybe I am reading too much into it, but to me that just is more evidence he doesn't have a clue about what is going on in the Pac-12 and on this coast. Lets not forget Andersen took this job, site unseen, so he could get out of Wisconsin where he was unhappy. He wanted to do his thing, not have a shadow HC over his shoulder. 

That means every choice he made was completely blind to the lay of the land. Going uptempo read option offense? congratulations, you are just like 9 of the 12 teams now. You are directly competing for talent with well established richer programs, that have done it for years and more importantly... can expertly defend against it!

That sort of thing. 

That PSU comment just put another burr in my saddle (and there are plenty there already). It just stinks of a guy spouting BS but not ACTUALLY knowing what in the hell is going on out here. 

If we bail on the Ohio State game, chalk it up as another reason to dislike where this program is heading.

As a fan, I was seriously considering going to that game because I think getting a first hand look at what actual football excellence is like is good for our players, coaches, and fans. To see what level of passion and investment is necessary. To see what level of execution and preparation is necessary. To give our players a chance (however small) to prove they belong at that level.

We get none of that by pounding the Texas State Armadillos in Nowheresville, Texas or sweating out a game in the humidity of South Florida against FAU.

Think about if we had played North Carolina on the road or maybe a Vanderbilt instead of Sacramento State/EWU. How differently our those seasons viewed?

As far as recruiting goes, right now I'd have to say that likelihood that we lose an FCS game is far higher than the likelihood we beat a "big boy" on the road. You have far more to lose playing those chumps. If you get throttled by Ohio State, what does a recruit think? That if he comes here, he gets a chance to play the best on the biggest stages on ABC/ESPN/Fox. If you dominate PSU at 11:00 am on Pac12Net on a Labor Day weekend in front of a half full stadium, does a recruit even take notice?

Then again, Gary Andersen lost 59-0 last time he played Ohio State (on a neutral field) with a much more talented team than he's got right now, so I sort of get it.

I think that was my point. How does playing at UTSA or TSU or FAU or FIU or FAMU or any of those other directional schools from fertile recruiting grounds help us? Has it been proven that playing games in those areas and getting a "free" visit with potential recruits helps in any measurable way, or is it something that we tell ourselves so we can get out of playing games fans actually want to see that are more likely to result in losses? Kids who go to Kentucky/Kansas/Oregon State/Washington State know that winning anything of significance (read: New Year's Six Bowl/Conference Championship is extremely unlikely, but I think part of the allure is getting to play the biggest teams on the biggest stages in the land. You come to Oregon State, you're going to play in the Coliseum. You're going to play in the Rose Bowl Stadium. You're going to line up against Washington and Oregon and Stanford. That's what these kids want...a chance to prove they belong on the biggest stage against the best. A lot of them were probably passed over by those schools. Giving kids another opportunity to play against the biggest and the best seems like a better pitch than "we will play one game in your home state." And if that's what we're trying to say, then let's get a game on the books against Baylor/TAMU/Texas/Florida/FSU/Miami/....even Houston/USF/UCF are acceptable. They're at least not low major/FCS territory. There are plenty of good, challenging teams to play in those areas. 

I guess if the point is that you need to have a body bag game to make a bowl game and that's the ultimate goal, then fine. But that's not the goal (at least not the stated goal). The goal is to win championships. GA says it all the time. To be the best, you have to beat the best. I don't think playing three chumps out of conference just to make a bowl game is good enough. Going 6-6 (3-6) every year does nothing for me. I'd rather go 6-6 (5-4) any day, and I think tough OOC games prepare you for that. 

Again, just my opinion. 



           
            
          

I go back to St. Dennis' thoughts on the subject:  "We need a tougher non-conference like we need a hole in the head."

Still relevant today.  We need to get to bowl games, and that means we need all the non-conference wins that we can get.  I favor the idea of scheduling an absolute bottom-feeder cupcake, a lower-tier mid-major that will come to Corvallis without a return trip (New Mexico State or like), and a home-and-home with a competitive mid-major in an important recruiting hotbed (Hawaii, San Diego State, San Jose State).  NO more bodybag games.  NO opponents who will not agree to a home and home.  NO MORE ONE AND DONE GAMES on short notice for a team looking to use the Beavs to start a run at the playoffs (see TCU, Penn State, etc).

This needs to be the MO until we start getting to bowl games.  When 6 wins are so, so important, it's critical that they aren't being given away in non-conference tilts.

Playing Ohio State offers us nothing. What did playing all of those big paycheck games (LSU, Penn State, TCU, etc.) get us under Riley? It got good OSU teams embarrassed early and then they had to work their way into the Top 25 late in the season. None of those blowouts offered us anything in terms of national respect, recruiting, etc.