Reserves take the bulk of the 78 snaps during OSU’s final simulated game

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Corvallis Gazette-Times

CORVALLIS — What was on display in Reser Stadium on a hot Saturday afternoon was reminiscent of an NFL exhibition game.

There were very few stars in the lineup, and the product was sluggish throughout. However, there was a purpose.

The Oregon State football team wrapped up fall camp with its final scrimmage. It was an 87-minute workout that produced 78 plays.

Offensive starters Matt Moore, Joe Newton, Yvenson Bernard, Kyle DeVan and Jeremy Perry sat out. Sammie Stroughter was in briefly.

“Today, one of the main goals was to get the special teams on film in somewhat live situations and let the two punters punt,” coach Mike Riley said. “It was disruptive to the first part of the scrimmage, but that’s what we wanted to get done first. Then we wanted to give people a lot of work, like the backup quarterbacks and running backs.”

Sean Canfield and Lyle Moevao did most of the work under center. Neither was dominating.

Canfield completed 3 of 11 passes for 49 yards and fumbled. Moevao was 4-for-15 for 75 yards, but several passes were dropped by the receivers.

With Stroughter seeing limited work that translated to a slow day for the receivers.

“It seemed like the timing was off, and half of it was on me,” Canfield said. “It wasn’t my best. I’ve done better. But I think we are further along at this point, compared to last year.”

Ryan Gunderson did well with the third string, completing 5-for-6 for 110 yards and a 70-yard touchdown pass to freshman Aaron Nichols.

The running game wasn’t there for the first two groups with a patchwork offensive line. Clinton Polk ran for 54 yards on 17 carries and Patrick Fuller had 29 yards and a TD on six attempts.

“We were very inconsistent offensively to start with,” Riley said. “There was nothing that was established. We’ll start back at it. It was somethings that are very correctable.”

The defense was in a similar situation of resting players, but it was more because four starters are hurt. Cornerback Brandon Hughes was still on crutches with a knee brace from a collision with linebacker Derrick Doggett on Thursday.

Doggett (head) was on the sidelines with linebacker Alan Darlin (stinger) and defensive tackle Ben Siegert (shoulder). Defensive end Jeff Van Orsow just sat out.

The mix-and-match defense gave the offense plenty of problems. The reserves who stepped in played well such as linebacker Bryant Cornell, defensive end Victor Butler and defensive tackle Pernell Booth, who returned Canfield’s fumble 70 yards for a touchdown.

“We had a lot of guys banged up, but I think we did really well,” defensive end Joe Lemma said. “We got after the run and the pass. We just need to keep getting better each day.”