The Drive (Spoiler Alert)

[GiantUte]

Couple of things that stood out to me:

1) Roderick “go off” on TW during the coaches meeting. Really sounds like the coaches don’t have much confidence in quarterbacks (at least the upper class men). Admittedly those comments were prior to the start of the season, so hopefully TW has earned their trust by now, but I’m not so sure.

2) Gionni’s apology to his teammates following the Michigan game. I love the accountability on this team, starting with the coaches.

Overall a fun peak behind the curtain. Looking forward to each episode centered around one PAC-12 as we move through the rest of the season. Compressing fall camp and three OOC games into 15 minutes was a bit much.

I just hope the constant presence of the cameras aren’t too distracting.

[joefan]

My reaction to The Drive

[NorthEZUte]

Yeah it really looked like A-Rod threw TW under the bus there. I bet that was edited a certain way though.

[Wilson’s Mustache]

All I could think of was Travis watching that & cringing…

Was really not expecting that, but I guess nothing was said in that clip that everyone on the team, or not, doesn’t already know.

[UtahMan]

I was thinking the exact same thing. Here we have Travis who played well against Michigan and Utah State and finally has some confidence, then this. It’s got to be embarrassing to see that on TV in front of your team, although I’m sure he’s used to criticism.

[jrj84105]

If you followed fall camp you knew that TW really struggled at the start of camp, and then with about a week and a half left, the light went on and he got better every day leaving everyone else in dust.

[TorontoUte]

I thought the TW comment was odd… I mean we know TW has struggled, but that was harsh

[Homer Crimson]

So far, OSU looks shabby compared to the U. Gary looks like he’s close to needing rehab (HD is not kind to “real humans”- that’s not a comment on his personal habits). Their motivational speeches and coaching seemed “meh”. I liked the part where their senior walk-on finally got his schollie, but otherwise OSU looked 3rd rate compared to the Utes.

And yeah, that half-time in general looked bleak and hopeless.

Whitt is impressive as hell; I’ve come around on Whitt more and more. I think we’re seeing a coach who is painfully aware of his team’s shortcomings but knows how to work with what he has. I still think that getting the QB situation sorted out is key to his future here.

I cringed a little when A Rod discussed how disappointed they were with TW.

Interesting that we saw no Sitake.

[Tomasina]

Gionni’s apology to his teammates following the Michigan game. I love the accountability on this team, starting with the coaches.

Could not agree more. Loved the apology and the accountability. The accountability and dedication were definitely highlights for me.

[jrj84105]

These kind of programs are not documentaries, they’re melodramas, and as melodramas they employ a lot of tried and true dramatic devices. From a dramatic standpoint, there’s not really a lot to work with for either of these teams. The trashing of TW at the beginning is there to set TW up for a rags to riches redemption story line if he has a good year. They’re obviously also setting up a study in contrasts related to winning, discipline, and accountability which would p**s me off if I were GA.

[leftyjace]

A few things…

1. There is a visible, tangible difference in the fire and spirit that Kyle Wittingham stokes in his players during game time. Anderson just doesn’t do it like Kyle does it.

2. Maybe I’m biased, but our environment, our attitude, our everything just seems more… positive. It’s almost like there’s a lurking cloud of doom and gloom over Oregon State. I think that starts with the head coach, and I revert back to point #1 – there’s just this big, huge difference. Kyle’s demeanor and positive attitude and way of doing things is so, so important. My eyes are being opened even wider than they were before that he is pivotal to our success.