BeaverBlitz.com - Beavers look to battle Bears

November 14, 2008

Raju Woodward
BeaverBlitz.com Staff Writer

After finally moving into the top-25, things don't get any easier for the Oregon State football team this week as it hosts California this Saturday at Reser Stadium. While the Beavers have won seven of the last nine meetings between the two squads, both of the losses have come at Reser, the last one, a 41-13, loss in 2006.

Plus, the Golden Bears (6-3, 4-2 Pac-10) are a pretty good football squad. They were ranked in the top-25, until losing last Saturday to No. 7 Southern California. Cal, however, hung with USC until the bitter end and because of that, the pollsters only dropped them to 26th. As a result, the Golden Bears will be looking to get back on track and into the top-25 against the Beavers.

"It's going to be another tough game," OSU coach Mike Riley said at Tuesday's press conference. "This is as talented team as we have seen. They are athletic and fast. They have got a very balanced offense, both in run and the pass. If you look statistically in the conference stats, we're kind of neck and neck in all of the categories. It's pretty interesting. It appears to be a great matchup."

Adding more intrigue to Saturday's contest is the fact that sophomore Kevin Riley will start for Cal. The former Beaverton High standout made the first start of his career last season against the Beavers in Strawberry Canyon. And while he threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns in that game, he is best remembered for making a gaffe at the end of the game that allowed the Beavers to escape with a 31-28 victory over the No. 2 ranked Golden Bears.

So there's no doubt he'll be looking to atone for that this time around. Last Saturday against the Trojans, he replaced Nate Longshore and completed 4 of 16 passes for 59 yards and an interception. He was also sacked three times. Riley, however, is pretty mobile and likes to throw the ball downfield, which are two things the Beavers have been susceptible to at times this season.

Meanwhile, the Beavers' quarterbacking situation isn't as clear. Lyle Moevao's strained shoulder is improving, but he still might not be ready to go on Saturday. Sean Canfield started in his place against UCLA last weekend and turned in his second straight solid effort, completing 16 of 22 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns. While Moevao expects to play, he said the Beavers offense will be tough to stop because of its balance.

"That's the good thing about our offense, you don't really know what we are going to come with," Moevao said. "Our game plan, we could either start with the run or pass. I think we have been really well balanced for the most part this season."

The Beavers will be facing a 3-4 defense that has only allowed two 100-yard rushers this season, meanwhile the Golden Bears' secondary ranks second nationally with 17 interceptions. Cal is allowing just 20 points per game. So whoever starts for the Beavers will need to manage the game well and not make turnovers.

Defensively, the Beavers will need to focus on stopping Golden Bears running back Jahvid Best who is averaging nearly 96 yards per game with on six yards per carry. If they can contain him, they should be able to force Riley into making mistakes. One thing is for certain though, the Beavers now have a bull's eye on their back

"We are going to have to play hard, really hard, probably even harder than when we played USC," OSU receiver James Rodgers said. "We've got the bull's eye on our backs and everyone wants to beat us. I'm pretty sure that they are going to come hard and we are going to play hard against them."

BeaverBlitz's Five Things to Watch:

1. Can the Beavers avoid early mistakes?: Cal is easily the best opponent the Beavers have faced in over a month. They have playmakers on both sides of the ball that are fast and athletic. Turnovers against the Golden Bears won't be as easy to overcome and could put the Beavers in a hole fast.

2. Can the Beavers contain Riley?: Getting pressure on Riley will be tough because he can move around the pocket well. That could be bad news for a secondary that has given up big plays this season.

3. Will the Beaver offensive line rise up to the occasion?: Saturday will be a good test for the hogs up front too. Cal is fast and physical and the Beaver QBs will need all the protection they can get. Bad throws against a strong Golden Bears secondary could spell trouble.

4. Can the Beavers jump out to an early lead?: A strong start will take pressure off the entire team and get the crowd fired up. It would also allow the Beavers to recover from a miscue or two.

5. Will the Beavers finally bust a big special teams play?: The Beavers are due for a big play on special teams, whether it's Sammie Stroughter taking a punt to the house or James Rodgers finding the end zone on a kickoff. A play like this could make all the difference against Cal.

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