STATE 35 -- CALIFORNIA 24

PERFORMANCE AND AWARDS

GAME SUMMARY

Sherman, set the Wayback Machine to October 26th, 1968…

Demosthenes Andros was a larger than life figure on the

OSU sideline, the average three-bedroom house cost around $25,000, gasoline

cost $0.34 per gallon, and yours truly was just learning to walk. Hard

to imagine, but as the Beavers walked off the field that day in Pullman

following a 16-8 victory over the 'Cougs, it would be the last time OSU

started conference play at 2-0.

This is certainly not the same program that suffered through

dark days (ok, let's be honest… dark decades) during most of the

70's, 80's, and 90's, but even during recent times, OSU has quite simply

not been a very good road team. To see the team come out ready to play,

execute on both sides of the ball, and win with a dominance that wasn't

fully reflected on the scoreboard gives us all a cause for optimism as

we approach road games at Washington State, Oregon, and USC later in the

year.

It's still hard to say just how good this team can ultimately

be, but for the fourth consecutive game the Beavers showed marked improvement

from the previous week. Of course, the penalty issue is still rearing

it's ugly head in maddening proportions (man, I'm getting tired of typing

that each week), but otherwise, it's hard to believe this is the same

team that looked so dreadful during the final three quarters of play down

in Fresno.

Derek Anderson's renaissance continues, Steven Jackson

is putting up numbers that the national media can no longer ignore, and

the defense is rounding into a dominant group despite losing seven players

that had starts during the 2002 season.

Now, the trick becomes further duplicating the feats of

the 1968 team and starting conference play 3-0 when the Huskies come to

town in two weeks. With the week off to heal some of the inevitable nicks

players are feeling, and a little extra time to prepare for a UW team

that looked horrible last week, I like our chances to keep pace with the

Great Pumpkin's boys and their fast start.

PICK

TEAM REPORT CARD

OFFENSIVE SUMMARY

-- Hog Wild: Derek Anderson had ample time to throw almost all

day long and Steven Jackson put up another 200+ yard effort against the

Bears - both of which point to an outstanding effort by the offensive

line. Much of the game, the line simply bullied the opposition, a fact

that Bear defenders made mention of in post-game interviews. A very strong

outing by the entire unit!

-- The Road Warrior: Well, ok, I shouldn't get

carried away… but, Derek Anderson cast aside the demons that have

seemed to curse him on the road thus far in his collegiate career, and

the favorite son of Scappoose had an excellent afternoon. Despite an interception

that was returned 71 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter,

DA shook it off, came back firing, and put together his best overall road

performance by completing 18 of 27 (66.7%) for 224 yards, two passing

TD's, and one rushing TD. After the five-interception debacle in Fresno

the last time the Beavers played outside the friendly confines of Reser

Stadium, DA's performance might well have been the most encouraging thing

to come out of Saturday's game.

-- As the kids might say, these guys are "tight":

Yeah, ok, so I'm way too old to try to keep up with what passes as

hip lingo with the youth of America, but I do know good tight end play

when I see it. Tim Euhus and Joe Newton were a huge part of the passing

game, and were as solid as could be when the ball went their direction.

Euhus's four grabs for 65 yards and a score were nicely complimented by

Newton's five catches for 40 yards, as Derek and his TE's did a great

job exploiting what the Cal defense gave them.

OSU OFFENSIVE MVP

Jackson

MVP STATS:

It's becoming more and more difficult for the national media to ignore the

feats of the 20 year-old phenom from Las Vegas. I'm about out of superlatives

to describe him, so I'll let the numbers speak for themselves: #2 in the

nation in rushing yards per game (146.17), #1 in the nation in total rushing

yards (877), #3 in all-purpose yards per game (180.00), #8 in scoring per

game (10.0 pts/game), and a tie for #2 in touchdowns scored (10).

DEFENSIVE SUMMARY

-- Making a good QB look very bad: Cal QB Aaron Rodgers entered

the game having completed 61.5% of his passes, and sported an impressive

144.58 QB rating. The final stats for Rodgers showed 9 of 34 (26.5%) for

a meager 52 yards and one interception (and another that was nullified

by penalty). It's fair to say that Rodgers had a horrible day, but the

pressure the front seven was able to get, coupled with the coverage of

the secondary, had a lot to do with his miseries.

-- Winning the take away battle: Once again, the

D had a nose for the ball, as Bill Swancutt forced a fumble that fellow

book-end Dan Rothwell recovered, Mitch Meeuwsen recorded his 11th career

interception, and Brandon Browner lost what should have been his 4th interception

in two weeks due to an unfortunate (and not very smart) late hit by Jayson

Jean-Baptiste.

-- Must be something about the first weekend in October:

Adimchinobe Echemandu had the biggest day an opposing back has had against

the Beavers since UCLA's Tyler Ebell ran for 203 yards on October 5, 2002.

I may not be able to pronounce his name, but I'll certainly give Echemandu

credit where it's due, as he had a very strong outing against a team that

is normally very stingy against the run. Fortunately, he was about all

Cal had going for them all day long, and I imagine he's wondering (as

I am) why he only got 19 carries.

OSU DEFENSIVE MVP

MVP STATS:

Turner made his return to the familiar sites of the Bay Area having played

two seasons at City College of San Francisco, and had quite a homecoming.

His pass coverage has improved in recent weeks, and his defense against

the run was impressive, especially when he sniffed out the reverse Cal attempted

early in the third quarter, and corralled the ball carrier for a five-yard

loss.