Oregon State Football

The Oregon State Beavers were looking for a turnaround this season after a disappointing 2011 campaign that included a loss to FCS team Sacramento State. 

After last week's opening game against Nicholls State had to be rescheduled due to Hurricane Isaac, the Beavers found themselves facing the daunting task of trying to start the season off on the right foot against visiting powerhouse Wisconsin.

Apparently no task is too daunting for the Oregon State defense, as they did the unthinkable and shut down Wisconsin running back Montee Ball, as well as the rest of the Badger offense, en route to a landmark 10-7 win.

Wisconsin's defense was as good as advertised, holding Oregon State to only 354 yards of total offense, and allowing the Beavers to get into the red zone only once.  Unfortunately for the Badgers, Oregon State's offense was even better.

The Beavers came in with a game plan to slow down Ball, and it worked. They limited him to only 61 yards on 15 carries and made it so that the Badgers were reluctant to use Ball as a workhorse. 

Once that happened, the Beavers were even more effective in putting the pressure on Wisconsin QB Danny O'Brien, sacking him three times. They also forced him to fumble and throw an interception.

The Oregon State offense had several missed opportunities, as QB Sean Mannion passed for almost 300 yards but only one touchdown.  It wound up not mattering, as his one touchdown and one long Trevor Romaine field goal wound up being all the Beavers needed to get the win. It was made possible thanks to a defense that kept Wisconsin off the scoreboard until there was only one minute left in the game.

Oregon State coach Mike Riley now has a signature win on his resume for his second stint in Corvallis, thanks to a defense that carried the team to victory.

Every week in the fall, it seems one or two College Football powerhouses fall to an underdog.

This is called an upset, and you can bet Week 2 will feature a number of them as some teams begin to find their footing and others are bound to slip up.

It doesn't matter where, when, or who—it's guaranteed to happen. 

Here are the most likely upsets this weekend. Better yet, we'll call them the most unavoidable upsets for Week 2. 

Oregon State Over No. 13 Wisconsin

The Badgers struggled mightily at home in their opener against Northern Iowa, winning 26-21, despite leading 19-0 early in the third quarter.

Wisconsin will travel to the West Coast to take on Oregon State in Corvallis on Saturday.

OSU's season-opening matchup with Nicholls State was postponed because of Hurricane Isaac last week, so the Beavers will be extremely pumped up to take on a Top 25 team on their home field to kick off the fall. 

Not to mention, Wisconsin won't see them coming after having beaten them 35-0 in Madison a year ago. 

Corvallis is like the Bermuda Triangle of College Football: ranked teams go there and disappear, usually reemerging only after an epic upset suffered at the hands of the Beavers.

Miami (FL) Over No. 21 Kansas State 

The Hurricanes are poised for revenge after losing to Kansas State 28-24 at home last season. 

Kansas State will host Miami on Saturday afternoon in Manhattan, where they beat Missouri State 51-9 last weekend. 

The Hurricanes are coming off a strong performance on the road at Boston College, during which they put up 41 points on the Eagles. 

I'm warning you, don't underestimate Al Golden and Miami this season.

They may not be ranked, but they boast offensive studs in quarterback Stephen Morris and running back Duke Johnson, who rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns against BC. 

UCLA Over No. 16 Nebraska 

Like Wisconsin, No. 16 Nebraska will be on the road taking on a team from a power conference. 

The Cornhuskers will head to California to square off with the UCLA Bruins, who are coming off a 25-point road win at Rice, and will have a rowdy crowd to welcome them home on Saturday. 

With Taylor Martinez and Nebraska looking ahead to a three-game home stretch after Week 2's showdown with UCLA, expect the Cornhuskers to struggle on the road against an underrated Bruins team.

UCLA ranks fourth in the nation in rushing offense after the first week of the season. Senior Johnathan Franklin rushed for 214 yards and three scores against Rice last Thursday despite touching the ball just 15 times. 

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter For More College Football Predictions, Reaction and Analysis. 

Earlier I posted a breakdown of the Oregon State Beavers.  Here are three games from their schedule I am ready to see today.

Arizona

The Beavers actually won this game last year so I'm curious how this year's game will go. 

It’s no question that both teams were at all-time lows last year.  The difference is Arizona let go of their head coach and brought in Rich Rodriguez, who seems to have re-energized the program, and Oregon State is sticking it out with Mike Riley. 

Oregon State won last year's game at home.  They travel to Tuscon this year.  The good news for the Beavers is that they have not lost here since 1997.  In 2010, the last time they played here, Oregon State upset then No. 9 Arizona by two points. 

Last year, Oregon State won by 10 points and that included a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown by the Wildcats.  Arizona actually out gained Oregon State but lost the turnover battle and, in the end, the game.  Oregon State may have been a little more lucky than good last season.

It will be interesting to see how the changes Rich Rodriguez has instilled into the Arizona program affect the out come.  It will be their second conference game with this system and I actually think the teams match up fairly well.  Should be a close one that could go either way.

Washington

Just when I started looking at Washington with a little respect they went and lost to Oregon State.  They were winning the games they were supposed to and losing to the teams that were ranked higher.  And somehow they still lost this one. 

Honestly, I blame the defense.  By the end of the season it was no big secret that the Washington defense was not the strength of the team.  This year's team should be improved with head coach Steve Sarkisian revamping the defensive staff. 

I like how these teams match up and think that we will see the ball thrown a ton in this game. 

This game is later in the season so questions should be answered by this time, including any questions about both team's run games.  Both have potentially good players to run the ball, but until it happens it will remain a question mark. 

Washington’s reworked defense should be much stronger this year, but time will tell how much.  Oregon State’s line play could be back to their more dominating ways from a few years ago. 

Oregon

Not because I think it will be competitive, because I really don’t expect it to be.  It’s because I grew up a Ducks fan and this was the game to look forward to all year.  That might not be the case anymore but the idea still sticks in my head a little. 

Both teams were the dredges of the Pac-12 for years.  Sometime in the '90s, both teams started to turn things around.  Oregon was able to sustain a bit more success over the years but that didn’t make the rivalry any less intense.

From 1997 to 2006, the home team won.  Throw the records and rankings out, home field advantage was true.  In 2007, Oregon State went to Eugene and beat a deflated Oregon team in overtime.  Since then Oregon has won four in a row, two in each venue.  The victory in Corvallis in 2010 sent the Ducks to the national championship. 

Last year, the game was in Eugene and Oregon solidified their spot in the first ever Pac-12 Championship game.  This is one of the oldest rivalries in the country but I still don’t see it being competitive this year. 

Still, with my roots as an Oregon fan going far back, this is still a game I look forward to just a little bit more than the rest.

Mike Riley might be on a bit of a hot seat this season.  He had great success building up Oregon State, but they hit a bit of a plateau before declining the past couple of seasons.  After hitting a high of 10-4 in 2006, the records have been sliding ever since.  Both 2007 and 2008 were nine-win seasons followed by 8-5, 5-7 and the low of 3-9.  There has been question if he has enough cache from the good years to hold him through another losing or .500 season. 

Danny Langsdorf is the offensive coordinator and has been for the past seven seasons.  On the other side is defensive coordinator Mark Banker.  Banker has been running the defense for 10 years.  Both have had ups and downs, but last year was some of the lowest rankings of the offense and defense in years. 

The passing game is definitely the strength of this offense.  The passing offense ranked almost 100 places better than the rushing.  Quarterback Sean Mannion threw for 3328 yards last season.  One thing he needs to work on, though, is his decision making.  While he threw for 16 touchdowns, he also tossed 18 interceptions.  Oregon State will need to bring down the turnovers starting here.  There isn’t much for experience behind Mannion as former starter Ryan Katz has transferred to San Diego State. 

His main target is going to be senior Markus Wheaton.  He was the leading receiver last season with just under 1000 yards.  With number two James Rodgers gone, I expect Wheaton to finish over that mark this year.  Brandin Cooks will provide another target but he have half the production that Wheaton did. 

For as good as the passing game should be, the line could be an issue in giving Mannion time to throw. Somehow they managed to provide plenty of pass protection last season, but did next to nothing for the running game.  Now they must replace a couple starters including at the center position.  They do return Michael Philipp who started in 2009, missed a few in 2010 and red shirted in 2011 due to injuries.  He has the experience on the field—just not necessarily with the guys next to him.  Still, I think the line should be improved. 

If the line doesn’t improve then neither will the running game which was nearly the worst in all of the FBS.  The Beavers ranked 118 out of 120 teams last season on the ground.  This actually blows my mind because Oregon State has a long line of really good running backs over the last decade. 

Ken Simonton, Steven Jackson, Yvenson Bernard and Jacquizz Rodgers were all running over the competition.  Last seasons top running back only went for 431 yards. Behind him two more running backs went for 240 and 237.  Agnew should be the starter and have vastly better numbers, but it will be a matter of him staying healthy. 

The good news is Oregon State is returning eight starters on defense losing one player at each level.  The bad news is the defense was 84th in the nation last season. 

The run defense was giving up almost 200 yards per game and ranked 101 out of 120.  The ends are solid with Scott Crichton leading the team in tackles for loss and sacks.  The middle, however, is going to need to shore up if they don’t want a repeat of last season. 

The linebackers are led by Michael Doctor who was second on the team in tackles.  DJ Welch is expected to step in and give the unit more speed. In the middle, Feti Unga should step up and have better numbers if he stays healthy after being limited last year. 

Strong safety Anthony Watkins led the team in tackles last season and had shoulder surgery this offseason.  He missed spring, but I have yet to hear if he is expected to miss anything this fall.

The real star of the secondary is corner Jordan Poyer.  With 12 pass breakups and four interceptions he may very well be one of the best corners in the nation.  On the other side, Rashaad Reynolds has eight pass breakups of his own.  The pass defense was solid last season and will again be the strength on this side of the ball.

Kicker Trevor Romaine returns.  He was serviceable, but nothing really special.  A missed attempt that should have been automatic all but lost the game against Sacramento State.  Still, there isn’t anyone I see challenging for the job. 

Punter Johnny Hekker on the other hand was outstanding for the Beavers. Unfortunately, he is gone.  Australian footballer Tim McMullen looks to be the guy to take his spot.  Jordan Poyer is not only one of the best corners, but he is also a solid return man.  He worked double duty taking back both kicks and punts. 

I don’t have much hope for the Beavers this coming season.  It’s not that I think they are entirely bad, I just think the rest of the division has improved too much for them to keep up.  I feel they will be looking at another losing season and I wouldn’t be too surprised if they only hit the same three-win mark as last season.  Then again, I don’t like to doubt Mike Riley either.    

We're running into the second week of our top 150 in college football and after a week that was spent on the offensive side of the ball, we get to the side that I love: defense.

First up we have a guy that is one of the nation's top cornerbacks, even if you've never heard of him. Jordan Poyer, who most folks may know from putting Stanford's Chris Owusu to sleep last year, gets his due here at Your Best 11.

No. 145: Jordan Poyer, #14, Cornerback, Oregon State

This kid absolutely balls and he is one of the truly, truly good cornerbacks in the nation. There are very few at his position that get it done in the way that he can, and the fact he does it all on a team that hasn't gone bowling in awhile is a testament to his own determination and pride. 

Strengths

Speed—that's what a great cornerback must have and Poyer most certainly can claim it as an asset. He has makeup speed. He has closing speed. He has lateral and vertical speed. He has breakaway speed. He's just a ton of fast packed into a black and orange uniform.

To go with the speed, he also has great feet and good ball skills. He's the Beavers' primary return man, so his hands come in handy while fielding both punts and kickoffs.

Poyer sees the ball, he's comfortable playing both man and zone coverages and he attacks the ball with a serious ferocity. That includes the ball when it is in the air and the ball when it is possessed by an opponent.

He's not afraid to tackle and when the ball is in the air, it is as much his as it is the opposition's. 

Weaknesses

Poyer is one of the top 10, perhaps top five, cornerbacks in the nation. His game doesn't have much in the way of weaknesses. If anything, thanks to the team that he plays on, Poyer is not getting to showcase more of his skills.

This is not your 2007 and 2008 Oregon State team; the Beavers have fallen on hard times. Teams are beating the Beavers, and beating them bad in several instances. Without all the necessary pieces on defense to be major players, Poyer is tasked with plenty, as Oregon State finds schemes to keep their best player involved in the game.

2012 Predictions

The Beavers, as a team, are still going to struggle in 2012 and that's not a good thing for Poyer. He is their best player on the defensive side of things and when your best player is a cornerback, it is easy to take him out of the game.

Jordan Poyer has become a noteworthy player in the Pac-12 and when teams take on the Beavers, avoiding him will be their goal. No need to attack Poyer when they can get yards and points by going the opposite way. We saw it happen to Morris Claiborne at LSU as the season wore on; expect Poyer's targets and numbers to decline as he continues to play at a high level.

However, Poyer will be returning punts and kickoffs again and that is a way for him to impact the game with more regularity.

For someone who has never really supported the Oregon State Beavers, I always respected Mike Riley and thought that he deserved a lot of credit for what he has been able to accomplish at OSU.

Oregon State has to be one of the toughest places in the country to bring talented recruits, having virtually nothing unique to offer aside from early playing time, and yet Riley has still found a way to win and be competitive in the Pac-10.

But after two straight no-bowl seasons, a fourth straight defeat at the hands of the in-state rivals and one of the ugliest openings to the season in recent memory, it's time to question whether Riley has worn out his welcome in Corvallis. 

Riley raised a lot of eyebrows before the season when he decided to reinstate several suspended players for the season-opening game against Sacramento State (namely Castro Masaniai, who was charged with domestic violence for abusing his girlfriend in public) because the Beavers were too-shorthanded. The Beavers then went on to surrender possibly the worst loss in the program’s history—a 29-28 loss to FCS foe Sacramento State—with the players who were supposed to be suspended, playing.   

Then the next week Riley attempted to outdo himself by humiliating Ryan Katz on TV when he benched him for a freshman after one series. If Sean Mannion is outplaying Katz, that’s one thing. As a coach you should play the guy who gives your team the best chance to win.

But if you're only going to allow your starter to compete in one series (when he was 2-of-3 on his pass attempts), it means you didn't think he should have been the starter in the first place. That decision should have been made in practice, not on prime-time television. 

I'm not sure what was going through Riley's head when he made those decisions, but for someone who had always been renowned for bringing dignity and respectability to a program that hadn’t seen much of it, last year marked a point of devolution for Oregon State football.  

Riley has done enough to deserve one more season as coach. But the conference is evolving. Oregon and USC are getting stronger. Stanford is now a top-20 program. And many new faces appear ready to take their new programs back to respectability.   

At the end of the season, whether OSU earns a bowl or not, it needs to ask itself "Can Mike Riley compete with the likes of Chip Kelly, Mike Leach and Rich Rodriguez?" If that answer is no, it's probably best if the two part ways.

After a rough 3-9 season in 2011, which included a troubling loss to open the season against FCS Sacramento State, head coach Mike Riley and the Oregon State Beavers will look to get back into the upper echelon of the Pac-12 Conference in 2012.

Getting back to the top half of the conference won't happen overnight, but the 2012 recruiting class for Oregon State has a handful of players that could make an impact early.

Overall, 23 players signed letters of intent to play for the Beavers on February 1; 13 on offense, nine on defense and one specialist. Of the 23 new recruits, 12 hail from California, five from Washington and two from Oregon.

The most notable position impacted by graduation is the offensive line. Oregon State will lose three starters from their offensive line who only garnered 1,039 yards rushing and gave up 27 sacks.

Fortunately, the future looks bright up front; the Beavers signed seven new linemen on national signing day. The most notable is Issac Seumalo, a 6'3", 280-lb offensive guard from Oregon State's backyard in Corvallis. Seumalo is rated as a 4-star recruit by Rivals and is also ranked the third-highest guard nationally by Rivals.

Other solid additions to the offensive line include Grant Bays, a 6'3", 290-lb center from Oceanside, California, and Garrett Weinreich, a 6'6", 290-lb guard out of Arroyo Grande, California.

The most notable addition at tight end is Oregon State's other 4-star signee, Caleb Smith. Smith is from Renton, Washington. He has great size for his position at 6'7", 240 lbs, and he is rated as the 11th-best tight end in the country by Rivals.

Chris Brown, a 5'11", 200-lb running back from Fresno, California, will give depth to the Oregon State backfield.

Wide receivers Malik Gilmore (from Lakewood, California) and Zack Robinson (out of Tahlequah, Oklahoma) will help restock the cabinet at receiver. 

The lone signee at the quarterback position is Brent Vanderveen, a 6'3", 205-lb, dual-threat athlete with solid playmaking ability. Additionally, Vanderveen was a high school teammate with Weinreich at Arroyo Grande High School, so there is chemistry there already.

The Beavers also made some strong additions to the defense.  

The most notable addition is Joel Skotte, a 6'2", 225-lb inside linebacker from Bend, Oregon. Junior college transfer Cade Cowdin will add depth to the outside linebacker position.

Chris Miller, a 6'1", 195-lb safety from Pomona, California, leads the defensive backs in Oregon State's 2012 class.

Oregon State's entire 2012 class can be seen here.