Oregon State Football

The Pac-10 expanded to the Pac-12 with the addition of Colorado and Utah this past offseason, so Oregon State is now in the newly formed North Division with the likes of Stanford and Oregon.

The primary goal for the Beavers this season will to get back to their winning ways after posting a 5-7 season and failing to qualify for a bowl in 2010. Even more disturbing was the fact they lost four of their last five games, including a 38-0 whitewash at the hands of the Cardinal and a 37-20 loss to the in-state rival Oregon.

The pressure will be on head coach Mike Riley to quickly turn things around after building a solid reputation for producing winning teams since taking over the program in 1997.

The last time his team won less than eight games was back in 2005, so the patience level of the Oregon State faithful was certainly tested during last season’s losing campaign. His successful tenure with the school should keep his job safe even if this team falters again, but he certainly does not want to push his luck with back-to-back losing seasons.

Offense

The main loss from last year’s squad was running back Jacquizz Rodgers, who led the team in rushing with 1,184 yards. Fortunately, they still have quarterback Ryan Katz, wide receiver Jordan Bishop and tight end Joe Halahuni.

Katz completed 60 percent of his passes last season for 2,401 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Bishop averaged 16 yards per catch and Halahuni was second on the team in receptions with 30.

All told, there are seven starters back on a team that averaged close to 25 points a game.

Defense

There are far bigger holes to fill on the defensive side of the ball with the departure of defensive end Gabe Miller and defensive tackle Stephen Paea, who helped anchor the Beavers’ front seven for the past few seasons but will now both be playing on Sundays in the NFL.

There are only four starters back from last year’s team, but there are still a number of experienced players on the roster, especially in the secondary.

Oregon State will rebuild its line around defensive end Dominic Glover and sophomore linebacker Michael Doctor, who drew rave reviews from his performance this spring. Another returning starter is Brandon Hardin, who is proving to be an exciting playmaker at the cornerback position.

2011 Oregon State Beavers Football Schedule

The Beavers’ schedule starts off with a bang with a game on the road against Big Ten power Wisconsin after opening up at home against Sacramento State. A home game on Oct. 15 against BYU rounds out their non-conference schedule.

Starting the last Saturday in October, Oregon State enters a brutal two-game stretch with a road game against Utah only to return home to host Stanford the following week.

The Beavers close out the year in traditional form with a trip to Eugene to take on the Ducks.

2011 Oregon State Football Predictions

The Beavers have a solid nucleus of talent on the offensive side of the ball, but they are basically starting from scratch on defense. With the exception of a probable loss to the Badgers, Oregon State should be able to build momentum with some early-season wins. It could be in for another sloppy finish, but this team gets back to the postseason with a 7-5 record and third-place finish in the division.

Being a fan of the Draft, I often look at NFL Mock Drafts here at Bleacher Report.

Most of them are first-round mocks due to the workload of making a mock draft with the research and all. Before the Senior Bowl week, many mocks had Stephen Paea going in the first round, whether it be at number 10 or number 30.

Since his torn meniscus, he has fallen off the map for nearly everyone. Heck, even Mel Kiper had him going at number 21 to the Kansas City Chiefs. Mel Kiper has since released his new mock, mock 2.0, which doesn't even include Paea in the 1st round.

Now, you may say that is just one person who hasn't included him since his injury but it's not. Since his injury, Paea has become much of an afterthought. Not one mock draft I've read since his injury has him going in the 1st round.

Defensive tackles such as the fast-rising Corey Liuget of Illinois, and Muhammad Wilkerson of Temple, have leaped ahead of him in many peoples eyes.

But the combine is here, and Stephen Paea hopes to increase his stock.

His first test was the bench press. He lifted an incredible 49 reps, a mile ahead the rest of his competition. The second place person at the combine so far has finished with a still-impressive 38 reps.

To be fair, the combine isn't everything. Most of the teams will watch the combine and see if what the players do at the combine translates to real game speed.

Luckily for Paea, it does. Paea has become a dominant force in his years at Oregon State, winning the Morris Trophy in both 2009 and 2010. The Morris Trophy goes to the top defensive lineman in the Pac-10.

After his Senior Bowl tragedy, Paea had become nothing but an afterthought. Some people even forgot to include him in their two or three round mocks. But with his bench press showing, Paea's strength and relentless motor will be back on the radar of many, hopefully slipping into the first round as he was projected not so long ago.

The 2011 NFL Draft is rapidly approaching, and senior Oregan State University do-it-all defensive lineman Stephen Paea, the definition of a one man wrecking crew, is ready to explode onto the NFL scene.

With the college season over, the only question for Paea is not whether or not he will go in the first round, but how high.

The following is a preliminary scouting report of Paea. It breaks down his pros and cons and gives a conclusion at the end. This is the second in a series of prospect breakdowns that I will release leading up to the 2011 NFL Draft, the first being Andrew Luck’s.

Pros: Paea grew up in his native Tongo with dreams of being a professional rugby player in New Zealand and a mainstay on the All Blacks. It wasn’t until a cousin told him of the higher monetary potential in American Football when he was 16 that he even heard of the game.

Unlike a lot of prospects that pick up the game later in life, Paea’s rugby experience made him uniquely situated to pick up American football quickly. First attending junior college before transferring to Oregon State, Paea’s transition to the defensive line from Rugby has been incredibly smooth, and not just because of his physical skills. Paea has a rugby player’s understanding of leverage and how to move bodies backwards when engaged.

Athletically, Paea is one of, if not the most athletic interior defensive lineman in all of college football.

Paea has truly explosive hips, to the point that his hip explosion will be NFL elite the second he steps on the field. This gives Paea incredible first step burst off the line of scrimmage, which, combined with his understanding of how to engage and leverage, makes him unblockable in one on one situations. 

He has truly Herculian strength, and for a man who doesn’t clear 300 pounds or 6’2" to push 225 pounds 40 plus times is truly incredible; it’s what allows him the ability to throw offensive lineman to the side using just his arms.

Paea’s top end speed is also amazing, and given his acceleration, he has amazing pass rush potential. Paea also has incredible natural strength, giving him a lethal bull rush, swim and rip move. Paea is also very difficult to move backwards despite how light he is because of his incredible knee-bend.

Also a big butt and his short height give him a very low center of gravity. Paea’s athleticism makes him the best space defensive tackle in college football. In other words, Paea has the fluidity, light feet and explosion to move around the field like a linebacker and chase down plays that are nowhere near him.

Paea also has the rare ability for a defensive tackle to chase down and mirror running backs in space, so rarely will you see him whiff in the backfield once he gains penetration. Paea has short legs but very long arms for his size, making it difficult for offensive lineman to get into his pads and gives him a reach unusually wide for a man only 6’1".

OSU uses wide splits on their defensive line and moves Paea around—he lines up on the right side and the left side.  He also showed the ability to play on the inside shoulder of the guard, as well as the outside shoulder.

Paea also plays with a motor that never ever quits, and his energy level never seems to go down; so not only does he play hyper, but also he stays on the field. Also, a common byproduct of players who pick up the game later in life is that they haven’t had the time to develop bad habits and technique against weak competition, as such Paea is unusually coachable and free of bad habits.

Cons: When Paea moved to the states and started playing football at 16 was also when he began learning English and American culture. While Paea has made remarkable strides in both his football ability and his ability to speak English, his adjustment to the NFL might be a tad bit more difficult for him than other prospects.

Paea’s knees will also have to get the green flag from NFL doctors as he has battled knee sprains during his college career. Paea is also a man without a position, as he is too small to play defensive tackle at the NFL level but he is much more comfortable playing on the inside of the line than the edge.

Physically, he is not suited to play in a two-gap 3-4 system.

My View: Paea’s road to the NFL is unique, and one that might cause his development to be a little slower than other defensive tackle prospects. The flip side to that argument is that there aren’t many prospects as naturally gifted.

Paea’s size will also give question to exactly what position he will play, but the option seems to be between him being a Warren Sapp-type under tackle or a Justin Tuck-type right end who shifts inside on passing downs.

Realistically, Paea’s knees are more concerning than his lack of football and American cultural experience, and provided his knees check out fine, he should be a lock for the first round with a possibility of even sneaking up into the top 10 if he posts a truly lights out combine performance, which I expect him too. 

Today’s Civil War game had the feel of an awkward geek who somehow managed to land the hottest chick at school to show up as his date.

She knows she’s compromising well below her standards, but she goes anyway to prove to her friends that she’s not stuck up. Which, of course, she is, but she doesn’t see what everyone else does.

Oregon State, a team that showed up looking wrinkled and frumpy yet stylish, adorned black helmets that appeared to be their own answer to one of the 75 helmet colors of the uniform-challenged Ducks. The Beavers had stripes down the middle of the helmet to match those on the pants.

Nice, but missing was the Beaver logo that we all love so much. Plus, orange numbers on black jerseys looked sorta cool. What else can you do with the Halloween colors of orange and black?

Perhaps they could have done what the Ducks did. Completely abandon a century of school tradition and instead show in colors ripped off from the old AFL Oakland Raiders. Silver helmets, gray pants and white shirts, with that dopey feather thing on the shoulder pads.

And indeed it was a huge improvement over their normal green shirts with yellow helmets and the Disney logo, but there’s something unsavory about a program so powerful that it just does whatever it wants while flipping off all the generations of students and players that came before them.

But we’re used to this sort of behavior from Oregon. The Ducks feel they have outgrown tedious things like tradition and NCAA rules. Which is why star running back LaMichael James is still driving around in a "borrowed" Land Rover instead of a 1962 white Pontiac Tempest with the push-button transmission and why the team is taking "magic pills" that no other team in the country has.

As the game started we had squealing fans dressed in orange dominating the stadium with haphazard student activity that parents likely would be frowning at. In other words, just another game at Reser Stadium.

Meanwhile reluctant Beaver fans across the land dreamed of how wonderful life would be if only somehow this team of underachievers could find a way to dethrone a rival that has clearly lost perspective on how much helmets and uniforms cost and better ways to use that money (like maybe scholarships for kids who can't otherwise go to college, instead of new pretty helmets and threads for every single game?).

The game started with the Ducks kicking off. The Beavers returned it 24 yards before going 3-and-out. But on the punt return, the Ducks fumbled, and the Beavers jumped on it for what looked like a very promising 1st-and-10 at the Duck 28. The Beavers got four yards off a Jacquizz Rodgers run, but the Ducks’ Terrill Turner picked off Cody Vaz’s pass.

Oregon marched 32 yards on eight plays to the Beaver 34, but the Ducks turned it over when Josh Huff fumbled and Oregon State’s Keith Pankey jumped on it at the Beaver 38. Fifteen plays and 62 yards later, Ryan Katz hit Rodgers with a short pass and a touchdown, and the Beavers held a 7-0 lead before a flabbergasted yet humbled Duck nation with 3:23 left in the first quarter.

The Ducks responded with a quick 60-yard drive in nine plays, ending when Kenjon Barner stumbled into the end zone. But Rob Beard’s extra point was blocked, so the Beavers clung to a one-point lead with 34 seconds left in the first quarter.

Oregon State was not impressed and answered with a 27-yard drive that was snuffed out when Talmadge Jackson picked off a Katz pass and returned it 52 yards to the Beaver 12. But a 3-and-out later, Oregon was forced to settle for a 32-yard field goal and a 9-7 lead.

The Beavers answered with a 22-yard, seven-play drive that ended with Michael Clay picking off Katz for a third Oregon interception, suicide watches were issued across Corvallis County for despondent Beaver fans. Clearly Oregon State was outplaying the Ducks thus far, but it still trailed the game.

Our pals from Eugene, as they often do, stuck with their hurry-up offense and whipped out another touchdown, going 74 yards on seven plays in only 1:48 for a 16-7 lead with 6:56 left in the half. After a depressed Beaver side followed with a quick 3-and-out, Oregon was back in business.

The Ducks put together their longest drive of the day after a near-perfect punt by Oregon State’s Johnny Hekker that skipped out of bounds after landing at the Duck two-inch line with just under five minutes left in the half.

Oregon held the ball for the next 14 plays, going down to the Beaver 7-yard line but ended with two ugly losses with a missed field goal to the right side from close in.

It was 16-7 at half, which was not bad considering how much superior the Ducks consider themselves over the Beavs and every other college and professional team that has ever roamed a football field. Announcers praised the selfless discipline of the Ducks, while the rest of the nation, albeit impressed with Oregon’s ability to lead a game after being outplayed the first half for the fourth game this year, felt a bit nauseous at all the Duck hysteria on ABC.

Oregon State was feeling pretty good too, with a burst of momentum from that failed last Duck fiasco, according to our crack ABC crew. But once Oregon opened the second half with a 43-yard drive on seven plays, perhaps the Beavers were feeling a bit less rosy?  

Or perhaps not because, for the second straight drive, Oregon turned the ball over on downs.

The Beavers responded with a 3-and-out but not to worry because so did the Ducks.

That is, however, before Oregon fake-punted from its 28 and ran the ball to the Beaver 9-yard line that was followed three plays later with another touchdown. Teeth were gnashing on the Beaver side for the pure arrogance it takes to fake a punt from almost your own red zone. But Oregon got away with it. After a short pass to DJ Davis, the Ducks held a commanding 23-7 lead with 8:33 left.

And yet just like every game they’ve played this season, the Beavers felt good about how they were playing and certainly were not being bullied. But they still trailed by a couple touchdowns halfway through the third quarter, which has been about the only tradition the Ducks have adhered to this season.

The Beavers answered with four first downs, mostly in the face of blitzes and ended up at the Duck 12-yard line with a promising 1st-and-goal. But a penalty and five plays later, the Beavers had to settle for a field goal and a 23-10 deficit. 

The Ducks answered with an all-ugly drive from their own red zone, aided by several penalties and a very lucky LaMichael James fumble recovery of his own miscue on his team's 4-yard line. 

From his own end zone, the Ducks’ Alejandro Maldonado hit a lazy short punt to give the ball back to the Beavers at the Duck 38. Oregon State brought back to the Duck 10-yard line with a first down and another very promising red-zone possession late in the third quarter.

But three plays and only five yards later, the Beavers had to settle for another field goal and now trailed 23-13.

Like they’ve done in every game this year, the Ducks answered with a touchdown with a six-play, 71-yard drive for an overwhelming 30-13 lead with just over 12 minutes left in the game. 

The Beavers, like every other team this season, looked bedaffled and shell-shocked on the sidelines against the Ducks, wondering how they could possibly be trailing by three touchdowns when it still felt like they were outplaying their inferior little upriver sister?

The Beavers answered with another promising drive to midfield, but after the Ducks' John Boyett picked off yet another Katz pass, Oregon State fans were seen beating their heads against brick walls and strangling their loved ones. 

The Ducks, in their oft-seen, completely classless trailer-trash manner, continued to pass the ball via a hurry-up offense with all their starters in the game. Cheater-in-chief LaMichael James rushed 10 yards for a touchdown long after the game was decided when most teams would have been content to run out the clock.

The score was 37-13 in favor of Oregon. After nine games, they still trailed the rest of the world when it comes to understanding what teams with big leads are expected to do in college football.

Oregon State, showing remarkable heart and drive, finished the game with a Markus Wheaton 12-yard touchdown after going 67 yards on nine plays with four minutes left, sending the Ducks a message that it won’t be that long before roles are reversed.

Clearly this Duck team and head coach Chip Kelly have never been taught football etiquette and common decency so prevalent with every other team in the country. How else does one explain running a passing game when they clearly have the dominance to run out the clock on runs up the middle, which they've now done to half a dozen teams this year.

Opposing teams tend to not forget such behaviour in years that follow. Nor do fans.

When the game ended, the Ducks had another victory in their march towards an undefeated season. But with patrons across the nation a bit aghast at how this team finishes games, chances are most of those championship parties out west will be flying Auburn flags!

When all seemed lost in Oregon State's 2010 season, there is still a possibility, at least statistically speaking, of the Beavers reaching a bowl game.

A convincing victory over USC has given Beaver Nation hope, although the remaining two games on the schedule couldn't be much more formidable.

OSU will head to Palo Alto on Saturday to face No. 6 Stanford, a team that hasn't yet ruled out the possibility of a National Championship appearance. At the very least, they are aiming for a Rose Bowl, so the Beavers will need a performance of the decade to make a post-season dream come true.

Oddly enough, it appears the Beavers may stand a better chance against Oregon, a team with talent piled to the rafters and dominant numbers, but recently puzzling after just a two-point victory over Cal.

Meanwhile, the Cardinal is one of the hottest programs in the BCS, seemingly gaining momentum heading into their final match-up of the season with the Beavers.

Depending on how Oregon fares against Arizona, there may be the slightest chance of an upset at Reser Stadium, but even that is generous.

Attempting to predict how the Beavs will perform is like watching a Floridian weatherman sweat on the five o'clock news.

This season has certainly been anything but predictable for Oregon State. With near misses against now-top 5 ranked TCU and Boise State, losses to unranked Washington, UCLA and Washington State have been befuddling and disappointing.

At times, sophomore QB Ryan Katz has been stellar, earning Pac-10 Player of the Week honors for his performance in the upset over Arizona. Other times, Katz has shown his youthful impatience, failing to lead his offense to an easy victory while the defense is suddenly stingy.

Jacquizz Rodgers has had a similar role, rushing for over 100 yards in five games this season, while being almost completely incognito against TCU and UCLA. 

For the Beavers, there is no allowance for mediocrity in the final two games of the year. Nothing short of Heisman-like output will do, so Katz, Rodgers and defensive tackle Stephen Paea should be working on their mental game equally dutifully with their physical game. 

Speaking on Paea, his performance against USC should be uplifting to on-lookers as he led the defense in shutting down the running attack of the Trojans.

An unfortunate ankle injury suffered by USC QB Matt Barkley in the final seconds of the first half provided a booster to the defense, but it can't be expected at Stanford.

The Beavers will be facing an eighth ranked offense when they head to Stanford, and tops in the nation against Oregon in the Civil War. Paea's season will be peaking the next two games, and the Beavs only stand a chance if the defense provides an opportunity for OSU's average offense.

Even a tough defense may not be enough for Oregon State.

Those same high-powered offenses have strong supporting casts.

Stanford's defense holds opponents to under 20 points a game, while Oregon has the top defense in the country, allowing a microscopic 17 points per contest.

The ratio percentage odds of the Beavers winning against Phil Knight's squad while scoring just two TDs and a field goal look like the first ten digits of pie. 

Stranger things have happened, but in the meantime, keep the champagne sealed but in the house.

At this point, the 2010 season has been unkind to both the Oregon State Beavers and the USC Trojans. While the Beavers started strong against some of the best programs in the nation, they have since fallen off the map against the Pac-10 Conference.

Meanwhile, the Trojans are bowl ineligible regardless of their conference results and will be playing for the right to say they didn't lose to Oregon State in Corvallis.

This season seems like the best opportunity the Trojans have to escape defeat at the hands of a struggling Beavers squad. Oregon State has lost three of its last four Pac-10 contests, and all three have been against unranked teams.

For the Beavers, a win against the Trojans would not be enough to erase thoughts of what could have been, but it would get them one crucial step closer to a bowl berth. Even so, the Beavs would have to come up with something magical to be eligible for any kind of postseason game. 

Oregon State's schedule will only get tougher after USC, as they have No. 6 Stanford on the road and No. 1 Oregon at home in the Civil War. How OSU plays against the Trojans will determine what the players have left in terms of confidence in the 2010 season.

The Trojans will be very motivated to win this contest, already "bowl eligible" and competing with Arizona for third in the Pac-10 conference. While they cannot actually go to a bowl game due to the NCAA-levied suspension on the program, there is still plenty to play for against OSU.

In 2009, the Trojans narrowly escaped the Beavers, winning 42-36 at home. Then-freshman QB Matt Barkley experienced Oregon State for the first time and knows just how hard it can be to escape the Beavers. This time around, he will have to play in Reser Stadium, a place Carson Palmer and Mark Sanchez know all too well in their nightmares. 

Barkley will be facing a secondary that is in the midst of rebuilding. James Dockery provides the majority of leadership for the back side of the defense, but as a whole the team has been ineffective on the other side of the ball.

Barkley's counterpart will be looking to salvage the season. Sophomore Ryan Katz has struggled mightily the last few games after dismantling Arizona's defense in the desert.

The Beavers should be praying for fog similar to the 2004 game, though with a different result since Reggie Bush is long gone. Jacquizz Rodgers has been out of sight in a bad way and will need a strong game to convince critics he is the real deal. 

Beavers senior defensive tackle Steven Paea was in the running for several awards at the beginning of the season, but the overall play of OSU's defense has overshadowed his abilities significantly. He will need to apply pressure on Barkley all game long if his team has any chance at saving this season.

In a crazy season where Pac-10 teams seem to be defeating each other at random intervals, a Beavers victory over the Trojans isn't out of the question—but it will certainly not be easy. For head coach Mike Riley, much is at stake. He has taken the Beavers to a bowl game in six of the last seven seasons, with a 5-1 record as head coach.

If Oregon State fails to appear in a bowl game, the season may very well be considered a failure as well. 

Oregon State takes on USC this Saturday, Nov. 20 at 5:00 pm PST on ABC.