Oregon State Football

Oregon State's world was turned upside down in Pasadena last weekend, as a slum match between the Beavers and Bruins turned off poll voters while providing a massive uncertainty wedge to the Beavs' bowl hopes.

As a match-up with the dismal Washington State Cougars approaches, it is clear OSU must win, and win big, to stay relevant in bowl discussions. The Beavers should be able to look past WSU to USC, but with losses to unranked schools like Washington and UCLA, nothing is a sure-thing.

Each game seems like a must-win for Oregon State, as they remain two games away from bowl eligibility. In the next four games they will face WSU, as mentioned before, followed by USC, Stanford and Oregon.

Undoubtedly, 2010 has been a rough schedule and the Beavers will have faced five Top 10 teams (Arizona was no. 9 when the Beavs' topped them in Tucson). Relatively close losses to TCU and Boise State had the Beaver-faithful thinking their program was ready to compete for a possible Rose Bowl berth. 

However, a double-overtime trip-up against Washington, and a pitiful low-scoring loss to the Bruins are set backs the program just can't afford. The Beavers will now be attempting to salvage the season; and suddenly a victory over Washington State is vital.

For sophomore QB Ryan Katz, Washington State represents a chance to balance out. Katz has shown flashes of Heisman-caliber athleticism and precision, but has also shown his inexperience in key moments.

A preseason Heisman candidate, Jacquizz Rodgers has been looking for that break-out game, which thus far has been illusive. Washington State ranks near last in most defensive categories, so the QB and RB should have big numbers.

Strangely, the Beavers have something else working for them too: unranked opponents are fairing much better against the Cougars than teams ranked near the top. While Arizona and Stanford escaped by a combined 27 points, teams like Arizona State and USC blew them out by an average of 38 points each.

Finally, for the Beavers, the next two games figure to be their best chances at victories. Washington State is in the midst of one of the most unsuccessful eras in the program's history, while USC has lost its edge. Add in the upsets of the Trojans at the hands of OSU in recent years, and it appears the Beavers still have a small chance at a decent bowl.

No predictions for this week, as past predictions have proved to be a bad luck charm. Oregon State needs a blowout, but nothing is for granted this Saturday.

Catch the Beavers in action from Reser Stadium on local broadcast only, Saturday at 1 pm PST.

For the first time all season, Oregon State put away any doubt early against an opponent.

At no point in Saturday's game did the Cal Golden Bears appear to be gaining momentum, and an early knee injury suffered by QB Kevin Riley added salt to the turf-stung wound of Cal's offense. Don't worry, Cal fans, you get a consolation prize—Washington State is up next.

More importantly for Oregon State, a blowout win is just what the doctor ordered. After a debilitating loss in double-overtime to the Washington Huskies, the Beavers reasserted the hopes of the Black and Orange faithful by putting the game away in the first half.

Quarterback Ryan Katz was affective, although not dominating. He threw for 191 yards while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes. Jacquizz Rodgers also had a solid game, rushing for 119 yards and three touchdowns while throwing for another.

Perhaps the most important part of the game was the Oregon State defense. For the first time this season, the defense seemed to control the pace of the game, continually shutting down Cal's offense, with the Golden Bears struggling to make do.

The Beavers held Cal to just 206 yards and gained a much-needed confidence booster. Momentum will be on Oregon State's side as they enter the Rose Bowl and face UCLA, another Pac-10 opponent the Beavs have had recent success against.

The Bruins are in the midst of a unpredictable season. While they dominated then-No. 7 Texas, the Bruins were utterly dismantled by an Oregon Ducks team poised for a national title run and an Arizona Wildcats squad looking for a Rose Bowl berth.

The Beavers are on the edge of the Pac-10 race. Just a game separates them from three teams ranked in the AP Top 15 (No. 2 Oregon, No. 10 Stanford and No. 13 Arizona) while UCLA is all but out of the conference picture at just 1-4 in Pac-10 play.

For two teams going in opposite directions, Saturday represents a stepping stone towards conference relevance for Oregon State, and a chance to steal a game closer to a small bowl for UCLA.

The Bruins may provide another chance for Oregon State's defense to lower their season averages, just in time to go up against Washington State, a program in the middle of darker years. The Beaver D will see pros and cons over the next couple weeks: Beating up on UCLA and WSU will be a much needed boost, but it may not prepare them for the USC Trojans, and certainly both "warm-ups" should not be overlooked.

The key to the game for the Beavers on Saturday will be focusing on offensive play-calling and defensive schemes. The toughest conference games of the year are still ahead for the Beavers, as USC, Stanford and Oregon remain on the schedule.

Look for the Beavers to take a less drastic approach than blue turf to prepare for the Bruins, and look for them to use the Bruins to prepare for the Trojans.

The roles were reversed for Oregon State on Saturday, as the defense finally slowed down a high-powered offense and gave their own attack a chance at putting the game out of reach.

Sophomore QB Ryan Katz finally showed signs of his inexperience as he threw three interceptions in costly situations to open the door for Washington QB Jake Locker to put the game on ice in overtime. The Huskies picked up the sensational 35-34 win on an Oregon State failed two-point conversion.

The Beavers defense just couldn't stop the Huskies in the short game in overtime, and Locker, together with RB Chris Polk officially made their statement for a bowl berth.

With Oregon State no longer ranked, and no longer undefeated in the Pac-10, there is no competition for the University of Oregon. The Ducks are now the main representative on the major national scene, with Stanford and Arizona standing a slight chance of making things interesting.

Oregon now has the task of representing the conference, and an undefeated season will be the only way the conference can further its legacy.

Both the Beavers and the Huskies are now 3-3, and will not get enough attention to be ranked squads for quite some time.

For Oregon State, a loss to an unranked Pac-10 foe was not affordable. They still have Stanford, USC and Oregon on their schedule. While the defense was able to make progress against Jake Locker and a powerful passing attack, the above-mentioned schools bring even heavier attacks. 

With the Beavers loss, a trend in the conference continues. The Pac-10 has become known as the conference of self-destruction, as one non-ranked team knocks off a ranked one, time and time again.

In order to impress poll voters and destroy East Coast bias, the the Pac-10 needs two or three clear cut winners with the rest of the pack still sustaining a respectable talent level. With each school finishing near .500 and staying in the shadows of the AP Top 25, the conference suffers.

The future success of the Pac-12 is set up by the current situation of the Pac-10, so success is vital as the conference transitions to the next chapter.

All the best to the Huskies and the Beavers, the conference needs you...