2008 Woodie Awards
OSU looks to win on the road
Sam Summers and Chandon Ahmed
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Big Red Sports
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As the air becomes more crisp and we finish raking up all the leaves, there is one thing we have to look forward to in this eventful college football season: the 111th playing of the Civil War. In this meeting between the Oregon State Beavers and the University of Oregon Ducks one thing is for sure: anything is possible. The game will be played in Eugene's Autzen Stadium this year which will be a large hill to climb for the visiting Beavers.
In a year of freakish upsets, the OSU Beavers travel to Autzen to take on the Ducks at an opportune time. The Beavers' season has been much like past years under head coach Pat Riley, a slow start followed by a strong finish. On Aug. 30 OSU started its season with a convincing 24-7 win over Utah but the Beavers' season would soon turn for the worst. Losses to Cincinnati, Arizona and UCLA in the first five weeks of the season, OSU's remaining, difficult schedule looked insurmountable as the Beavers would face three top 25 teams.
On Oct. 6 the Beavers began their long climb towards a bowl game by beating Arizona 31-16. In the next several weeks OSU would dominate all the teams they played except during the Nov. 3 second quarter at USC. With a strong finish the Beavers have gone from a 2-3 start to a 7-4 record the week before its biggest game, the Civil War.
Both OSU and UO are missing key players due to injury.
OSU has been without star Wide Receiver Sammie Stroughter for most of the season while Running Back Yvenson Bernard has been limited due to shoulder, knee and ankle problems. Starting Quarterback Sean Canfield has been injured during the final stretch drive of the season and the OSU offensive line has been shuffled around since the beginning of the season.
Despite the injuries, the Beavers have found ways to win games. Back up QB Lyle Moevao has filled in well while Canfield has been out. When Bernard has not played backup RBs James Rogers, Matt Sieverson and Clinton Polk have picked up the slack running behind a patchwork offensive line for 805 yards on 114 carries. That is 7 yards per carry for OSU's backups! With Stroughter out the receiving corps has stepped up as a unit. Anthony Brown, Darrell Catchings, Brandon Powers, Howard Croom, Rogers, and Bernard have all stepped up to shoulder much of the load Stroughter carried last year with 2193 receiving yards.
In a year of freakish upsets, the OSU Beavers travel to Autzen to take on the Ducks at an opportune time. The Beavers' season has been much like past years under head coach Pat Riley, a slow start followed by a strong finish. On Aug. 30 OSU started its season with a convincing 24-7 win over Utah but the Beavers' season would soon turn for the worst. Losses to Cincinnati, Arizona and UCLA in the first five weeks of the season, OSU's remaining, difficult schedule looked insurmountable as the Beavers would face three top 25 teams.
On Oct. 6 the Beavers began their long climb towards a bowl game by beating Arizona 31-16. In the next several weeks OSU would dominate all the teams they played except during the Nov. 3 second quarter at USC. With a strong finish the Beavers have gone from a 2-3 start to a 7-4 record the week before its biggest game, the Civil War.
Both OSU and UO are missing key players due to injury.
OSU has been without star Wide Receiver Sammie Stroughter for most of the season while Running Back Yvenson Bernard has been limited due to shoulder, knee and ankle problems. Starting Quarterback Sean Canfield has been injured during the final stretch drive of the season and the OSU offensive line has been shuffled around since the beginning of the season.
Despite the injuries, the Beavers have found ways to win games. Back up QB Lyle Moevao has filled in well while Canfield has been out. When Bernard has not played backup RBs James Rogers, Matt Sieverson and Clinton Polk have picked up the slack running behind a patchwork offensive line for 805 yards on 114 carries. That is 7 yards per carry for OSU's backups! With Stroughter out the receiving corps has stepped up as a unit. Anthony Brown, Darrell Catchings, Brandon Powers, Howard Croom, Rogers, and Bernard have all stepped up to shoulder much of the load Stroughter carried last year with 2193 receiving yards.
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