First Look: Washington State at Oregon State
Last week: WSU lost at home to Stanford 23-17; Oregon State won at Washington 29-14.
The series: WSU has gotten the better of Oregon State over the years, going 46-39-3 since the teams’ first game in 1903. The Cougars have also done well of late, winning the last two matchups and four of the last six, although the Beavers have home-field advantage this year, which has proved decisive in the last three games. Last year, the Cougars came back to win at home 36-30, their sixth straight win and one that kept them at No. 6 in the nation. WSU had trailed 28-16, but quarterback Matt Kegel overcame five interceptions and two fumbles to throw for 305 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter that keyed the victory. The Cougars had more than twice as many sacks (seven) as they did total rushing yards (three), but that was enough as the Cougars moved to 7-1 on the season.
The Beavers: On the sideline, Oregon State’s Mike Riley is in his second stint as head coach, the first coming from 1997-98 and the current one beginning in 2003. His record in Corvallis is 18-23.
On the field, the burden on offense has shifted with the departure of running back Steven Jackson, a first-round draft pick in April. Quarterback Derek Anderson is in the final year of a prolific college career and leads the Pac-10 with 287.2 passing yards a game. The Beavers have three running backs who get carries, but Dwight Wright leads the way with 428 yards and four touchdowns. Freshman kicker Alexis Serna earned a national reputation of the wrong kind after missing three extra points in an overtime loss to LSU to start the season, but has recovered and last week booted five field goals and two extra points to single-handedly outscore Washington. On defense, junior linebacker Trent Bray, whose father is a former Cougars assistant coach, leads the team and is third in the Pac-10 with 65 tackles. Safety Sabby Piscatelli leads the conference with 10 passes broken up.
“ Reser Stadium is in the middle of a massive renovation, and the east grandstand along the entire sideline is temporary this season.
The stats: Oregon State is tied with Washington at the bottom of the Pac-10 in scoring defense, giving up 28.7 points a game. Much of the damage came at Boise State (55 points) and against California (49 points).
Despite the points allowed, the Beavers lead the league in pass defense efficiency. Opponents have completed87 of 204 passes.
Both teams are barely on the wrong side of turnover margin this season. WSU is minus-1 and Oregon State is minus-2.
Glenn Kasses, staff writer