Cougars finally get Beavers in Pullman

PULLMAN – The last time Oregon State visited Martin Stadium, Washington State was ranked sixth in the nation, headed for a 10-3 season and a Holiday Bowl victory.

That was in 2003, and the Cougars came away with a hard-fought 36-30 win over the Beavers to run their record to 7-1.

Since then, WSU has played in Corvallis three consecutive years, finally winning 13-6 last season when it held OSU to two Alex Serna field goals. That game was a battle in the trenches, with Oregon State’s defense limiting WSU to 85 yards on the ground and the Cougars doing even better, sacking Matt Moore six times and holding the Beavers to 64 rushing yards.

Expect more of the same Saturday.

“Oregon State is really a very physical football team,” WSU head coach Bill Doba said Monday on his weekly conference call. “You saw that Saturday night; that was a very physical game.”

The Beavers are coming off a raucous win over Washington, a game in which Huskies quarterback Jake Locker suffered a neck injury on a violent hit by OSU’s Al Afalava. From there, the game got chippy, with three Beavers and one Husky ejected.

The Pac-10 ruled Monday there would be no additional penalties on the OSU players – cornerback Brandon Hughes and safeties Daniel Drayton and James Dockery – but all have to sit out the first half this week under NCAA rules.

“I saw (the hit on Locker) on TV,” Doba said. “I thought it was a good hit. What happened is his head got knocked sideways, which is what causes those stingers and pulled the muscle. I didn’t see (Afalava) torpedoe, put his arms inside or try to spear him intentionally. (But) I didn’t really study it.”

The Beavers also present a challenge for the recently stifling Cougars defense, with workhorse running back Yvenson Bernard (963 yards, third in the Pac-10, and 10 touchdowns on 220 carries) attacking the middle with regularity.

“The Bernard kid is a really, really solid back,” Doba said. “They run up the middle, then bounce it outside. And then they have reverse plays.”

The Beavers have to run because their passing game has been inconsistent, with sophomore quarterback Sean Canfield throwing 14 interceptions before being injured two weeks ago against USC. His replacement, Lyle Moevao, also a sophomore, hasn’t been much better, throwing a pick against the Huskies and finishing with just 109 yards on 10 completions. Who will start Saturday is still undetermined.

“Canfield is their starter and is probably the more accurate passer,” Doba said. “Moevao is a little stronger kid, probably can run the ball a little bit better. … Both of them are good and I don’t think they would change their offense for one or the other.”

But it may not matter. It’s the Beavers defense that has lifted OSU to bowl eligibility. It leads the nation against the rush (yielding 62.1 yards a game and 1.9 yards per attempt). The pass defense isn’t as stingy, yielding 13 yards per completion.

Notes

Senior free safety Husain Abdullah, who had 14 tackles, including 1.5 for losses, an interception and two pass break-ups in Saturday’s win over Stanford, is the Pac-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week. … The Cougars didn’t practice Sunday, giving the players a day of rest. Due to the Veterans’ Day holiday, there were no classes Monday, their usual day off, so WSU practiced in the middle of the day.

“ Saturday will be the seniors’ last home game, and Doba got a little emotional talking about it. “It’s going to be a sad day in a way,” he said. “Saying goodbye to (Michael) Bumpus and (Alex) Brink and (Bobby) Byrd and some of the guys. … I think it is huge for them to leave Martin Stadium with a win and have the Apple Cup mean something. It would be an opportunity to get to a bowl game.” … Doba made another plea Monday for the students to stick around for the game and not head home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Reminded most games against Washington are played the same weekend, Doba answered, “That’s the Apple Cup. You could play it at 6 a.m. on a Friday and the students would show up.” … Speaking of the Apple Cup, it was learned Monday that the Nov. 24 game in Seattle will start at 4 p.m. and be televised by FSN.

“The coach said he hopes the NCAA revamps timing rules for the third-consecutive season next year. The Cougars had 93 defensive plays last week compared to an NFL average of about 60 plays per team each game. Doba hopes the NCAA will follow through with the idea of adopting NFL timing rules (a 40-second clock that starts as soon as the last play is whistled dead) instead of the current one (a 25-second clock started by the referee when the ball is ready for play).