By Bob Rodman
CORVALLIS - Oregon State is the only Pac-10 Conference team yet to play a league game. In six days, that will change. The Beavers, 2-1 after tossing a shutout at Idaho last weekend, draw a California outfit that seems to have fully recovered from its season-opening washout at Tennessee.
The OSU-California game is set for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Reser Stadium. No live or delayed telecast is scheduled. "Cal is the best team we'll have seen so far this year," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said on Sunday. "They've got athletes all over the field - on special teams, offense and defense - and they can run. "California is a very fast team, and they've got a great running back in Marshawn Lynch, a quarterback (Nate Longshore) who is a very good passer, is comfortable and playing well in their system, and some great receivers."
The Bears (3-1) have averaged more than 44 points per game in winning three straight - including last weekend's 49-21 dismantling of Arizona State - following a 35-18 loss at Tennessee to begin the season. "The running game will be important for us," said Riley, whose OSU team pinned a 23-20 upset on Cal last season at Berkeley but was shelled by the Bears at Reser 49-7 in 2004. Turnovers could be devastating against Cal, which recorded two defensive touchdowns against ASU and added another on a punt return.
"We have to take care of the football," Riley said. "But protection will be the real key for us. They (the Cal defense) really got to (ASU quarterback Rudy) Carpenter (with four interceptions)." That protection took a hit with an apparent knee injury sustained by starting right tackle Josh Linehan, who was hurt near the end of the first quarter of the 38-0 win over Idaho when a pass by OSU quarterback Matt Moore was intercepted.
Linehan, a 6-foot-5, 307-pound senior, was scheduled to undergo an MRI today. "We don't have a lot of ready-to-play depth," Riley said. "It never helps to lose any of those top six guys. I hope we haven't lost him." Linehan's replacement would be Andy Levitre, a 6-3, 324-pound sophomore among the top six on Oregon State's offensive line depth chart.
Two other OSU players - linebackers Derrick Doggett (ankle bruise) and Keaton Kristick (knee bruise) - are expected to practice on Tuesday. Defensive tackle Curtis Coker, suspended for the Idaho game because of a violation of team rules, is expected to play against Cal. The Beavers' defense, which yielded more than 300 rushing yards in a 42-14 loss at Boise State, held Idaho to just 57 yards on the ground. "The rush defense really improved, the tackling was different and the soundness on defense was different," Riley said. "And the punting game, in general, was much better." Freshman punter Kyle Loomis, erratic with a long of 52 yards and a short of 18 against Boise, had four of his punts against Idaho drop inside the Vandal 20-yard line.
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