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Jake Curtis
Oregon State's 5-6 record in 1998 was so admired, coach Mike Riley was made head coach of the San Diego Chargers. Oregon State's 5-6 record in 2005 was so disappointing, Riley's job as Beavers head coach was said to be in jeopardy. Expectations have changed a great deal for the Beavers, who bounced back with a 10-4 record last season but are far from satisfied with the 3-3 record they carry into Saturday's game against No. 2 Cal. The Beavers know they have the tools. With their penchant for upsets and their dominating defense, Oregon State is just a quarterback shy of contending for a Pac-10 championship. A conference title was not within dreaming distance when Riley arrived in 1997, and he called the challenge he faced that year "scary." The Beavers had been so bad for so long that Oregon State coach Dave Kragthorpe was named Pac-10 coach of the year in 1989, when the Beavers went 4-7-1. "We are always reminded about those times," senior defensive end Jeff Van Orsow said.
Lack of depth and the absence of team speed, particularly on defense, were cited as shortcomings the Beavers might never overcome. However, speed was the calling card of the 2000 Beavers, who were coached by Dennis Erickson, shared a Pac-10 title and finished ranked No. 4. And Oregon State's strength this season is speed and depth on defense. The Beavers lead the nation in rushing defense and are second in sacks, with 26. More significant perhaps is that 15 of their sacks have been by non-starters, and Oregon State's leaders in sacks - defensive ends Victor Butler and Slade Norris, with 51/2 apiece - have not started a single game. "We've got a good rotation," Van Orsow said. "I come out on third-and-long because I'm not the best pass rushers and those other guys are fresh." Van Orsow is a good enough pass-rusher to have eight career sacks, and he is representative of Oregon State's linemen these days. He and starting defensive tackle Curtis Coker and backup defensive end Jeff Krukamp were recruited by Erickson, who emphasized speed above all else when evaluating players.
Another Erickson recruit is all-conference running back Yvenson Bernard, the latest in a succession of standout Beavers backs following Ken Simonton, who is second to USC's Charles White in Pac-10 career rushing yardage, and Steven Jackson, now with the St. Louis Rams. Bernard is averaging more than 100 yards a game again this season and had the best day of his career two years ago against Cal, when he rushed for 194 yards in a 23-20 upset of the then No. 18 Bears in Berkeley. Two years before that, in 2003, the Beavers upset Cal in Berkeley one week after the Bears had handed eventual co-national champ USC its only loss of the season. In 2004, Oregon State had defending national champion and No. 3-ranked LSU all but beaten in Baton Rouge, but three missed extra points, including one in overtime, sent the Beavers to a 22-21 defeat. Last year, Oregon State, then 4-3, finished off a major upset, ending USC's 38-game regular-season winning streak when Van Orsow knocked down John David Booty's two-point conversion pass for a 33-31 victory over the No. 3 Trojans.
Riley and Van Orsow use words like "confidence" and "opportunity" to explain Oregon State's upset binge, and to get another one Saturday, the Beavers will need a solid game from sophomore quarterback Sean Canfield. Though he does most everything right-handed, including writing and throwing a baseball, Canfield throws a football left-handed. He has thrown 13 interceptions, the most by any quarterback in the country, and the Beavers' 23 turnovers are also the most in Division I-A (now called the Bowl Subdivision) and the chief reason the Beavers have lost three games. "He's better, improving, but still inconsistent," Riley said. Canfield's two interceptions last week against Arizona did not come until after the Beavers had built a 31-3 lead in a game that ended 31-16. And there is little doubt he will be the key variable Saturday.
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