Go Beavs: An Oregon State Dynasty

[Emac78]

[b][size=+1]Week 11 Games of the Week[/size][/b]

#8 Oklahoma 14
Texas A&M 17

#24 Notre Dame 14
#4 Boston College 24

#6 Cincinnati 0
#9 West Virginia 37

#23 Louisville 38
#19 Pittsburgh 35

#13 Arizona State 21
Washington 25

[b]#7 Clemson 27 (OT)
#5 Florida State 24[/b]

[b][size=+1]BCS Rankings[/size][/b]

1 Ohio State 10-0
2 Florida 9-0
3 Auburn 10-0
4 Boston College 9-0
5 Clemson 8-1
6 West Virginia 8-1
7 Texas 9-1
8 Wisconsin 9-1
9 Florida State 8-1
10 USC 7-2

[b][size=+1]Heisman Race[/size][/b]

HB Brandon Saine (Ohio State)
HB Aaron Brown (TCU)
HB Marlon Lucky (Nebraska)
QB Allan Evridge (Wisconsin)
QB Chase Daniel (Missouri)

[Emac78]

Recruiting News

ATH Marquis Hampton 5* #2 ATH, #16 OVR
Huntington Park, CA
Committed: UCLA

It was a tough week for Oregon State on the recruiting trail. Five star athlete Marquis Hampton from Huntington Park, California committed with UCLA in what was a little bit of a surprise. Hampton really looked like he might end up in Corvallis and the Beavers had him at the top of their recruiting board.

C Anthony Hamilton 4* #2 C, #85 OVR
Sparks, NV
Committed: Oregon

The Beavers also lost four star center Anthony Hamilton from Sparks, Nevada to their in state rival, Oregon. Hamilton was highly recruited from every Pac-10 team and this is a big pick up for the Ducks.

CB Phillip Mansfield 4* #7 CB, #60 OVR
Ponchatoula, LA
Committed: Arkansas

Mike Riley had hoped to have Mansfield as an eventual replacement for Hughes or Lewis but Manfield decided Arkansas was a better fit for himself.

DT Mark Woods 4* #7 DT, #119 OVR
Highland, CA
Committed: Colorado

This was not too surprising as Woods was never that high on OSU. However the Beavers tried without success to recruit this talented DT.

[Emac78]

Cal (4-5) at Oregon State (5-4)

Corvallis, OR - It started off slow. Neither team had anything going offensively early on. Cal QB Nate Longshore would make the first mistake of the game throwing an interception to OSU CB Brandon Hughes. Not long after the turnover, OSU QB Sean Canfield threw a strike over the middle to WR Sammie Stroughter who then did a spin move and took it to the house for a 43 yard TD to give the Beavers a 7-0 lead. Not only did the touchdown put Stroughter back on track but it was first offensive score for the Beavers in eight quarters.

Longshore did not learn from his earlier mistake as he threw another interception. This one was picked off by OLB Dennis Christopher. Fortunately for Cal, the Beavers failed to move the ball in the red zone as the ground game was non-existent leading to a field goal to put OSU ahead 10-0.

On the next possession for the Beavers, Canfield threw to Stroughter in a short curl pattern but the playmaker shrugged off a weak tackling attempt by CB#5 and took it in for his second touchdown reception. Now Oregon State was up big 17-0.

WR Sammie Stoughter shrugs off the tackle and takes it to the house for his second TD of the first quarter.

The Beavers were dominating Cal when Oregon State got its first bad break of the game. TE Gabe Miller went down with a strained pectoral and is expected to miss three weeks. Miller has been a big part of the offense keeping many drive alive with receptions over the middle. Still, Cal seemed dead in the water until a simple handoff to Cal HB#21. OSU OLB Isaiah Cook had an opportunity to make the tackle in the backfield but HB#21 slipped out of the tackle. Then CB Brandon Hughes was unable to bring him down and HB#21 took it 59 yards to the house to put Cal on the scoreboard but still down 17-7.

Cal HB#21 slips through a tackle en route to a 59 yard TD run.

Just when it looked like Cal would get back in the game Longshore threw an unexplainable pass over the middle that was picked off by MLB Bryant Cornell who made a move and took it all the way back for a pick-six and OSU would take a 24-7 lead into halftime.

The third quarter was fairly uneventful. The Beavers were struck with another injury as their playmaker WR Sammie Stroughter left the game after a kick return and was out the remainder of the game. It was clear Mike Riley wanted to get a run game going but it was not happening as the Cal defense stuffed one run after another. "I thought I was running into a brick wall today. There just wasn't anywhere for me to go," said OSU HB Patrick Fuller after the game. Oregon State would tack on another field goal to make it 27-7 going into the fouth quarter.

Longshore and HB#21 finally put a legitimite drive together and finished it off with a five yard toss to HB#21 to put Cal within reach down 27-14. All OSU would have to do is finish off the clock but they had no running game and their two best receivers were hurt. This led to disaster when the Beavers were backed up inside their own 5 yard line. Canfield was forced to try and pass but could not find anybody open and was sacked for a safety. "I should have done anything but what I did. That was a terrible decision on my part. I know better than that. Hopefully I can learn from that mistake," Canfield would say after the game. But the safety would give Cal a chance as they were now only down 27-16.

Unfortunately for Cal, QB Nate Longshore made a bad mistake himself as he threw a terrible pass which was again picked off by CB Brandon Hughes who saw nothing but green in front of him and housed it to put this game away. Canfield would hook up with Fuller out of the backfield for a TD near the end of the game and a last minute FG for a final score of 44-16 OSU.

CB Brandon Hughes ends any chance for Cal to come back with this pick-six.

Cal 16

QB Longshore: 14-27, 131 yds, 4 int
HB#21: 22 car, 121 yds, 2 td, 4 rec, 44 yds
DT Kane: 5 tkl, 2 tfl, 2 sk, sfty

Oregon State 44

QB Canfield: 14-21, 209 yds, 3 td
HB Fuller: 28 car, 63 yds, 5 rec, 46 yds, rectd
WR Stroughter: 2 rec, 87 yds, 2 td
CB Hughes: 3 tkl, 2 int, 2 defl, td

[Emac78]

[b][size=+1]Week 12 Games of the Week[/size][/b]

#13 Virginia Tech 35
Miami 38

#11 Cincinnati 35
#21 Louisville 41

Missouri 41
#17 Iowa State 30

#10 South Carolina 16
#2 Florida 49

[b]#4 Boston College 6
#7 Florida State 20[/b]

[b][size=+1]BCS Rankings[/size][/b]

1 Ohio State 11-0
2 Florida 10-0
3 Auburn 11-0
4 Florida State 9-1
5 Clemson 9-1
6 West Virginia 8-1
7 Texas 10-1
8 Boston College 9-1
9 Wisconsin 10-1
10 USC 8-2

[b][size=+1]Heisman Race[/size][/b]

HB Brandon Saine (Ohio State)
QB Chase Daniel (Missouri)
HB Marlon Lucky (Nebraska)
HB Aaron Brown (TCU)
QB Allan Evridge (Wisconsin)

[Emac78]

Oregon State (6-4) at Arizona (6-4)

Tucson, AZ - The Beavers got a nice change in setting by going to sunny Tucson to play the Wildcats of Arizona. Both the Beavers and the Wildcats have become bowl eligible. Maybe that might be enough for Arizona head coach Mike Stoops to keep his job as he has not lived up to expectations.

This one proved to be a very ugly, defensive game. The first team to get a big play was the home team as the Wildcats got a big punt return which set them up inside the five yard line where QB Willie Tuitama dumped a short pass to his FB to give Arizona the lead 7-0.

Arizona QB Willie Tuitama finds his FB for an early touchdown.

The Beavers would look to respond and it seemed like OSU QB Sean Canfield was getting into a rhythm before he tried to throw a ball all the way across the field to WR Sammie Stroughter on an out pattern. The ball was easily picked off by standout CB Devin Ross. On the other side, Arizona seemed to have something going with their mobile QB Tuitama but they for some reason went away from that and failed to get anything going offensively.

Finally the Beavers got a big play on special teams by who else but Sammie Stroughter who set them up inside the red zone on a nice punt return. However it was all for nothing since Canfield was pressured and fumbled the ball when he was sacked which the Wildcat defense quickly recovered. It appeared Arizona would take a 7-0 lead into halftime but Mike Stoops decided on one last play before the half. They lined up for a hail mary. Tuitama dropped back to pass and instead of throwing the ball downfield, he threw it short to a covered receiver. OSU nickelback Tim Clark easily made the interception and took it in for a pick-six to tie the game 7-7 in what was a monumental mistake. Stoops went to Tuitama on the sideline and grabbed him by the facemask screaming at his quarterback. When asked to do the halftime interview from the sideline reporter, Stoops brushed her aside wanting to have nothing to do with her.

The second half was largely as uneventful as the first half. OSU was able to tack on a short field goal as they were shut down inside the red zone to make it 10-7 OSU. Finally, Canfield saw that WR Chris Johnson was left in single coverage and threw deep downfield to a well covered Johnson. The ball was deflected by the Wildcat CB but Johnson alertly was able to make the catch off the tip and take it across the goal line for a touchdown to put OSU ahead 17-7.

OSU WR Chris Johnson catches the ball off the deflection for a touchdown.

A ten point lead proved to be insurmountable the way Arizona was playing offensively and Oregon State would win an ugly game on the road over the Wildcats 17-7. Next game for Oregon State will be the Civil War against Oregon at Corvallis. The game will probably have a lot on the line as far as the bowl picture is concerned in the Pac-10 and is going to be a big recruiting day for Oregon State.

Oregon State 17

QB Canfield: 20-27, 226 yds, td, 2int
HB Francis: 24 car, 50 yds
WR Stroughter: 7 rec, 68 yds
WR Johnson: 3 rec, 54 yds, td

Arizona 7

QB Tuitama: 20-34, 156 yds, td, int
HB Grigsby: 9 car, 40 yds
CB Ross: 5 tkl, tfl, sk, int, 3 defl, ff

[Emac78]

[b][size=+1]Week 13 Games of the Week[/size][/b]

#21 Pittsburgh 35
#15 Cincinnati 16

#6 West Virginia 31
#17 Louisville 26

#25 BYU 41
Utah 44 (OT)

[b]#14 Texas Tech 42
#12 Oklahoma 50[/b]

[b][size=+1]BCS Rankings[/size][/b]

1 Ohio State 12-0
2 Florida 11-0
3 Auburn 11-0
4 Florida State 10-1
5 Clemson 10-1
6 West Virginia 9-1
7 Texas 10-1
8 Boston College 10-1
9 Wisconsin 11-1
10 USC 8-2

[b][size=+1]Heisman Race[/size][/b]

HB Brandon Saine (Ohio State)
HB Aaron Brown (TCU)
QB Allan Evridge (Wisconsin)
QB Todd Boeckman (Ohio State)
QB Chase Daniel (Missouri)

[Emac78]

[b][size=+1]Recruiting News[/size][/b]

[b]Commitments[/b]

G [b]Corey Matthews[/b] 4* #13 G
Santa Monica, CA
Committed: Oregon

CB [b]Drew Ivey[/b] 4* #12 CB
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Committed: UCLA

MLB [b]Michael Hall[/b] 4* #10 MLB
Central Point, OR
Committed: USC

HB [b]Johnny Mullins[/b] 4* #20 HB
East Hill-Meridan, WA
Committed: Washington State

[b]Visiting Oregon State[/b]
The Civil War is a huge recruiting day for Oregon State. 
These are a few that people should keep an eye on.

HB [b]Marvin Quinn[/b] 5* #6 HB, #38 OVR
Brea, CA
Top Schools: Oregon State, USC, Notre Dame, Oregon

FS [b]Matt Arnold[/b] 4* #12 FS
Greenacres City, FL
Top Schools: Oregon State, South Carolina, Florida State

FS [b]Chris Stewart[/b] 4* #8 FS
Irvine, CA
Top Schools: Arizona State, Oregon State, Oregon

WR [b]Alex Whitehead[/b] 4* #39 WR
Four Corners, OR
Top Schools: Oregon State, UCLA, Oregon

WR [b]Brian Herring[/b] 4* #33 WR
Manteca, CA
Top Schools: Oregon State, Oregon, Cal

WR [b]Marcus Sullivan[/b] 4* #20 WR
Sacramento, CA
Top Schools: Cal, UCLA, Oregon State

ATH [b]Amir White[/b] 4* #11 ATH
San Gabriel, CA
Top Schools: Oregon State, West Virginia, UCLA

OLB [b]Jason Griffin[/b] 4* #12 OLB
Brea, CA
Top Schools: Washington, BYU, Oregon State

[Emac78]

Civil War
Oregon (7-4) at Oregon State (7-4)

Corvallis, OR - The bitter in state rivalry known as the Civil War. The Beavers have won the last two in a row against the Ducks. Could they make it a three-peat over Oregon? The Beavers would have the advantage of homefield which has played a huge role in this rivalry. However, Oregon State has broken the trend as they were able to beat the Ducks in Autzen last year. Neither team has really had a very stellar season but there was still bragging rights and the bowl picture to consider. With a win Oregon State could make it into the Holiday Bowl with some help but the bowl picture was really complicated and unpredictable.

It was a beauitful, clear evening at Reser. The crowd was loud early as Oregon was stopped to a three and out on their first possession but things calmed down when Oregon State was also forced to punt. The stadium was really silenced when Duck QB Cody Kempt threw to WR#6 in a short curl route. OSU SS Bryan Payton and FS Al Afalava were both unable to bring down WR#6 and the fast receiver took it 75 yards to the house as Oregon struck first to go up 7-0.

Oregon WR#6 breaks two tackles on his way for a 75 yard touchdown reception.

OSU countered with an impressive, methodical drive that stalled in the red zone leading to a field goal to make it 7-3. As the second quarter got underway Kempt threw an unwise pass in the area of CB Brandon Hughes who made the pick. OSU QB Sean Canfield was not going to let the turnover go to waste as he threw to an open WR Sammie Stroughter who caught the ball on a slant and sped downfield until he was tackled inside the red zone. The next play saw a handoff to HB Jeremy Francis on a counter where he actually found a hole and made it all the way to the goal line where he was tackled just short of the endzone. Francis did not fail to get in on his second attempt as he fought his way into the endzone to put OSU on top 10-7.

OSU HB Jeremy Francis fights his way in for a touchdown.

The Ducks were not phased in the least as Oregon offensive coordinator Chip Kelly caught the Beavers in a blitz on screen play. Kempt got the ball out, getting it just over the line where HB LeGarrette Blount made the catch in traffic. OSU SS Bryan Payton tried to make the tackle but Blount spun out of it and made his way for the sideline where there was a whole lot of green and the big running back took it all the way in for a 57 yard touchdown reception to give Oregon the lead again 14-10.

Oregon State seemed to be feeling the pressure on their next drive as Canfield was sacked and OSU was called for a holding penalty that prevented a first down. Suddenly OSU was punting from their own endzone

Oregon now found themselves inside the red zone on the verge of taking a larger lead. Unfortunately for the Ducks, Kempt tried to challenge CB Brandon Hughes again which proved to be a bad decision as Hughes tied the school record with the interception and took it all the way back for a pick-six. Just like that Oregon State regained the lead 17-14.

Kempt would maintain his composure as he would look for WR#6 on another short curl route. WR#6 spun out of a CB Brandon Hughes tackling attempt. SS Afalava was also unable to bring down the receiver and he was gone for his second touchdown. This one was for a 71 yard reception that put Oregon back on top 21-17.

The Beavers needed to respond and that is just what they did as Canfield hooked up with WR Chris Johnson who caught the ball on a corner route setting up OSU at the Oregon nine yard line. Red zone offense has been a strugge for the Beavers this season but this time Canfield capitalized on the opportunity throwing a laser over the middle to WR Kyle Brown who caught the ball in the endzone over the middle of the field to put OSU ahead 24-21. Oregon would march right down the field and finish the half with a last second field goal to make it all tied up 24-24 at halftime.

OSU QB Sean Canfield throws a laser over the middle to WR Kyle Brown for a red zone touchdown.

As the second half got underway, OSU was given a scare when Canfield went down holding his ribs. He left the game and QB Lyle Moevao came in and ran an option run for a gain of two yards. Canfield was only out for one play as he came rushing back on to the field as the crowd cheered him on. Canfield has come a long way this season. The Beavers would be able to score a field goal to take the lead 27-24.

The Ducks also attempted an option but were far more successful as Kempt pitched the ball just as he was going down. HB LeGarrette took the pitch, made a move on CB Keenan Lewis and was gone for a 48 yard touchdown to put Oregon back on top 31-27.

OSU would respond with an unimpressive three and out. Oregon would close out the third quarter with a 51 yard field goal attempt that hit the upright.

The Ducks got a huge play early in fourth quarter as Kempt decided to test CB Brandon Hughes again. This time WR#6 got the best of the standout cornerback as the Hughes was beat by the speedster receiver where Kempt threw the ball perfectly as WR#6 caught the ball in stride and took in for a 32 yard touchdown reception. The touchdown was WR#6's third touchdown of the game and put Oregon up 38-27.

Duck WR#6 with his third touchdown reception of the game.

OSU did not respod well to the big play as they were forced to punt after a three and out. However Oregon was also stopped to a three and out. The Beavers would finally strike as Canfield threw deep to WR Sammie Stroughter who was in single coverage. Stroughter jumped up and made the catch. Then he was tackled low and upended out of bounds. The referee called it a catch for a 50 yard gain. The next play would see Canfield hook up with Stroughter again. This time on a short curl patter where Stroughter broke a tackle and took in for a touchdown. The Beavers were forced to go for two to make it a three point game. Canfield stepped back to pass and threw a strike to Stroughter who caught the ball over the middle of the field in the endzone to make it 38-35 Oregon.

Time was running out for an OSU comeback as there was only 4:02 left on the clock. The Ducks seemed to be stopped as it was 3rd & 12 but QB Cody Kempt on an option run was able to break containment and get the first down. The play was a big setback for the Beavers and the crowd was silenced. The next play saw WR#6 in the endzone for his fourth touchdown but there was a flag down. Holding on the Ducks. The Ducks tried another option play and Kempt unwisely decided to pitch the ball in traffic which led to a fumble. The Beavers recovered and were back in business.

The Beavers only needed a field goal and had plenty of time. Canfield hooked up with a big pass deep over the middle of the field to WR Chris Johnson which set up Oregon State at the Oregon 38 yard line. The next play saw Canfield hooking up with TE Howard Croom for a first down with only :52 on the clock. Canfield called a timeout. OSU was at the Oregon 28 yard line and in field goal position.

Instead of conservatively running out the clock and tieing the game with a field goal, Mike Riley decided to try for the win. Canfield dropped back to pass and could not find anybody open. He threw over the middle to WR Sammie Stroughter who was sort of open. The ball was alittle off target. Stroughter appeared he would make the catch any way but Duck OLB Jerome Boyd snatched it away from Stroughter's hands for a huge interception. The turnover basically put an end to this exciting rivalry game. The crowd was absolutely stunned and silenced. Canfield could only stare blankly as he knew he had made a major blunder. The Ducks killed the clock and celebrated a huge victory over the Beavers 38-35

OLB Jerome Boyd comes up with the interception as he fights for the ball with OSU WR Sammie Stroughter.

Oregon 38

QB Kempt: 17-23, 354 yds, 4 td, 2 int, fl
HB Blount: 5 car, 55 yds, td, rectd
WR#6: 4 rec, 184 yds, 3 td
FS#44: 15 tkl, tfl, sk

Oregon State 35

QB Canfield: 27-38, 376 yds, 2 td, int
HB Francis: 18 car, 35 yds, td
WR Johnson: 9 rec, 149 yds
WR Stroughter: 7 rec, 118 yds, td
CB Hughes: 4 tkl, 2 int, defl, td

[Emac78]

[b][size=+1]Week 14 Games of the Week[/size][/b]

Texas A&M 27
#7 Texas 13

#6 West Virginia 20
#16 Pittsburgh 23

#11 UCLA 13
#18 Arizona State 24

#3 Auburn 35
#15 Alabama 23

#13 South Carolina 14
#5 Clemson 38

Notre Dame 20
#10 USC 17

[b]#2 Florida 34
#4 Florida State 27[/b]

[b][size=+1]BCS Rankings[/size][/b]

1 Ohio State 12-0
2 Florida 12-0
3 Auburn 12-0
4 Clemson 11-1
5 Boston College 11-1
6 Wisconsin 11-1
7 Florida State 10-2
8 Oklahoma 10-2
9 West Virginia 9-2
10 Pittsburgh 9-2

[b][size=+1]Heisman Race[/size][/b]

HB Brandon Saine (Ohio State)
HB Aaron Brown (TCU)
QB Allan Evridge (Wisconsin)
HB Marlon Lucky (Nebraska)
QB Todd Boeckman (Ohio State)

[Emac78]

Recruiting News

HB Marivn Quinn 5* #6 HB, #38 OVR
Brea, CA
Committed: Oregon State

Five star HB Marvin Quinn out of Brea, California has committed with Oregon State. This is a huge pick up for the Beavers. Quinn should greatly improve an anemic running game for the Beavers. When asked why he decided on the Beavers, Quinn responded, "I really liked Mike Riley and am looking forward to learning what I need to do to help this team get to the next level and I was really impressed with the facilities." Quinn was interested in OSU from the beginning but was recruited hard by USC, Oregon, and Notre Dame but in the end he chose Oregon State.

[Emac78]

[b][size=+1]Week 15 Games of the Week[/size][/b]

USF 20
#9 West Virginia 17

[b]#17 USC 34
#15 UCLA 14[/b]

#24 Cincinnati 20
Hawai'i 23

[b][size=+1]BCS Rankings[/size][/b]

1 Ohio State 12-0
2 Florida 12-0
3 Auburn 12-0
4 Clemson 11-1
5 Boston College 11-1
6 Wisconsin 11-1
7 Florida State 10-2
8 Oklahoma 10-2
9 Pittsburgh 10-2
10 Penn State 10-2

[b][size=+1]Heisman Race[/size][/b]

HB Brandon Saine (Ohio State)
HB George Stripling (Louisville)
HB Aaron Brown (TCU)
QB Chase Daniel (Missouri)
QB Allan Evridge (Wisconsin)

[Emac78]

[b][size=+1]Championship Weekend[/size][/b]

[b]ACC[/b]
Virginia (8-4) 27
#6 Boston College (11-1) 30

[b]SEC[/b]
#3 Auburn (12-0) 6
#2 Florida (12-0) 49

[b]Conference USA[/b]
Tulane (7-5) 28
Southern Miss (8-4) 35

[b]Big 12[/b]
#13 Nebraska (10-2) 21
#8 Oklahoma (10-2) 45

[b]MAC[/b]
Buffalo (8-4) 49
Ball State (9-3) 48

[b][size=+1]BCS Rankings[/size][/b]

1 Ohio State 12-0
2 Florida 13-0
3 Clemson 11-1
4 Boston College 12-1
5 Wisconsin 11-1
6 Florida State 10-2
7 Oklahoma 11-2
8 Auburn 12-1
9 Pittsburgh 10-2
10 Penn State 10-2

[b][size=+1]Final Pac-10 Standings[/size][/b]

1 #12 USC: 9-3, 8-1
2 #13 Arizona State: 10-2, 7-2
3 #21 UCLA: 9-3, 6-3
4 [b]Oregon State[/b]: 7-5, 6-3
5 Oregon: 8-4, 5-4
6 Washingon: 6-6, 5-4
7 Arizona: 6-6, 3-6
8 Washington State: 4-8, 2-7
9 Cal: 4-8, 2-7
10 Stanford: 2-10, 1-8

[Emac78]

Heisman Trophy Presentation

And the Heisman Trophy goes to...

HB Brandon Saine (Ohio State) (1988 votes)
269 car, 1743 yds, 20 td, 35 rec, 511 yds, 6 td

2 HB Marlon Lucky (Nebraska) (979 votes)
189 car, 1280 yds, 13 td, 31 rec, 659 yds, 8 td

3 HB George Stripling (Louisville) (626 votes)
232 car, 1428 yds, 22 td, 38 rec, 619 yds, 5 td

4 HB Aaron Brown (TCU) (512 votes)
289 car, 1756 yds, 26 td, 35 rec, 642 yds, 3 td

5 QB Chase Daniel (Missouri) (350 votes)
293-446, 3803 yds, 31 td, 7 int, 105 car, 563 yds, 9 td

[Emac78]

Oregon State to play in the Las Vegas Bowl

The Oregon State Beavers will play in the Las Vegas Bowl versus the Utah Utes. After the overtime victory over BYU, Utah finished as the Mountain West champions. In contrast, Oregon State lost a heartbreaker to their rival, the Oregon Ducks in the Civil War. This will actually be a rematch as the Beavers defeated Utah in week six 30-16. One gets the impression that many of the players for OSU are more excited about going to Las Vegas than playing in the bowl game.

[Emac78]

Las Vegas Bowl
Oregon State (7-5) vs Utah (9-3)

Las Vegas, NV - After a heartbreaking loss to the Oregon Ducks, OSU looked to take out some of that frustration against the Mountain West champions, the Utah Utes. It really had to be considered a victory for Oregon State just making a bowl appearance with the schedule they had and the experience that was lost last season. It appeared this would be a victory for OSU since this was a rematch and the Beavers had already won that game 30-16. Utah came into this game riding high off their overtime victory over BYU.

It looked good early for the Beavers as CB Brandon Huges got his 10th interception of the season which he took back for a pick-six to give OSU an early 7-0 lead. With the interception, Hughes now holds the school record for number of interceptions in one season for Oregon State.

OSU CB Brandon Hughes sets a new school record with this pick-six.

Utah QB Brian Johnson would counter right back though with a playaction where OSU FS Al Afalava bit hard leaving WR Brent Casteel wide open. Johnson hit Casteel in stride for a 67-yard touchdown to tie the game 7-7. Oregon State on its first possession was able to get inside the red zone but the Ute defense was bringing the heat achieving two sacks on the Beavers' opening drive. This forced a field goal to make it 10-7 OSU. Utah would have three sacks at the end of the first quarter.

As the second quarter got underway, Ute punt returner WR#84 muffed it and OSU recovered the ball setting them up at the 26-yard line. OSU QB Sean Canfield would take advantage of the good field position by hooking up with WR Sammie Stroughter on a slant over the middle of the field for a 15-yard touchdown to put Oregon State ahead 17-7. As OSU looked like it was about to roll all over Utah, WR Chris Johnson left the game with a hip pointer and was out the rest of the game. The injury seemed to change the tone of the game as Canfield would throw an interception in the red zone.

The Beavers would manage to get a field goal near the end of the half to make it 20-7 but the scoring was not finished in the first half. Utah kick returner WR#84 would make up for his earlier muff by finding a seam and taking it to the house for a 97-yard kick return. Utah would only find themselves down 20-14 at halftime.

The second half could not have gotten off to a worse start for the Beavers as OSU kick returner Sammie Stroughter was pulverised and separated from the ball. Utah scooped up the ball and took in for another special teams touchdown to take the lead 21-20.

OSU kick returner Sammie Stroughter is jacked up, losing the ball which Utah scooped up and returned for a touchdown.

OSU would finally gather their composure back and Canfield would lead his team down the field though the drive stalled leading to a field goal to put OSU up 23-21. The Beaver defense would get a big play when OLB Isaiah Cook would get an interception. Unfortuanely, Canfield threw an interception right back to Utah CB Sean Smith trying to connect deep over the middle with Stroughter. It was not a bad decision on Canfield's part. Smith just made a good play on the ball.

The turnover would lead to a Ute field goal as the fourth quarter got underway putting Utah on top 24-23. The Oregon State offense just could not get anything going as the Utah pressure was coming after Canfield all day. Uhah would finish the game with five sacks leading to quite a few punts.

Utah QB Brian Johnson would throw deep to WR#84 where it looked like OSU FS Al Afalava would pick it off but he missed the ball falling into the turf as WR#84 made the catch for a 58-yard touchdown giving the their largest lead of the game 31-23.

Just as OSU needed to do something on offense, they looked as pathetic as they had earlier. Utah would force a another three and out. On the ensuing possession for Utah, HB Darrell Mack would take the handoff where OSU SS Bryan Payton missed on a tackle at the line of scrimmage. Mack did a spin move and found his way to the outside where he broke containment. Then he found a lot of green and took it to the house for a 54-yard touchdown to put Utah up big 38-23.

OSU SS Bryan Payton can not make the tackle as he watches Utah HB Darrell Mack en route to a 54-yard touchdown.

OSU need to score quickly if they were going to get back in the game and that is exactly what they did. Canfield threw deep to WR Darrell Catchings who was in because of the injury to Johnson. Catchings made a leaping catch over the defensive back and sped his way in for a 57-yard touchdown to give OSU some hope now down only 38-30.

The Beaver defense stepped up to the plate and forced Utah to punt. OSU had the ball with under 1:30 left in the game. Canfield dropped back to pass where there was a lot of pressure from the Ute defense. The lefty threw as he was back pedalling, a screen pass to HB Jeremy Francis who actually had a pretty good game. It appeared Francis would make the catch for a big gain as the blocking was all set up. Unfortunately DE Koa Misi made a tremendous play on the ball and picked it off putting an end to OSU's chance for a comeback. Utah would finish the game with a last second field goal as they finished off the Beavers 41-30 in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Utah DE Koa Misi ends any hope of an OSU comeback with this interception.

Oregon State 30

QB Canfield: 16-24, 221 yds, 2 td, 4 int
HB Francis: 20 car, 105 yds
WR Stroughter: 6 rec, 81 yds, td, fl
CB Hughes: 3 tkl, int, defl, td

Utah 41

QB Johnson: 13-27, 230 yds, 2 td, 2 int
HB Mack: 12 car, 67 yds, td
WR Casteel: 4 rec, 105 yds, td
WR#84: 4 rec, 98 yds, td, fl, krtd
DE Misi: 7 tkl, 2 tfl, 2 sk, int
DE Kruger: 6 tkl, 3 tfl, 3 sk
CB Smith: 4 tkl, 2 int, defl