No. 22: Beavers' success hinges on new QB

Editor's Note: Beginning with No. 25 TCU and counting toward the release of the 2007 College Football Annuals, Athlon will release one spot in its Top 25 every weekday for five weeks. The No. 1 team will be revealed June 1. Check AthlonSports.com every day to see who’s next in the countdown as Athlon Sports celebrates its 40th anniversary. The 2007 versions of Athlon’s College Football Annuals hit newsstands June 5th.

No. 22: Oregon State

The success of first-year starting quarterback Sean Canfield or Lyle Moevao will determine how far the 2007 Beavers go. Enough pieces are in place at other critical positions to make it that simple. In coach Mike Riley’s system, if the quarterback flourishes, the team does the same.

The Beavers have veteran offensive and defensive lines, an unbelievably deep corps of linebackers, an experienced secondary and two of the finest specialists in the country in Sammie Stroughter and Alexis Serna.

There’s plenty of depth, as Riley has done a nice job of redshirting the high school signees in his three recruiting classes, and filling needs with four or five junior college recruits in each cycle. His staff had little changeover from 2006, when it was upgraded significantly with the addition of Jay Locey and Joe Seumalo.

The schedule is tougher, with probable Pac-10 contenders Oregon, Arizona State, USC and California and rival Washington State all on the road. But it all comes down to quarterback. If Canfield or Moevao play as predecessor Matt Moore did in an interception-filled 2005, they’ll struggle. But if they can emulate the efficient, productive 2006 version of Moore — who was also in his second season under Riley — look out.

2007 Schedule
A.     30    Utah
S.       6    at Cincinnati
S.     15    Idaho State
S.     22    at Arizona State
S.     29    UCLA
O.       6    Arizona
O.     13    at California
O.     27    Stanford
N.       3    at USC
N.     10    Washington
N.     17    at Washington State
D.       1    at Oregon

Read the entire Oregon State preview by ordering your Athlon Sports 2007 College Football Regional and National magazines today!

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