Week 7: Washington State at Oregon State

It’s the Beavers’ turn to take a healthy swing at the Pac-10’s Pinata, otherwise known as Washington State. The talent-low Cougars rank 116th out of 119 nationally in scoring defense (41.6 points per game) and 113th in scoring offense (16.3), so their problems are magnified and many. Competitive for these guys was a 28-3 defeat last weekend at UCLA, a vast improvement over the 66-3 and 63-14 drubbings to California and Oregon at home.

New Washington State coach Paul Wulff had no idea the program was in such disarray when he was hired. He knows now. He’s down to a third-string quarterback, redshirt freshman Marshall Lobbestael. He’s had 22 first-time starters, including 14 on offense. He’s had 15 of his 41 players who have started miss 27 games because of injuries. He even held a public tryout on campus this week just to find a scout-team quarterback. Wulff has one of the school’s most talented receivers in Brandon Gibson, closing in on all-time receptions and receiving yards, but can’t get him the ball regularly. It’s pretty bleak in Pullman.

Oregon State, on the other hand, has taken a young team and become highly competitive, as its stirring 27-21 upset of USC two weeks ago would attest, plus the Beavers had unbeaten Utah on the ropes on the road until getting beat at the final gun, 31-28. The emergence of freshman tailback Jacquizz Rodgers, steadiness of sophomore quarterback Lyle Moevao, confidence gained by both lines and the surliness of safeties Greg Laybourn and Al Afalava have made the rest of the league wary of this team. Now if the Beavers could get senior wide receiver Sammie Stroughter completely healthy, there’s no telling what kind of season they could have. Either way, chalk up an easy win here for the Beavers.

Notes:

The only thing the Cougars have kept intact this season is their consecutive scoring streak, now 279 games and counting. They’ve been hard-pressed to keep it alive, coming up with only field goals against UCLA and California. The streak is the nation’s second longest, trailing only Michigan’s 293, and is fourth all-time in NCAA history.

Washington State’s Brandon Gibson has caught passes in 29 consecutive games, tying him with Arizona’s Mike Thomas. He has161 career catches, 34 shy of tying Michael Bumps as the school all-time leader.

Lyle Moevao’s biggest problem is deciding which receiver to throw to. The Oregon State sophomore quarterback has three main targets in Shane Morales, who has 29 catches for 380 yards and three scores; Sammie Stroughter, who has 26 receptions for 329 yards and three TDs, and James Rodgers, who has 24 grabs for 277 yards and three scores.

New Cougars coach Paul Wulff made his head-coaching debut at Oregon State, bringing Eastern Washington to Corvallis, Ore., and giving the then Dennis Erickson-coached Beavers a huge scare before losing 21-19. Wulff returned with Eastern in 2006 and lost to Oregon State 56-17.

Washington State leads the series 47-42-3, but lost last year’s game 52-17 to Oregon State at home.

Key Player (Cougars) – Marshall Lobbestael, QB

Every game is a huge transition for the redshirt freshman, who was forced to play when two veterans were lost with neck injuries. He was Pac-10 offensive player of the week for his relief work in helping the Cougars beat Portland State, but has struggled mightily against league competition. He’s hit 46 of 86 passes for 492 yards and four scores.

Key Player (Beavers) – Jacquizz Rodgers, RB

The true freshman averages 110 yards per game, rushing 124 times for 550 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s on a pace to surpass Ken Simonton as Oregon State’s best freshman runner, projected to finish with 1,320 yards to Simonton’s 1,028. Rodgers should be able to pad his total in a big way against the Cougars, who are 116th nationally in run defense (240.8 per game).

Oregon State by 28