Hello Beaver Fans,

Another week has gone by and here we are just 24 hours away from another "Great Day to be a Beaver". I feel somewhat in practice for this weeks email as it is the second time I have had to write it. Thursday morning I had composed perhaps the finest Beaver Pregame Newsletter that I have ever written. Full of insiteful commentary, stats, humor, and and ………….sex, drugs and rock n roll. (Sorry Flashbacks). Then it happened. The bain of all who ever use computers. The stinking thing locked up on me and I lost the whole thing. Two and a half hours of work, down the drain. Man was I ever ticked off. So I will now attempt to rewrite what I had done before. Happy Halloween!!

Hello Beaver Fans,

It is the day of Orange and Black, The Great Pumpkin. The time when most of the country becomes Beaver Believers, wheather they know it or not. It is great to go to my door on Halloween and have the vast major of Trick or Treaters greet me with "Go Beavers". Most know me and the ones that don't can tell I am a fan by the flag flying out front, the plates and stickers on my cars, and also the wall to the right of my door is covered with Beaver Stuff. The occasional feather fowl comes to the door and quacks his tune, but the majority are Beavers. Many kids at my daughters school know me as the Beaver Guy. It's a Great Day to be a Beaver!

With the Huskies facing mutany in Seattle, the Cougars beating each other up in Pullman and the Ducks pass defense not being able to stop anyone in Eugene lately. The time seems right for the Beavers to flex some muscle and regain the early season form that was so dominate. With 4 regular season games left. Two are against two of the teams just memtioned and the other two games are against the bottom two teams in the conference. The time is now to capitalize on the weaknesses of the opponent and win the remaining games this season.

This week the Beavers take on the Arizona Wildcats at 1:00 pm at Reser Stadium. The Wildcats are 3-5 and 0-4 in the PAC-10 and are currently in last place in the conference. They are hungry for their first conference win of the season after finishing 9th in the conference last season. Arizona's three wins have come against Northern Arizona, Utah and North Texas. They have played some teams tough but have yet to capture their first win. Arizona played the Huskies, Cardinal and the Cougars tough for three quarters before losing and then got pounded by the Ducks. This is a team on the ropes and that is always a dangerous thing. The Beavers need to be prepared and focused on Saturday to win. Arizona will not roll over and play dead.

Arizona has been struggling to say the least this season but has played well at times. The telling tale of Arizona is that they rank last in the conference in 6 of the 17 categories we look at and no higher then 6th in 6 more. Arizona is last in Scoring Offense, Rushing Offense, Rushing Defense, Sacks Taken, Sacks Allowed and Field Goal Percentage. With the Beavers recent resurgence in the offensive line and the running game. This could be a key factor for the Beavers. The running game should have another big game and the O line should be able to pass protect better for Anderson. The combination of the two could help the passing game excel this week and give Anderson more confidence going into a two game road trip. I believe that Arizona ranking of 2nd in pass defense is due to the fact that people are running the ball against them and not passing as much. This would lead to a low number for opponents passing games and a higher ranking in pass defense. Look for Steven Jackson to have another big game Saturday and for Anderson to break out of his TD pass slump and throw for a couple of TD's.

On Defense the Beavers will have to contend with a passing offense that is ranked forth in the conference but an offense that has not been able to put the ball into the end zone. So I look for the Beavers defense to bend but not break and maintain that #1 ranking in Red Zone Defense.

WHO TO WATCH

For the Beavers Mitch Meeuwsen, FS and Brian Kilkenny, LT to get some playing time this week as they return from injury. Look for Turner and Weathersby to have big games on defense. Turner and Meeuwsen are 3 and 4 in conference in interceptions. Bill Swancut could have a big game against an Arizona team last in Sacks given up. Steven Jackson could have another hugh game against the #10 rushing defense.

Arizona wide receiver Bobby Wade has proven indispensable to UA's offensive efforts, and this year leads the Pacific-10 Conference in receptions per game (8.4), receiving yardage per game (117.5) and all-purpose yardage (165.1), plus is second in total receiving yards (940). He's third nationally in catches per game, fourth in yards per game, fifth in total receiving yards and seventh in all-purpose yardage.

Arizona senior inside linebacker Lance Briggs leads Arizona with 67 tackles and 8.5 hits for losses. Last week against Washington State he had 14 tackles, including three for loss and a sack, a fumble recovery and two passes knocked away.

Arizona's QB Jason Johnson is having a season as good as the others in many respects. The senior quarterback rates No. 21 nationally in total offense, directing a passing attack that rates the Cats No. 12 in the land. He's completed an average of 20.9 throws per game to rank No. 20. He crossed the 2,000-yard passing level against Stanford in the seventh game of the year and is a handful of throws from reaching the No. 3 spot on UA's single-season passing yardage chart.

THE SERIES

Oregon State and Arizona have played 25 times previously with the Wildcats holding a 19-5-1 series edge. However, the Beavers have a current three-game winning streak going against the Wildcats. OSU defeated Arizona 38-3 in Corvallis last year and 33-9 at Tucson in 2000 and 28-20 in Corvallis in 1999. The last victory in the series by the Wildcats was 28-7 at Corvallis in 1998. All told, the Beavers have a 3-7-1 record against the Wildcats in Corvallis. Dennis Erickson is 4-2 all-time coaching against Arizona. Erickson is 3-0 vs. the Wildcats as the Beavers' head coach. Arizona Head Coach John Mackovic is 0-1 in games played vs. Oregon State.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The Beavers should win this game and it should not be close. Last week I almost nailed the final score and would have if Cal could have scored one more. This week I feel the Beavers will be after it again and be pounding the ball on offense. Jackson will rush for over 150 yards again this week and I look for Anderson to throw for 2 TD'S. The defense will bend but not break and keep Arizona to 14 points. Look for the Beavers to win by 3 TD's.

Final Score
Beavers 34
Arizona 14