BEAVERS HEAD TO SEATTLE FOR ANOTHER MUST WIN GAME

Hello Beaver Fans!

Well the computer gremlins have struck me and possibly delayed the mailing of this newsletter. It is Thursday afternoon and my internet connection is down. I am hoping that it will be back up sometime soon. However if you get this late you now have the reason.

This week our Beavers and myself travel to Seattle to take on "Those Bad Dawgs", the Huskies. I will be attending the game on Saturday and sitting in the Beavers section with my niece and her husband. Two husky fans!!! If they get to out of control I think I will have to invoke my rights as the elder of the family and have them rolled out of the section. Blood may be thicker then water but it is not thicker then Beaver Nation. I don't think they have attended a game with me before and are not aware of just how loud I and my daughter yell during the games. They don't have a chance and neither do the Huskies.

To say that this is a big game is an understatement. For us to make it to a ball game we need to keep winning. I figure that we need two more wins to make a bowl game. And we don't want to have to leave it up to the last two games of the season. Winning this game takes most of the heat off but not all. The Beavers need to come out focused and ready to play against an explosive Husky offense on the road. The Beavers have not played all that well on the road this season. They struggled at Temple before putting them away. In their last two roads games in conference play the Beavers have only scored 9 points and the defense has given up 33 points.

Washington is 4-5 this season and is desperate for a win. Their season also hangs in the balance. If the Huskies loss they are faced with the possibility of their first losing season since Reagan was in the White House. Washington is an anomaly in that they lead the conference in several categories but they are eighth in the conference and on a three game losing streak. Washington ranks first or second in the conference in Passing Offense, Rushing Defense, Total Offense, Penalty Yards, Third Down Conversions and Time of Possession. But they rank ninth of tenth in Scoring Defense, Passing Defense, Rushing Offense, Turnover Ratio and Red Zone Defense. So the Huskies are hard to figure out. They have this big passing attack and no running game. The numbers that figure big with the Huskies is Turnovers, they are -8 on the season and rushing offense, they are averaging only 78.3 ypg.

WHO TO WATCH

Cody Pickett for the Huskies is leading the PAC-10 in Passing ave/game and Total Offense. Pickett has already set a new single-season passing yards record with 3,240 this year (surpassing Cary Conklin's 2,569 in 1989). Pickett broke Conklin's mark in the season's seventh game. Now with 5,655 career yards, Pickett is only 88 yards shy of breaking the UW career passing yards record of 5,742 (Brock Huard). Pickett also has a good shot at the Pac-10 single-season passing record, especially with the 12-game schedule this year. Pickett must throw for 398 yards over the final three games to break the conference record of 3,637 yards, set by Washington State's Ryan Leaf in 1997.

Rich Alexis, Washington starting back, is only averaging 64.1 ypg rushing this season. Wide receiver Reggie Williams is third in receptions per game and receiving yards per game.

The Beavers are coming off a solid performance over Arizona. The offense put on a good show with the passing game coming alive with a big play to James Newson of 86 yards. Derek Anderson looked slightly more comfortable last week, but his completion percentage was still below 50%. Steven Jackson continued to climb the conference rankings and is only .5 yards per game behind Onterrio Smith of Oregon but has 118 yards more for the season. Mitch Meeuwsen will play on Saturday at safety but not start. On defense, Nick Barnett leads the PAC-10 in tackles with 9.2 per game and Bill Swancut has moved up to forth in the PAC-10 in sacks with 8 and third in tackles for a loss with 1.78 per game.

THE SERIES

Oregon State and Washington have played a total of 86 games in the series. The Huskies have won 55, the Beavers 27 and four games have been tied. Oregon State is on a one-game winning streak as a result of downing Washington 49-24 at Corvallis last year. The Huskies hold a 31-15-2 edge in games played in Seattle, including a current winning streak of six games at Husky Stadium. The Beavers' last victory in Seattle was 21-10 in 1985. Dennis Erickson is 2-4 in as a head coach in games played against Washington, including a 1-2 mark at Oregon State. Washington's Rick Neuheisel is 2-1 vs. Oregon State.

THE BOTTOM LINE

BIG GAME FOR BOTH SCHOOLS! Huskies have the home field advantage. But the Beavers have won big games in Seattle before. Questions? Can the Huskies regroup after losing 4 or 5 and giving the game away last week to UCLA at home? Can the Beaver defense continue to shine and stop the powerful Husky offense? Can Derek Anderson get comfortable in the pocket and complete passes? Can Steven Jackson continue to carry the team on his back and rush for over 100 yards? If he does we will win. In going over the stats I feel the Beavers have more of an advantage then the Huskies do. The Beavers are once again the favorites in this game. The latest line Beavers by 6. The Huskies are getting lots of yards but not putting it into the end zone. They are turning the ball over a lot and giving up a lot of points on defense. I look for PAC-10 #1 defense to outplay the PAC-10 #1 offense in this game. Good defense usually wins if they have some of their own offense to back them up. And I believe the Beavers offense will rise to the occasion on Saturday and put the Huskies away on the day and for the season.

Final Score

Beavers 38
Washington 24

GO BEAVERS!