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GAME
1 - SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS
The
Oregon State Beavers open their 2003 PAC-10 Championship
Campaign against the Hornets of Sacramento State
University. This game will be a game of many firsts
on both sides of the ball.
This
is the first game of the season for both schools.
This is the first time the two schools have met
in football. This is the first time Sac State has
played a PAC-10 school in football. This is the
first game for the new Sacramento State head coach
Steve Mooshagian. This is the first meeting as head
coaches for Riley and Mooshagain (they competed
against each other in the NFL. Mooshagain was an
assistant for the Bengals. This is the first game
for returning head coach Mike Riley of Oregon State.
And for many players on both sides of the ball,
this will be their first game in uniform for their
schools.
With
all that said. The game is expected to be very one-sided
in favor of the Beavers. And it should be. The Beavers
are a football team that went to a bowl game last
year, had an 8-5 record and is returning 16 starters
from last year. Sacramento State is a Division 1-AA
school that was 5-7 and 3-4 in the Big Sky Conference.
They are picked to finished anywhere from 5th to
9th in the Big Sky this season.
WHO
TO WATCH FOR SACRAMENTO STATE
The
players to watch for Sac. State this Thursday will
be Senior QB Ryan Leadingham, RB Tyronne Gross and
WR Fred Amey. Leadingham was 220 or 372 (59%) for
2,785 (232.1 ypg). Tyronne Gross in a backup roll
last year ran for 420 yards on 100 carries. Fred
Amey is a preseason all-american pick and last year
had 62 catches for 989 yards. Amey is also a threat
on kickoff and punt returns for Sac. State averaging
25.7 and 8.4 respectively. One newcomer to the Hornets
that Beaver fan will recognize is Josh Farrell who
played for the Beavers last season. I though Josh
was a good back, so look for him to get some carries
this Thursday.
On
Defense, the Hornets are lead by senior linebackers
Park McAllister and Ryan Kroeker. Kroeker led the
team in tackles with 105 on the season. Also returning
is DB Jeremy Jackson who was second on the team
with 2 interceptions.
In
a conference that is known for rolling up the stats,
Sacramento State was not that impressive. The Hornets
gave up an average of 31.7 points per game while
only putting up 27.1 ppg and lost by an average
of 12.29 ppg.
FOR
THE BEAVERS
The
Beavers are returning lots of faces this season
and are expected to finish as high a 1st in the
PAC-10 in one poll and 3rd or 4th in most others.
Returning QB Derek Anderson is expected to be even
better then his record setting season last year
with more options in the passing game then last
year with shorter routes and Junior Steven Jackson
being included more in the passing game on short
routes and screens. Anderson threw for 3313 yards
last season and could break that mark this year
if he improves his completion percentage. Anderson
has been working on his release and footwork in
the off-season to improve the speed of his release
and vision on the field.
Junior
Steven Jackson is a preseason all-american pick,
a Doak Walker candidate and a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Jackson has 1,690 yards on 319 carries last season.
Look for Jackson to carry the ball often this season
and also to be more of a threat in the passing game.
Backing Jackson up at running back is Dwight Wright
who ran for 383 yards on 84 carries last season.
The two backs give the Beavers a powerful 1-2 punch
in the backfield.
Senior
James Newson returns after setting school records
in receiving with 1284 yards on 74 catches in 2002.
On
Defense, the Beavers have some pretty big shoes
to fill with many players going to the NFL from
last year. Richard Seigler, Bill Swancutt and Mitch
Meeuwsen return on defense along with a host of
new faces for the Beavers.
THE
BOTTOM LINE
I look for the Beavers to shake the rust off early
in this game by taking advantage of all their weapons
on offense. Look for the ball to go to Jackson often
and early in the game and then for the Beavers to
pick apart the defense with short passes to Jackson,
Newson and Euhus. The Beavers will take a few shots
deep during the game but don't look for as many
as in years past. I think Riley will want to get
his QB settled down and accustom to the new system
and build his confidence early in order to be ready
for big games to come.
The
Beavers of the past have always started slowly and
struggled in early games against weaker teams. I
don't believe that will happen on Thursday and I
look for a blowout of Sac State.
Final
Score
Beavers
47
Sacramento
State 17
GO
BEAVERS!
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