BFS Current Story

BEAVERS TRAVEL TO USC WITH HOPES OF UNLOADING AT MONKEY AT THE LOS ANGELES ZOO

Hello Beaver Fans,

It’s November, the weather is foggy and cold. ITS FOOTBALL SEASON BABY!

I love November during football season. The weather gets cold, fog starts rolling in during games, fans are breaking out all the logoed cold weather gear and the games all have meaning and serious impact on what is to happen in December and January in the college football world. Man there is nothing better then November College Football.

The Beavers are on a roll and this weekend the state of Oregon is getting national headlines with College Game Day broadcasting from down I-5 in Eugene for the second time this season as the 7-1 Ducks take on the 8-0 Sun Devils. Game Day also had a great story on Linfield College Football. Linfield has 4 National Championships in Div. 3 football and has a 52 year streak of winning seasons. They also have 4 grandsons of famous Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon playing football for Linfield this season. Their father is the Defensive Backs coach for Linfield.

 Speaking of November in College Football, did you see the segment on Colt Brennen of Hawaii on Game Day? Somehow, spear fishing and laying on the beach in Hawaii does not fit into my vision of what November College Football is all about.

Back to the Beavers. The Beavers are on a three game win streak and today must travel to USC to take on the slumping Trojans. Oregon State has not won in USC since 1960 and it is one of three remaining streaks that the Oregon State football program has still to exercise from their history. The others being winning at ASU and going to the Rose Bowl. One of those three is still in place this year, losing at ASU. The other two still have a chance to fall this year, but to get to the other the Beavers must first take care of this streak.

USC is averaging 32.4 points per game this season and the Beavers 27.4. The last three weeks USC has been without starting QB John David Booty but he will be back in the lineup this weekend vs the Beavers. Booty is the guy that makes things happen for USC so don’t expect to see the same team in L.A. today that you saw in Eugene last week. Booty is the leader of this team and with him out of the lineup, USC was in survival mode that last few weeks going 2-1 during that stretch.

To add to that there is no real need to go into detail on just how deep and talented USC is. Every position on both sides of the ball has potential NFL prospects lined up against you. But they can be beaten, and have been twice,  by a good team that executes (Oregon) and a poor team that executes (Stanford). Oregon State is a team that is improving every week and they are playing with more confidence then early in the season. So they can win this game if they execute today on offense, protect the ball and prevent the big plays on defense.

BY THE NUMBERS

Key	STATISTIC	OSU	USC	Advantage
.	Records	5-3 (3-2)	6-2(3-2)	TIE
.	Scoring Offense	27.4	32.4	USC
.	Scoring Defense	23.1	17.5	USC
.	Passing Offense	224.6	238.0	USC
.	Passing Defense	224.6	184.1	USC
.	Kickoff Returns	20.2	22.7	USC
X	Punting	30.2	31.7	USC
X	Turnover Margin	-3	-5	OSU
X	Rushing Offense	157.1	189.6	USC
X	Rushing Defense	54.5	78.9	OSU
.	Total Offense	381.8	427.6	USC
.	Total Defense	299.9	263.0	USC
.	Punt Return Average	6.2	7.0	USC
.	Pass Efficiency	106.8	129.0	USC
.	Pass Defense Efficiency	122.9	99.0	USC
.	First Downs	158	174	USC
.	Opponent First Downs	130	133	OSU
X	Sacks	33	20	OSU
.	Penalties	56.8	74.5	OSU
X	Red Zone Offense	80.00	88.1	USC
X	Red Zone Defense	77.3	76.0	USC
X	3rd Down Conversions	36.6	45.1	USC
X	3rd Down Defense	31.0	34.9	OSU
X	Sacks Allowed	125	74	USC
.	Field Goals	11/14	10/11	USC
.	Time of Possession	31.49	31.59	TIE
.	Home Field Advantage	VISITOR	HOME	USC
.	Totals	19 wins	6 wins	USC

Not sure that in 10 years of putting these pregame accessments together that I have ever seen stats that are so heavily weighted to one team. Of the 27categories that I review, USC has the advantage in 19 of those. USC has basically been under achieving to date with this team that is so talented and deep at every position. Look at where they rank in the PAC-10 statistically. 2nd in scoring defense, 1st in pass defense, 2nd in rushing offense, 2nd in rushing defense, 3rd in total offense, 1st in total defense, 2nd in pass defense efficiency, 2nd in red zone offense and defense, 2nd in 3rd down conversions, 2nd in time of possession.

Impressive to say the least. So with those kind of stats, how has USC lost two games this season. Well that can be seen in a couple of areas. Most importantly turnovers and penalties. USC is currently last in the PAC-10 in turnover margin at -5 and penalty yards per game at 74.5 yards per game. Those two numbers show something that we have not seen over the last six years at USC, lack of discipline. USC is also 9th in punting and 6th in passing offense and passing efficiency. Much of this is due to the loss of key players over the last year and a lack of a solid core of senior leadership like they have had in the past.

The Beavers can match up with USC in several areas, mainly defense, as both teams are ranked in the top 10 in the nation in rushing defense. USC has a strong offense but if the Beavers offense can play the ball control game and keep USC's offense off the field as long as possible the chance for victory for the Beavers will be greatly improved. I look for the Beavers to use the short passing game and solid ground game to control the ball and chew up yards 4 to 5 yards at a time in this game. As of this morning, Evensen Bernard is still a game time decision as to whether he will play today. But the Beavers have two very capible running backs in Polk and Sieverson.

THE BOTTOM LINE

This is not a must win for the Beavers this weekend but it is a win this team could really use. They have been on a run since upsetting Cal in Berkley three weeks ago and have been playing solid football. A win today at USC could be the extra spark this team might need to get over the hump and finish this season strong and possibly contend for the PAC-10 title if they can get some help from other teams. But for the Beavers to get this job done today they need to do what they have done the last three weeks. Control the Ball #1. Be patient on offense. Stuff the run on defense. Limit the big play on defense. If the Beavers can do those four things today, they can win this game and get another monkey of their backs.

FINAL SCORE

BEAVERS 24
USC 21

GO BEAVERS!

BFS