BFS Current Story

WE BELIEVE! - Beavers Defeat Cal Bears 34-21 - (Cal Game Photos)

11-15-2008 - On a perfect fall afternoon the Oregon State Beavers moved one step closer to their goal. With just 2 games remaining the Beavers are tied for 1st in the PAC-10 conference and own the tie-breaker over USC. That puts the Rose Bowl in the Beavers sights if they can finish the season with wins over Arizona and Oregon. Coach Riley has got his team playing like just that, a team. Every week its another player stepping up to do something to get the win. This week Lyle Moevao was back from his shoulder injury and did not look very sharp throwing the ball throughout the game. So it came down to someone else to step up and make things happen, and it was once again James Rodgers dazzling 85 yard kickoff return for a touchdown after Cal had just taken the opening posession the length of the field in 3 plays for the score and a 7-0 lead. Later in the first quarter it was Sammy Stroughters turn as he fielded a short bouncing punt on the run and returned it 56 yards to the Cal 2 yard line.

Despite the score the defenses of both teams dominated play for most of the game. Cal's pass defense came into this game ranked at the top of the PAC-10 and they shut down the Beavers receivers for most of the game and Cal's rush defense held league leading rusher Quizz Rodgers to just 33 yards rushing in the first half. The majority of the scores in this game were set up by special teams and defense. Cal opens the game with a 51 yard kickoff return plus a 15 yard penalty for a face mask to give Cal the ball at Oregon States 30 yard line. Oregon State returns a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, a punt 56 yards to the 2 yard line and the Beavers defense intercepts a pass for a touchdown to seal the game in the final minute. Had to that the 65 yard touch run by Jarvid Best and you have 5 touchdowns scored on 5 individual plays. Take that away and you are left with a 13-7 game.

The Beavers defense held a talented Cal offense to 232 total yards with Jarvid Best accounting for 116 yards rushing. The Beavers defense also came up big in the second half once again. Shutting down Cal and sacking Kevin Riley 5 times for 46 yards in loses. when you consider that Cal ended up with 85 net yards rushing and Jarvid Best has 65 yards on one carry and 114 for the game, the Beavers defense pretty much took yards away from everyone else who touched the ball.

The two stand out players for the day were the two running backs for Cal and OSU. Quizz Rodgers had only 33 yards at halftime but ended the game with 144 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown. Jarvid Best of Cal ended the day with116 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown. The Cal pass defense really limited the Oregon State passing game to one of its lowest totals of the season. The leading receiver was James Rodgers once again with 50 yards on 6 receptions.

BY THE NUMBERS

 

Key	STATISTIC	OSU	CAL	Advantage
.	Scoring Offense	34	21	OSU
.	Pass Attempts	14/28-.500	12/27=.444	OSU
.	Passing Offense/YPC	145/10.4	147/12.2	CAL
.	Kickoff Returns	39.0	18.7	OSU
.	Punting	38.5	40.8	CAL
.	Turnover Margin	-1	-1	TIE
.	Rushing Attempts / YPC	42/4.6	30/85	OSU
.	Rushing Offense	194	85	OSU
.	Total Offense	339	232	OSU
.	Punt Return - PUNTS/YPR	3/20.3	2/5.5	OSU
.	First Downs	28	11	OSU
.	Sacks	5	1	OSU
.	Penalties	7/60	5/49	CAL
.	Red Zone Offense	4/5	1/1	OSU
.	3rd Down Conversions	4/13	2/13	OSU
.	4th Down Conversions	0/0	0/1	TIE
.	Field Goals	2/3	0/0	OSU
.	Time of Possession	34.46	25.14	OSU
.	Totals	13 wins	3 wins	OSU

So now the Beavers have to travel to Tucson Arizona next Saturday for a 4pm start against the 6-4 Arizona Wildcats. Arizona played the Ducks yesterday and they trailed the Ducks 45-17 at halftime. Then with 3:50 to go in the game the score was Ducks 48, Arizona 45. The Wildcats came storming back in the Oregon game and had a chance to take the lead late but could not convert on 4th and long on the drive to tie or take the lead. So the Beavers need to continue to stay focused on the task at hand and not get caught looking ahead to Oregon or what could be. Arizona is a strong team with a potent offense. The Beaver defense had better be ready to play.

GO BEAVERS!

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