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Oregon State vs Arizona State Recap

It's one thing to have the odds in your favor. It's quite another matter to actually cash in at the casino. Saturday evening in Tempe, Ariz., the Oregon State Beavers turned promise and potential into a Pac-10 win they desperately needed.

The bleeding has been stopped for Mike Riley's roster. After two consecutive downers, one of them in the league, the Beavers bounced back against Arizona State and former OSU boss Dennis Erickson. This 11-point triumph at Sun Devil Stadium enabled the crew from Corvallis to even its conference record heading into a showdown with Stanford next weekend.

The big key going into this contest was the ability of OSU's much-maligned secondary to hold the fort. While it's true that ASU didn't pose a stiff test to the Beavers' back line of defense, the visitors still had to make use of their favorable matchup in the desert. Sun Devil quarterback Danny Sullivan did complete 32 passes for 338 yards and one touchdown with only one interception, but that deceptively fat stat sheet was partly the product of the fact that Arizona State played the entire game from behind.

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With quarterback Sean Canfield roaring out of the gate and looking very sharp on the Beavers' first few offensive possessions, Oregon State rolled to a 21-3 lead just seven seconds into the second quarter. Sullivan and the ASU offense would nudge the ball downfield over the final three quarters of this collision, but the Devils never found the big-play lightning that has victimized the Beavers' defense in 2009. Sullivan's gaudy totals--the many completions and the substantial amount of yardage--were the result of throwing 58 passes. Therefore, while Sullivan averaged just over 10 yards per completion--a respectable clip--the ASU signal caller averaged just under 6 passing yards per attempt, a rather poor statistical showing. When nursing an 18-point lead for most of the evening, the Beavers were all too happy to give Sullivan short passes that kept the clock moving but didn't give the home team a ticket back to contention. Instead of Sullivan dictating to Oregon State's defense--especially the secondary--it was the Beavers who forced Sullivan to play the game in accordance with Mike Riley's wishes.

Oregon State figured to beat Arizona on Sept. 26, but on that day at Reser Stadium, conventional wisdom didn't hold up. Sure, OSU enjoyed a similarly favorable matchup on paper against Arizona State, but it wouldn't have meant much if the Beavers hadn't brought more intensity to the ballpark. It's a relief to know that there's still some mustard on this team's fastball, and some moxie left in the OSU arsenal. Blessed with the sweet relief of returning to the win column, Oregon State can now go about the rest of its season, and deal with the stiffer challenges that await on the season slate.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer