Pac 10 Fans Home
Pac 10 Football
Pac 10 Basketball
Pac 10 Baseball
College Fansites
Pac 10 Apparel
Pac 10 Tickets

Oregon State Beavers vs Cal Golden Bears Recap

Jahvid Best's horrifying injury muted Oregon State's postgame celebration Saturday night in Berkeley, Calif., but that sobering event shouldn't take away from the magnitude of a football team's latest achievement.

In a contest that affected bowl position and coaching reputations, Mike Riley's Beavers bested Jeff Tedford's team from Cal to move up in the Pac-10 standings and pave the way for another eight-win season.

This 17-point spanking of the Golden Bears in Strawberry Canyon moves Oregon State to 6-3 on the season, and with the woebegone Washington schools next on the slate, it's now quite likely that OSU will be able to win eight regular-season games for the fourth consecutive season, a mark of considerable consistency in the Pac-10 Conference. While Cal has been up-and-down in the Tedford era, the crew from Corvallis has managed to become a steady and reliable force on the West Coast, enough to be considered the third-best program in the Pac-10 (behind USC and then Oregon) over the past four years. That's no small feat for a team which plays outside of a major media market, and it speaks to the body of work being produced by Riley, an offensive guru, and his entire coaching staff.

One of the foremost signs of Riley's coaching acumen has been his ability to develop quarterbacks at Oregon State. What's particularly remarkable about this particular season--and especially this conquest of California on the first Saturday of November--is that it has featured prolific passing from the left arm of quarterback Sean Canfield.

> Browse the selection of Pac 10 apparel & merchandise online as well as Pac 10 tickets through Pac 10 Fans and partner sites.

The senior from Carlsbad, Calif., stood behind No. 1 quarterback Lyle Moevao in his junior year, but took the reins when Moevao went down to an injury. Entering 2009, the Oregon State staff was hoping that Moevao would be ready to retake the starting job, but with recurring and additional new injuries preventing that scenario from taking place, Canfield was asked to be the main man under center for the Beavers. Fast forward to November, and Canfield is not just a tolerable or barely acceptable thrower; he's leading the Pac-10 in passing yards.

Canfield torched Cal's secondary this past weekend at Memorial Stadium, going 29-of-39 for 342 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. By spreading the ball to seven different receivers, Canfield kept the Golden Bears off balance and allowed OSU's offense to thrive. While a shellshocked Cal offense understandably couldn't regroup from Best's frightening experience, which took Cal's superstar out of the game and will sideline the running back for the Nov. 14 game against Arizona, Canfield's pinpoint passing enabled the visitors to amass a 31-7 lead late in the fourth quarter.

Oregon State. Mike Riley. Sean Canfield. Add these and other special ingredients, and you get another season that's likely to produce at least eight wins. The Beavers have a recipe for success, and their fans hope no Pac-10 opponents steal the shopping list in the years ahead.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer