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Oregon State vs UCLA Preview

Since the Pac-10 has adopted the full conference schedule other leagues have failed to implement, no team can be avoided in a single season's slate. For this reason, the Oregon State Beavers will play one Los Angeles team seven days after playing the other.

This time, Mike Riley's ballclub figures to find a winning formula.

Yes, the notion of playing UCLA at home will sound so much sweeter to the ear than the idea of playing USC in the nation's second-largest metropolitan area. The Beavers might be psychologically wounded after losing a hard-fought battle against the Men of Troy, but they should still be able to rebound against coach Rick Neuheisel's Bruins.

Oregon State fell short against USC because a leaky defense couldn't come good at crunch time. By allowing crucial pass completions of various lengths and enabling the Trojans' aerial attack to set up their ground game, the Beavers ceded far too much territory in L.A., which led to their undoing in a contest where Riley's offense destroyed Pete Carroll's defense. The sting of a six-point loss to the Pac-10's standard-bearer will linger during this week of practice, but when gameday rolls around at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, this band of brother Beavers should be enthused about taking on L.A.'s other Pac-10 team.

This matchup could easily be likened to Oregon State's earlier game with Arizona State. The Sun Devils simply didn't have the vertical weapons or the dynamic quarterback who could light up the Beavers' shaky secondary. ASU's limitations allowed OSU to get healthy in that game--won 28-17 by the Beavers--and unless Riley's roster of recruits is overly disheartened by the USC loss, one should expect a similar outcome this weekend.

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UCLA quarterbacks have, over the past several years, endured unspeakably bad luck with respect to injuries. Patrick Cowan and Ben Olson couldn't remain upright for much of the 2006 and 2007 seasons, and this year, Kevin Prince has become the latest signal caller in Westwood to see the sideline due to the violence that is an inherent part of football. Prince was roughed up in a 19-15 win at Tennessee, and missed the Bruins' games against Kansas State and Stanford. He's back in the lineup now, but the disruption of regular practice-and-play rhythms has thrown a monkey wrench into the mechanics of UCLA's offense. In their previous four October contests this season, the Bruins have scored just three offensive touchdowns: one against Stanford on Oct. 3, and two against California on Oct. 17. In losses to Oregon (Oct. 10) and Arizona (Oct. 24), UCLA's only touchdown was provided by the defensive side of the ball. Yes, it's that bad for Neuheisel, an offensive guru who has yet to find the golden-boy quarterback he himself proved to be in Westwood, 26 long years ago. (Neuheisel quarterbacked UCLA to a 45-9 rout of No. 4 Illinois in the 1984 Rose Bowl, earning game MVP honors.)

It's plainly apparent that UCLA won't beat Oregon State--or anyone else--with offensive firepower. This means that the Bruins have to win with their defense and special teams. The key for the Beavers, then, is to not concede the huge plays--blocked kicks, kick returns, pick-sixes, or significant fumbles--that will gift-wrap points for the visitors. Protecting home field--something Oregon State hasn't done very well in 2009--starts and ends with ball security and special teams fundamentals. As long as UCLA doesn't have a big-play field day, the Beavers should solve the other half of the Pac-10's L.A. axis.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer