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Oregon State Beavers vs Washington Huskies Preview

Now that the Oregon State Beavers have fought through the hardest part of their schedule, letdowns are not allowed for an ascendant football team.

There have been whispers around the Pac-10 that Mike Riley's club could actually have an advantage in the race for the Rose Bowl. Such talk, which has made the rounds of media outlets such as ESPN.com, is probably premature, but one can understand why the Beavers have a legitimate shot at the league crown. No, the kids from Corvallis can't rate as the league favorite, but they are in the middle of the chase for Pasadena.

For one thing, Oregon State closes its season with league-leading Oregon on Dec. 3. If the Pac-10 is a three-team race involving the Oregon schools and Arizona heading into the final weekend of play, an OSU win in the Civil War, combined with a USC victory over Arizona, could very well catapult the Beavers into the Granddaddy. The road to the Rose Bowl does run through the Ducks, so if OSU stays alive heading into the twelfth game of 2009, Riley's roster will have a cherished BCS bowl berth in its sights.

The second reason why the Beavers can dream of Roses flows from the first: If this team can stay in the race heading into the Civil War, its chances of winning the Pac-10 will increase.

Guess whom the Beavers will play in their next two games? Yeah, the Washington schools. Next week brings Washington State onto the season slate, and this Saturday, the town of Corvallis will play host to the Washington Huskies.

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By any reasonable measurement, this game shouldn't be close. After an early-season upset of USC and an improbably lucky win over Arizona, coach Steve Sarkisian has seen his Huskies plummet to 3-6 this season. Chronically inconsistent and woeful in red zone situations, Washington has been repeatedly unable to find kill shots in close games. Goal-line nightmares against Oregon and Notre Dame, plus a last-minute bust in the secondary at Arizona State and a come-from-ahead loss last week to lowly UCLA, have taken the air out of a once-promising campaign in Seattle. Washington is emotionally uncertain and in search of answers as the Dawgs travel south to Reser Stadium.

Oregon State, meanwhile, has ratcheted up its level of play in recent weeks. Sean Canfield has become the Pac-10's most consistent quarterback, and the Beavers have begun to hit hard on defense while preventing big plays (the USC game being the exception). If Oregon State plays anywhere close to its capabilities and treats this tilt with the respect it deserves, victory should be comfortably attained. The biggest opponent for the Beavers this Saturday is... the Beavers themselves.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer