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Oregon State Beavers vs Washington Huskies Recap

The refrain that rang through the Oregon State locker room the week before this mid-November matchup with Washington was very simple: Take care of business.

Mission accomplished, then, for this band of Beavers.

Mike Riley's team trounced the increasingly hapless Huskies by 27 points at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. Leading by 20 after a quarter and a half and at halftime, the best off-the-radar team in the Pac-10 built on its already large advantage in the opening stages of the second half. With the third quarter only halfway over, OSU's outrageously big bulge stood at 41-7, and the competitive phase of this contest was over.

The big key for Oregon State between the painted white lines was balance. The beavers totaled 194 passing yards and 178 rushing yards to keep Washington's defense completely confused.

It's worth noting that after Oregon State so thoroughly baffled USC's defense last year in Corvallis, the Beavers - Riley in particular - got to match wits once again with Nick Holt, the 2008 USC defensive coordinator who now occupies that same position in Seattle with the Huskies. On this day in the Pacific Northwest, the outcome for Holt was little different from 2008, as Pete Carroll's former colleague struggled against a diversified attack.

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Sean Canfield continued to play first-rate football as OSU's main signal caller. Sure, Canfield threw for "only" 185 yards, but he didn't need to push the ball downfield with the way the Beaver ground game was clicking. Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers - a rather regular destroyer of defenses belonging to USC, Washington, or anyone else in the Pac-10 - galloped for 159 yards on only 18 carries, good for an overwhelming average of just under 9 yards per carry. That level of rushing proficiency made the day easy for Canfield, who made sure to execute on short- and intermediate-range passes. When his day was done, Canfield had completed just under 75 percent of his passes (21-of-29) for four touchdowns without an interception. It was yet another outstanding day at the office for the Pac-10's most dependable quarterback (though Stanford's Andrew Luck is making a strong push near the end of the season).

On defense, the story was little different for the Beavers. Washington quarterback Jake Locker is talked about in breathless tones by NFL scouts who love Locker's body and its genuinely immense athletic capabilities. Yet, in all phases of play, OSU's three defensive sections - front line, linebackers and secondary - all clamped down on Locker and held the Huskies to a single touchdown in the first two and a half quarters. Washington produced three touchdowns in all, but when one considers that two of them occurred in garbage time, with the outcome well in hand, one can appreciate OSU's defensive performance to a much greater degree.

Taking care of business--that's the theme for Oregon State football. Based on this smackdown of another Pac-10 foe, there's no need to change the mantra in a very confident locker room.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer