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Oregon State vs Washington State Recap

It was actually a pedestrian afternoon for the Oregon State Beavers in sleepy Pullman, Wash. That said, it wasn't an unsuccessful one, either.

Mike Riley's team finds itself, amazingly enough; in the same position it acquired 12 months ago at this time. If OSU beats rival Oregon in the latest staging of the Civil War, the Beavers will head to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl game against the champion of the Big Ten Conference. No, the kids from Corvallis weren't perfect in this road game against Washington State, but then again, they didn't have to be.

In the first half of play at Martin Stadium, OSU quarterback Sean Canfield was darn near perfect, completing 15-of-18 passes for 178 yards. However, one of the three non-completed passes to flow from Canfield's left arm was an interception at the Cougars' 20-yard line. That pick allowed Coach Paul Wulff's squad to stay somewhat close and pull within 11 points of the Beavers at halftime. Leading only by a margin of 21-10 against the doormat of the Pac-10, a foggy and groggy group needed to flex its muscles to a certain extent in the second half.

Fortunately for the sanity level of Riley and his entire coaching staff, that's exactly what the Beavers were able to do.

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OSU's defense cranked up the intensity - and sharpened its focus - after the halftime break, shutting out Wazzu over the final two quarters and allowing the Cougars just 89 second-half yards. With the Beavers blasting Washington State on that side of the ball, Canfield and Co. didn't need to take chances or become overly creative (that will need to happen against Oregon, but it wasn't necessary against Wazzu). A long and patient touchdown drive - a five-minute, 29-second march that covered 63 yards in 12 plays - gave Oregon State a 28-10 bulge late in the third quarter. So what if OSU only scored one third-quarter touchdown? This game was never in doubt, and the playbook will be wide open when Riley's roster tackles Chip Kelly's charges on Dec. 3 in Autzen Stadium.

Washington State is done and dusted. Now Oregon State can attempt to be a very un-Civil War-rior on a very important journey to Eugene.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer