Week 4 of the college football season is upon us and as the AP Top 25 is sure to roll once again this week, Beaver Nation will again be biting their nails and hoping for another upset bid when it travels to take on #3 Boise State this weekend at Bronco Stadium. Coming off of a 35-28 victory against Louisville last Saturday at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, the Beavers hit the road again for the second time this season to face a potential national title contender and AP Top 10 opponent in the Broncos.
Winners of 56 straight regular season home games, winning at Bronco Stadium hasn't come easy for those paying a visit. With their last loss coming to Washington State on September 8, 2001, a 41-20 drumming by the hands of the Cougs, the "Blue Turf" of Bronco Stadium has truly been a home field advantage for the squad from Boise, and that's how they like it. But the Beavers have a trick up their sleeve. Earlier this week Oregon State painted one of its Prothro Practice Fields blue in preparation for this weeks game. Whether that move served as a means to gain a mental advantage, to get use to running on a similar surface or work on depth perception and build conformity with the turf are all questions Mike Riley surely had to answer to this week. Whatever the reason it surely has created a lot of buzz on campus, in the media and amongst fans who were taken off guard by the move.
All field painting aside, this game will prove to be another road test for the Beavers who have dropped their last three road contests to Top 25 teams, dating back to its Civil War loss last December to the Oregon Ducks and in the Las Vegas Bowl against a strong BYU team. While OSU did remain competitive in its 30-21 loss to then #6 TCU three weeks ago, the Beavers showed flashes of a team that has to ability to compete with the nations best, but only if Mark Bankers defense shows up to play. Having struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks this season, I feel this game comes down to two things: The Beavers ability to contain red hot Boise State Quarterback Kellen Moore and their ability to establish the running game early with Jacquizz Rodgers and Co.
Moore has been more than stellar during his career at Boise State and the numbers tell the whole story. The left-handed junior is 28-1 with 69 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions in his collegiate career with the Broncos and has thrown for 585 yards and 5 touchdowns with 1 interception so far this season. With targets Titus Young and Austin Pettis running routes, the OSU secondary will surely have its hands full for four quarters and will have to get pressure on Moore in order to keep the game close.
As for the running game, the Beavers have won 20 of their last 22 games when a Beaver running back rushes for over 100 yards and Jacquizz Rodgers will surely be asked to carry the load again this week. Coming off a break out performance last weekend against Louisville, Rodgers rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns and added a receiving TD, all before the 4th Quarter. Look for brother James and Markus Wheaton to get in on the action with the fly sweep and expect Riley to turn to the 'Wildcat' formation to get the ball in his play makers hands.
Ryan Katz looked very comfortable last weekend as well and has surely impressed in his first two starts for the Beavers. Having passed for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns with 0 interceptions this season, look for Katz to dump the ball to the Rodgers brothers this week in a combination of slip screens and under routes to open up the deep passing game for the offense. He did a great job of that last week against Louisville and it definitely opened up opportunities for the offense throughout the course of the game. Tight End Joe Halahuni, who had a touchdown reception last week, will be a key target on third down and should serve Katz well as a secondary receiver in 3rd and intermediate situations.
Ultimately this Top 25 match up will come down to a game of grit and determination. In its last two visits to Bronco Stadium the Beavers jumped out twice to early 14 point leads, only to watch Boise State score a series of unanswered touchdowns and run away with win in excess of 19 points. Take a note from last years Oregon game, the only way to truly win in Boise is to take the crowd out of the game early and often, sustain key drives, run the ball and force turnovers. I think that the 17 point spread in favor of Boise is dead on and the Beavers will have to play four quarters of sound, fundamental football in order to come out with a victory. The game will air this Saturday, September 25th at 8:00PM ET/5:00PM PT on ABC.
*For a preview for this Saturdays match up click on the title of this article. College Gameday will be live from Boise State starting at 10:00AM ET/7:00AM PT on ESPN.
Week 4 of the college football season is upon us and as the AP Top 25 is sure to roll once again this week, Beaver Nation will again be biting their nails and hoping for another upset bid when it travels to take on #3 Boise State this weekend at Bronco Stadium. Coming off of a 35-28 victory against Louisville last Saturday at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, the Beavers hit the road again for the second time this season to face a potential national title contender and AP Top 10 opponent in the Broncos.
Winners of 56 straight regular season home games, winning at Bronco Stadium hasn't come easy for those paying a visit. With their last loss coming to Washington State on September 8, 2001, a 41-20 drumming by the hands of the Cougs, the "Blue Turf" of Bronco Stadium has truly been a home field advantage for the squad from Boise, and that's how they like it. But the Beavers have a trick up their sleeve. Earlier this week Oregon State painted one of its Prothro Practice Fields blue in preparation for this weeks game. Whether that move served as a means to gain a mental advantage, to get use to running on a similar surface or work on depth perception and build conformity with the turf are all questions Mike Riley surely had to answer to this week. Whatever the reason it surely has created a lot of buzz on campus, in the media and amongst fans who were taken off guard by the move.
All field painting aside, this game will prove to be another road test for the Beavers who have dropped their last three road contests to Top 25 teams, dating back to its Civil War loss last December to the Oregon Ducks and in the Las Vegas Bowl against a strong BYU team. While OSU did remain competitive in its 30-21 loss to then #6 TCU three weeks ago, the Beavers showed flashes of a team that has to ability to compete with the nations best, but only if Mark Bankers defense shows up to play. Having struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks this season, I feel this game comes down to two things: The Beavers ability to contain red hot Boise State Quarterback Kellen Moore and their ability to establish the running game early with Jacquizz Rodgers and Co.
Moore has been more than stellar during his career at Boise State and the numbers tell the whole story. The left-handed junior is 28-1 with 69 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions in his collegiate career with the Broncos and has thrown for 585 yards and 5 touchdowns with 1 interception so far this season. With targets Titus Young and Austin Pettis running routes, the OSU secondary will surely have its hands full for four quarters and will have to get pressure on Moore in order to keep the game close.
As for the running game, the Beavers have won 20 of their last 22 games when a Beaver running back rushes for over 100 yards and Jacquizz Rodgers will surely be asked to carry the load again this week. Coming off a break out performance last weekend against Louisville, Rodgers rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns and added a receiving TD, all before the 4th Quarter. Look for brother James and Markus Wheaton to get in on the action with the fly sweep and expect Riley to turn to the 'Wildcat' formation to get the ball in his play makers hands.
Ryan Katz looked very comfortable last weekend as well and has surely impressed in his first two starts for the Beavers. Having passed for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns with 0 interceptions this season, look for Katz to dump the ball to the Rodgers brothers this week in a combination of slip screens and under routes to open up the deep passing game for the offense. He did a great job of that last week against Louisville and it definitely opened up opportunities for the offense throughout the course of the game. Tight End Joe Halahuni, who had a touchdown reception last week, will be a key target on third down and should serve Katz well as a secondary receiver in 3rd and intermediate situations.
Ultimately this Top 25 match up will come down to a game of grit and determination. In its last two visits to Bronco Stadium the Beavers jumped out twice to early 14 point leads, only to watch Boise State score a series of unanswered touchdowns and run away with win in excess of 19 points. Take a note from last years Oregon game, the only way to truly win in Boise is to take the crowd out of the game early and often, sustain key drives, run the ball and force turnovers. I think that the 17 point spread in favor of Boise is dead on and the Beavers will have to play four quarters of sound, fundamental football in order to come out with a victory. The game will air this Saturday, September 25th at 8:00PM ET/5:00PM PT on ABC.
*For a preview for this Saturdays match up click on the title of this article. College Gameday will be live from Boise State starting at 10:00AM ET/7:00AM PT on ESPN.
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