Mannion's Career Day Propels Beavers By Bruins 27-20

Storm Woods had a big day against UCLA totaling 96 yards and a score.
(AP Photo/ Mark J. Terill)

Oregon State continues to surprise. After beating Wisconsin at home two weeks ago, Oregon State had a bye week to prepare for the UCLA Bruins and they did not waste it. Sean Mannion threw for a career high 379 yards and two scores as the Beavers upset UCLA in Los Angeles 27-20. The Beaver run defense stopped the nation's leading rusher in Johnathan Franklin allowing him only 45 yards on the ground on 12 carries. Brett Hundley did not go quietly throwing for 372 yards himself and a score but it wasn't enough as the Beavers forced the Bruins to be one dimensional and kept the ball in the air where talented defensive back Jordan Poyer was patrolling.

A lot of the focus was on the talented freshman Brett Hundley and what he has done with the Bruin offense and they were the favorites coming into this game. Too bad no one told Oregon State. The Beavers forced a 3 and out on their first defensive possession and started to march the ball down the field with Sean Mannion spreading the ball around to different receivers all over the field. The drive would eventually stall out and OSU was forced to settle for a field goal giving them the early lead.

The teams would trade punts until in the second quarter UCLA started to find their rhythm, getting the ball deep into the red zone, but like their counterparts, the Bruins would stall out inside the 10 yard line and kick a field goal to tie the game at 3. The Beavers though would waste no time in responding as Sean Mannion found Brandin Cooks breaking free and streaking toward the end zone for a 75 yard touch down play. The Beav's weren't done their either. After getting the ball back on a Bruin punt Mannion would go over the top and find Markus Wheaton in the end zone for another 42 yard scoring toss to put the Beavers up 17-3 in the second quarter.

Just before the end of the half, Brett Hundley found Shaquille Evans up the sideline for a 65 yard gain and touchdown  to bring the Bruins back within a score at 17-10. The Bruins hoped that would give them a little momentum going into the second stanza. After forcing an Oregon State punt it looked like they were poised to get themselves back into the driver seat but the Beaver defense wasn't having any of that. The teams would trade defensive stands going back and forth and UCLA looked poised to take advantage, intercepting Sean Mannion in Beaver territory but were once again turned away by the stingy OSU defense.

The Beavers would then go on a long drive, covering 88 yards and nearly 5 minutes on the clock. Once again it was a healthy serving of Sean Mannion passing the ball but the drive was capped by running back Storm Woods breaking across the goal line from two yards out to give the Beavers a 24-10 lead.

The Bruins though, would not go away. They responded with a 7 play 75 yard drive of their own, capped by a Brett Hundley 1 yard touch down rush.  Once OSU got the ball back though they would respond with another field goal to stretch the lead back to 10 which proved to be insurmountable. UCLA would make a short field goal to render the final score but it was largely just a window dressing.

Head Coach Mike Riley was proud of his teams resiliance stating "It was a great job by our team; I just loved it," Riley said. "That was a really good group of offensive players and a good offensive scheme and I thought we just kept playing. When something bad happened, nobody blinked and somebody else made a play." Oregon State will stay on the road, having to travel to Arizona to face the Wildcats who were pasted 49-0 by the Ducks while UCLA gets to rebound against Colorado who is coming off a big come from behind win against Washington State.

Oregon State Beavers Way Too Early Preview

It was a baptism by fire for the Beavers last year, hopefully the experience
will temper the squad for the next season.
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

Last season was another tough year for the Beavers. They could not have started the season much worse losing in overtime to FCS opponent Sacramento State in over time. They followed that up with three more losses, including a 35-0 shut out at Wisconsin. The Beavers would get their first win of the season against Arizona at home and then beating Washington State in Seattle. Oregon State would not win again until the Huskies came to town to give the Beav's their last win of the year. OSU had one of the most prolific passing attacks in the country, ranking in the top 20 but in a lot of situations the Beavers were trying to throw their way back into the game. Their running attack was anemic and the offensive line wasn't helping matters much. That's where the Beavers must start to rebuild if they are to be competitive this season in the Pac-12.

The Beavers are young, last season they played more froshmen than ever before in program history. They had to face a steep learning curve, going up against the likes of Oregon, Wisconsin and Stanford but overall the trial by fire will serve them well in the future. While the offensive line was the weak link of the team they got some help in the recruiting field, reeling in 7 OL recruits including Isaac Seumalo a 4* recruit from Corvallis.

As was mentioned, the Beavers were a top 20 passing team last season. Markus Wheaton and James Rodgers were the main targets for Quarterback Sean Mannion who threw for over 3300 yards. Wheaton came close to a 1000 yard season and James Rodgers bounced back from an ACL tear to reel in 45 receptions and three touchdowns. Not only has Rodgers graduated, stalwart Joe Halihuni is also graduating. Halihuni was the go to guy when OSU needed a first down to keep the drive alive. The Beavers still have Wheaton as well as Jordan Bishop to carry the load. As far as the running game goes, Sophomore Malcom Agnew will likely tote the rock the most for the Beavers. He lead the team last year in rushing with 423 yards and found the end zone 5 times on the ground. He is going to have to step up his production to take the pressure off of Mannion so the offense can produce.

On defense, the Beavers are going to to have to rely on defensive back Jordan Poyer who lead the team in pass break ups. While the defense held their own against the pass, they had a tough time defending the rush. They allowed nearly 200 yards a game on the ground and the defensive line is going to have to shore themselves up if they want to stay in games this upcoming season. They are going to have to replace defensive leader Lance Mitchell who intercepted the ball twice and was among team leaders in tackles. Replacing him will be a challenge as his affect was felt far beyond the box score.

With the Beavers going a combined 8-16 the last two seasons, the fans are clamoring for change. Coach Riley and staff are going to have to show improvement this year or the boosters may be calling for a new regime. Looking at the schedule for the next season, they have a similar beginning, Nichols State before Wisconsin comes to town before the conference schedule starts. Optimistically, the Beavers could find their way to a 6-6 record and get themselves back to a bowl game. That may be what they need to keep the current coaching staff intact and show boosters and future recruits that the team is making progress. However, in the worst case scenario they could find themselves in another 3-9 season which could cause a lot more grumbling in Corvallis.

Ducks rout Beavers, clinch North Division

Michael Clay celebrates an interception in their 49-21 win on Saturday
(AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Darron Thomas threw for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns and LaMichael James added 142 on the ground as the Ducks defeated the Beavers 49-21 on Saturday. The win locked up the North division and Oregon will host UCLA for the inaugural Pac-12 championship, this coming Friday.

The Beavers looked as though they were in trouble early as Sean Mannion was intercepted on their opening drive by Michael Clay on the OSU 38 yard line. The Ducks were on the scoreboard only 90 seconds later when LaMichael James punched it in from one yard out.

James was forced out of the game in the third as he put his arm down to regain his balance and tweaked it as his elbow locked against the ground. He's not concerned about it though, in a post game press conference flexing his elbow and reassuring Duck fans that it's alright. The Ducks are going to need James to be healthy going into Championship week and then bowl season as the Ducks look for a potential BCS bowl bid.

The remainder of the first quarter would consist of the Beavers turning the ball over on Mannion's second interception and punting the ball and the Ducks going for it on fourth down and not converting on the attempts. On the day, the Ducks were uncharacteristically 0-4 on fourth down conversions. After the Ducks failed to convert on 4th and 14 from the OSU 33 yard line the Beaver offense took the field. The drive started to show promise but was derailed by a Dion Jordan sack and the Beavers were forced to punt.  Oregon was unable to capitalize as they went 3 and out and Jackson Rice punted the ball away.

The Beavers showed promise as they gave Oregon a taste of their own medicine with a two play scoring drive when Sean Mannion connected with Jovan Stevenson who weaved his way through the Duck defense for a 58 yard scoring pass.

Oregon's defense stood tall through the rest of the half as they did not allow the Beavers a first down through the remainder of the half. In the mean time, Darron Thomas found his rhythm and threw for 3 touch down passes. One a piece to David Paulson, DeAnthony Thomas and Kenjon Barner.

The Beavers struggled to contain the tight end, Paulson who had a career day. He caught 8 passes for 105 yards and the aforementioned score. He held together the Oregon offense as the sure handed tight end often was able to turn the ball up field and add the all important yards after the catch.

After the second half kickoff, the Ducks took the ball up the field and it appeared that De'Anthony Thomas had his second touchdown reception of the day but on review it was ruled that he stepped out of bounds at the 3 yard line. Kenjon Barner punched it in two plays later and the Ducks were in full control.

After the Beavers were unable to convert on their own 4th down conversion the Ducks sustained a drive down inside the OSU 5 yard line. Kenjon Barner looked to get the first down on the fourth down attempt but coughed up the ball on the 2 yard line and Oregon State would recover the fumble, thwarting the drive.

Oregon State couldn't capitalize though as the pressure got to Mannion twice on the drive and forced another punt. The Ducks got to Mannion six times on the day, and never gave him a chance to set his feet and throw the ball down the field. Coupled with the Beaver inability to run the ball, the Oregon defense almost completely shut down Mannion and company.

In a play that seemed to signal a changing of the guard at the tight end position, Darron Thomas threw a pass to Freshman Colt Lyerla who went high to get the ball and rumbled his way 39 yards for Thomas' fourth touchdown pass on the day. This made the score 42-7 and Kelly called off the dogs.

The Beavers found mojo late against Oregon's backups and Sean Mannion threw his second and third touch down passes on the day. The offenses traded punts, then fumbles as the Ducks got their sixth and final sack of the day stripping the ball and recovering the fumble. The Ducks would score again with a heavy dose of the run game as Ayele Forde got into the end zone from 8 yards out on Oregon's last scoring drive on the day.

Out of desperation, the Beavers would drive up the field once again and Mannion would find Brandin Cooks for a 23 yard scoring pass. Their hook up would give the teams the final score 49-21. The resiliency from the Beavers even in the face of certain defeat has to give fans hope for the future as much of the heavy lifting late was done by young players.

Where they absolutely have to improve though, is on the defensive side of the ball. The Beaver defense gave up 670 yards, including 365 on the ground. It won't matter how good the Beaver offense is if they can't slow down their opponents attack.

It is sure to be a disappointment for the OSU seniors who have had to endure 4 consecutive Civil War defeats and have seen their biggest rival's rise to national prominence. The Beavers season is over now where the Ducks have two more games to prepare for, the Pac-12 championship against a UCLA team; that got throttled in their rivalry game 50-0 by USC, and then, finally their bowl game.

#10 Oregon Vs Oregon State : Preview

Oregon celebrated in Reser last year, will the Ducks smell Roses again?
(Johnathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

A lot is on the line this week when the yearly battle of in state rivals commences again this Saturday in Eugene. For the Ducks, if they beat the Beavers, they get the opportunity to play for the Pac-12 championship and claim their third consecutive conference title and the inaugural Pac-12 title. For the Beavers, at this point in the season all they have remaining is to play spoiler to their heated rivals from down south. 

Turnovers, Sofele bury Beavers in San Fransisco

Zach Maynard gets into the end zone against Oregon State
(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Isi Sofele ran for 190 yards and C.J. Anderson added another 96 on the ground as the Golden Bears defeated the Oregon State Beavers 23-6 Saturday night. The Beavers were unable to get anything going on the ground, gaining only 27 yards on the ground and could not keep the Bears at bay. Zach Maynard managed his position well. completing 13 of 19 passes for 128 yards, providing enough balance to keep OSU off guard.

The story of the night though was turnovers. Sean Mannion threw two interceptions and fumbled at the Cal 1 yard line early in the fourth as Oregon State's offense continued to go through growing pains with the first year signal caller.

The Beavers started out promisingly enough, opening the scoring with a field goal and intercepting Zach Maynard on the next California drive. The Beav's drove deep into Cal territory on the ensuing drive but Sean Mannion was sacked by Trevor Guyton to push OSU out of field goal range and force them to punt. After Johnny Hekker's punt pinned the Bears inside their own 10, Isi Sofele lead the Bears on a 91 yard scoring drive in just over 3 minutes. The drive was capped off when Maynard connected with Michael Calvin to put the Bears on top. They wouldn't look back. Maynard bounced back to throw for a score and run for another against an Oregon State defense which has struggled against mobile Quarter Backs this season.

Cal went on their second 90+ yard scoring drive, this time taking 9 minutes off the clock in a long 16 play drive to put the Bears up 14-3. The Beavers would answer back with another field goal just before the end of the half in a 7 play drive in which Sean Mannion completed 7 of 9 passes to get the Beavers in field goal range.

The Bears received the second half kick off and pounded Oregon State repeatedly, Sofele eventually breaking through on a 20 yard run to pay dirt. In what would show as the story of the night, the Beavers drove down into California territory but Sean Mannion was intercepted by D.J. Campbell in the red zone ending the Oregon State threat.

Once the Beavers got the ball back in the fourth quarter, they once again got the ball into the California red zone and were poised to punch it in, when Sean Mannion coughed the ball up at the 3 yard line and Cal recovered the fumble to keep the Beavers at bay. The Bears managed to turn the turn over into a Giorgio Tavecchio field goal to give the final margin of 23-6. Oregon State would get into Bear territory, put were thwarted on their final drive as another errant Mannion pass was intercepted with under a minute remaining to kill the last drive the Beavers had on the day.

For the Beavers, they return home to face a Washington squad which features one of the best running backs in the conference. At this point, Oregon State is reduced to spoiler against their northwest rivals Washington and then on the road to face North leader Oregon.

With the win, the Bears became bowl eligible and not a moment too soon as they face a Stanford squad in their yearly rivalry game. They close out the season on the road against Arizona State who is still looking to make a statement and stake their claim for the South division crown. California broke the streak that Oregon State held over them. Prior to this game, the Beavers had won the last four match ups against the Bears.

Oregon State Vs. California : Preview

Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 3 touchdowns and threw for another last year.
(Photo Credit - Rick Bowmer - AP )

 Oregon State is on the road this week to face the California Golden Bears in a series they have recently dominated. The Beavers have won each of the last 4 match ups between the North division rivals and look to make it 5 Saturday at AT&T Park. The interesting thing about this match up is that in recent years, regardless of record California seems to have trouble against Oregon State. It will be interesting to see if they can take advantage this year of a down OSU squad and break the streak.

Last season, the Beavers dominated the Bears in every facet of the game. Cal only managed 23 yards on the ground while Jacquizz Rodgers racked up 119 himself and three scores. The OSU running back also threw for another touchdown as they routed the Bears 35-7. One thing that goes beyond the box score is that starting QB Kevin Riley went out of the game early and forced Brock Mansion to enter the game and try to shoulder the load in hostile Reser Stadium. The Beavers defense pressured Mansion all day and forced 6 sacks for the rookie QB.

As the two teams look to renew their rivalry, Cal comes into this game favored and are looking at this game as their best chance to become bowl eligible before they face conference powers, Stanford and Arizona State. In light of recent outcomes, it may be a surprise but it is not without reason. For the Bears, the offenses output, as well as the teams success is directly tied to Zach Maynard. It's not a stretch to say that the quarter back is the most important player on the field but when looking at his statistics there is a glaring comparison from his play to Cal's winning. Zach Maynard completes just over 50% of his passes week in and week out. In that respect, he is the most consistent QB in the conference. However, looking a little deeper into the statistics, you'll see that in victories, Maynard has thrown 11 touch downs against only 3 picks. In losses, however it has been quite the opposite. Maynard has only connected on two scoring passes but has thrown 7 interceptions. The Beavers defense can win this game if they can force California to throw and capitalize on mistakes.

 However, if Keenan Allen and Marvin Jones can get open they can provide a real challenge for the OSU secondary; who, to this point been stout against the pass. One catch with the Beaver defense is they have shown difficulty defending against a mobile quarter back. Maynard has shown that he has the ability to run, but his willingness has not always been there. If Maynard gets outside the pocket he could scramble for a lot of yards against the Beavers.

Isi Sofele has been a nice compliment to Maynard in the backfield. To this point in the season he has gained 839 yards on the ground and provided a nice counter punch to an up and down passing game. This will be an interesting match up to watch as the Beavers have not played well against the run. Sofele could be the X-Factor in this game and if he can get loose and keep the Beaver defense honest it will go a long way in helping the Bears win.

The Beavers have had issues with their offensive line and they are going to have to bring their A game against one of the better defenses in the Pac-12. Statistically, the Bears are the only team with a better pass defense than OSU and they also rank in the top third in the Pac-12 against the run. Freshman, Malcom Agnew has shown signs of brilliance early in the season but has been slowed by injuries and shut down by defenses the past couple games. The Beavs will need to get him on track and take pressure off of Sean Mannion.

Mannion has been throwing the ball all over the field, and has had to often under duress. The first year signal caller has been sacked 16 times to this point in the year, but has still managed to throw for 2447 yards. His best passing game of the season thus far came against Washington State where he threw for 4 touch down passes and 376 yards. OSU is going to need those flashes of brilliance to be more sustained throughout this game and the rest of the season, for the Beavers to salvage what will be their second consecutive year without a bowl. The offensive line is going to need to clean up, cut out mistakes and play strong to keep Mannion on his feet. If they can, receivers Markus Wheaton and James Rodgers could factor in to this game and continue the recent string of dominance over the Golden Bears.

Mistakes, Wilson bury Beavers in Wisconisn

Jacob Pedersen (48) catches a touchdown pass with Oregon State's Rashaad Reynolds (16) defending during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Oregon State came into Wisconsin with a lot of questions, Saturday and it seems as though they got at least some answers, even if the answers weren't what they wanted to hear. With two quarter backs sharing the reps with the first team through out the week, it seemed as though Coach Mike Riley would be deciding on a starter by throwing them into the fire of Camp Randall Stadium, one of the most raucous in the country. Unfortunately for the visitors, they didn't get enough answers to make it matter on the scoreboard as Wisconsin garnered their first shut out, 35-0 since they shut out Purdue 37-0 in 2009.

The offense had to lean on the experience and abilities of their quarter backs as the running game was only able to net 23 yards on the ground against a stifling defense. It seems as though Coach Riley decided on Sean Mannion to lead his offense as he managed to complete 25 of 38 passes for 244 yards. Former starter Ryan Katz only threw 3 passes as it appears he will be passed up by Mannion on the depth chart. Only time will tell at this point as OSU has two weeks to prepare for their first conference game against UCLA.

On the other side of the ball, Russell Wilson was again sparkling, passing for 3 touchdowns and only missing on 4 passes. The Oregon State interior defensive line held up their end of the bargain early, slowing down the dynamic rushing attack of Montee Ball and James White, but there were no answers for Wilson as he lead the Badgers up and down the field. The Badgers eventually wore down the undermanned Beavers defensive line and Montee Ball broke through for two touchdowns late in the second half to ice the game for the home team.

Wisconsin got help from an unexpected source as the Beavers just couldn't get their special teams on the same page. Johnny Hekker netted -4 yards on a punt to give Wisconsin the ball inside Oregon State's red zone and an eventual touch down when Russell Wilson found Jacob Pederson in the end zone for his first touchdown of the day. With Wisconsin leading 14-0, the Beavers needed a solid drive to get back into the game but Kick Returner Kenyan Parker made a mental mistake, fielding the ball and stepping out of bounds inside their own 5 yard line, creating a tall order for the offense.

The Badgers have one more warm up against Northern Illinois before they get into conference play and they appear to be on the right track. Wilson providing a much needed spark to an offense that seemed to be missing one element to really become unstoppable. Meanwhile, the Beavers seem to find some rhythm on offense. Oregon State was really missing Freshman standout Malcom Agnew who rumbled for 223 yards against Sacramento State, getting a little banged up in the process. Perhaps, the passing threat of Sean Mannion will open up the Beaver offense and give Agnew the much needed lanes to make Oregon State effective.