With the prelude to this year’s Civil War almost over, the Emerald decided to give fans a little primer on the Oregon State Beavers and how they got to where they are today. Whether it be sophomore sensation Jacquizz Rodgers or senior quarterback Sean Canfield, the Beavers won’t be a walk in the park for Oregon.
 
After starting the season 2-2, the No. 13 Oregon State Beaver football team has rattled off six wins over its past seven games to give the team a possible Rose Bowl berth and a shot at a trip to Pasadena, Calif., for the second straight season. The Beavers were in a similar situation last year when the then-No. 19 Oregon Ducks came into Reser Stadium and handed OSU a 65-38 loss, depriving the Beavers of a trip to the coveted Rose Bowl.
 
Instead, Oregon State went on to defeat then-No. 18 Pittsburgh in a 3-0 game in El Paso, Texas — home of the Sun Bowl — after winning eight of their final nine games leading up to the Civil War. The similarities in circumstance are all too familiar for OSU, but this year they’ll be heading into the inhospitable Autzen Stadium to take on the high-powered No. 7 Ducks.
Traveling has not been much of a factor for head coach Mike Riley’s squad, as they’ve compiled an 8-2 road record over the past two seasons, the best mark in the Pacific-10 Conference during that time. The team’s lone road loss this season came against then-No. 4 USC, with the Beavers falling 42-36.
That game undoubtedly showed just what kind of offensive firepower the Beavers have in 2009. Canfield tore the Trojan secondary to pieces as he threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns on 30-of-43 passing, while sophomore Jacquizz Rodgers and his older brother James Rodgers each reached the end zone.
Throughout the year, many have compared the short and versatile Jacquizz Rodgers to Oregon’s LaMichael James, but James said after practice yesterday that he hasn’t really looked much into it.
“I’ve never really watched him play,” James said. “I just watch their defense play and I let our defense worry about the comparison between me and him.”
The big three of Canfield, Jacquizz Rodgers and James Rodgers have been nothing short of deadly this season, averaging 422.2 yards of total offense per game and also leading the Pac-10 in red zone efficiency as they’ve converted on 48 — 37 touchdowns and 11 field goals — of their 50 attempts inside the 20 yard line.
Over the course of the year, Canfield has led the Beavers to big wins. The most notable to the Oregon faithful was their Oct. 10 win over the Stanford Cardinal. Canfield threw for 290 yards and one score in the game, but Jacquizz Rodgers stole the show as he ran through the Cardinal defense with 33 carries for 190 yards and four rushing TDs. He also caught five passes for 82 yards, while James Rodgers pulled down six receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown.
“We’ve definitely got to focus on the run a little more than last year,” Oregon linebacker Casey Matthews said. “(Jacquizz) is definitely a big presence for them. He gets a ton of carries, so we definitely need to stop that.”
Most recently, Oregon State completed its sweep over the Washington schools as it defeated UW 48-21 and WSU 42-10, before spending the bye week preparing for the trip to Eugene. When OSU played at Autzen in 2007, it was able to sneak out a 38-31 win in overtime against a Dennis Dixon-less Oregon squad on a 25-yard touchdown scamper from none other than James Rodgers.
“It’s good for the state of Oregon for what’s at stake for both teams,” Matthews said.
And with another shot at the Rose Bowl on the line, there’s no doubt that both squads will be ready to go come game time.
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