In a conference hardly known for its tenacious “D,” Oregon State is Jack Black and orange.
The Beavers have the toughest defense in the conference and one of the toughest in the nation. Oregon State is 10th in the nation in total defense. Eighteenth in scoring defense. Eighth in pass-efficiency defense.
Not the kind of statistics that exactly warm the hearts of a struggling Oregon offense.
“For us, it’s a tremendous challenge offensively because we have been inconsistent of late,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “I told our kids, what a great opportunity to go out there and beat the best defense in the conference.”
Despite the Beavers’ 3-4 conference record, Oregon State has kept most of its games close this season. Other than 43-point and 41-point aberrations to UCLA and Washington, respectively, the Beavers have allowed only 13.4 points per game. In its recent semi-winning streak — Oregon State has won four of the past five — the Beavers have given up 12.5 points per game in their four wins.
The Beavers’ defensive intensity has been spearheaded by a fearsome foursome worthy of their Halloween-colored uniforms. Senior linebacker Nick Barnett leads the defense and the conference in tackles, averaging five solo tackles and almost 10 total tackles per game. Senior cornerback Dennis Weathersby is fifth in the conference in pass deflections, and sophomore defensive lineman Bill Swancutt ranks just ahead of Barnett — and fourth in the Pac-10 — in tackles for loss. Rounding out the foursome is junior linebacker Richard Seigler, who averages 8.1 tackles per game and one for loss each contest.
Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson said Barnett and Seigler are his anchors when the other team has the ball.
“They have great speed, and that’s kind of what our defense is built on,” Erickson said. “They light a fire under themselves and everybody else. Their personality is kind of how we play defense, basically.”
Oregon State sophomore free-safety star Mitch Meeuwesen returned to
action last week after sitting out four games with an
injury. Meeuwesen was a Freshman All-American
last season.
“He’s still tweaked a little bit, but I believe he’ll be close to 100 percent (Saturday),” Erickson said. “He’ll play a lot, no question about that.”
The Oregon State defense is stacked against the run and the pass this season. The Beavers give up an average of 88 rushing yards and 202.4 passing yards per game. Both numbers lead the conference.
Landing heads-up
The Beaver defense has had success in the one quarter that Oregon’s offense has dominated — the first.
Oregon State has allowed a remarkable two touchdowns in the first quarter this season. The Beavers gave up their first first-quarter touchdown to Washington Nov. 9, then gave up another to Stanford on Saturday. Oregon State has outscored its opponents 102-43 in the first frame.
Oregon, meanwhile, has had success in the first quarter this year. The Ducks jumped out to a 14-0 lead against Washington, racked up 28-straight points on Stanford and led Arizona State 14-0, all in the first quarter. Overall, the Ducks have outscored their opponents 145-49 in the first quarter.
So the score reads 102-43 v. 145-49. Expect some fireworks right out of the gate Saturday.
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