In the week leading up to Oregon State’s game against Arizona, tailback Ken Simonton didn’t mince words in regards to his team’s state of mind.
He was pissed. He was frustrated. And he let the public know about it during his weekly press conference.
“I’ve been more frustrated with how we’ve played, not that we’ve lost,” Simonton said. “I can deal with getting beat, but when you don’t go out and fight, it’s just like watching two kids on the playground and one’s getting swung in a circle getting punched. It’s like, ‘Man, fight back. You’re already getting hit. What’s it going to cost you to swing back?’
“That’s been kind of the most frustrating part for me, guys on my side of the ball — we just look soft on offense, all 11 of us.”
A few days later, the Beavers “swung back” and took out their frustrations against the visiting Wildcats, rolling to a 38-3 victory Saturday night at Reser Stadium.
The win came when Oregon State needed it most. Up to that point, the season had been embarrassing — for Oregon State and for Sports Illustrated, the weekly sports magazine that forecast the Beavers as the No. 1 team in the country.
Oregon State (2-3 overall, 1-2 Pacific-10 Conference) opened its season with a 44-24 loss at Fresno State. Then it held off a scare by New Mexico State and won, 27-22. But the Bruins ran all over them in Corvallis, 38-7, and the following week, the Cougars took a 31-3 halftime lead against the Beavers en route to a 34-27 victory.
So, sitting at 1-3 and facing a do-or-die-type game against Arizona, Simonton decided to challenge his troops and throw some cold water in their faces.
He wanted to remind his teammates that the 41-9 Fiesta Bowl thumping of Notre Dame was in the past.
“We’re not fighting for each other,” Simonton said. “I think one of the biggest differences was the commitment this summer. We had so many guys who wanted to go home and show off their new rings. I was one of those guys who didn’t really like staying up here, it was kind of forced on me, but the one thing I realized was that my line needed to see me out here.
“This team is so new, we’re still getting a feel for each other. Those are the things that need to be ironed out during the summer.”
Instead, the Beavers are just now getting comfortable with their new faces in new places. While they know that a second straight Pac-10 championship is out of the question (the Ducks, Beavers and Huskies all were co-champs last season), the Beavers are preparing to make a run at a bowl bid.
Up next for Oregon State is a trip to Tempe, Ariz., to face the Sun Devils before coming back to Corvallis to take on California. And the following Saturday, Nov. 3, the Beavers head to Los Angles to take on Southern California. Should the Beavers win two of those three, that would leave them two wins shy of the six victories needed to earn a trip to a bowl game.
One of those games, a Nov. 17 game against Northern Arizona, is practically a gimmie, leaving games against Washington at home and Oregon at Autzen Stadium.
There’s still a long road ahead, but Saturday’s 35-point victory has re-energized the Beaver nation as they try to regain their winning ways.
“These guys are learning a valuable lesson that we’ve had to learn, as well — learn how to be underdogs,” Simonton said of his younger players. “They inherited a championship legacy, but it was only a one-year legacy. So if they want to retain that, they’ve got to earn that.”
Simonton, whose Heisman Trophy campaign all but fizzled away with his 26-yard outing against UCLA and 19-yard total versus Washington State, rebounded with 104 yards rushing in the win over Arizona.
His campaign Web site, ken35.org, remains updated and this week there will be a 30-minute special on Simonton that will be aired on ESPN Classic at 4:30 p.m. Friday and 6:30 a.m. Saturday.

Pac-10 Honors
UCLA’s convincing 35-13 win against Washington not only leapfrogged the Bruins over Oregon into the No. 4 spot in the Associated Press poll, it also garnered two of its players with awards.
Bruin tailback DeShaun Foster was honored as the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week after he ran all over the Huskies for 301 yards on 31 carries. He also scored four touchdowns, including one that went for 92 yards. It was the third-best rushing game in Pac-10 history.
On defense, Bruin linebacker Robert Thomas earned the league honors after recording a game-high 12 tackles. Washington State’s Josh Moen won it for special teams after he blocked a key punt that was taken back for a touchdown in the Cougars’ 45-39 victory at Stanford.