Gazette-Times

Oregon State will open the 2007 football season with two Thursday night games against 2006 bowl participants, athletic director Bob de Carolis announced Thursday.

The Beavers will open the season Aug. 30 against the University of Utah in Reser Stadium. OSU has won eight of the 13 meetings (1 tie), but this will be the first contest since 1992 at Salt Lake City.

Utah won last year’s Armed Forces Bowl over Tulsa to finish 8-5 and now has won six consecutive bowl games, the second-longest active streak in the nation. Oregon State, which defeated Missouri in December’s Sun Bowl, has the fifth-longest bowl win streak at three. The two programs are also currently scheduled to open the 2008 season at Utah.

Oregon State will travel to the University of Cincinnati for a Sept. 6 ESPN televised game from Nippert Stadium. The game, slated for 4:30 p.m., will mark the first meeting between the two programs.

The Bearcats, of the Big East Conference, finished 8-5 last season and won the inaugural International Bowl over Western Michigan. Cincinnati’s biggest win of the 2006 season was at home over then undefeated and No. 7 Rutgers. The Bearcats, with first-year head coach Brian Kelly, will return to Reser Stadium at a date to be announced.

The final nonconference game will be Sept. 15 against the Idaho State Bengals of the Big Sky Conference. ISU is under the direction for first-year head coach John Zamberlin. This will be the first meeting between the two programs.

The Pac-10 schedule, as previously announced, begins Sept. 22 at Arizona State.

“I’m excited about our schedule this season for a number of reasons,” De Carolis said. “We have opportunities to showcase our program and university via national television, Reser Stadium will again have a new look and most of all we have a solid nucleus of student-athletes returning from our Sun Bowl team.”

Game times and further television information will be announced in the spring.

2007 OSU schedule

Aug. 30 Utah

Sept. 6 at Cincinnati (ESPN) 4:30 p.m. PDT

Sept. 15 Idaho State

Sept. 22 at Arizona State

Sept. 29 UCLA

Oct. 6 Arizona

Oct. 13 at California

Oct. 20 Bye

Oct. 27 Stanford

Nov. 3 at USC

Nov. 10 Washington

Nov. 17 at Washington State

Nov. 24 Bye

Dec. 1 at Oregon