Gazette-Times Reporter

Oregon State football coach Mike Riley likes to say every week that the next game is the most important and hardest of the season.

It’s his way of using coach-speak to keep players focused, and it has worked so far.

However, that’s an accurate way to describe Saturday afternoon’s game with a Rose Bowl berth and at least a tie for second place in the Pacific-10 Conference hanging in the balance.

The No. 21-ranked Beavers opened the week as a slight underdog facing conference foe Arizona on the road.

“They have got a lot of weapons,” Riley said. “I hope it hasn’t all come together for them this week. They’ve been on the rise, and we’ve noted that for while.”

The unranked Wildcats (6-4, 4-3) are favored by three points because they are a veteran team playing well, and they are 4-1 at home. The only loss was by seven points to powerhouse Southern California.

Arizona is bowl eligible, but trying to close the gap on the Beavers (7-3, 6-1) in the Pac-10 standings and improve their postseason opportunities.

It’s a veteran team that wins the games it should, and are tough in the others. The most significant win was over California by 15 points.

“We need all the momentum we have going into Arizona,” defensive end Slate Norris said. “We know that’s a tough environment in November. We know what we can do. We are confident, and we are a good team.”

This is Arizona’s year in the fifth season with coach Mike Stoops running the show. The Wildcats have veteran quarterback Willie Tuitama who leads the Pac-10 in passing with 232.1 yards a game.

Receiver Mike Thomas leads the conference with 5.6 catches a game and is second with 68 yards a game. Running back Nic Grigsby is third in rushing with an average of 94.1 yards.

“As we watched it, Mike has done a nice job of getting the personnel in there to do what they are doing,” Riley said.

The Beavers counter with equivalent numbers, and a history of success in Tucson. They have won the last three meetings there in 2000, 2004 and 2006.

High-end postseason possibilities also give them keep motivation. The Beavers must win the next two games to reach the Rose Bowl. One loss drops them into the Holiday Bowl.

“The thing about having that in the back of our minds, we hunger for it,” quarterback Lyle Moevao said. “We want it so bad, and we know what we have to do to get there. And we are still trying to get better to get there.”

Recruiting update

The Beavers received two verbal commitments for next season in the last week, according to recruiting services.

Cornerback Conroy Black of Fullerton College in the Los Angeles area committed, according to Rivals.com. He had an offer from Southern Methodist, and had interest from Middle Tennessee.

Black is a 6-foot-1, 180-pounder with 4.45-second speed in the 40-yard dash. He has 19 tackles, one interception and three pass breakups through nine games this season.

He graduated from Everglades High in Florida in 2006, and committed to Montana State before failing to academically qualify. Black sat out the 2006 season and then played at East Los Angeles College in 2007 so he has three years to play two seasons.

Offensive tackle Grant Enger committed, according to Scout.com. He’s a 6-6, 250-pounder from Seattle’s O’Dea High. Scout ranks the three-star athlete as the No. 49 prospect at his position in the nation.

These are the 17th and 18th known commitments to the Beavers for the class of 2009. Black is the first junior college commitment.

Weekly honors

Defensive tackle Stephen Paea and wide receiver James Rodgers were named players of the week by the Pacific-10 Conference. Paea is the defensive player and Rodgers is the co-special teams player. Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is the offensive player and USC’s C.J. Gable is the other special teams player.

Paea was important to OSU’s defensive effort in a 34-21 win against California over the weekend. He had six tackles, three solo. There were two tackles for loss for minus-13 yards and one quarterback sack. Rodgers and Gable returned kickoffs back for touchdowns in their games. They were the first of the season in the Pac-10.