James Rodgers out with a broken collarbone

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Gazette-Times Reporter

It still stings days later, but looking forward is the only thing the Oregon State football team can do as time heals all wounds.

And now a major injury to starting wide receiver James Rodgers adds to the pain. Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone in Saturday’s game and is out for the bowl game, coach Mike Riley said Sunday night.

Rodgers was hurt on a tackle late in the game when he was taken down on the sideline and landed wrong. He needed help off the field.

“I knew it wasn’t good,” Riley said. “He didn’t go back in. He wanted to go back in, so they had to take his helmet away. He had no strength in his arm.”

How the No. 25-ranked Beavers compensate without him isn’t clear. Chris Johnson and Darrell Catchings are candidates at flanker. Who returns kickoffs will be determined later.

Patrick Henderson returned kicks with Rodgers, so he could become the primary returner with a secondary returner to be sought out.

Another issue is that the fly sweep won’t have the same look, if used at all, without Rodgers. He leads the team in all-purpose yards with 152.8 a game.

“It’s too early to say how that will come down,” Riley said. “In time I’ll have more information.”

For now, Riley plans to help his players through the blowout loss at home in the Civil War.

The 65-38 loss to rival Oregon in a Pacific-10 Conference game was one thing. It also most likely knocked them out of the Rose Bowl.

“It would have been great to represent the Pac-10 and Corvallis in the Rose Bowl, but whatever bowl we get placed in we are going to get prepared and give it our best shot,” defensive end Slade Norris said.

To do that the Beavers need to emotionally recover from a season full of joy and anguish. Players are just drained.

“It will hurt for a while,” safety Greg Laybourn said. “To be so close and lose like we did will hurt. Everyone will be eager to get ready for this bowl game and get this taste out of our mouths.”

Physically healing will help, too, before they begin bowl game preparations next week. Playing five straight weeks took its toll on their bodies.

Running back Jacquizz Rodgers couldn’t play Saturday due to the sprained shoulder he suffered the week before at Arizona. He is expected back during bowl practice. Whether he plays in the bowl game will be determined soon.

“We’re heading that way,” Riley said. “He’s feeling good. When we start practicing we’ll see where he’s at.”

The Beavers must wait until this weekend to find out officially what bowl game they will attend. It’s probably the Sun Bowl with the outside chance for the Rose Bowl.

If 27-point underdog UCLA upsets Southern California on Saturday, that would create at three-way tie atop the Pac-10 standings with Oregon, OSU and USC. The tiebreaker goes to the Beavers and a Rose Bowl berth.

“I don’t like being in the position on counting on a bunch of stuff,” Riley said. “But we’ll see what happens.”

Should the Beavers play in the Sun Bowl, the opponent will come from the Big East Conference, the Big 12 Conference or will be Notre Dame. The Sun Bowl has gone public about picking the 6-6 Fighting Irish if they are available.

Notre Dame has not been to the Sun Bowl, and game officials want access to the team’s large fan base and the national exposure that comes with the storied program.

For that pairing to happen, the Big East must fall short of filling all six of its bowl tie-ins with 7-win teams.

There are five 7-win teams now. Rutgers can keep the Irish from the Sun Bowl if it defeats Louisville on Thursday. The Scarlet Knights would be the sixth Big East team with seven wins.

If that happens, OSU’s opponent could be Pittsburgh or West Virginia of the Big East or Missouri or Nebraska of the Big 12.

The Gator Bowl and the Sun Bowl trade picks between the Big 12 and Big East, and the Gator Bowl picks first of the two. Bowl officials there indicated a Big 12 team interests them, leaving a Big East team for the Sun Bowl.

“Once we get away from this game (the Civil War) we’ll rejuvenate and we’ll have some excitement for the next opponent,” Riley said. “It’s hard to think about that right now.”