The Beavers can be their own worst enemy today.

Will the Beavers stay focused on their task at hand? Or will thoughts of bigger games to come result in big heads?

Coach Mike Riley has had his work cut out for him this week. He's been a master of keeping his teams from looking past the next game, but this is a tough one. The players are college kids, after all.

There are so many reasons not to take Washington State seriously.

The Cougars are clearly the worst team in the Pacific-10 Conference and this year it isn't even close.

Wazzu ranks last in 23 of the 32 categories in the Pac-10 team statistics. The Cougars score 13.4 points a game and give up 39. They produce 260.8 yards a game and yield 511.6.

The Cougars have won one game, 30-27 over Southern Methodist in Pullman on Sept. 19. They've given up over 30 points in seven games this season and more than 40 five times.

They are coming off a 43-7 loss to UCLA at home in which they were outgained 556 to 181 by the Bruins.

By any account, the Beavers should win. And big.

The Beavers need to clear their minds of all thoughts of the upcoming Civil War and a possible Rose Bowl berth.

They can't look ahead to University of Oregon and they certainly can't be dreaming of Pasadena.

Lack of focus can be costly. Teams can bog down on offense and suffer defensive lapses. A lost fumble or two. Interceptions. A special teams breakdown.

Suddenly, the Cougars have some life on senior day. That can be dangerous.

The Cougars really have nothing to lose, and would like nothing more than to throw a wrench into OSU's plans.

Give any team reason to believe it can win and what should be a lopsided blowout can turn into a surprise.

The Beavers simply cannot afford any surprises.

To be honest, even if the Beavers play their worst game of the season, they still might slip out of the Palouse with a win.

A win is a win, but going into the Civil War on anything but a high note could spell disaster.

The Beavers need to start fast and not let up until the game is well in hand. Overwhelm the Cougars in the first quarter with superior talent and dash any lingering hopes with the first few drives.

Expect Riley to have the Beavers ready. Expect OSU to take a big lead early and Riley to go with his reserves a little earlier than usual. Getting through the game without any major injuries is of paramount importance.

Expect the Beavers to be talking about the Civil War after the game.

Kevin Hampton covers sports for the Gazette-Times. He can be reached at kevin.hampton@lee.net.