Players want to get back on the field and prepare for a trip to the Sun Bowl

By Cliff Kirkpatrick

Gazette-Times Reporter

The Oregon State football team held a quiet gathering for the first time since last weekend's Civil War on Sunday.

The Beavers came together to find out where they were going for the postseason. There was little fanfare as the news of the Sun Bowl invitation became official.

Many of the players were still smarting from the blowout loss to rival Oregon to end the regular season. However, they are all determined to finish the season with a win.

"When you think about it, it still hurts," senior safety Greg Laybourn said. "I've been just trying to focus on school. It was a big disappointment for everyone."

The No. 24-ranked Beavers get their chance for redemption when they face No. 18 Pittsburgh in the 75th annual Sun Bowl on Dec. 31 in El Paso, Texas.

The Sun is the third-ranked bowl game for Pacific-10 Conference teams. The Beavers finished the Pac-10 season tied for second place with Oregon, but were on the verge of the Rose Bowl and a co-championship before the loss to the Ducks.

"We are trying not to think about that," Laybourn said of what they missed. "We pretty much accepted it. After we lost the Oregon game that was going to be the case. Now we are just focusing on winning this bowl game."

Having a week off after the Civil War made the disappointment sting more with no distractions. The Beavers didn't practice and there was limited time in school during dead week as they prepared for finals this week.

Players want to get back to the practice field. They say the best way to forget about a bad loss is to get ready for the next game.

Coach Mike Riley believes his players will come back. He points to their character after the blowout loss at Penn State in the second week of the season.

"It's really important to get back on the field," Riley said. "We don't want to end our season on a bad note. I think there will be some residual effect on that. But there's no time for babies. We can't whine about that anymore. We have to get ready to go."

Facing Pittsburgh will be a challenge. The Panthers are the second-place team out of the Big East Conference, and the Beavers were blown out by the last two Big East teams they played, Louisville in 2005 and Cincinnati in 2007.

This is the first time since 1989 that two top-25 teams will face off in the Sun Bowl. No. 24 Pittsburgh upset No. 16 Texas A&M, 31-28, in that game.

"It sounds like it's going to be a great matchup," Riley said. "We were at the Sun Bowl two years ago, and we had the experience of our lifetime there with the hospitality, and a great game. So we will be looking forward both to the preparation and to the game and the time we spend in El Paso."

The Beavers will be off another week during finals, and return to practice Dec. 15. They leave for El Paso on Christmas afternoon.