Beavers will have to contend with Oregon's spread

By Cliff Kirkpatrick

Gazette-Times Reporter

Throwing out the overabundance of analysis is one way to approach the Civil War with all the emotion involved, but that's not Oregon State football coach Mike Riley's way.

After 11 games both teams have played well enough to be at or near the top of the Pacific-10 Conference standings. Systems are in place and have been refined.

The outcome will come down to who plays the best and with the most focused intensity when No. 19-ranked Oregon faces the No. 17 Beavers at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Reser Stadium.

"It's always hard to put a game plan together against these people, and they are playing well," Riley said. "It's a great matchup. They are very explosive offensively. It should be a heck of a game. It's fun to be a part of this."

The Beavers (8-3, 7-1) made their success by preparing each week, going over all the details of an opponent and blocking out the postseason talk.

And there will be plenty of details and postseason talk this week.

OSU can win its way into the Rose Bowl or the Ducks (8-3, 6-2) can force a decision by the Holiday Bowl to pick one team over the other as conference runner-ups. Rose Bowl officials will be at the Civil War to formally invite the Beavers if they win.

"I've been doing the countdown, but we do have a one-game season, and a ton of work to do," defensive end Victor Butler said. "We are going up against a great team and great coaches. We have to be prepared more so than ever before mentally and physically. We need to play a hell of a good game to pull that one out."

Oregon features the 11th-best offense in the nation. The Ducks' version of the spread, with its personnel, exploits teams on the ground.

The Ducks literally spread you out and force defenders to make one-on-one plays on their talented athletes. That translates into the best running team in the Pac-10 and sixth-best in the nation.

"They have a nice offense, schematically," Riley said. "They have good people doing it. They utilize their talent well."

Swarming, attacking defenses such as Oregon State's, can have trouble. A missed assignment could mean big plays.

However, stopping the spread offense is nothing new to the Beavers. They contained many, including Arizona last weekend. And the Wildcats were a threat to pass, too.

"They have a high-potent offense, but we've seen enough spread offenses," linebacker Bryant Cornell said. "Every offense can pull out a surprise, but we've seen the majority of plays we are going to see. I think we are ready."

Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli makes the Oregon offense go, averaging 55.9 rushing yards a game. He can hand the ball off to Jeremiah Johnson, who averages 78.5 yards, or LeGarrette Blount at 74.2 yards a game.

Masoli's passing is improving. He averages 121.2 yards a game, and has thrown nine touchdowns and four interceptions.

"He seems to be a good fit for what they are doing," Riley said. "He has played a lot of ball for them now."

The numbers say the Oregon defense has a weakness stopping the pass. The Ducks are 10th in the conference and 101st in the nation, but they are tough against the run.

Part of that comes from a strong pass rush with stats going on to the rush defense. So it's a little bit misleading.

Defensive end Nick Reed dominates the line with a conference-leading 10 sacks, and 81 tackles for a loss. Cornerback Jarius Byrd is a standout pass defender with 16 pass breakups and four interceptions.

"They play overall good defense," Riley said. "There are a number of good defenses in our (conference), more than normal. And these guys are part of that group."