Guess who's back? Mannion will start at UW

WELL THAT WAS quick. Sean Mannion, who had surgery to repair a torn meniscus less than two weeks ago, has been deemed ready to start. He'll line up under center for the first snap against UW on Saturday night in Seattle, Mike Riley said today.

Sean Mannion is again Oregon State's starting quarterback after a two week absence. Riley made the announcement after Monday's indoor practice, as reported by the Oregonian. Mannion took all the reps with the first unit in the session.

"Obviously, we feel great about our quarterback situation," Riley told the newspaper. "It's a tough decision to make."

Cody Vaz went 2-0 as the starter. The Beaver offense was lights out under Vaz against BYU, so much so Vaz took home Pac-12 Player of the Week honors.

This past Saturday, Vaz and the OSU offense were far less prolific, but the Beavs still won 21-7.

Both BYU (No. 4) and Utah (No. 29) have defenses ranked in the nation's top 30 in the total defense category.

Mannion was available if needed this past Saturday but was not called upon. Meanwhile, Vaz was back with the second unit Monday and, according to the paper, couldn't hide his disappointment.

"I obviously want to be out there, I want to be playing," Vaz said. "It's going to be tough, but I'm going to handle it the best I can and try to support Sean."

Vaz completed 36 of 58 passes (62 percent) for 506 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in two games. Mannion is 107 for 169 (63 percent) for 1,358 yards and seven touchdowns, along with four interceptions in four games. Vaz has the higher pass efficiency rating at 152.4 to 139.7.