Head coach:
Tyrone Willingham (Third season)
(Career: 71-62-1 | At UW: 6-11)
Current ranking: NR
Current record: 4-2, 2-1 in the Pac-10
Streak: One game losing streak |
Head coach:
Mike Riley (Third season)
(Career: 30-33 | At OSU: 30-33)
Current ranking: NR
Current record: 2-3, 0-2 in the Pac-10
Streak: Two game losing streak |
Last time
Oregon State and Washington met...
Nov. 5, 2005 in Seattle - Oregon State 18, Washington 10
A year after booting a school-record five field goals in a win at Husky Stadium,
Oregon State kicker Alexis Serna did one better in the Beavers’ 2005
visit, connecting on six field goals to provide all of OSU’s offense in an 18-10
victory over Washington on a rain-soaked day in the Emerald City. Washington’s
only touchdown came in the game’s final minute when backup QB Johnny DuRocher
connected with Craig Chambers on a five-yard TD pass to cap a 13-play
drive.
Neither team was
able to mount much offense as the Beavers out-gained the Huskies just 263 yards
to 226. OSU QB Matt Moore threw for 136 yards on 17-of-27 passing while
Yvenson Bernard had a solid rushing day, compiling 122 yards on 35
carries. Isaiah Stanback was 5-for-12 for 104 yards while DuRocher went
11-for-30 for 103 and a score. The Husky running game was led by 53 yards on 19
carries from senior James Sims ...
more from BF.com
Last time
Washington played...
Oct. 7, 2006 - USC 26, Washington 20
All Tyrone Willingham has been asking for on the
road is a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter. He got all that and more
from his Washington team, but time ran out on the Huskies as they were driving
toward a chance to upset the No. 3 USC Trojans in Los Angeles.
But instead of Traveler running out on the field, it was a zebra that stymied
UW's final shot at a monumental upset, leaving the Huskies with a bitter 26-20
taste in their mouths - something no moral victory would satiate ...
more from DawgMan.com
Last time
Oregon State played...
Oct. 7, 2006 - Washington State 13,
Oregon State 6
The Oregon State defense turned in a their best performance of the year
recording five sacks and 12 tackles for loss, but the Beaver offense managed
just six points in a 13-6 loss to Washington State. The offense turned the ball
over five times with three of them coming in WSU territory.
WR Sammie Stroughter had six catches for a career high 124 yards while returning four
punts for 100 yards and was close to taking back a couple of punts for
touchdowns. RB Yvenson Bernard had 17 carries for 91 yards while QB Matt
Moore completed 18 of 34 for 223 yards, his first 200 yard performance of the
season, with no touchdowns and one crucial interception ...
more from BF.com
Series
history (UW leads 57-29-4, 25-15-0 in Husky Stadium).
Washington and Oregon State meet for the 91st time since the series started in
1897 Saturday. Washington holds a 57-29-4 series advantage and has won 15
of the last 18 meetings and 25 of the last 29, but have lost the last two in
Seattle. The teams have split the last six meetings. The series
against the Beavers is the second longest active series in Washington football
history and third longest in terms of total meetings.
This is the third
consecutive time OSU has traveled to Washington. The Beavers haven’t played road
games against the Huskies in consecutive seasons since 1940, when they traveled
to Seattle for five straight seasons. From 1902 to 1940, all but six of 27 UW-OSU
games were played in Seattle, with four in Corvallis, one in Portland and one in
Albany, Ore.
Washington
connections.
The most notable connection between the Washington and Oregon State football
teams is the fact that Nigel Burton,
the Beavers’ fourth-year cornerbacks coach, graduated from the UW in 1999 after
having spent three seasons playing for the Huskies after having transferred from
Pacific. One of Burton’s most memorable on-field highlights came against the
Beavers in 1998 when the batted down a two-point conversion pass attempt to
secure a Husky win. Also, as far as coaching staff crossover goes, Beavs
defensive line coach Greg Newhouse,
Husky offensive coordinator Tim Lappano
and UW wide receivers coach Eric Yarber
all worked on Dennis Erickson’s
staff at Oregon State. Finally, OSU defensive coordinator
Mark Banker and Huskies
running backs coach Trent Miles
served on the same coaching staff at Hawaii in 1995.
Oregon State’s
current roster includes only four players that graduated from Washington high
schools: freshman TE Joe Halahuni, who will enroll in Janurary,
(Orting HS), sophomore LS Aaron Carlson
(Olympia HS ... same HS as Husky FB Luke Kravitz),
freshman OL Alex Linnenkohl
(Capital HS) and freshman S Adam Mobley
(Vancouver/Skyview HS). Somewhat surprisingly, Washington’s roster includes only
one player from the state of Oregon: OT Eric Berglund
(Beaverton).
Several Huskies and
Beavers attended the same high school somewhere other than Washington or Oregon.
Husky Wilson Afoa
attended Saint Louis High in Honolulu, the same as OSU’s Tavita Thompson. Beavers QB
Matt Moore prepped at Hart High in
Valencia, Calif., the same as Huskies linebacker Dan Howell. And Husky DE
Brandon Ala and OSU C
Ryan Pohl are both
graduates of Hawaii’s Kamehameha High.
Serna's second
home.
PK Alexis Serna has made 45 career field goals, 24 (11) percent have
come at Husky Stadium. Serna is 11-for-11 at one of the most notoriously
difficult places for kickers. After both games, played in inclement weather, he
was named the Pac-10 Special Teams Player of the Week. Serna booted then the
longest field goal of his career as time expired in the first half of the 2004
game -- 55 yards into the wind. His 11 kicks have come from 18, 23, 25,
27, 28, 31, 32, 35, 41, 46, 55. The early forecast is for 55 degrees Saturday.
Defense
improving.
Oregon State enters Saturday’s game tied for third (UCLA) in the Pac-10 and tied
for seventh in the nation for quarterback sacks averaging 3.4 per game (17
total). OSU has 11 players with sacks and the 17 total is just five shy of
all of last season’s mark.
Defensive linemen
Joe Lemma and William `Akau’ola Vea share the team lead with
three.
In addition to
Oregon State’s 17 quarterback sacks, it has also added 25 tackles behind the
line of scrimmage. The 42 total tackles-for-loss averages to 8.4 per game, fifth
in the NCAA -- only Florida International, Connecticut, Oklahoma State and
Middle Tennessee have a higher average. Linebacker Derrick Doggett leads
the team for TFL with six, followed by linebacker Alan Darlin and lineman
Vea with 5.5. OSU TFLs have accounted for 205 total yards in losses.
Third down
woes.
The Beavers have struggled on third downs converting 22 of 63 (34.5%), eighth
worst in the conference. And as the game wears on it doesn't get any
better as OSU has converted just 4 of 18 (22%) in the fourth quarter.
Very special
teams.
After averaging 28.0 per kick in the opener, freshman Kyle Loomis has
since averaged 42.3 yards per attempt. Over the last two games he has averaged
48.7. Loomis ranks 55th in the nation for overall average at 39.7 and is the
highest true freshman punter and second overall for freshman -- Iowa State’s
Mike Brandtner is a redshirt-freshman and is 45th at 40.5 yards.
Junior Sammie
Stroughter is second in the nation for punt return yards per attempt at 23.6
and junior Coye Francies is fifth in the Pac-10 for kickoff return yards
per attempt at 22.2. Overall, OSU is first in the Pac-10 for punt return yards
per attempt at 20.9 -- the program has never led the conference and finished
second only once since team punt
return yards have been kept by the league (since 1980).
Additional
notes.
- Husky head
coach Tyrone Willingham posted a 3-3 record against the Beavers while
at Stanford, including a 1-1 mark head-to-head vs. Mike Riley.
Including his team at Stanford and Washington he is 3-4 versus Oregon State.
- OSU is leading the
Pac-10 in penalty yardage and is tied for third in lost turnovers, for
instance. OSU also has suffered six losses by 18 points or more in its last
14 games. And OSU hasn't scored more than 18 points in any of its last five
Pac-10 games, and has lost four straight conference home games.
- Washington
has allowed just five sacks in six games this season, the lowest total in
the conference.
- Washington
has played all three of the Northwest teams in a season on 77 prior
occasions. Over those 77 seasons in which Oregon, OSU and WSU were all on
the UW schedule, the Dawgs have swept all three 28 times. In the meantime,
the Huskies have lost to all three in the same season on only four occasions
(1948, 1968, 1973, 2004 and 2005).
- Over the
last three games, wins over UCLA and Arizona and a loss at USC, the Huskies
have allowed just four touchdowns while scoring nine.
- This has
nothing to do with the game, but I found it to be an interesting fact.
Washington is one of just eight NCAA Division I-A programs that has never
faced a non-Division I-A opponent since the current division setup was
established in 1978. The seven remaining schools that have yet to play a
non-Division I-A opponent since the advent of the current format are
Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC, UCLA and Washington.
- OSU is tied
for second in Pac-10 in turnover margin (+4, 1.0 per game) after being dead
last (-14) in the Conference in that category last year.
- Oregon State is 26-5 when leading after three quarters under head
coach Mike Riley, including 12-1 in the combined 2004, ‘05 and ‘06
seasons.
- RB Yvenson Bernard ranks second in the league in
rushing at 99.0 yards per game and has topped the 100-yard mark in eight of
his last 13 games. He also is Pac-10 co-leader in rushing TDs with five.
- PK Alexis Serna has converted 77 consecutive PATs
and connected on 45-of-54 career field goal attempts. He has 212 career
points, good for fourth on OSU's career list, and is just seven points shy
of the OSU career scoring record by a kicker (219, Ryan Cesca, 1999-2002).
- At 4-2, the
Huskies already have more victories than in the past two seasons combined
(3).
- WR Sonny Shackelford has posted three consecutive 100-yard receiving games and is
tied for second in the Conference with five TD receptions.
- The Husky defense has allowed just four TDs
over last three games.
- QB Isaiah Stanback
ranks second in the Pac-10 in total offense at 250.3 yards per game.
- P Sean Douglas leads the Pac-10 and is fourth
in the nation in punting with an average of 46.6 yards per boot.
******
Dan Norz is the
publisher of BeaverFootball.com. He can be reached at
webmaster@beaverfootball.com.