Pages of words have been scribed speaking to the stifling play of the Oregon State defense, the improved performance of signal caller Derek Anderson while in arguably the most hostile environment of his football career, and how the offensive line provided the best protection anyone could ever have envisioned beforehand.  And there’s even more that they go into.

And then there’s the part where they say that Oregon State couldn’t pull of the biggest upset in school history.

Where they suggest the outcome was, after all, really already determined when OSU Athletic Director signed the Beavers up for the game.

Let that set in a little…think about it a bit.  Remember the odds before the game…remember whether or not any expert, analyst, or pundit said Oregon State had any dream of a chance to win the game, let alone keep it within two touchdowns?  Remember how the wise guys had the point spread at 19?

Ready?  Have all that recharged in your memory banks?

After everyone not part of Beaver Nation spoke or wrote about how the Beavers were a tough team and were preparing to win, how they weren’t the patsies of old and were working to recapture the glory and promise following their Fiesta Bowl win four years ago, they then went on to explain how it just wasn’t possible for Oregon State to compete with the defending Bowl Championship Series winner.  I mean, this was Louisiana State University.

Recall that?

What went on down in Baton Rouge on Saturday night sure looked different to me.  It looked a lot to me like the Tigers got their backsides roughed up pretty good.  I saw a team defending its national crown, and supposed to be contending for it again, get exposed.  It looked to me like the better team on the field that night wasn’t LSU, rather it was OSU.

But I can hear it now, “Scoreboard, baby!”  It may not be the former University of Washington football coach saying it, but the sentiment is the same.

And whoever’s saying it is right.  There’s a notch in the “L” column for OSU, and a notch in the “W” column for LSU.  Just don’t try to tell me the Beavers got beat.  I don’t have the words to describe it, but I know what really happened.

And don’t say it doesn’t matter, because it does.  I don’t call it a moral victory; I really don’t know what to call it, but I know it matters.

When a football team given relatively no chance to compete for a win walks into a stadium with 91,000 mostly hostile fans and lays some wood on the team that should’ve been laying the wood, that’s something.

Maybe the Beavers didn’t win the game, but don’t tell me they didn’t pull off the upset.

Now the Beavers have the Broncos of Boise State University to contend with on the road.  You know, the same Boise State that’s finished ranked in the top 15 in the country the past two years and lost only one game last season.  And guess what?  That loss, it was to the Beavers.

Oh yes, and that game was also the scene of a disputed call by the officials with 1:27 left in the game that, had it gone the other way, would’ve returned the ball to BSU and given them an opportunity to win.

Still, the Beavers played at a spectacularly high level last week, and Boise State, playing in the Western Athletic Conference, has never defeated a Pac-10 team.

None of that is news; most of you already know all that.

Here’s something else that may sound familiar: the Beavers are the underdog.  Those in the know think OSU can compete with the Broncos, but only if they’re spotted 7 points.  A win this week would be considered an upset.

Here’s to hoping the Beavers overcome the odds, win the game, and pull off the upset.

Go Beavs!