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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1997)
Oregon State adjusting slowly to new offense Improvement on offense will be an emphasis for the Beavers in the future, Mike Riley says By Joel Hood Sports Reportet Few seasons in Beaver lore have been as highly anticipated as this season — a new head coach, new players, new uni forms and a new pass-first phi losophy on offense. Moreover, Oregon State had an experienced quarterback to lead the team to its first winning season since 1970 and (gasp) a possible bowl game at the end of the season. So what happened? The story of Oregon State’s season can be told in the trench es. In games when the Beavers have been able to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball, they are successful — by Beaver standards. Witness Oregon State’s sea son-opening 37-7 route of North Texas. The Beavers (3-7 overall, 0-7 Pacific-10 Conference) were able to control the tempo of the game and maintain momentum. They rushed for a season-high 197 yards in 40 carries and put the game well out of reach in the first half. Led by multi-purpose quarter back Tim Alexander, who ranks sixth in the Pac-10 in total of fense, Oregon State ran for more than 100 yards in each of its three victories this season. “I think we have done a good job this season adjusting to a new offensive system,” head coach Mike Riley said. “That is a process that is never really com pleted, you just hope the team continues to improve. As far as productivity, we don’t always show it.” But when the ground attack goes, so go the Beavers. Oregon State was not able to run the ball in six of its seven conference games this season. It rushed for only 20 yards against Arizona State, 32 against UCLA, 48 against Washington, 42 against Arizona and 29 last week against Southern California. Not surprisingly, those were five lop sided conference losses for Ore gon State. However, the Beavers may get a reprieve Saturday when their offense lines up against Oregon and the Pac-lO’s worst run de fense. “We haven't been able to run the ball the way we would have liked," Riley said. “But we’ve never been a real good running team. That’s going to be a major Oregon State ■ 1997 SEASON: 3-7,0-7 vs. North Texas (W) 33-7 vs. Stanford (L) 27-24 vs. Arizona State (L) 13-10 vs. San Jose State (W) 26-12 vs. Utah State (W) 24-16 at UCLA (L) 34-10 vs. Washington (L) 45-17 at California (L) 33-14 at Arizona (L) 27-7 vs. USC (L) 23-0 N Has lost 15 straight road games ■ Has lost 11 straight Pac-10 games 1 The Beavers have been held under 100 yards rushing the past five games M Has gone 60-232-6 since last winning season in 1970 emphasis for us in the future. "There is no question that we need to improve on the offensive side of the ball. We need to im prove the running game and find ways to make the offense more balanced.” Oregon State has a defense as solid as any in the Pac-10, but quarterback sacks have been hard to come by since the team entered its conference schedule. The defense produced a total of 23 sacks in its first five games this season. Since that time, the Beavers have only recorded five sacks and were shutout by both Arizona and USC. But there have been major signs of improvement, Riley said. Inoke Breckterfield has domi nated the defensive line for the Beavers this season. Despite con stant double-teaming, the 5-foot 11, 243-pound junior leads Ore gon State with six sacks, ranks second in the conference in tack les for a loss and is regarded as the team’s best run stopper. The undersized, but speedy defensive line has recorded 21 of the Beavers’ 26 sacks and has been able to contain many of the Pac-10's best offenses, including UCLA and USC, which Oregon State held to just over 100 yards on the ground. “We have done some good things on defense this season, Riley said. “We played real well against Arizona State and Stan ford, and I think we hung in there against Washington. Our defensive front has definitely shown improvement.” Then there is the Oregon State Turn to OSU, Page 9B Frank: Valley Football Center will draw more recruits to OSU * Continued from Page 2B bowl games, it was the first cou ple of recruiting classes follow ing the completion of the Casanova Center. Along with the new facilities, new head coach Mike Riley has breathed new life into the Beaver program by ridding it of the option and bringing in the passing game. The improvement can already been seen. Three-point losses to the now dominating Arizona State Sun Devils and Stanford, a game the Beavers were within minutes of pulling out, are not flukes. This program is finally on the way up. It is now just a matter of play ing well on a consistent basis and for an extended period of time, as displayed by their 20 point loss to Arizona. The complete turnaround will come, but it won’t be quickly. Ryan Frank is the sports editor for the Emerald 686-GOLD • 3RD & LAWERENCE OPEN 14 HOURS Join us for our noxt concert at Autzon Stadium UO Students Get 10% off everyday Pre-Game Checklist Waterproo Wa icket *ants :e Snap T Research Hat ilia Fleece Gloves Bags from $32.00 from $16.95 from $51 from $35.00 from $15.00 $6.95 - 79 VV Broadway (485-5946) & Valley River Center (345-2300) ODE CLASSIFIEDS ♦♦♦ worth looking into!
