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
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