BEAVERS IN PULLMAN TO FACE 1-9 COUGARS

The 7-3(5-2) Beavers are in Pullman Washington to face the 1-9 (0-7) Cougars of Washington State University. On the face of things you look at this game and think "Wow, should be a blowout. Yawn). But in fact this is one of the biggest games of the year for the Beavers. If the Beavers can take care of business in Pullman today, the Beavers will go into the Dec. 3rd game with the Ducks in a tie for second place and potentially holding (once again) a chance for the Rose Bowl in the palm of their hands.

A Beavers win today, combined with a win by the Ducks in Tucson would make the Civil War winner the PAC-10 Champion and give the Beavers their first Rose Bowl Berth in 45 years. The last time the Beavers went to Pasadena was for the Jan. 1, 1965 Rose Bowl with Michigan. The Beavers lost that game 34-7.

So this game today is huge for the Beavers season and I hate to admit it but I may just have to cheer for those feathered guys down I-5 today. I never ever cheer for the Ducks so that is big.

The biggest issue for the Beavers today is trying to stay focused when the game two weeks from now could be for such big prize and to stay focused today when you are 31 point favorites. Pullman is not an easy place to play. Cougar fans are true blue fans and will show up to cheer for their team no matter what. I have three Cougar alums in my family and I can attest to their passion for the Cougars. The team may have hit rock bottom but you can never give a team at the bottom a chance for life. If you do, you may find yourself on the losing end of the scoreboard. The Cougars have no where to go but up so the Beavers have to put the pedal down early and put this game away in the first half to take the fight out of the Cougars and their fans.

A game like this is very scary because their is so much to lose for the Beavers. You are on the road vs a team that is desperate for a win. The weather will be a factor. Temperature at kickoff is to be around 40 degrees with a 20% chance of rain or snow. You add cold hands and a wet ball into the mix and just about anything can happen if the Beavers don't stay focused. Just ask SMU. The Mustangs are bowl bound under Coach June Jones but they went into Pullman in September and looked past the Cougars and came home to Texas with a loss. The Cougars only win of the season.

The OSU-WSU series has been a close one over the years with the Cougars holding a 47-43 lead but the Beavers have won 2 in a row and 4 of the last 5. The Beavers are also leading the PAC-10 the last two seasons in road conference wins, going 7 for 9 on the road in the PAC-10 the last two years.

Lets take a look at the numbers..

BY THE NUMBERS - Click Here for Team Stats

The Beavers dominate the statistics winning 28 of 32 categories. Since one category is home field advantage that leaves just 3 wins for the Cougars. One of those wins is in punting where the Cougar punter is slightly ahead of Hekker but in Net Punting (the actual stat the conference records, punt minus return) the Beavers lead that category too. So that leaves interceptions and 4th down defense. Well the interception numbers for both teams are in the bottom half compared to the rest of the conference and 4th down conversions should not have an affect in this game.

Big numbers to watch is passing and rushing offense for the Beavers. The Cougars are last in the PAC-10 in both passing and rushing defense and the Beavers ranked 1st in passing offense and 6th in rushing offense. If the Beavers establish the ground game early on the Cougars it will put huge pressure on their pass defense to stop the Beavers. I don't look for Riley to open this game up in the air given the cold weather in Pullman. Look for the Beavers to pound the ball on the ground early and often putting pressure on the Cougars defense to stop the run and then go deep with the passing game on a first down situation to James Rodgers or Adeniji.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Like I said earlier, very game is big for the Beavers and this game is no exception. A Beavers win moves them closer to 10 win season and moves them one step closer to a conference championship. They must stay focused and execute their offense and put as much pressure on the Cougar defense as possible. The Beavers must hold onto the ball and not make stupid turnovers from a lack of focus. If the Beavers do these things this game should be over by the middle of the third quarter.

FINAL SCORE

BEAVERS 49
WASHINGTON STATE 14

GO BEAVERS!