ESPN GAMEDAY COMES TO BOISE FOR OSU - BSU NATIONALLY TELEVISED GAME

OK Beaver Nation, the time is now for our Beavers to put some demons behind them. What are those demons?

The month of september - Oregon State is 3-12 for road games played prior to Oct.1 since 2000. The wins came against New Mexico St., Temple and UNLV.

The Smurf Turf. - The Beavers are 0-2 on the blue turf of Bronco Stadium. Although this year the Beavers came prepared for the Blue Turf by painting their practice field in Corvallis Bronco Blue. Watch

Nationally Televised Games - The Beavers have not done well on national TV against ranked teams early in the season.

Today the Beavers come into a Bronco Stadium that has never before seen this type of pregame hype. ESPN's Gameday Crew visited BSU for their weekly Saturday morning show. 13,205 fans showed up for the teleccast which started at 5am Mountain Time in Boise.

The Beavers do have one thing going for them. They have a history of being "Giant Killers". The Beavers have beaten 3 top 3 teams in the last 5 years and a few more back in the 1960's when the Beavers got the name of Giant Killers. Can the Beavers do it again?

The Broncos have a few things on their minds today as well. They are currently ranked 3rd in the nation and with Alabama possibly losing its came to Arkansas today that could move the Broncos into the #2 spot with only a few teams left to challenge the Broncos in Fresno State and Nevada.

This game is also the home opener for Boise States 2010 season and the first game played on their new blue field that was just installed in August replacing the previous blue turf that was installed in 2008 but was deamed to shiny for Bronco fans so it was replaced.

That makes this game one of the biggest games in Boise State Football History. It puts them in the drivers seat for their long awaited shot at a National Championship.

For the Beavers, this is a game of pride and redemtion. The last two times the Beavers came into Bronco Stadium they jumped out to early leads only to get crushed in the final score by Boise State. Todays game gives the Beavers a chance to even the score somewhat as well as spoil Boise States dream of a national title. A win at Boise will also give the Beavers more national recognition and a good jump as their pac-10 conference season opens next week at home vs Arizona State.

A loss by the Beavers does not hur their chances for a pac-10 title but it would be a huge confidence builder for a young QB in Ryan Katz to go into a hostile environment like Bronco Stadium and come back with a win.

BY THE NUMBERS - CLICK HERE TO SEE SEASON STATS FOR BOTH TEAMS

THE BOTTOM LINE

For Oregon State to come away from Boise with a victory the Beavers Defense has to step up big time. The Beavers cannot afford to put this game on the shoulders of Katz, the
Rodgers Brothers and Peia. The Beavers need 2 or 3 defensive players to come up big. Boise State will be using their trade mark speed running game to open up the passing game. The Beavers will need to load the box to stop the run and that will leave the secondary out on an island by themselves. If those corners from Oregon State can shut down the Boise State receivers and allow OSU to load the box to stop the run then the Beavers have a shot.

The Beavers on offense need to have a big game from the O-line and a big game from some other receivers to take the pressure off Katz and the Rodgers Brothers. I expect Quizz to run for over 120 yards tonight and for Katz to have his best game of the year.

But for the Beavers to win tonight they must hold Boise State under 30 points. The Beaver offense will not score a lot of points on this defense so the Beavers defense has to match BSU's effort and hold them under 30 points to give out offense a chance.

I have two thoughts on this final score. The first is my logical mind saying we wont win and the other thinking we can win. So I will give you the "We Can Win" score first and they other score in ( )

FINAL SCORE

BEAVERS 27 (24)
BOISE STATE 24 (38)


GO BEAVERS! BEAT BOISE STATE

BEAVERS WELCOME LOUISVILLE FOR 2010 HOME OPENER

Good Morning Beaver Nation. I am very late with this today as I have only 45 minutes left to write this. I will try to get these done in a more timely manner in the future but work gets in the way from time to time.

I believe that the Beavers will be very fired up for this game and that Ryan Katz will have improved lightyears from his experience at Cowboys Stadium and the extra week of preparation. The Beavers are 20 point favorites in this game but Louisville brings a talented team to Reser Stadium. I expect Louisville to struggle with 3 primary things.

1. The Travel - East Coast teams seldom travel to the west coast and when they do they lose most of the time. Cincinnati last year should have lost but the Beavers were not at their best.

2. The Weather - The cold and damp weather of Reser Stadium today will be an advantage for the Beavers.

3. The Crowd - A sell-out is expected today at Reser and the Beavers fans will be loud and proud.

BY THE NUMBERS

When you look at the numbers for both teams Louisville is slightly ahead but when you consider who each team has played I give the advantage to the Beavers.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The Beavers will win by at least 2 touchdowns and I am sure they are looking to avenge the pasting that Louisville put on them a few years ago. Look for the Beavers to run wide and for Katz to go deep a few times. Quizz will rush for 150+ yards and 3 TD's. James will have 1 TD and over 100 yards receiving.

FINAL SCORE

BEAVERS 45
Louisville 24

GO BEAVERS!

2010 BEAVER FOOTBALL SEASON OPENS SATURDAY IN COWBOYS STADIUM vs TCU

The new look 2010 #24 ranked OSU football ball team is heading to Dallas Texas as I write this to open the 2010 college football season on the road at the $1.5 billion Cowboys Stadium. Their opponent is #6 ranked TCU Horned Frogs.

The Horned Frogs are coming off a 12-0 regular season record and a 17-10 loss to the Beavers upcoming opponent Boise State in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl and finished the 2009 season ranked #6. Although TCU lost they dropped several balls during the game that could have easily turned the game into a win.

This season the Horned Frogs lost several key pieces to their stout defense of 2009. All-American end Jerry Hughes and linebacker Daryl Washington, were both picked in the first two rounds of the NFL draft, and starting cornerbacks Rafael Priest and Nick Sanders graduated.

However, TCU does return 24 of its 30 defensive letter winners including junior linebacker Tank Carder whose 89 tackles last season trailed only Washington and Wayne Daniels, who had 5 1/2 sacks and nine tackles for loss.

As big a game as this is for the Beavers, it is also a big game for TCU. Anything less then a BCS title game would be a disappointment for TCU. Last season TCU didn't face a ranked opponent until visiting then #16 BYU on Oct. 24, the Horned Frogs are facing a ranked team in the #24 Beavers right out of the gate on national TV.

The Beavers come into the season with 16 returning starters on offense and defense. But they have some big holes to fill. Sean Canfield was drafted last season so redshirt sophomore Ryan Katz will get the start for the Beavers. The Rodgers Brothers are back! James and Quizz are the most dynamic duo in all of college football. With the Rodgers brothers on the field getting all the attention from the TCU defense it will surely open the field up for other players to jump up and make a name for themselves.

This is a home game for TCU but the Beavers will have a bit of a home field feel as well. The Rodgers brothers are both from Texas and expect a large following of Rodgers friends and family to be in attendance Saturday.

The Beavers start the season ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 2001. In 2001 the Beavers started the season on the road against a tough opponent in Fresno State. The Beavers were ranked in the top 10 and #1 in some polls that season. That year the season did not start well and the Beavers embarrassed themselves with a big loss to Fresno State and never recovered from that loss, finishing with a 5-6 record.

In 2010 the Beavers three preseason games are all against tough teams and this game at Cowboys Stadium can set the tone for the rest of the season. If the Beavers can go in and steal a win or even just stay in the game and keep it close they can come back from Dallas with some momentum for the rest of the season.

BY THE NUMBERS - Click here for pregame stats

Based upon last seasons numbers TCU dominates the stats. But TCU has some big holes to fill this season on defense. If the Beavers can find a way to control the clock and be effective in the Red Zone by scoring TD's and not just field goals the Beavers can bring home a win. TCU will bring the pressure on rookie QB Ryan Katz for sure. Katz needs to maintain his composure and execute the game plan, limit turnovers and hit the big play when it is there.

The Beavers defense will face an offense that has put up lots of big numbers. But the Beavers are accustom to facing teams that put up big numbers in the PAC-10 with bigger athletes. So I look for the Beavers defense to stand tall again and keep the game close.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The Beavers defense will keep it close. It all comes down to how well Katz can execute the game plan on offense. If the O-line can open up holes for Quizz and Katz can hit his targets down field the Beavers can put up numbers as well. This is a huge way to open up your college career for Katz. Lets hope he maintains his composure and has fun playing the game. It's going to be a great season. GO BEAVERS!

FINAL SCORE

BEAVERS 34
TCU 27

GO BEAVERS!