If you missed the Beaver Juice clip on ESPN this morning, here is a link

Nice to see the Beavs getting pub, and hilarious that Beaver Juice has gone mainstream. The sexual innuendos ( "In and Out" (no explanation needed), "Burger" (fur burger?? lol), "beaver juice", and "put a Beaver on it") are pretty bizarre, but they're better than sheep jokes, and I haven't stopped laughing weeks later. Seems they have good staying power. Here's to hoping In-and-Out opens a shop in Corvallis and sponsors the Beavs somewhere down the road.

Anyway, nothing else to add that wasn't said in the pre-game thread.

Go Beavs!

Two computers (Massey and Colley Matrix) have Oregon State ranked 1st in the BCS, just ahead of Oregon. No doubt it has been an amazing start to the season. For those who question pre-season rankings, OSU is a poster child. For those who like neat In-and-Out Burger stories, OSU is the poster child. For those who like the underdog, OSU is the poster child.. You get the point–there is a lot of media around OSU right now. It's good, but also makes me nervous–one slip up and it's all over. No ranking, no attention, back to irrelevance.

For that reason, the Beavs can't let up if they want this story to continue. But to expect a team to bring their A or B effort every weekend isn't realistic. At some point they're just not going to be into a game. This weekend's matchup looks like a possible trap (OSU riding high, WSU low and desperately needing a win, OSU could be thinking about BYU, etc).

I mean, I think the Beavs should win big and will win, but I'm cautious. Seems the Connor Halliday era has started in Pullman. What that means, no idea. I expect him to check down and take what OSU gives. Don't expect their WR Wilson to have a huge day as OSU will key on him. If Halliday insists on getting the ball to him then expect turnovers. WSU has a bad run game, so OSU can stop it without committing too many resources. Again, this should make it tough for Halliday to get much going. Only question for me is whether the Beavs are up for this game and ready to give the effort to beat an opponent there isn't much glamor in beating. It takes a workaday, disciplined mentality to win these types of games. You don't just show up and blow WSU out; you chip away slowly and wait for them to break.

I expect the OSU offense to have some fun. The Cougs hung with the Ducks for a half, somehow…but the Beavs have two NFL WRs, an NFL QB, and a couple NFL linemen–that is going to be hard for a lower rung college D to defend.

Curious to see if this game will sell out (bad opponent might keep people at home, but fans really should get out there and support OSU when they give effort and do things right). Curious to see if the Beavs sure up their flaws (safety play, kicking game, kick returns).

The Beavs need a blowout on their resume. This is that opportunity. Seriously, though, how often to the Beavs blowout opponents they're supposed to? Doesn't really happen. The Cougs might not be good, but they give effort and are trying to buy into the new system. This would be a big win for that program, so they're going to give their best, no doubt about that. Turnovers are the neutralizer, if the Beavs hang on to the ball they win big. If not, I don't even want to think about Sunday…

Beavs 31, Cougs 17

Beavs looked like the better team tonight, so it would have been a shame if they lost. Even when playing poorly they looked better than past editions. Hard to explain or put into words…

I've been waiting forever ('06) for a Beaver team that had supreme confidence. These guys have it now. Good test tonight to be behind on the road and pull it out. Another boost to the confidence.

The defense was getting props in pregame media…they'll still be covering this Oregon State story, but I think they will begin to focus on Mannion now. Defense looks good when Martin and Robinson aren't in there. Those guys missing plays results in 14 points, at least. Robinson flailed on the screen that went for like 50, and Martin got torched by Buckner. Beavs need to recruit some CBs. Martin cannot play at this level, but that's a problem for next year.

Kostol had another great game. 5 punts for ~43 yard average. We're not noticing the punter; that's how punting is supposed to be.

Romaine, on the other hand…

Beavs will likely jump to #12 in the polls. They've played the hardest schedule of anyone thus far, and there's a good case they should be in the top 10 (if not top 5). The defensive performance likely keeps them out of the top 10. I expect them to jump a team like Texas, though, who almost lost to Okie State (who got blasted by AZ). Ohio State will likely stagnate in the polls. Bad win for them today. #14 (TCU) and #17 (Clemson) weren't impressive today. Stanford will drop into the low 20s. So with all that shifting and leapfrogging #12 sounds about right.

Oh, and the fake bubble screen/TD to Wheaton was genius–best play call I've ever seen by Riley (loved his 4th down play call to Stroughter vs Missouri in 2006, too). He's a great play caller for the most part. Only three bad calls all night. Langsdorf would have had three bad calls on the first drive. It is such a relief.

Like most of you guys, I feel good about this game. The 3-3-5 scheme does concern me a little, though. Think about it–Beavs strength is passing, and AZ will have 5 defenders back there. With only 3 down linemen I think the game plan should be "run the ball". Do the Beavs have the horses to do it? We know they can pass. This is a ground game test. The OL is so improved that I think they'll pull it off…I'm not expecting Mannion to have a huge night. Probably lots of check downs and horizontal passes. Think the running game and D have to win this one. Should be an interesting give and take with AZ's safety play.

I'm thinking something like 24-20, Beavs. Mannion 1TD, Storm Woods 2 TDs, D stand to win it.