Today we have a great article written by Paul Buker of the Oregonian on Jacquizz Rodgers. A lot has been made about Rodgers being a potential Heisman Trophy candidate coming into the season after gaining 2693 yards and scoring 32 touchdowns in his first two years at OSU. However, this article brings a different light to Rodgers. With all of the hype surrounding him it would be easy to get caught up in it and become complacent in a search for college football’s most prestigious individual award. Quizz isn’t like that though, he would rather do something for Oregon State that has not been done since 1965, get to the Rose Bowl. The past two years the Beavers have been one game away from the Rose Bowl only to have it taken from their hands by their nemesis the Oregon Ducks both years. This year Jacquizz Rodgers is determined to do everything that he can to break that cycle. To read the article about Jacquizz Rodgers’ quest for the Rose Bowl and Pac-10 championship check out this link:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2010/09/college_football_preview_orego.html

Over the past year or so there seems to have been an obsession on Pac-10 message boards online and the topic of conversation usually seems to be a simple question: who is better, LaMichael James or Jacquizz Rodgers? It is extremely difficult to try and put a concrete answer on that question because the styles of the two running backs differs so much and as well as the offenses. Jacquizz Rodgers can run straight ahead and break tackles and slash his way through the defense. While LaMichael James has very underrated strength and the ability to break tackles as well he is more suited to get outside the defense and beat them with pure speed. Both running backs have been extremely successful in college so far and both are being talked about as pre-season Heisman trophy possibilities. To make it even more interesting both guys are from Texas, and as ESPN’s Ted Miller will tell you, they are pretty good friends. Both James and Rodgers seem to have a ton of respect for each other despite playing on opposite sides of the bitter rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State. To read the article about LaMichael James and Jacquizz Rodgers friendship check out this link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview10/news/story?id=5483681

Hey Beaver fans, today we have a great article out of the Gazette Times about OSU’s star defensive linemen Stephen Paea. Paea, as many of you may know, is regarded as one of the top defensive lineman in the nation and has already been projected as a top 10 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Last year, agents tried to convince Paea to skip his senior year of college because he could make millions in the NFL right away. In a year where there has been so much scrutiny about agents trying to take advantage of college athletes Paea has demonstrated the right way to go about the issue. During the off-season agents continually made promises of millions of dollars to Paea’s parents, who like many parents would be thrilled and would want their child to take that money. However, Paea says he knew from the very beginning that he wanted to stay at Oregon State for his senior year and that is just what he did. It is refreshing to see a top notch college athlete who could have easily been a millionaire early take the time to finish out his duty for his school and also attain a degree. To read the full article from the Gazette Times on Stephen Paea’s decision check out this link:

http://gazettetimes.com/sports/beavers-sports/article_b827deaa-aa3d-11df-930c-001cc4c002e0.html

Hey Duck and Beaver fans, today we have a very interesting article from ESPN.com. In this article ESPN put together their list of the Top 20 teams with a realistic chance of playing for the National Championship, based on strength of schedule, returning starters, etc. They make a point to remind you that this is not their order of the 20 best teams in the country but rather the 20 teams with the best chance to play for the national championship. For example, the #1 team on the list of teams with the best chance of reaching the title game is Iowa because they have a very favorable schedule and are returning 14 starters. The #2 team on the list is none other than the Oregon Ducks. The Oregon State Beavers fell in at #19 on the list. It is great to see both Oregon schools getting a lot of attention from the national media. To read the whole article and see all 20 teams check out this link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview10/news/story?id=5467170

Has it really been 10 years since the Beavers dismantled Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl with the help of Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh? Oregon State has had some very good wide receivers in the last 10 years and while not all of them made it big in the NFL they all certainly had a huge impact on the college gridiron. Oregon Live has compiled a list of the best receivers for OSU in the last 10 years and as you can guess both Johnson and Houshmandzadeh made the list. Also making the list to hardly any surprise were Mike Hass, Sammie Stroughter, James Newson, and James Rodgers. All of these guys had their own specialties with Hass catching in ball thrown in his vicinity, Stroughter being a threat to return any punt or kickoff for a touchdown, and Rodgers redefining what a WR does by both catching a lot of passes and rushing for a good amount of yardage. To read the whole article check out this link:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2010/07/oregon_state_football_all-deca_1.html

: http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2009/11/oregon_state-oklahoma_in_sun_b.html

Oregon State looks primed to make another classic late season charge towards the top of the Pac-10 after a 31-14 victory at California. Oregon State dominated this game from start to finish and even more so after Cal RB Jahvid Best suffered a concussion. Best leaped into the end zone and was upended which caused him to slam down on his back. He ended up receiving a severe concussion which was his second one in as many weeks. After Best left the game it seemed obvious the Beavers were going to win because the Bears became one-dimensional with the passing game. OSU QB Sean Canfield continued his string of 300 yard plus passing games by going 29 for 39 for 342 yards and 2 TD’s with 1 INT. The leading receiver was TE Joe Halahuni who had 6 catches for 128 yards. Jacquizz Rodgers ran the ball 25 times for 67 yards and a TD but for the most part the Bears defense did a good job of stopping the run. James Rodgers once again had another solid game with 6 catches for 80 yards and a TD. The Beavers host the Washington Huskies next weekend in Corvallis.

Pac-10 Schedule for (11/14/2009)

#25 Stanford at #12 USC   12:30 PM

Washington at Oregon State   12:30 PM

UCLA at Washington State    2:00 PM

Arizona State at #14 Oregon   TBA

#18 Arizona at California   TBA

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2009/11/its_one_of_those_strange_pac-1.html