Orgeon State Beavers Betting - Oregon State Beavers 2011 College Football Preview
This season is going to be a test, and in particular, it’s going to be a mental challenge for the Oregon State Beavers. Poise, composure, and other like intangibles are the kinds of things that are going to make the difference – for better or worse – in Corvallis. A football program with a reputation for overachieving will have to shake off a year in which it unquestionably underachieved.
In 2010, Oregon State failed to win at least eight games for the first time since 2005. Moreover, the Beavers failed to even make a bowl game, a humiliating turn of events for a team that has maximized its resources more than any other Pac-10 (now Pac-12) school not named USC over the past decade. Oregon State has cultivated a reputation as a team whose players always know where to flow and regularly put themselves in position to make plays. MLB baseball betting pundits would tell you that the Beavers, in their best seasons, displayed a football IQ that would match former pitcher Greg Maddux’s baseball IQ. The schooling provided by OSU’s coaches has generated the steady stream of satisfying results that has eluded most of the Pac’s other programs… well, until last year, that is.
Head coach Mike Riley has built a consistent Pac-10 winner, and despite a decidedly down year in 2010, a fresh season brings an expectation that things may very well return to normal in Corvallis. The Beavers will need to replace star running back Jacquizz Rodgers. Other than Rodgers, however, the Beavers bring back seven starters on the offensive side of the ball. Quarterback Ryan Katz sat out the spring due to injury, but the strong-armed field general will be ready to progress in his second season as a starter. Katz mentally wilted in the second half of last season; with a stronger and more resilient mind, he should be able to throw darts all over the field and lead a productive passing game. Sports betting experts will tell you that Katz, more than anyone else on the OSU roster, must become a leader and set a tone on game days. The offense will need James Rodgers, Jordan Bishop and tight end Joe Halahuni to make plays in support of Katz, but it’s the quarterback who will have a lot to do with this team’s fate. Four starters from the offensive line return for Oregon State, a fact that should encourage Katz as the season begins.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Beavers will sorely miss Steven Paea and Gabe Miller, who were drafted to the NFL after anchoring the Oregon State line for many years. Oregon State coaches like Michael Doctor, an athletic performer who might ripen into a gap-plugging linebacker for the Beavers during the upcoming season. The Beavers will be strengthened by a veteran group of defensive backs as well.
The schedule doesn’t really do the Beavers any favors. In out-of-conference competition, Oregon State travels to Madison to take on Wisconsin in week two. OSU also plays (now-) independent BYU in middle of the Pac-12 season. The Beavers get Stanford at home but will travel to both Arizona State and Oregon. If past seasons are any indication, Oregon State will surpass regular-season expectations. That is one thing you can count on from Mike Riley’s club. A sports bet related to the Beavers should expect eight wins this season. It’s back to normal in the Pacific Northwest.
