Well, we continue our trip north across the Pac 10 and visit Corvallis to see what Oregon State has going on.

2006 was a strange and exciting year for coach Mike Riley and company, and they saw their football team start off 0-3, then ran off 10 wins in 11 games, to finish with their third best record in Oregon State football history, at 10-4.

2007 looks to have the possibility of being just as good if not better, but be aware that there are some question marks that need to be addressed.
This oregon State team returns 18 starters from it 2006 squad, and eight of those starters are on the offense side of the ball.

Clearly, the strength of this team resides in its offensive line. The Beavs boast incredible size and talent that can rival any team in the country, and I believe is the best in the Pac 10, hands down. Jeremy Perry anchors to Offensive line. A pre season All-America for 2007, this kid is huge (6'2" 313 pounds) strong and quick and rarely lets anyone get by him, but it doesn't stop there. OSU returns four of their five Offensive line starters from 2006 and they average 316 pounds per lineman. If they have an achillies heel, it would be at Left Tackle with Tavita Thompson, being that he lacks the experience of the rest of the O-Line, but with him sitting next to Perry, I'm sure he'll get enough help to offset his inexperience.

The Wide Receiver position should be a strength for OSU. Returning All-Pac 10 wide out Sammy Stroughter might garner All-America suppost this season. In 2006, Stroughter had a whopping 74 receptions for 1293 yards, the best statistics for any pac 10 receiver. unlike last season, however, it doesn't stop with Stroughter. Brandon Powers should improve on his 39 reception, 430 yard season from a years ago, but the big news is that Anthony Wheat-Brown is healthy and ready to go. in 2005, Brown had 40 receptions for 400 yards and 3 touchdowns. If he stays healthy in 2007, he should provide a very nice second option for the very inexperienced Quarterbacks for OSU.

The Quarterback position is the biggest question mark for Oregon State. Ryan Gunderson is the only returning quarterback with any starts under his bealt, but it appears that upstart junior Sean Canfield will be the starter. Given the inexperience of Canfield, and the tendancy for OSU quarterbacks to make crutial mistakes, I look for them to limit the passing game somewhat and focus a little more on using the offensive line to open up holes for their excellent running game.

At running back, there is only one name to know... Yvenson Bernard. He tows the rock more than anyone in the Pac 10 and this is unlikely to change in 2007. Last season, Bernard carried the ball nearly 300 times for over 1300 yards. I look for similar production this season, maybe even better with the extra experience on the O-line, the blocking ability of full back Micah Strickland, and the inexperience of Canfield at QB. the number of carries bernard has will directly correlate with the success Canfield has getting the ball to Stroughter.

The kicking game is a bit of a wild card. Alexis Serna is a solid kicker, and nearly always gets a good foot on the ball, but he has been inconsistent. In 2006, Serna hit all of his PAT's, but was just 21 for 28 in FG attempts, missing two each from inside 30, inside 40, and inside 50 yards.
Still, he has a big upside if he can improve on his accuracy a bit, because he rarely flubs kicks or has them blocked.

Labels: CollegeFix, Dawgman14