OREGON STATE HEADS TO CINCINATTI WITH QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

BY MARC WILLIAMS
OREGON ST. INSIDER

With Sammie Stroughter sidelined and questions at the quarterback position, the Oregon State Beavers surged late to get the win over Utah.

Oregon State Head Coach Mike Riley should be able to sleep a little better after the Beavers 24-7 win over Utah last Thursday night.

The Beavers went into their season opener with several questions that needed to be answered; in particularly on offense.

The first question of concern for Coach Riley and the rest of Beaver Nation was the ongoing saga regarding Stroughter. Stroughter missed nearly all of fall camp for personal reasons, but now it appears his return tonight is likely. Beaver fans can now feel hopeful that the All-American receiver will suit up once again this season after he was sited on the sideline wearing is no. 19 jersey last week.

Give credit to Riley for preparing the younger receivers to play, as they stepped up big in Stroughter's absense. True freshman wideout Darrell Catchings made two clutch receptions; including a fourth-down grab. Yvenson Bernard went on to score on the drive, running in from nine yards out. Catchings would show up big again in the second half with a six-yard scoring catch in the third quarter to put the Beavers ahead 14-7.

Perhaps the biggest mystery for the Beavers going into the opener, was who would claim the starting quarterback position. Quarterbacks Sean Canfield and Lyle Moevo battled all spring and throughout the fall camp for the starting position. While neither sophomore separated himself from the other, The Riley Experiment will probably last another week with Canfield getting the majority of the playing time.

Canfield completed eight-of-19 passes for 87 yards and touchdown, while Moevao completed 3-of-9 passes for 32 yards. Both quarterbacks threw interceptions.

Canfield appears to be the most comfortable with the offense. Coach Riley did a good job of keeping things simple for the young quarterbacks and letting them figure things out on their own. Canfield did a great job of spreading the football around to multiple receivers and if it wasn't for several dropped passes by the receivers, his numbers would be more impressive.

Meanwhile, Moevao came in to start the second quarter and his first pass was intercepted. He would redeem himself with a gutsy 17-yard pass to Catchings on fourth-down later in the game.

All in all, there is no quarterback controversy being brewed in Corvallis. At this point in the season, it's actually a good problem for Riley to have two quarterbacks that are capable of leading the Beaver's offense.

Also, give credit to the Oregon State defense for holding Utah's offense to only seven points and allowing it's own problematic offense enough time to get a feel for the game.

The Oregon State defense will have to play with that same intensity this week against a Cincinnati Bearcat team that scored 59 points against a second tier Southeast Missouri.

LIVE FROM THE DOME: THE BIG EAST PREVIEW (PART I)

BY CHRISTOPHER J. MOGOLLON
BIG EAST INSIDER

7:00 – ESPN: Middle Tennessee State 0-1 (0-1) @ Louisville 1-0 (0-0) - This one has all the makings to be a blow out. In last week’s game against Florida Atlantic, MTSU could not do a thing on the ground only rushing for 18 yards not to mention giving away the ball four times. There secondary wasn’t to strong either giving up a lot of yards up through the air, which is scary to think about when considering they will be trying to slow down Brian Brohm tonight. It should be fun watching Brohm and his NFL receiving core light it up. George Stripling should also have a good game using is athleticism against a Sun Belt opponent, look for back up tailback Anthony Allen to get a lot of carries and make some big runs as well. Allen has superb moves and loves to cut back. With all this talent on one side and MTSU already proving to be turnover prone -- this should be a spanking.

7:30 - ESPN2: Oregon State 1-0 (0-0) @ Cincinnati 1-0 (0-0) - This is a huge game for coach Brian Kelly, the Cincinnati program and the Big East Conference. After a very impressive stomping of SE Missouri State, the Bearcats will see a very different team in the Oregon State Beavers. OSU has a very hard-hitting, hard-nosed defense that comes to rush the quarterback. Cincinnati has a solid O-Line but it will come down to quarterback Ben Mauk in determining the winner of this game. In last week’s match up versus Utah, Oregon State did very well running the ball with Yvenson Bernard leading the way. Star wideout Sammie Stroughter could be making his debut, he has tremendous big play ability both in receiving and special teams, watch for him because when he touches the ball it is electrifying. Oregon State is the better team and will probably win this game, but traveling half way across the country could mean trouble for the Beavers and this may turn out to be an upset.

Dan Beebe Named Big 12 Conference Commissioner

Irving, Texas - Big 12 Conference board of directors Chairman Harvey Perlman has announced the selection of Dan Beebe as the new Commissioner of the Big 12 Conference. Beebe has extensive experience in managing collegiate athletics conferences, having served as the Senior Associate Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer of the Big 12 since February 2003 and as the Commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference for the 14 prior years.

"Dan Beebe brings to the Big 12 the experience and vision to advance the Big 12 into the next stage of its development as one of the preeminent collegiate athletics conferences in the United States," said Big 12 board chairman and University of Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman. "We expect his extensive background and experience in collegiate sports management will help us advantageously position the Big 12 Conference with its media, bowl, sponsor, and other external partners. We look forward to his leadership within the Conference as well as in the dialog on important issues facing intercollegiate athletics generally."

Beebe, who agreed to a five-year contract, begins his duties immediately as the Big 12's third commissioner, succeeding Kevin Weiberg, who stepped down in July.


In accepting the offer to become the third Commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, Beebe stated, "I am excited and honored to lead the Big 12 Conference, and I am grateful to the Presidents and Chancellors of the members of the Big 12 for giving me this opportunity to address the exciting issues facing collegiate athletics in the near future, such as enhancing sportsmanship, developing new sources of revenues, ensuring compliance with the Conference and NCAA regulation scheme, and cementing the relationships among the outstanding Universities that are members in the Big 12 Conference.


"The solid basis that has been established over the first decade of the Conference's existence provides us with the momentum to confirm the Big 12's position as one of the leading collegiate athletic conferences in the nation. I will bring my experience as a conference leader and my contacts and broad experience in the sports community to bear in assisting our members in taking the Big 12 to the next level of success from a competitive and financial standpoint, as well as influencing the national agenda for collegiate athletics."


The 50-year old Washington state native joined the Big 12 staff in February 2003. As senior associate commissioner and chief operating officer he handled issues related to governance, national policy and legal affairs in addition to coordinating the day-to-day activities of the conference office. He also served as the conference liaison to the Big 12 board of directors. Beebe has been involved in the league's site selections for future championships, extending television contracts and enhancing football bowl opportunities. In addition, he has been active in establishing the conference's sportsmanship policies and procedures.

Prior to joining the Big 12, Beebe spent 14 years as commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference from 1989-2003. While at the OVC, he served on the NCAA Division I Management Council and chaired the I-AA Governance Committee.

Beebe began his career in college athletics in 1982 as an NCAA enforcement representative. Following a one-year stint as assistant director of athletics at Wichita State, he returned to the NCAA in 1987 as director of enforcement.

A 1982 graduate of the University of California Hastings College of the Law, Beebe lettered in football and was a team captain at Cal Poly Pomona where he earned a degree in social science in 1979. Beebe is a member of the Washington State Bar Association.

Born on February 27, 1957, he is married to the former Molly Scanlon and has four children, daughters Jessie and Elaine and sons Matt and Patrick.

THE CONFERENCE USA REPORT

BY NEIL BISMAN
CONFERENCE USA INSIDER

Nobody expected much out of Conference USA this season but this past weekend was just downright ugly for the league’s members. The combination of a few blowouts and a loss to a D 1-AA school not named Appalachian State is not going to do much to doubt the naysayers. Tulane was the only member of the league to not have played a game.

-Tulsa kicked off their season with a win Thursday night at Louisiana-Monroe but did not look all that impressive in doing so. Tulsa struggled for most of the first half but had a nice second half to ensure they did not leave without a victory. Tulsa should be cut some slack though – they are trying to break in a new spread offense. The Golden Hurricane were unable to come up with an answer for Louisiana-Monroe running back Calvin Dawson but they are not alone as not many schools have had trouble stopping the underrated back.

-Former Georgia assistant Neil Calloway has the unenviable task of turning around a once-proud UAB program and appears to be light years away from doing so. UAB was forced to compete, and I use the term loosely, against Michigan State with a mere 67 scholarship players, 18 below NCAA requirements. The Blazers had no answer for the Spartans offensive attack and it probably won’t be the last time that they cannot stop an offense this season. Calloway did have his squad playing hard though, which is all you can really ask for at this point.

-As abysmal as UAB looked, East Carolina did the conference proud with its 17-7 loss against Virginia Tech. The popular thing to do was blame the close score on the emotion that filled the field in Blacksburg, and that may have been the case, but East Carolina deserves some credit as well. The defense looked solid in shutting down the Tech attack but there remains a lot of work to be done on the offensive side. It may almost be beneficial for them to open up against the tough Hokies’ defense because all others will look weak by comparison.

-The Marshall offense is a mess and it showed in the school’s 31-3 defeat against Miami (FL). Ahmad Bradshaw’s surprising early departure for the NFL left a major hole in the offense and it is one that they have not been able to fill. The rebuilding continues but the conference may be weak enough that they are able to become bowl eligible.

-The post-Todd Graham era did not get off to a good start as Rice joined Michigan in losing to a foe from the Football Championship Subdivision with a 16-14 loss against Nicholls State. Putting up 218-yards of offense couldn’t cut it against the Nicholls State Colonels and it certainly won’t get it done against stronger opponents.

-Houston kept it competitive against Oregon in the first half but the Ducks’ offense proved to be too much for the Cougars to handle. Senior Anthony Aldridge looked extremely impressive, running for 205-yard on just 22 carries. Houston gets another chance to restore their national credibility with an October 6th trip to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide.

-The UTEP offense failed to show up and the defense surrendered 383-yards yet somehow managed a 10-6 victory over New Mexico. The “bend but don’t break” defense kept the Lobos’ offense out of the end zone and was able to escape with a victory that they may not have deserved.

-Southern Miss was able to overcome a disappointing performance by quarterback Jeremy Young and proved to be too much for an inferior Tennessee-Martin squad. Damion Fletcher continued to run amok over defenses by putting up 156-yard on just 19-carries.

-Five turnovers for the Memphis Tigers, including a 99-yard interception returned for a touchdown, did them in at home game against Ole Miss. Quarterback Martin Hankins had a monster game statistically but much of it goes for naught due to his four interceptions. If he can keep his turnovers to a minimum, Memphis could be much closer to a bowl game than the 2-10 record they put up a season ago.

-Last and certainly not least, UCF held on and held on for dear life after all but blowing a 25-3 halftime lead before defeating North Carolina State 25-23 for the only win by a Conference USA school over a BCS school. The Knights got a monster game from Kevin Smith who ran for a career-high 217 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown run on the first play of the game. Going into Raleigh, North Carolina and knocking off one of the big boys may be just what this program needs to get back to a bowl game.

Not the best of weeks for the conference and with a tough schedule up ahead for the league’s members, things may continue to get worse before they get better.

FROM THE MIDWEST: THE BIG TEN REPORT

Mick Miller
Big Ten Insider

That bang you hear this past weekend was the kickoff of the Big Ten college football season, the launching of the Big Ten Network and the sound of a National Championship going down the tubes. The formerly fifth ranked Michigan Wolverines helped introduce Appalachian State to the world, and in rousing fashion. Fans in the “Big House” were left asking a big “how?” Let’s look at the “how”. The rest of the conference faired much better, giving them a combined 7-3 record.

MICHIGAN: The Wolverines, ranked fifth coming in, played without heart, literally. The mysterious disappearance of Heisman hopeful, tailback Mike Hart, throughout the middle portions of Saturday’s epic loss remain a mystery. A reported thigh injury that Coach Lloyd Carr claimed “stiffened up” certainly did not appear to hinder his performance as he rushed for 188 yards on 23 carries and three touchdowns, including a clutch 54-yard scamper that gave Michigan the lead with just over four minutes to play. Quarterback Chad Henne (19-37, 233 yards, a touchdown pass and interception) played awful, locking in on receivers and accumulating inaccurate throws, stifling the offense throughout the afternoon. Until a desperation 46-yard completion to set up the ill-fated field goal attempt at the end of the game, Mario Manningham had mustered a mere two receptions for 20 yards. The defense simply could not solve the multiple-receiver sets of Appalachian State and quarterback Armanti Edwards, who after a momentary lull in the second half, pulled it back together with a clutch drive in the final 1:11 (no timeouts) to kick a field goal, before the defense blocked a kick to seal the deal. Senior tri-captain Shawn Crable was the lone bright spot on defense for Michigan, recording 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and 12 tackles (two for loss). The loss has shaken the foundation of the Big House and the fan’s confidence in Coach Carr as they prepare for Oregon in week two.

MICHIGAN STATE: Gang Green faired much better than Big Blue this weekend with a 55-18 dismantling of Alabama-Birmingham in East Lansing, giving new Spartan head coach Mark Dantonio a win in his debut. Dantonio is the fourth consecutive coach to win his MSU debut, with the last loss going to Nick Saban in 1995, losing to Nebraska (50-10). Michigan State unveiled a ball-control running attack that allowed tailback Jehuu Caulcrick to score four touchdowns on 10 carries (for 93 yards), helping the Spartans build a 45-3 lead in the first half. The defense held a woefully undermanned UAB team (67 scholarship players) to 226 yards of total offense. Starting quarterback Brian Hoyer was solid, going 14-of-17 for 201 yards and a 44-yard touchdown to Devin Thomas (5 receptions, 106 yards, one rush, 23 yards). The Spartans played three quarterbacks in the blowout and collectively they went 22-of-32 for 295 yards and two touchdowns without turning the ball over, and were better than 50 percent on third down conversions (8 for 13). The Spartans ride the wave into their next game against Bowling Green, with a green grin on their faces from the Michigan loss.

IOWA:The Hawkeyes had to lean on their running game in an uninspired road win over Northern Illinois in Chicago (16-3). Senior running back Albert Young rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown and back-up Damian Sims chewed up another 110 yards on 16 carries, both averaging well over six yards per attempt. Iowa was without their top receiver Dominique Douglas, who led all freshmen in the country last season with 49 receptions. Douglas was suspended by the team due to a felony charge of making $2,000 worth of purchases on credit cards that did not belong to him. The incident appeared to distract the team, evident by their 173 penalty yards (four times that of N. Illinois). They also missed him on third downs, they were just two of 14 on third down conversions. Without NFL draftee, running back Garrett Wolfe, the Huskies turned to quarterback Dan Nicholson, who despite completing 26-of-42, threw three interceptions, one from the Iowa three-yard line, killing a golden scoring opportunity with his team down 10. In his second career start (both against Northern Illinois); Hawkeye quarterback Jake Christensen threw for 133 yards (12-of-29), for a mere 4.6 yards per attempt. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, coming off his first losing campaign last season at 6-7; will have to work harder to get his team ready, as Syracuse will be in for the Hawkeye home opener.

PENN STATE: All is happy in the valley once again as head coach Joe Paterno is back pacing the sidelines and the 17th ranked Nittany Lions opened at home with a 59-0 drubbing of Florida International. A blowout in every category, the Lions rolled up 549 yards in total offense and held Florida International to a miniscule 114 yards, seven first downs all day and a minus three yards rushing on 31 attempts. Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli set a personal best with 295 yards passing on 23 of 38 throws, including a school record 231 yards in the first half and three touchdown passes. Linebacker Dan Connor forced a Golden Panther fumble at their 20, and Morelli hit Mickey Shuler with a touchdown pass making it 14-0 and the rout was on. The Nittany Lions forced six fumbles, recovering five, had seven quarterback sacks for a loss of 50 yards and kept Florida International pinned deep in their own end most of the game. Although the team did the job on the field, the day was about their legendary coach. A resounding victory at home and the return of “Joe Pa” is just what the doctor ordered as the team gets ready to host the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on September 8.

PURDUE: The Boilermakers won a game that may resemble many of their wins this season. With a potent offense and a defense that’s a work in progress, they may have to put 30 points a game. Purdue’s record-setting quarterback Curtis Painter threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns (including an 80-yarder to tight end Dustin Keller) in a shootout with Toledo, 52-24. Five Purdue running backs averaged eight-plus yards per carry, led by Kory Sheets (11 carries for 90 yards), as the Boilermaker running game was in mid-season form. The Big Ten’s season record holder for passing yards (last year’s 3,985), Painter and his offense had their way throughout as he hit four different Purdue receivers for touchdowns. A see-saw battle in the first half led to a 28-14 halftime Boilermaker lead, but a Painter touchdown pass and a Dorien Bryant 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, shot down the Rockets at their Ohio launching pad. The Boilermakers host Eastern Illinois in their home opener this Saturday.

INDIANA: The Hoosiers pounded Indiana State in an emotion-filled game on Saturday (55-7), in their first contest without Terry Hoeppner, the Indiana head coach who was tragically lost last June to a brain tumor. A pre-game tribute, which included his family, charged the team with all the inspiration it would need to get the win for interim head coach, Bill Lynch, who lead them to their largest opening day victory in more than 60 years. Quarterback Kellen Lewis threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns and led the team with 59 yards on nine carries adding another score on the ground. With Lewis hitting his three touchdown passes in his first four passes, the Hoosiers jumped out to 21-7 lead and never looked back. While the offense was outgunning the Sycamores 516-176, the Hoosier defense held up their end with 176 yards allowed (130 passing, 46 rushing), fives sacks and two interceptions. Indiana hopes to continue to play this inspired as they travel Western Michigan to face the Broncos for a Saturday night game on the road.