Oregon State Smushes California 62-14
By osbeaver
Oregon State looked like a well oiled machine Saturday night and Sean Mannion threw for four first half touchdowns as OSU took a 35-7 halftime lead. The second half was more of the same, and OSU had eight different players score atleast one TD in this game, winning 62-14. The Alamo Bowl representatives, who were talking highly of OSU before the game, must have really left Corvallis impressed. I believe missing out on the Rose Bowl on the silver (50th) anniversary of our last appearance got this team fired up to return to action with a storm. The UCLA-Stanford matchup is key next week as if Stanford wins they will be playing in the Pac-12 Championship. My feeling is that it will be better if Stanford wins for Oregon State. Since they already have the highest profile win over Oregon, OSU has a better chance to beat out UCLA for the Alamo Bowl based off style points. The funny part is those two teams would then also play again in the Pac-12 Championship game at Stanford. UCLA losing that twice in a row will be their season ending with a dud. At that point, OSU is an obvious selection for the Alamo over the Bruins IMO. I think the Alamo Bowl representatives realize the same thing.
Either way with that showing last night, Riley sealed the Holiday Bowl at a minimum and that was very important to the fanbase once OSU was off to a 4-0 start. The Alamo Bowl was worth fighting for last night, and to play in San Antonio in rich recruiting ground and further open up our Texas and Oklahoma pipelines is important. The Alamo is the 2nd place Pac-12 Bowl, so earning that is a nice reward for a great season if it plays out like I think it might. Lots can still happen but right now I lean Stanford to the Rose Bowl, Oregon to the Fiesta and OSU to the Alamo. Let’s hope the team gets used to putting up those style points and is inspired to score plenty of points next week against Oregon. Mannion was fiery for most of the game and had purpose on his face. His handoffs to running backs were quicker and he did a good job of throwing more strikes and leading the team. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves despite the rainy weather. Ward and Woods looked good at running back and I love that combo moving forward. Agnew also came in and made some nice plays including our last TD on a screen pass from Richie Harrington. It’s Civil War Week. Let’s shock the nation and OSU would then actually be looking very good for the Fiesta Bowl.
My Sports Illustrated Fansided Top 25 Ballot:
1. Notre Dame 2. Alabama 3. Georgia 4. Oregon 5. Oregon State 6. Stanford 7. Ohio State 8. Kansas State 9. Florida 10. Florida St. 11. LSU 12. Texas A&M 13. UCLA 14. Clemson 15. Oklahoma 16. South Carolina 17. Nebraska 18. Texas 19. Louisville 20. Michigan 21. Oklahoma State 22. Rutgers 23. Washington 24. Mississippi St. 25. Utah State