Oregon State is about where many fans and pundits thought they would be before the season. However, considering the Week 1 loss, it will be a bit of a mild and pleasant surprise if OSU successfully racks off 6 straight wins with another road victory in Berkeley this Saturday. OSU fans are hoping for ESPN2 this week and not ESPNU which many fans only get in SD. With Mannion gaining national cred as a legit Heisman candidate considering the big games OSU has coming on the schedule it would be appropriate for the nation to get more formally introduced and watch OSU play Cal on ESPN2 in HD. The odds should actually favor that slightly over a repeat ESPNU showing.
OSU is ranked number 31 in the AP and 30 in the coaches right now. At 6-1 even with the opening loss they deserve to be back in the Top 25. The Utah road win was an impressive victory. Oregon State is also plenty capable of beating Stanford at home. The Beavers should get a jump next week with another win a bit like Missouri saw this past week. Sometimes for teams cracking the Top 25 they want one more prove it game to start giving more credit. Mannion’s Heisman campaign also could get great coverage on ESPN2 because the Cal game will very likely see alot of air attack from bot teams. Cal QB Goff gets lots of yards even if his team is struggling. If Mannion can out throw him by 100 yards it will be another impressive outdoing of a perceived slinger on their own home turf. Cooks and Mannion have both been true leaders and putting up Tecmo Bowl numbers and Saturday’s contest in Memorial Stadium if done right will add to the national conversation for both players. Cooks at this time should be in everyone’s Top 1 or 2 spots for Biletnikoff Award consideration.
OSU put out maybe their best promo video yet of the Wazzu game experience. Quality production and after seeing this one has to be pumped for the upcoming schedule and all the high quality games OSU will have at home getting lots of national attention. Fans should sell out Reser for the upcoming games and there is a strong chance they will. With Reser West Side and VFC plans announced, the more Reser is sold out the more likely we get the finsihed Reser closer to 2019 than 2021. That is an effort worth showing up in force for and getting behind as OSU starts to act more like a big-time program with higher expectations and continues to raise its recruiting profile. Watch this video and it does feel like things are moving the right direction. Players like Bolden should see a little more time against Cal to gain experience as long as OSU can get to a somewhat comfortable lead. The defense stepped up in the 4th quarter against the Cougs and Cal seems like a team they also should be able to give a good performance against. Next Sunday we could and should see OSU back in the national polls. The computers will probably like OSU at 6-1 so the Beavers have a good chance to be Top 25 in the first BCS rankings.