Beavs to Host Utes for Saturday Matinee

Photo by: Karl Maasdam/Oregon State Athletics

October 11, 2016 | Football

By: Oregon State Athletic Communications

THE SERIES/GAME FACTS
• Saturday is the 21st contest between these two programs dating back to 1931.
• Oregon State leads the overall series 11-8-1.
• This will be the ninth game played in the series in Corvallis, the Beavers are 5-2-1 in those games.
• The last four games have been decided by two scores or less including overtime contests in 2013 and 2014.
• Beaver head coach Gary Andersen has been on the opposing sideline of Reser Stadium one time while, in 2007 while defensive coordinator for the Utes. The Beavers came out on top that day with a 24-7 victory. Andersen spent 11 seasons (1997-2002, 2004-08) as a coach at Utah coaching the defensive line, assistant head coach and eventually defensive coordinator, with the second stint coming under current Utes' head coach Kyle Whittingham.
• Several Oregon State assistant coaches and support personnel were on staff at Utah at various times, including Kevin Clune (2001-02), Chad Kauha'aha'a (2011-12), Derrick Odum (2005-07) and Evan Simon (2006-09). Head coach Gary Andersen was a center for the Utes (1985-86), Kauha'aha'a played as a defensive lineman for Utah (1993-96) and Odum was a defensive back (1988-92).
• Utah co-offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick held the position of offensive coordinator for then-Southern Utah head coach Gary Andersen in 2003.
• Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley played safety for the Utes (2001-04) while current OSU head coach Gary Andersen was the defensive coordinator at the U. Scalley was a team captain and All-American for the Utes' team that won the Fiesta Bowl to cap the 2004 season.
• Utah assistant head coach/RB Dennis Erickson was the Beavers' head coach from 1999-2002 and took OSU to three bowl games, including the 2000 Fiesta Bowl title.
• Utah strong safety Brian Allen was a prep teammate of OSU safety Kendall Hill at La Marque High School in Texas.

OVERTIME ANYONE? Last Saturday's victory over California moved the Beavers to 4-6 all-time in overtime. Prior to last week, the previous two OSU extra session games came against Utah – a 51-48 OSU win in Salt Lake City in 2013 and a 29-23 double overtime loss in Corvallis in 2014.

DREAMS COME TRUE: Oregon State Athletics and Unitus Community Credit Union have teamed up to grant wishes each game. Through Unitus' Dreams Come True program, the Beavers will welcome a child facing serious illness to Reser Stadium for the ultimate fan experience every home game during the 2016 season. Recipients will be recognized on the video board during the game, receive tickets, pre-game sideline passes, a chance to interact with the players on game day, a football signed by the OSU football team and a personalized game jersey. To learn more about the Dreams Come True program visit osubeavers.com/dreamcometrue

RUSHING THE BALL: Last week against California, the Beavers rushed for 474 yards - the most in the Gary Andersen era. It was the fourth-most rushing yards in school history and the most-ever against a conference opponent. The old record was 470 yards at Idaho in 1942 when both teams were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. The record against a current conference opponent in a league game was 428 at UCLA in 1994. OSU entered the game with 557 rushing yards through four games.

THE WRECKING NALL: Sophomore tailback Ryan Nall rushed for 221 yards on 14 carries, the 10th-best performance in school history. His former personal record was 174 yards at Oregon in 2015. It was his third career 100-yard game. In addition, Nall scored three touchdowns and now has seven TDs in his last six games over the past two seasons. Nall's 80-yard touchdown jaunt on the first play of the second half was the longest of his career and tied for the sixth-longest in school history.

OWENS MOVES INTO EIGHTH: Beaver kicker Garrett Owens has quietly moved up the record charts for field goals at OSU. He enters Saturday with 30 made field goals. Owens next target on the chart is Kieron Walford (1976-79) who made 32. He's made 30 of 38 field goals for a .789 percentage – second all-time at OSU.

TWO OF THE BEST: Starting wide receivers Victor Bolden Jr. and Jordan Villamin will spend the season climbing Oregon State's career receiving yards records list. Currently Bolden Jr. ranks 15th all-time at OSU with 1,493 receiving yards while Villamin is 21st with 1,287 yards.

BIG PLAY BOLDEN: Senior Victor Bolden Jr. has been all over the field for the Beavers through four games - as a wide receiver, running jet sweeps and reverses, and returning punts and kickoffs. In the early going, Bolden Jr. has punished teams for failing to account for him resulting in big plays for the Beavers. Bolden Jr. is the only player in the NCAA with two plays of 90+ yards - 92-yard jet sweep (second-longest rushing play in OSU history) against Idaho State and a 99-yard kickoff return against Boise State.

AIMING FOR THE CYCLE: Senior do-everything player Victor Bolden Jr. is one of eight players in the nation to have scored touchdowns rushing, receiving and as a kick returner in 2016. Bolden notched a receiving touchdown in the season-opener at Minnesita, had a 92-yard touchdown run against Idaho State in Week 2, and returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against Boise State in Week 3.. Others that have accomplished the feat are Keion Davis (Marshall), Quadree Henderson (Pittsburgh), T.J. Logan (North Carolina), Tim McVey (Air Force), Rashaad Penny (San Diego State), Tony Pollard (Memphis) and John Ross (Washington).

DANGEROUS RETURNS: OSU leads the Pac-12 and ranks 11th in the country for yards per kickoff return at 27.6. Senior Victor Bolden Jr. leads the conference and ranks ninth in the nation with an average of 30.7 yards per return.

VIC IS ON A STREAK: Victor Bolden Jr. is tied for 18th in the nation for receptions in consecutive games played. Bolden has caught at least one pass in 29 games in a row in which he's played. Only River Cracraft (34) of Washington State and Christian McCaffrey (31) from Stanford have a longer streak in the Pac-12 and Robert Lewis from Washington is tied with Bolden. Corey Davis (Western Michigan), Robert Davis (Georgia State) and Zach Pascal (Old Dominion) lead the nation with receptions in 41 straight games.

SHUFFLING THE DECK: Two weeks ago, senior offensive lineman Sean Harlow returned to the lineup against Colorado. Harlow's return from a season-ending injury last season against the Buffs at midseason created a ripple effect along the line with Blake Brandel moving from left tackle to right tackle, Dustin Stanton sliding from right tackle to right guard and Gavin Andrews moving inside from right guard to center. Brandel, Stanton and Andrews had never previously played their new positions in a game for the Beavers. Fred Lauina was the lone regular to remain in his usual position at left guard. Lauina ended up getting injured in the game sending true freshman Gus Lavaka into action at left guard finishing the complete revamp of the Beavers' offensive line.

STRONG DEBUT: Junior QB Darell Garretson, who sat out 2015 due to NCAA transfer rules, made his Oregon State debut at Minnesota completing 25 of 40 passes for 228 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the best starting debut performance by an OSU signal-caller since Cody Vaz passed for 332 yards and three scores in a 42-24 victory at BYU in 2012. Garretson joined the likes of some of OSU's greatest quarterbacks in history with only Matt Moore and Erik Wilhem throwing for more TDs in a debut performance with four and other than Vaz, Derek Anderson is the only other to throw for three scores in the modern era.

NEW COORDINATORS: The Oregon State football program is one of five in the nation (Bowling Green, Hawai'i, UCF and Utah State) that has had a different offensive AND defensive coordinator in each of the last three seasons. On the offensive side, the Beavers have been led by John Garrett (2014), Dave Baldwin (2015) and Kevin McGiven and T.J. Woods will co-coordinate in 2016, while on the defensive side it has been Mark Banker (2014), Kalani Sitake (2015) and now Kevin Clune (2016). Bowling Green is the only team to have had four different coordinators on both sides of the ball in the last four years. In point of fact, Danny Langsdorf was the offensive coordinator for the previous 10 seasons before Garrett's stint under then-head coach Mike Riley.

FRESH FACES: So far in 2016 Oregon State coaches have called on 17 young players to make their OSU debuts. Seven true freshmen have played in the first half of the season including: QB Conor Blount, WR Trevon Bradford, OL Gus Lavaka, RB Artavis Pierce, LB Joah Robinett, K Adley Rutschman and LB Shemar Smith. In addition, redshirt freshmen DT Elu Aydon, WR Andre Bodden, OT Blake Brandel, CB Xavier Crawford, S Omar Hicks-Onu, LB Hamilton Hunt, CB Jay Irvine, S Jalen Moore, CB Shawn Wilson and TE Tuli Wily-Matagi have seen playing time for the first time in their careers. Robinett joined the group last week against Cal earning the start and finishing with five tackles.

12 MORE FIRST TIMERS: Nine transfers have also been called upon to contribute including: RB Tim Cook, QB Darell Garretson, WR Timmy Hernandez, OL Brayden Kearsley, DE Phillip Napoleon, S Landry Payne, LB Wesley Payne, DT Paisa Savea and CB Kyle White. Juniors OL Sam Curtius and RB Marcus Greaves as well as sophomore OL Yanni Demogerontas have also taken their first snaps this season bringing the grand total of 2016 first-timers to 28 players making their collegiate debut for the Beavers.

NEW STARTERS: Eleven Oregon State players have registered the first starts of their careers. Sophomore Yanni Demogerontas started the first two games of the season at center earning the first snaps of his career. In addition, redshirt freshmen DT Elu Aydon, LT Blake Brandel, CB Xavier Crawford and CB Jay Irvine have also drawn the starting nod for the first time. On the offensive side, senior RB Tim Cook and junior DE Phillip Napoleon and sophomore WR Timmy Hernandez have made their first starts for the Beavers. In addition, juniors QB Darell Garretson, OL Brayden Kearsley and DT Paisa Savea have made their first OSU starts. Garretson has started all three games this season, while Kearsley made his first start against Boise State. Both players had started at their previous schools, Garretson arrived at OSU with 11 starts under his belt at Utah State and Kearsley had four starts at BYU. True freshmen OL Gus Lavaka and LB Joah Robinett each made their first career starts last week against California.

SENIOR CLASS: The Beavers are once again one of the most inexperienced teams in the country. OSU enters the season with 15 seniors on the active roster, which ranks as tied with Washington State as the second-youngest team in the Pac-12 behind USC with 14. It is tied as the 13th-fewest seniors in the nation.

TRUE STUDENT-ATHLETES: Eleven Beavers either have or are on track to graduate by January. Juniors Kendall Hill, who was recently granted a sixth year of eligibility, graduated following summer term with a degree in human development and family sciences, and Garrett Owens, received his degree in sociology in the spring. In addition, Gavin Andrews (economics), Devin Chappell (economics), Rahmel Dockery (sociology), Sean Harlow (human development and family sciences), Ricky Ortiz (agricultural sciences), Caleb Saulo (sociology), Dustin Stanton (business administration), Noke Tago (human development and family sciences) and Sosaia Tauaho (liberal studies) are scheduled to graduate in December.

LET'S DO IT AGAIN: Oregon State safety Kendall Hill has been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. Hill missed his true freshman season (2012) due to a knee injury suffered during the spring of his senior year of high school. He then suffered a season-ending knee injury during the spring practice session in 2013 and missed a second straight year.

SCHEDULE QUIRK: The Beavers begin a two-game stretch at Reser Stadium Saturday and will again play two straight at home to end the season. The last time OSU played a pair of league two-game home stands in one season was 1991.

TEAM CAPTAINS: The 2016 team is captained by seniors Victor Bolden Jr., Devin Chappell, Sean Harlow, Caleb Saulo, Dustin Stanton and junior Darell Garretson.

NEW HOME FOR THE BEAVS: The Valley Football Center remains a construction zone but various areas of the Victory Through Valley project have come online in recent weeks with the equipment room and loading dock area becoming fully functional, a barber shop facility in the players' lounge and a new coaches locker room opening. Just this week a new media interview and work room was completed and will be used today for the Beavers' postgame press conference for the first time. The Beavers moved into their new locker room in August. Other completed parts of the renovation include an expanded athletic medicine facility, expanded equipment operations, renovated offices for the coaching staff, and an academic/career development office. Still under construction are a football hall of fame, lobby and auditorium. For more on the $42 million project go to www.ourbeavernation.com.

300TH GAME IN RESER: The Beavers' will play their 300th game in Reser (formerly Parker) Stadium late this year against Arizona, Nov. 19.