Oregon State
1-0
Sacramento St
0-1
Beavers Beat Up On Sacramento St. In Opener, 40-7
August 28, 2003 | Football
Aug 29, 2003
By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Steven Jackson had 23 carries for 129 yards and a pair of scores as Oregon State routed Sacramento State 40-7 in the opener for both teams Thursday night.
The Division I-AA Hornets were simply overwhelmed by the Beavers, their first Pac-10 opponent. Oregon State racked up 527 yards in total offense.
Derek Anderson completed 17 of 35 passes for 273 yards and two scores for the Beavers, while Kirk Yliniemi kicked a pair of field goals. Jackson also had four catches for 58 yards.
The Hornets' lone score came in the fourth quarter, when backup quarterback Blake Mori ran in from a yard out.
Twice the Hornets got the ball within field-goal range, but freshman Mitch Lively's attempts in the first and third quarters failed.
About the only similarity between the two teams was their head coaches, who have both returned to the college game after stints the pros.
Mike Riley came back to Oregon State in the offseason after a hiatus in the NFL, while Steve Mooshagian took over at Sacramento State after serving as receivers coach for the Cincinnati Bengals for the last four seasons.
After Lively's 41-yard field goal attempt on the Hornets' first series went wide right, the Beavers answered with a Yliniemi's 39-yarder. It was his 16th consecutive successful field goal dating back to last season, breaking Jim Neilsen's string of 15 in 1984-85.
Jackson ran a yard for his first score to put the Beavers up 10-0, before Anderson found Tim Euhus with an 11-yard scoring pass. Yliniemi added a 33-yard field goal for a 20-0 halftime lead.
Jackson opened the second half with a 6-yard touchdown run before Lively missed a 22-yard yard attempt.
Sophomore Mike Hass caught a 32-yard scoring pass by Anderson just before the close of the third quarter to make it 34-0. Hass, who had six catches for 129 yards, was starting in place of James Newson, who sat out with a hip pointer.
Dwight Wright ran a yard for Oregon State's final touchdown with 1:10 left in the game.
Ryan Leadingham, a junior and already Sacramento State's passing leader, completed nine of 23 passes for 146 yards. Receiver Fred Amey had two catches for 59 yards.
The game took an ugly turn when Sacramento State's Chris Meyer was ejected late in the first half because of a nasty hit on punt returner Cole Clasen, who was calling a fair catch and looking up when he was knocked to the ground.
The hit concerned Riley, who took over the Beavers from Dennis Erickson, who left in the offseason to coach the San Francisco 49ers.
Erickson led the Beavers for four years, replacing Riley, who first left OSU after two seasons to take the head coaching vacancy with the San Diego Chargers. Last season he was defensive backs coach for the New Orleans Saints.
Oregon State has won 16-straight nonconference games at Reser Stadium. The Beavers' last home loss out of the Pac-10 came on Sept. 7, 1996, against Montana.
Team Stats
SAC 0, OSU 3
OSU - Yliniemi, Kirk 39 yd field goal 11 plays, 55 yards, TOP 4:53
SAC 0, OSU 10
OSU - Jackson, Steven 1 yd run (Yliniemi, Kirk kick), 5 plays, 45 yards, TOP 2:29
SAC 0, OSU 17
OSU - Euhus, Tim 11 yd pass from Anderson, Derek (Yliniemi, Kirk kick) 10 plays, 69 yards, TOP 3:55
SAC 0, OSU 20
OSU - Yliniemi, Kirk 33 yd field goal 15 plays, 60 yards, TOP 4:26
SAC 0, OSU 27
OSU - Jackson, Steven 6 yd run (Yliniemi, Kirk kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:55
SAC 0, OSU 34
OSU - Hass, Mike 32 yd pass from Anderson, Derek (Yliniemi, Kirk kick) 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:45
SAC 7, OSU 34
SAC - Blake Mori 2 yd run (Mitch Lively kick), 12 plays, 78 yards, TOP 5:00
SAC 7, OSU 40
OSU - Wright, Dwight 1 yd run (Yliniemi, Kirk kickfailed), 11 plays, 64 yards, TOP 5:06
