Beavers, Utes Set for Halloween Showdown

UNIFIED FOR UCC: For the rest of the season, the Beavers will wear a black UCC ribbon on their helmets to honor the fallen from the tragic events of Oct. 1 at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore. (115 miles south of Corvallis).

THE SERIES/GAME FACTS
•   Game No. 20 in a series that dates back to 1931.
•   OSU has an 11-7-1 series lead.
•   The last two games have gone into overtime; 51-48 win by OSU in SLC in 2013 and a 29-23 Utah victory in Corvallis last season.
•   Beavers are 4-4 in games in SLC.
•   Nine games have been decided by 7 points or less (4-4-1).
•   Beaver head coach Gary Andersen has been on the opposing sidelines at Rice-Eccles Stadium only one time – as head coach at Utah State in his first game with the Aggies in 2009 – No. 19 Utah won 35-17.
•   OSU head coach Gary Andersen is 1-1 all-time against Utah, beating the Utes 27-20 Sept. 7, 2012 in Logan while as the head coach at Utah State.
•   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.
•   Numerous OSU assistant coaches and support personnel were on the staff at Utah at various times, including Kalani Sitake (2005-14), Chad Kauha'aha'a (2011-12), Derrick Odum (2005-07) and Ilaisa Tuiaki (2008, 2012-14)
•   Gary Andersen was a center for the Utes (1985-86), Chad Kauha'aha'a was a defensive lineman for Utah (1993-96) and Derrick 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.
•   The OSU single game rushing record was established at Utah Sept. 28, 1968 by the late Bill Enyart – 299 yards (50 att.). Enyart is in the College Football Hall of Fame.
•   The most total yards ever gained by an OSU team is 703, Sept. 29, 1951 vs. Utah in Corvallis.
•   OSU has played five games without gaining a yard passing; the first was at Utah Sept. 28, 1968. The other four games were in 1991 and '93.

G'DAY MATE: A pair of punters from Melbourne, Australia will be on the field Saturday – for the Beavers first-year member Nick Porebski and for the Utes senior Ray Guy Award winner Tom Hackett. Both trained together at ProKick Australia after successful careers in Australian Rules Football ... both teams rank among the top two in the league in net punting ... ProKick has produced All-Americans Scott Harding (Hawai'i) and Tom Hornsey (Memphis); Ray Guy Award winners Hornsey and Hackett, and honorable-mention All-Americans Hackett, Tim Gleeson (Rutgers) and Cameron Johnston (Ohio State).

UNDAUNTED BY RANKINGS: Since 2005, Oregon State is tied with North Carolina State for the most wins by an unranked team against an FBS ranked team with 12.

THE DRIVE: The Oregon State and Utah football programs will be featured in the Pac-12 Networks' The Drive: Pac-12 Football this fall. Episodes are scheduled for initial air dates as Oct. 28, Nov. 4, Nov. 11, Nov. 18, Nov. 25 and Dec. 2.

BEST COACH: According to a recent ESPN.com survey, 99 college football players were asked who (other than their own coach) is the best coach in the country? Gary Andersen tied for third behind the likes of Nick Saban and Urban Meyer.

3-4: During the spring practice session, head coach Gary Andersen, assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake and staff made the decision to shift to a primary defensive alignment with three down linemen and four linebackers. It marks the first time the Beavers have lined up in a primary 3-4 since the Jerry Pettibone era when Bronco Mendenhall, current BYU head coach, directed the defense in 1996.

NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND: Oregon State's defense has shown noticeable signs of improving over the last two games. The Beavers have allowed 449 yards in total offense over the last six quarters, just 50 yards more than OSU allowed Washington State in the first half alone. The previous six quarters OSU's defense allowed 1,043 yards.

NO FREE PASSES: Opponents have had to earn their own first downs this season, for the most part The Beavers have allowed just 11 first downs via the penalty through seven games. Last year, OSU was among the worst in the conference for that dubious stat providing opponents with 31 free passes.

WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE, WIN THE GAME: Over the last 144 games, Oregon State is 51-14 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent, 11-38 when committing more and 16-14 when even.

1325: The Number of yards Oregon State has rushed for this season. That's just 92 yards short of all of last season and 98 yards more than the 2013 team.

THAT'S ODD: OSU has accumulated more first downs rushing than passing, which to some extent is to be expected with the new offensive scheme. The Beavers have 66 first downs via the rush compared to 54 via the pass. Last year for the season OSU had 78 rushing first downs compared to 138 via the air. The last time Oregon State finished a season with more first downs on the ground than through the air was in 2000 when the Beavers rushed for 119 first downs and passed for 116.

BROTHERS MITCHELL: In last week's game against Colorado, redshirt freshman quarterback Nick Mitchell made his collegiate debut. The occasion marked a rarity in football, having a set of brothers as the offense's battery. Senior Josh Mitchell is the Beavers' center while younger brother, Nick, was taking the snaps.

2x1: Recently senior tailback Storm Barrs-Woods became the second player in Oregon State history to achieve 2,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving during his career. Barrs-Woods has rushed for 2,535 career yards, sixth in OSU history, and 1,079 receiving yards. He joins Jacquizz Rodgers (2008-10) as the only other 2,000 x 1,000 player in OSU history. Further, Barrs-Woods became just the fourth player with 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards joining Pat Chaffey (1986, 88-89) and James Rodgers (2007-11) ... Barrs-Woods is one of only four active players that began their careers as running backs that have 2,000 career rushing yards and 1,000 career receiving yards (D.J. Foster, Arizona State; Elijah McGuire, Louisiana; Josh Ferguson, Illinois).

QB ON THE MOVE: It didn't take freshman Seth Collins long to show his mobility and a very different skill set than Beaver fans are used to seeing at the position. Collins dodged, dipped, ducked, dived and dodged his way to 152 rushing yards against Weber State. It is the most yards an OSU quarterback has ran for since Tim Alexander set the school-record of 205 rushing yards against Northern Illinois in 1996 ... Through seven games, Collins is averaging 76.6 rushing yards per game. At his current pace, Collins would finish the regular season with 919 rushing yards. Collins, who has rushed for 536 yards thus far in 2015, is 96 yards short of the Oregon State single season record for rushing yards by a quarterback which is held by Don Shanklin with 630 in 1994 (the Pac-12 single season record of 986 was set in 1997 by UW's Jake Locker ... Collins' start is especially impressive as he is the fifth leading rusher in the nation among quarterbacks ... Collins is also the third leading rusher in the nation among true freshmen (Saquon Barkley, Penn State and Myles Gaskin, Washington).

FRESHMEN QUARTERBACKS: Per a survey prior to the season, Oregon State entered the season as the only team in the nation that has no quarterbacks with playing experience and has only eligible freshmen signal callers. Prior to Seth Collins starting the season-opener against Weber State, the last Beaver true freshman quarterback to start for the Beavers was David Moran in 1996. Moran started three games in what was then a wishbone system, switched to cornerback prior to 1997 and before that season transferred to Northern Arizona .. all three of OSU's eligible quarterbacks, Collins and redshirt freshmen Marcus McMaryion and Nick Mitchell have played for the Beavers this season.

NEW LOOK LINEBACKERS: Entering the season Oregon State needed to replace all three starting linebackers from 2014 - a group that had combined to start 91 games and make 628 tackles. The Beavers returned two players with starting experience, Rommel Mageo and Caleb Saulo, who combined to start 10 games in 2013. According to a recent survey, those 10 returning starts ranks as the sixth-fewest in the nation. Those two juniors plus sophomore Manase Hungalu have formed a new triumverate combining for 130 tackles, 3.0 tackles-for-loss, 2.0 sacks, four interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

APPLYING FOR MEDICAL HARDSHIPS: OSU head coach Gary Andersen announced two weeks ago that senior tight end Caleb Smith and true freshman running back Deltron Sands will miss the rest of the 2015 season. Because both players have played this year, OSU will apply for medical hardships from the Pac-12 Conference after the season.

SENIOR CLASS: The Beavers are one of the most inexperienced teams in the country entering the season. OSU possesses 13 seniors on the active roster, which ranks as the youngest team in the Pac-12 and is tied as the ninth-youngest team in the nation.

ON THE JOB TRAINING: As noted above, OSU has one of the least experienced rosters in the nation. The Beavers have had 32 players get their first taste of Division I college football, the 11th-most in the country. In addition, 18 players have made the first start of their careers, which ties for seventh in the nation, including: RB Chris Brown, DB Devin Chappell, QB Seth Collins, CB Treston Decoud, DE Titus Failauga, WR Datrin Guyton, LB Kyle Haley, DL Sumner Houston, LB Manase Hungalu, QB Nick Mitchell, RB Ryan Nall, NT Kyle Peko, DE Baker Pritchard, TE Noah Togiai, LB Bright Ugwoegbu, DT Kalani Vakameilalo, TE Brent VanderVeen and CB Dwayne Williams.

RETURNING O-LINEMEN: Oregon State returns all five starters on the offensive line for the first time since 2003 when Matt Brock, Brian Kilkenny, David Lose, Doug Nienhuis and Kanan Sanchez manned the trenches. This season, the Beavers have a group of linemen that started the final four games of 2014 together – Sean Harlow (LT), Fred Lauina (LG), Josh Mitchell (C), Gavin Andrews (RG) and Dustin Stanton (RT). In addition, Isaac Seumalo, who entered the season with 25 starts for the Beavers, returns from injury after missing the entire 2014 season and will fill in at right guard while Andrews will redshirt this season due to injury bringing about the possibility that the 2016 team could return five current or former starters on the line for the second consecutive season ... Harlow, who was injured against Colorado, will miss the remainder of the season.

TRUE STUDENT-ATHLETES: Twelve of the Beavers' 13 seniors are on track to graduate this academic year: Gavin Andrews (June/economics), Lavonte Barnett (March/sociology), Storm Barrs-Woods (December/human development & family sciences), Kellen Clute (March/digital communications), Jalen Grimble (December/economics), Jaswha James (December/sociology), Josh Mitchell (December/sociology), Naji Patrick (December/human development family studies/public health), Ali'i Robins (December/sociology), Larry Scott (December/human development & family studies), Caleb Smith (March/liberal studies), Shane Wallen (March/exercise & sport science).

BEAVS AT 113: Oregon owns the most victories in the Pac-12 Conference this century with 150, followed by USC (146/122 with vacated wins), OSU (111), Arizona State (108), UCLA (107), Stanford (106), Cal (96), Arizona (92), Washington (90), WSU (80). Non-traditional Pac-12 teams Utah has 129 victories this century and Colorado has 76. The Beavers hit the 100-win plateau this century in the Sept, 21, 2013 win at San Diego State. The previous 100-win stretch started during the 1966 season, ending with 1999 – nearly 34 seasons (365 games). This century's 100 victories were achieved in just over 13 seasons (168 games).

CAMP WILLIAMS: Earlier this summer 12 OSU football student-athletes spent a week at the National Guard Training Site in Bluffdale, Utah, for a crash course in leadership skills taught by the U. S. Army's 19th Special Forces Group. The participants learned leadership and teamwork skills and how to prioritize, sacrifice, brainstorm and trust, and how to synergize in small and large units for the good of the group, attributes that translate to the football field and to their professional and personal lives once they embark on a life beyond football after graduating from OSU. Players involved include: Lavonte Barnett, Victor Bolden, Devin Chappell, Kammy Delp, David Henry, Fred Lauina, Rommel Mageo, Josh Mitchell, Cyril Noland-Lewis, Ricky Ortiz, Kyle Peko and Caleb Saulo. For more of the story go to osubeavers.com.

PLUS .500 NON-CONFERENCE SEASONS: Oregon State achieved its fourth straight non-conference slate with a winning record. The Beavers won all three non-conference (non-bowl) games in 2012 and again in 2014 while they posted a 2-1 record in 2013 and this season.

Related News

Players Mentioned

Ali'i Robins

Related Videos