Beavers to Host Huskies for Senior Day Saturday

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).

CEREMONIAL SHOVEL: Lead-gift donors, OSU president Ed Ray, head coach Gary Andersen, vice president/director of athletics Todd Stansbury, and CEO of the OSU Foundation Mike Goodwin will participate in a ceremonial groundbreaking at approximately 1 p.m. Saturday in the north end zone to mark the beginning of the $42 million Victory Through Valley Project that will add and renovate the Valley Football Center. The new-look building that is on target to be ready for the Sept. 17, 2016 home season opener will include expanded sports medicine and equipment operations areas, as well as the team's locker room. For more on the project follow go to www.ourbeavernation.com.

THE SERIES/GAME FACTS
•   Saturday is the 100th meeting in the series that dates back to 1897.
•   UW leads the overall series 61-34-4 and has won three straight and four of the last five.
•   UW won the last meeting in Corvallis (Nov. 23, 2013) 69-27 – the most points ever allowed by OSU. Victor Bolden returned a kickoff 98 yards for a TD in that game, now the fifth-longest in OSU history. Bolden set the Pac-12 record for total kickoff return yards for one game with 305 yards (12 returns).
•   OSU had a 6-game win streak in the series, its longest, between 2004-09. Four of those wins were in Seattle, including back-to-back-to-back years.
•   OSU did not win a game in the series between 1986-2000, and won only once between 1975-2000 – the famed 1985 21-20 victory at Husky Stadium as then the biggest underdog to win a game in NCAA history (38 points) at the time.
•   OSU wide receiver coach Brent Brennan was a graduate assistant coach (tight ends) at Washington in 1999.
•   Washington associate head coach/offensive line coach Chris Strausser was a graduate assistant at Oregon State (1990-91).
•   Washington offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jonathan Smith was a four-year letterman QB at Oregon State (1998-2001). More details below.
•   Notable current records in the series or in Reser Stadium history: Most field goals in one game (6, Alexis Serna, Nov. 5, '05); co-Most field goals made at Reser Stadium (5, Alexis Serna – twice – vs. UW, Nov. 10, '07); Most kickoff return yards in Pac-12 history (305, Victor Bolden, 2014); Most points allowed by OSU (69, 2013); Most all-purpose yards vs. OSU (371, Charles Frederick, Oct. 18, '03); Most team yards passing (508 at UW, Oct. 24, '98); Most interceptions thrown by an opposing QB (6, Sonny Sixkiller, Oct. 24, '70); co-longest punt return vs. OSU (92, Steve Bramwell, Oct. 12, '63)

UW COORDINATOR/OSU RECORD HOLDER: Washington offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jonathan Smith was a four-year letterman QB at OSU 1998-2001. Smith joined the OSU program as a walkon from Glendora, Calif., in August of 1997 during the initial season of former Beaver head coach Mike Riley's first tenure (1997-98). Smith's first OSU appearance was in the '98 season opener vs. Nevada (1-for-2 for 7 yds). He got his first chance to run the Beaver first team Oct. 17, '98 vs. Arizona coming in for injured starter Terrance Bryant. The following week he once again entered the contest for an ailing Bryant at Husky Stadium – initially in the second quarter and then again in the third quarter. Smith proceeded to pass for 469 yards against the Huskies, a then Beaver record. From that point, Smith was the starter through the 2001 season that included the Beavers winning the 2000 Fiesta Bowl (co-Pac-10 champions) and playing in the '99 Oahu Bowl. He passed for 9,680 career yards, since passed by Derek Anderson (11,249) and Sean Mannion (13,124). Smith left OSU as the all-time leader for passing yards, single season yards (3,053/'99), single season touchdowns (20/2000) and career touchdowns (55). He still holds the school record with a 97-yard pass to Chad Johnson against Stanford in 2010.

NUMBERS DON'T LIE: As of Monday, Oregon State has 50 scholarship players (85 allowed per NCAA) available for Saturday's game vs. Washington. Head coach Gary Andersen has elected to redshirt 15 players, while the rest of the scholarship players are unavailable (again, as of Monday), due to injuries or illness. The Beavers also have six medical retired scholarship players (do not count against 85), three of them were starters during their careers.

M.A.S.H. UNIT: As noted above, the injury bug has been busy going through Oregon State players in 2015. Twenty-one players that began the season in the two-deep have combined to miss 65 games due to injury. Among those are several season-ending injuries of particular importance, OT Sean Harlow (28 consecutive starts) suffered a season-ending leg injury against Colorado, QB Seth Collins was a practice casualty prior to the Utah game, and TE Caleb Smith (16 starts entering the season) was lost for the season after game 2. In addition, senior Gavin Andrews who would have been slated to start on the offensive line has missed the entire season due to injury.

LINEUPS IN FLUX: The starting lineups on both offense and defense have been something of a moving target in 2015. The Beavers' offense has seen 21 different players on the field for the first snap while 22 different defenders have started. On the offensive side, four different tight ends and three running backs have earned starts. On defense, eight players have started along the defensive line, seven linebackers and four different cornerbacks have received starts.

A ROUND OF APPLAUSE: The famed 2000 Fiesta Bowl team was inducted into the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday. That team finished the year ranked No. 4 in the country after routing Notre Dame in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and concluding the season 11-1. Former Oregon State two-sport (football & basketball) standout the late Elmer Kolberg (1935-37) was also inducted.

THANK YOU SENIORS: The following Beavers are appearing in the final game at Reser Stadium:
Sports Medicine Staff: Barrett Dowding, Lebanon; Kristen Ho, Waipahu, Hawai'i; Joshua Takiguchi, Hilo, Hawai'I; Ryan Wellock, Medford
Equipment Operations: Reece Esary, Stanwood, Wash.; Forrest Visscher, Clackamas
Video Operations: Anthony Alfieri, Portland; Alex Geelan, McMinnville; Brittney Lott, Tacoma, Wash.; Jake Rossman, Hillsboro; Ben Withycombe, Portland
Student-Athletes
• Lavonte Barnett, DL, Lancaster, Calif. – graduates in March in sociology
• Storm Barrs-Woods, RB, Pflugerville, Texas – graduates in December in human development and family studies
• Kellen Clute, TE, Spokane, Wash. – graduates in March in digital communications
• Ryan Cope, PK, Portland – graduates in June in business
• Jalen Grimble, DL, Las Vegas, Nevada – graduates in December in economics
• Jaswha James, DL, Inglewood, Calif. – graduates in December in sociology
• Josh Mitchell, OL, North Bend, Wash. – graduates in December in sociology
• Naji Patrick, CB, Vallejo, Calif. – graduates in December in human development and family studies
• Kyle Peko, DL, La Habra, Calif. – transfer majoring in human development and family studies
• Ali'i Robins, DL, Ewa Beach, Hawai'i – graduates in December in sociology
• Larry Scott, CB, Corona, Calif. – graduates in December in human development and family studies
• Shane Wallen, RB, Chico, Calif. – graduates in March in exercise and sport science

ON THE JOB TRAINING: Oregon State has one of the least experienced rosters in the nation. Twenty-four players have gotten the first start of their careers in 2015, the fourth-most first-time starters in the nation (Kansas & UCF have started 33 and TCU has 26) including: S Brandon Arnold, RB Chris Brown, DB Devin Chappell, OG Drew Clarkson, QB Seth Collins, CB Treston Decoud, DE Titus Failauga, WR Datrin Guyton, LB Kyle Haley, CB, Kendall Hill, OT Will Hopkins, DL Sumner Houston, LB Manase Hungalu, WR Paul Lucas, QB Nick Mitchell, RB Ryan Nall, NT Kyle Peko, DE Baker Pritchard, TE Noah Togiai, LB Bright Ugwoegbu, DT Kalani Vakameilalo, TE Brent VanderVeen, CB Dwayne Williams and LB Jonathan Willis. In total, the Beavers have had 32 players get their first taste of Division I college football, tying for the 11th-most first-timers in the country.

YOUTH IS SERVED: OSU is one 25 teams in the country to have played 20 or more freshmen in 2015. The Beavers have had exactly 20 rookies see game action in 2015 including four true freshmen: QB Seth Collins, WR Paul Lucas, RB Deltron Sands and TE Noah Togiai. Among the 16 redshirt freshmen to play thus far are: OL Drew Clarkson, OL Kammy Delp, WR Datrin Guyton, DL Sumner Houston, WR Drew Kell, QB Marcus McMaryion, QB Nick Mitchell, OL Trent Moore, RB/TE Ryan Nall, S Gabe Ovgard, S Adam Soesman, LB Bright Ugwoegbu, DT Kalani Vakameilalo, CB Dwayne Williams, DE LaMone Williams and LB Jonathan Willis.

SENIOR CLASS: The Beavers are one of the most inexperienced teams in the country. 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. Included in those 13 seniors is OL Gavin Andrews and TE Caleb Smith, both of whom will miss the season leaving only 11 that play.

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 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.

NO FREE PASSES: Opponents have had to earn their own first downs this season, for the most part the Beavers have allowed just 14 first downs via the penalty through nine 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 147 games, Oregon State is 51-15 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent, 11-39 when committing more and 16-15 when even.

1756: The number of yards Oregon State has rushed for this season. That's 339 more yards than of all of last season (1,417) and 529 yards more than the 2013 team (1,227).

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 85 first downs via the rush compared to 77 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.

THE MITCHELL BATTERY: For the past four weeks, Oregon State has used a quarterback-center battery of brothers Nick Mitchell and Josh Mitchell. According to a recent survey of college football SIDs, the Mitchells are the only brothers to snap to each in recent memory. Minnesota has a brother combination at center and quarterback, but the duo has never played at the same time.

INSIDE THE 20: Beaver punter Nick Porebski, one of 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award, has had a single season school record 26 punts downed inside OSU's opponents 20-yard line. He leads the Pac-12 for the category. He also has just one touchback. OSU has punted 61 times this season (tied with ASU for the most), but teams have returned those punts for a meager 32 yards (0.5 avg.)

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 ... Collins rushed for 536 yards before suffering a season-ending injury in practice leading up to the game at Utah. He came up 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.

FRESHMEN QUARTERBACKS: Per a survey prior to the season, Oregon State entered the season as the only team in the nation that had no quarterbacks with playing experience and had 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 with both Collins and Mitchell earning starts.

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 2,669 career yards, fifth 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).

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 for the position. Those two juniors plus a group of youngsters that includes juniors Kyle Haley (1 start) and Ricky Ortiz (1 start at fullback), sophomore Manase Hungalu (3) and redshirt freshmen Bright Ugwoegbu (2) and Jonathan Willis (3) have combined for 262 tackles, 11.5 tackles-for-loss, 6.0 sacks, five interceptions, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a pass breakup.

APPLYING FOR MEDICAL HARDSHIPS: OSU head coach Gary Andersen announced earlier this season 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.

RETURNING O-LINEMEN: Oregon State returned 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, returned 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 111: Oregon owns the most victories in the Pac-12 Conference this century with 153, followed by USC (149/125 with vacated wins), OSU (111), Arizona State (109), UCLA (109), Stanford (108), Cal (97), Arizona (93), Washington (91), WSU (82). Non-traditional Pac-12 teams Utah has 131 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.

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.

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.

TENTH ANNIVERSARY: The 2015 season marks the 10th anniversary of Mike Hass and Alexis Serna winning national awards. Hass earned the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver after making a then school record 90 receptions for a then Pac-12 record 1,532 receiving yards. Hass also earned First Team All-America honors by several organizations, including the Associated Press and Walter Camp Foundation. Serna captured the Lou Groza Award as the nation's top kicker following a season where he made 23 of 28 field goal attempts and was perfect on 32 point-after-touchdown efforts. Both began their OSU careers as walkons.

15TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIESTA BOWL: 2015 season also marks the 15th anniversary of the 2000 Beavers' football squad that won the Fiesta Bowl. After thrashing Notre Dame 41-9, Oregon State finished the season ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press poll. The 2000 team will be inducted into the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame this fall.

ONE OF EIGHT: Fifth-year head football athletic trainer Ariko (uh-REE-ko) Iso (EE-so) is one of only eight females in the FBS in charge of the athletic training function of their football programs. Jennifer Brodeur (Massachusetts), Sally Nogle (Michigan State) and Kelli Pugh (Virginia) also head football athletic trainers while Jennifer Brown (Eastern Michigan), Brandy Clouse (Georgia Southern), Mary Vander Heiden (UCF) and Dawn Hearn (UTEP) are sports medicine department heads.

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