Oregon State Football News and Notes: Back on the Practice Field

Boise State's statement against the Hokies on Monday night has a lot of Beaver fans antsy for September 25. But we're not there yet. 

The Beavers are focusing squarely on Louisville, a team that embarrassed them to the tune of 63-27 back in 2005. This is a much different team with a different coach, but the Beavers are focused on getting their first win in the home opener. 

The Beavers had the day off Monday before returning to the practice field yesterday. It was business as usual, although a heavy dose of rain was added. Lindsay Schnell reports that the Beavers are mainly focusing on themselves this week, although they spent a small portion of time in yesterday's practice preparing for Louisville. The coaches are going to take advantage of the bye week and hit the recruiting trail.  

It's not just Oregon State that has concerns on defense. It's the rest of the Pac-10 as well. Five teams (USC, UCLA, UW, WSU, OSU) allowed over 375 yards of total offense to their week one opponent. UCLA allowed 313 rushing yards against Kansas State. Hawaii threw for 459 against USC's secondary. Oklahoma State had their way with the Cougars, putting up 250+ in the air and on the ground.  Portland State threw for over 200 against Arizona State, and TCU ran for 278 against the Beavers. 

Checking in on the polls, the Beavers have fallen out of most people's top 25's. If you're go into the "others receiving votes" category, they come in at #29 in the Media poll, #30 in the Coaches Poll, and #27 in ESPN's Power Rankings. When the BlogPoll comes out today, I'll notify you of where the Beavers rank there. Let's take a closer look at where the Pac-10 falls:

ESPN Power Rankings: (7) Oregon, (16) USC, (24) Stanford, (25) Arizona, (27) Oregon State

Media Poll: (7) Oregon, (16) USC, (25) Stanford, (29) Oregon State

Coaches: (8) Oregon, (23) Arizona, (26) Stanford, (30) Oregon State

Also, the Beavers stay at #3 on Ted Miller's Pac-10 rankings. 

In national football news, Oregon and LSU have agreed to play in the 2011 "Cowboys Classic." From Ted Miller:

And, by the way, LSU is a program does have room to talk smack about the Pac-10. While the SEC is 9-11 versus the Pac-10 since 2000, LSU is 13-3 all-time versus the Pac-10, including recent wins over Oregon State, Arizona State, Washington and Arizona (twice). The Tigers are 2-1 vs. Oregon.

The Ducks will be an interesting team in 2011. Graduation will hit both lines hard -- three starters gone on both -- but the skill should be outstanding, with quarterback Darron Thomas entering a second year as a starter and LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner starring in a dynamic backfield.

Playing a quality opponent didn't go so well for Oregon last year (Boise State), but they'll roll the dice again on the nation's biggest stage. 

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)