Oregon St. Only Slips A Little, Injuries A Concern Though

Oregon St. only slipped a little in the polls and rankings after their 27-23 loss at Stanford Saturday. The Beavers are #15 in the AP Poll, down only 2 spots, and #16 in the BCS rankings, a drop of 5 spots. The Coaches' SID's poll has Oregon St. at #17, down from #12 a week ago.

Oregon's 59-17 demolition of California, the Beavers' next opponent, coupled with former #1 in everything Alabama's 29-24 home upset loss to Texas A&M elevated the Ducks to the top of both polls, and #2 behind Kansas St. in the BCS rankings. The WIldcats are #2 behind Oregon in both polls.

Notre Dame is now #3 universally, and Alabama is #4 in both the AP Poll and the BCS rankings, 1 spot ahead of SEC East Champion Georgia in both cases, pending the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs showdown in the SEC title game.

Stanford, who will visit Oregon next Saturday, edged up to #13 in both polls and the BCS rankings.

UCLA's 44-36 win at Washington St. last night has the Bruins right on the Beavers' heels, at #17 in the AP Poll and the BCS rankings, and the SIDs now see UCLA a bit more favorably than Oregon St., despite the Beavers' head-to-head win, slotting the Bruins at #16.

USC is #21 in both polls, and #18 in the BCS rankings, after Trojans trounced Arizona St. 38-17, and Washington broke into the 25th spot in the BCS rankings after downing Utah 34-15.

Beavers A Bit Beat Up

Cody Vaz's ankle injury, suffered on Oregon St.'s next to last offensive play against Stanford, is listed as day to day, according to Head Coach Mike Riley, after getting everyone back to Corvallis Sunday. Riley said he won't decide on a starter for this week until seeing how Vaz's ankle responds, and how, or whether, he can practice.

Offensive guard Grant Enger, who left the game Saturday with a right ankle injury, will be eased into practice this week, and Riley will also only decide on Enger's status after seeing how his ankle responds. Derek Neilsen filled in for Enger, and would start in his place. The only real problem with that is it would leave at least 2 holes in the depth chart, as Neilsen is listed in more than one place.

D.J. Alexander will undergo additional tests and evaluation tomorrow, and is out until its determined what the problem actually is. What initially appeared to be a shoulder injury that forced him out of the game early now is thought to involve Alexander's ribs.

Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com