Alamo Bowl A Recruiting Opportunity

While its a bit more expensive for Beaver Nation than a trip to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl would have been, it could be worth it if Oregon St. ultimately lands some additional recruits of the ilk of, say, the Rodgers brothers after being seen in and around San Antonio.

Oregon St. fans recall the last trip to Texas, which resulted in not only a loss to TCU, but also, quite possibly, the loss of a bowl game in 2010, when what was a highly likely win over Eastern Washington was turned in for what was an anticipated thumping by the Rose Bowl bound Horned Frogs in Dallas, in a season that featured a trip to Boise St., another to Washington, and games against BCS bowl bound Stanford and Oregon. None of those went well, and the Beavers wound up 5-7, and home for the holidays.

One of the key reasons was head coach Mike Riley's desire to make an appearance in Texas, the heartland for high school football recruiting in the country.

Whether it was worth it, Storm Woods not withstanding, was and is a topic of debate, but there's no doubt that getting outside the Pac-12 footprint, and especially in Texas, is a good thing for the Beavers. (Especially given that Oregon St. is scheduled into San Diego next fall anyway, to play the Aztecs.)

Going for a bowl game is by far the better way to go about it, though! It's even a chance to go head to head with Longhorn Nation!

Right now, there is 1 commit for the 2013 class from the lone star state, yet another running back, Damien Haskins from New Boston, Texas. This trip should help firm up Haskins' plans. Could the Beavers impress some others this week, whether they are currently working at Sea World, as Cliff Kirkpatrick from the Corvallis GT documents, or not?

Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com