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Win this weekend, and Oregon State clinches a winning season, a winning conference record, and a 3rd place finish in the Pac-12 North. Lose, and all of the above is in jeopardy; finishing 5th in the division isn't out of the question, as the Beavs are just a game ahead of Washington State at this point. A win probably gets them into the Vegas or Fight Hunger Bowls; not great, but not Albuquerque and not left to the whims of unattached bowls trying to find an opponent for the 4th place team from the MAC. With a loss, Albuquerque would be a blessing.
I know there is at least one, and probably two, more games this year. However, this game is the difference between a season that is merely disappointing, and a season that is a big step backwards from the direction we want to go.
Simply put: this is the most important game of Oregon State's season.
Oh, and 88 days until first pitch.
ESPN's Pac-12 blog: Weekend Review. Power Rankings. Bowl Projections. Week 13 Sneak Peek.
Stewart Mandel projects bowl games, and puts the Beavers in a New Year's Day Bowl! Yeah, it's the Heart of Dallas bowl against North Texas, but it's still New Year's Day, like that means anything anymore.
Lindsey Schnell asks "What is going on with the Beavers' offense?" She also has a sneak peak at Washington. Mike Riley has some considerable regrets about last weekend's game. Other players come to Sean Mannion's defense.
The Huskies' Keith Price may miss this weekend's game against Oregon State, for the second trip to Corvallis in a row for UW. He definitely will be shut down in practice until at least Thursday. Keith Price might be tired of coming to Corvallis, since he gets injured every time he comes here. He might also observe that "You dirtbags have been in third place for five years."
Vegas has installed the Beavers as 3.5 point favorites. Sounds about right if Price is out. With him, I'd call it a Pick Em.
Brandin Cooks was named a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist. I think there's a good chance he'll be named a finalist and get a trip to the Awards show, although with his late season slump, winning it seems unlikely. You can help contribute to his cause by voting for Cooks here. Not sure how much the fan votes counts on this one, but it can't hurt.
Stats Oregon State Players Lead the Nation In:
Sean Mannion: Passing Yards. Passing Yards Per Game. Passing TD's.
Brandin Cooks: Receiving Yards. Receiving Yards Per Game. Points Responsible For by a WR.
The Washington Post reviews the OSU-Maryland game from Sunday. They were understandably unimpressed with the Terps' defense. With President Obama in attendance, even ESPN caught notice. Thanks, Obama!
OSU's Roberto Nelson was named the Pac-12 player of the Week for leading the Beavers to wins over Portland and Maryland.
The womens' basketball team managed to do something mens' football has a problem with -- they beat Sacramento State, and are now 3-0 on the year.
Collegiate Baseball named Nate Yeskie the 2013 College Baseball Pitching Coach of the Year. I have no idea why this is awarded five months' after season's end, but congratulations to him nonetheless.
Mens' soccer finished their season in typical style, losing to the third ranked Washington Huskies on senior day. Their overall record on the year is 7-10-2, meaning their non-conference record was 7-2, as opposed to their conference record of 0-8-2. That says something about the relative strength of the conference.
The 12th ranked OSU Wrestling team lost a match on the road at 20th ranked Michigan. Top ranked at 149 pounds, OSU's Scott Sakaguchi dropped a match to the Wolverines' fifth ranked Eric Grajales.
The softball team signed five players to letters of intent. Gymnastics also picked up two commitments.
Tis the season:
Best deleted scene ever:
This week's episode of the Illegal Participation podcast is now available.
If I missed anything leave it in the comments below, and make sure to vote in today's poll.