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So it's Utah week. Utah looks pretty good, and are currently feeling pretty good about themselves after beating poor hapless Weber State 70-7 last Saturday. They are, however, aware that their secondary had better be on their game Saturday, since the passing game is the one part of OSU's game that seems to be working well right now.
Ken Goe has a quick preview of Utah. Lindsey Schnell also previews the Utes. Vegas Insider, as of Monday afternoon, had the Utes as a three point favorite. Quite a change from the original 6-point OSU favorite line that came out some time in August.
Pac-12 Blog Power Rankings are out for the week, and OSU is no longer #12. Colorado and USC (heh) are ranked worse. Their bowl projections are also out for the week, and they have the Beavers playing in the Mac & Cheese Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl against BYU. They have a quick look at Week 3 games. The Sporting News has their own Power Rankings.
You probably know Michael Doctor is out, possibly for the season. If he is out for the season, he does still have a redshirt year remaining, should he need it. I'm not sure which result I'm hoping for. Ask me in six weeks, I guess. In case you hadn't heard, Roman Sapolu is out for the season with separated bones in his foot. Rare good news from the training room: DJ Alexander is expected to play Saturday.
Connor Letourneau has a report on OSU's injury riddled offensive line. Remember six weeks ago when the O-line looked set and the D-line was a concern? I kind of miss those days. Damn! We're in a tight spot.
Lindsey Schnell posts a good reminder that sometimes, just sometimes, the backups do just fine.
Post-game video from the Hawaii game: the O-live beat writers review the game, and Sean Mannion also addressed the media.
Want something to turn your stomach just a little? Eastern Washington scored more points against OSU than they did against that college just a little ways up 99W. No, not the Ducks. In the other direction. That's not a good feeling.
Markus Wheaton did not make a catch in his debut for the Steelers against the Titans. Steven Jackson had a decent game against the Saints, although he did drop a likely game-winning touchdown with just a few seconds left in the game. Jacquizz was a non-factor in that game.
This week's episode of Heinrich Tailgater's Illegal Participation is out. They talk about a bunch of Utah-related things, including some recommended eateries in SLC, so if you're heading to Rice-Eccles this weekend, you might want to check it out.
Coming up Thursday, at 3:30 PM PDT, the Beavers will be hosting a live, interactive video chat on speercast.com with defensive lineman Dylan Wynn. If you miss it, they say they will have it archived, so you can podcast it.
As mentioned in this column last weekend, Gary Payton was inaugurated into the basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday. I meant to give it a sniff, but the NFL kind of happened. During his speech, Payton declared himself "The Greatest Trash Talker of All Time." J.A. Adande has his own take on why Gary Payton belongs in the Hall. Not that I really think there's any doubt about that.
Payton was drafted #2 in the 1990 NBA draft, behind Derrick Coleman. While Payton is clearly the better player, this isn't an Oden-Durant situation; Coleman was Rookie of the Year, an All-Star, and twice a member of the All-NBA third team. Regardless, I'm still pretty sure the Nets would have wished they took Payton. The OSU athletic department put together a nice career summary for him.
In case you missed it:
Some nice shout outs to Ralph Miller, Jimmy Anderson and his wife Fifi (who was my 7th grade English teacher).
The OSU men's soccer team won 4-1 this weekend over Oakland (Michigan). The women's team did not fare so well, falling 1-0 to Hawaii. OSU Volleyball finished a six game swing through Michigan with a 4-2 record, losing their finale to Michigan State.
Your non-sequitur video of the day is a well choreographed chant from one of Utah's rivals:
Vote in the poll below, if you can stomach a guess. Let's hope the answer is 0, but I'm pretty sure it's already at least one.