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- The 2019 watch list for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award has been released and Oregon State gunslinger Jake Luton has made the cut. The award, which is presented yearly to the best senior/fourth-year quarterback, has an extensive list of notable past winners that includes Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Matt Ryan & Andrew Luck. Luton is one of nine Pac-12 quarterbacks on the list, alongside K.J. Costello (Stanford), Jacob Eason (Washington), Gage Gubrud (Washington State), Justin Herbert (Oregon), Tyler Huntley (Utah), Steven Montez (Colorado), Dillon Sterling-Cole (Arizona State) and Khalil Tate (Arizona),
- Buon viaggio! The Oregon State women’s basketball squad is heading overseas to Italy, for a ten-day preseason trip that will see the team visit legendary cities such as Como, Florence, Naples, Rome and Venice. On the basketball front, the women will square off against four pro-level sides over the course of the voyage, beginning with a clash against Lazio Select on Saturday.
- Quarterbacks always seem to steal the spotlight throughout the preseason, with Beavers alumni Sean Mannion being no exception to that rule. The five-year NFL vet is in the midst of a quarterback competition for the second-string role on the Minnesota Vikings roster behind Kirk Cousins, and along with fellow back-up Kyle Sloter, the praise was spread around by head coach Mike Zimmer after the team’s contest against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night. Mannion, who completed 11 of his 14 passing attempts for 88 yards and a score in the contest, looked like the steady, reliable presence you’d want in a back-up, but Sloter was equally as impressive, tallying 116 yards and a touchdown through the air on an 11-13 performance. Mannion also threw a pick-six in the contest, when wide receiver Chad Beebe was late to find the ball on an easy check-down throw.
- “Corvallis of nightmares”...yeah, it’s a bit of a stretch. Our friends over at House of Sparky, SB Nation’s Arizona State site, gave their 2019 opponent preview of the Oregon State football squad, with them pointing out that the Beavers-Sun Devils clash on November 16th could be a trap game scenario for Arizona State. This contest has been thought to be a potential swing game in Oregon State’s schedule, as noted in our five big questions article.
- And finally, a mix of things to catch up on here. Oklahoma State, the Beavers week one football opponent, received one vote in the initial 2019 AP Top 25 poll, while Hawaii, who Oregon State will travel to in Week Two, apparently is a wild/sour beer. Also, Gary Payton likes the Los Angeles Clippers to win the NBA’s Western Conference, telling The Heavy, “I think they have a good team. But you don’t know what happens.” Some hard-hitting analysis there from “The Glove”.