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CLEAR Temp: 42 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Friday, January 10, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend October 6, 2002 Commentary Despite big plays, Oregon State can’t sustain early lead By DON HUNT Mail Tribune CORVALLIS — There is nothing that kick-starts a struggling offense like a long touchdown run on the first play of the game. Tailback Steven Jackson provided Oregon State with just such a confidence-builder, dashing 80 yards to pay dirt on a toss sweep that gave the Beavers a 7-0 lead 17 seconds into Saturday’s Pacific-10 Conference game against UCLA. If the Beavers needed another ego boost, they got one five minutes later when Nick Barnett blocked a field goal and Dennis Weathersby picked up the loose ball and sped 83 yards up the sideline for another score. OSU 14, UCLA 0. The nightmare of the previous week’s 22-0 loss to Southern California was fading fast. But college football is a 60-minute game, and before the sold-out crowd of 36,529 at cloud-covered Reser Stadium had vacated their seats, the Bruins had stormed back for a 43-35 victory. For entertainment’s sake, no one got cheated. Along with the aforementioned big plays, there was a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown by UCLA’s Ricky Manning. There was a 19-yard fumble return for a touchdown by OSU’s Noah Happe in the final minutes that nearly brought the Beavers back from the dead. There were a couple of field goals, a safety and the ejection of UCLA defensive end Dave Ball for throwing punches at Beaver quarterback Derek Anderson. And there was offense, galore. The Bruins racked up 625 yards against the Pac-10’s top-rated defense, including a career-high 378 yards passing by Cory Paus, while OSU managed 358. But in the end, the Beavers lost their second Pac-10 game in as many tries because of an inept running game and the maddening inconsistency of Anderson, their big and talented but often inaccurate quarterback. While the running game produced only 22 yards rushing following Jackson’s 80-yard burst, Anderson was laboring through his second straight off- game. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound sophomore from Scappoose completed just 5-of-15 passes for 87 yards in the first half and was 8-for-30 for 125 yards through three quarters. Some passes sailed over receivers’ heads. Others skipped on the turf. And if it weren’t for a couple of spectacular catches by James Newson and another by George Gillett, Anderson’s numbers would have been worse. To his credit, Anderson did complete 8-of-11 passes for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the fourth period, but it wasn’t enough. "There’s not much for me to be happy about," Anderson said to a group of reporters after the game. "It wasn’t like they were bringing a lot of heat. I just couldn’t get into a rhythm until late in the game." Some coaches almost certainly would have yanked Anderson somewhere along the line, but OSU coach Dennis Erickson stayed with him to the bitter end. "The fourth quarter can be a real positive for Derek," Erickson said. "He made some throws that got us back in the game. "And let’s face it, it’s pretty tough to fight from behind when you don’t have a running game and the other team keeps putting points on the board." The Beavers’ running-game woes can be traced in part to a makeshift offensive line brought on by injuries. The top two left tackles — Brian Kilkenny and Lee Davis — are both out, forcing veteran guard Mike Kuykendall to move to that spot. David Lose was at Kuykendall’s old spot Saturday, making his first start at left guard. "That’s a situation that isn’t going to change in the next couple weeks," Erickson said. "You have to go with who you’ve got. We’ve just got to get better." Most perplexing about the Beavers’ play Saturday was a defense that not only yielded a career passing day to Paus, but also 203 yards rushing to UCLA freshman tailback Tyler Ebell. The 5-9, 179-pound speedster got his chance to play when Manuel White left the game with a groin injury in the first period. The Bruins’ total of 625 yards was the ninth best in school history. "I never thought I’d see this day," OSU middle linebacker Richard Seigler said. "It just seemed like whatever defense we had called, they had the perfect play to attack it. "We’re all shocked by this. After what happened last week (against USC), we thought we’d come in here and dominate." For five minutes, they did. But then someone poked and awoke the Bruins. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S