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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 8, 2005 No seventh heaven for Oregon State By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune CORVALLIS — Newness abounds at Oregon State. A refurbished stadium. A new quarterback and tailback. New assistant coaches. A new outlook. One other thing that’s new to them: low expectations for this team around the Pac-10 Conference. The Beavers were picked seventh by the media in the preseason poll, a vote that has since been a popular topic of conversation among the players. How far off the mark does returning junior strong safety Sabby Piscitelli think the ranking is? "Far," he said during OSU’s media day Sunday. "Real far. I don’t think that’s even close to where we’re going to end up. I think we can beat just about everyone on our schedule. We play some great teams. Oregon’s going to be big game, Cal’s going to be a big game, Arizona State. But I think we can beat everyone on our schedule." Advertisement His coaches and teammates feel the same way, but they apparently are in the minority. Joe Newton, the big, talented tight end from Roseburg has been around the block a few times and knows the best way to deal with what could be regarded as a slap in the face. "Personally, the fact that we got picked seventh doesn’t really change our goals," said the junior. "We’re gonna go out there and still try to win every game. It’s real easy to prove you’re not the seventh-best team in the Pac-10 by winning, so that will be our response." The Beavers have reason to feel insulted. They’ve had four straight winning seasons, the best mark at the school since the teams from 1966-70 won five straight. They have the best home winning record in Pac-10 games dating to 1999, going 18-6 in that period, which is one game better than Oregon and Southern Cal. They return 16 starters — eight on each side of the ball, including the kicker and punter — from a team that went 7-5 against nation’s second-toughest schedule. Still, they’re not getting much love from outsiders. "I peronsally think it’s a little low," said star wide receiver Mike Hass, a senior, "but there’s nothing you can do about that. That’s their picks and that’s fine. I’d rather be above that after the season than above it now. "I think they’re looking more at the guys that we lost rather than the guys that we have returning. That’s understandable. We lose a lot of production. Guys have to come in and make that up, but we’ve got a lot of guys coming back still." The big loss, of course, quarterback Derek Anderson. He graduated as the conference’s No. 2 all-time passer for yardage, amassing 11,249 yards. Also gone from a defense that has been one of the Pac-10’s best in recent years is all-time sack leader Bill Swancutt and all-time interception leader Mitch Meeuwsen. Coach Mike Riley said he isn’t too bothered by the ranking, but he does appreciate how his players have reacted. "Oh, you know, I don’t get too upset with any of that stuff," said the coach, in his third consecutive year with the Beavers and fifth overall. "I think it can be motivating for players. I think that this team thinks of themselves as a lot better than that, and I’m glad about that. I’ve heard some rumblings through our football team, and that’s great. I suppose with the losses that we’ve had, that might be natural." The Beavers lost four of their first five games last year, including three against teams ranked 22nd or higher. They then won six of their last seven. The goal this year is to start out on the right foot, and that process begins with today’s first practice and will continue through fall camp. Areas of emphasis on offense will be grooming quarterback Matt Moore, a transfer from UCLA, piecing together an offensive line that lost a couple of key players in center Matt Brock and tackle Doug Nienhuis and developing a running game (OSU averaged only 71 yards a game last season). Defensively, the secondary was hit hard by losses, with Piscitelli the lone returner, but the front seven is solid. "I think this team needs to really focus on having a great camp and being the best we can be coming out of camp," said Riley, "and then all that stuff will take care of itself. We really do have a lot of work to do. We need to tie some of these things together and get to where we’re as productive as I think we’re capable of being skillwise. We have the leading passer in the conference the last two years and our defense has been tremendously productive. Those are things we want to maintain. I think we’re physically capable of it. It’s a matter of getting to where we can perform like that with some new faces." The Beavers open the season Sept. 3 at home against Portland State, a far cry from last year’s opener at third-ranked LSU. They then face three straight teams ranked in the coaches’ top-25 poll: No. 19 Boise State, No. 14 Louisville and No. 18 Arizona State. With four of its first five games at home, OSU has a favorable chance to get off to a fast start. And begin the process of proving the pollsters wrong. "I think that’s a big motivation for me individually and hopefully as a team," said Piscitelli. We just have to go out there and play. I mean, what do we have to lose? They’ve got us seventh. We’ll just go out there and make plays. I think we’ll be fine." Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail No seventh heaven for Oregon State ">[email protected] . 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