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OSU out to prove �99 was no fluke By Greg Stiles CORVALLIS � The Oregon State Beavers have had nearly eight months to revel in their first winning football season in more than three decades. Now it�s time to validate last year�s results for second-year Oregon State coach Dennis Erickson, whose team went 7-5 and advanced to a bowl game for the first time since Jan. 1, 1965. "We�ve got to develop consistency," said Erickson at OSU�s annual media day at Valley Football Center. "Are we a flash in the pan or are we developing a consistent program over time? We have to back up last year with another winning season." With six starters returning on offense and seven on defense, Oregon State appears quite capable of posting its first back-to-back winning campaigns since five straight victorious seasons from 1966-70. The Beavers kick off the season with a home game Sept. 2 against Eastern Washington at Reser Stadium. "Success breeds success and builds confidence," Erickson said. "We have confidence now. We weren�t sure at this point last year." There are reasons for confidence, ranging from junior running back Ken Simonton to a touted secondary. Simonton�s 1,329 rushing yards last year were the most ever by a Pac-10 Conference sophomore. Meanwhile, quarterback Jonathan Smith, now a senior, was third in total offense in the conference and passed for 2,784 yards. The secondary � sophomore left cornerback Dennis Weathersby, senior right cornerback Keith Heyward-Jones, senior strong safety Terrence Carrol and junior free safety Calvin Carlyle � is rated this preseason as the fourth best in the nation by Lindy�s Magazine after allowing just eight TD passes in 1999. Off the field, there are reasons for optimism as well. OSU athletic director Mitch Barnhart said season-ticket sales have surpassed 13,500, up from 6,000 in 1998. The athletic scholarship fund, which was bringing in $800,000 two years ago, is now at $3 million. Plus, construction on OSU�s $13.5 million practice facility is due to begin Sept. 15. "A lot of people have been waiting for some success," Barnhart said. "We have a lot of new faces, and most of our new ticket-holders are under 30. We had a generation gap where we missed donors. People weren�t coming, and now they�re here." The Beavers� first three opponents are not overly imposing � OSU visits New Mexico and is host to San Diego State after the Eastern Washington opener. The first true test comes in the Pac-10 opener at home against Southern Cal. That�s the point when OSU will begin measuring its improvement. Oregon State came out with a wide-open attack last fall, but failure to get the ball into the end zone from inside the 20 turned a 3-0 start into a 3-3 record at midseason. This year, the Beavers are looking to control the ball and take pressure off the defense. "Last year, we put a lot of receivers out there, but we really didn�t execute that well," Smith said. "We want to be more efficient. We�re interested in scoring points, not just getting yards." The Beavers will be thin at receiver for three games while Robert Prescott, James Newson and Junior Adams serve out suspensions for their involvement in an on-campus assault earlier this month. They will also be without two-year starter Keith DiDomenico from Salem at right guard, who quit the team. The dearth of proven receivers will push senior T.J. Houshmandzadeh and junior college transfer Chad Johnson to the fore. And while, it�s too early to call it a blessing in disguise, Erickson, his coaches and players had a hard time concealing their excitement about Johnson, a speedy split end from Miami via Santa Monica College in California. "I�ve only seen him in the four practices we�ve had with our newcomers," Erickson said. "But from what I�ve seen so far, he has tremendous speed and quickness and looks awfully good. I sense he will have a tremendous impact on our season." Smith noted that incoming freshman quarterbacks were consistently under throwing Johnson during workouts earlier in the weeks. "He told me to take five steps and throw," Smith said. "I�m going to let one go as far as I can the first time just to let him know I can put it out there." With Prescott, the No. 2 receiver with 49 catches in 1999, sidelined, Houshmandzadeh is the most prominent pass-catcher and return man. He caught 24 passes and returned 21 punts a year ago. Simonton is eager to take the field, particularly against other top backs, as he did last year against Oregon�s Reuben Droughns and Arizona�s Trung Candidate, the top Pac-10 rusher last year. "I look ahead to those head-to-head matchups," Simonton said. "I like to compare myself with any running back in the country to see who�s the best." Erickson said Simonton took a beating a year ago and diminished his prowess later in the season. But that problem appears solved with Patrick McCall now available. McCall transferred from Michigan and had to sit out last season. Erickson promised to get the ball into McCall�s hands often and said he�d appear at slotback as well as tailback. Erickson, who owns the sixth-best winning percentage (.726, 120-45-1) among active college coaches, admitted the Beavers had a "false sense of security" when they got off to their rousing start last fall. "Then reality hit," he said. "We�ve got to do what we can to keep our defense out of trouble." The defense is already hampered by a knee injury to middle linebacker Tevita Moala, who hopes to be ready by the opener. Erickson cited UCLA, Arizona and Washington State as examples of teams hit hard by injuries last year. "There�s a fine line between winning seven or eight games and going 4-7," Erickson said. "Right now, we just want to be competitive all of the time." 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