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With the spotlight on, OSU gets early hook By KRIS HENRY New coach, new field, same Beavers. Throw out what you may have heard, this is your father's Oregon State football team. No amount of new-age astroturf or national spotlight on first-year coach Dennis Erickson can cover the Beavers once the game clock starts rolling. Despite all the Beavers' optimistic talk of bowl aspirations, the reality is Oregon State isn't ready for such a bold move. At least not yet. Saturday's home game against Washington was Oregon State's chance to shine, to sway all the doubters. The only thing that swayed was the scoreboard, and it tilted dramatically toward the visitor's side thanks to a 45-0 first-half thrashing administered by the Huskies. Six Beaver turnovers and 10 penalties for 107 yards had many of the 35,470 on hand making their way toward the exit at halftime. Erickson couldn't blame them. "If I was watching that first half, I'm not sure I wouldn't have done that, too," said the coach. Saturday's Pac-10 Conference duel had breakthrough written all over it. Oregon State was backed by its first sellout crowd in a game not featuring Oregon since 1984. Washington barely escaped with a 35-34 win in Seattle last year, and both teams returned basically the same cast. The Beavers spent the season telling anyone who would listen that they intend to make a move in the Pac-10. No winning season since 1970, no problem. But with all the talking, the Beavers forgot one thing: They must show up in order to win. Six minutes into Saturday's game, Washington led 21-0 and the rout was on. If Oregon State needed a reminder of Pac-10 hierarchy, the Huskies provided it with a first-half attack that left Oregon State embarrassed and had Washington looking like the greatest team ever to put on pads. "In front of a big crowd, it's disappointing to come out and play that poorly early," said Beaver quarterback Jonathan Smith. "It was disgusting." And for those touting Oregon State's gutty second-half comeback, Saturday's final score was 47-21, the reality is Washington packed it in at halftime. With relaxed starters and inexperienced backups in the game for much of the second half, the only part of the scoreboard the Huskies were watching in the final two quarters was the game clock. If you want a moral victory, fine. Oregon State made positive strides in the second half for the second straight week. Southern Cal led 37-7 last week before the Beavers finally made it a 37-29 final. The Huskies led 47-0 deep into the third quarter on Saturday. The Pac-10 standings still have the Beavers at 0-2. No word on whether the conference plans to add a new category for moral victories, but it's doubtful Oregon State would want that anyway. "We came back in the second half and played better, but the game was pretty much over by then," said Erickson. "When it's 45-0, the game's over." The Beavers played the second half for pride, and showed they have plenty. That will help their egos, but no one in the program seems to know what they can do about stepping up their play. "Right now we don't know why we're coming out so slow," said junior tight end Marty Maurer. "We need to figure this out soon. It's getting annoying." Not only is it annoying, it's commonplace. The eye-rolls and frustrated expressions have been rehearsed to perfection. That's what Erickson's presence was supposed to take care of at Oregon State. Not surprisingly, it hasn't been enough. "We'll turn it around," Erickson said confidently. "This thing is not going to be done overnight. Young people are resilient. They'll bounce back." Resilient or not, Saturday showed that the Beavers aren't nearly where they thought they would be at this stage of the season -- physically or mentally. That fact has Erickson and crew scratching their heads for an answer. "You can correct mistakes," the coach said. "You can't correct being steamrolled." With six games left and a winning season hanging in the balance, those corrections need to be made soon. The Beavers say it can be done, but if you talk the talk, eventually you must walk the walk. Otherwise it's merely hot air spewing from Corvallis. Sooner or later, a season needs to consist of more than empty second-half comebacks or Civil War wins over Oregon. Kris Henry is a sports writer for the Mail Tribune. He can be reached at 776-4488 or [email protected] Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.