Beavers Make Ready to Host Sun Devils

IT’S ON US: Oregon State University in conjunction with the Pac-12 Conference is proud to be a part of the national “It’s On Us” campaign to create awareness of sexual violence. For more information go to itsonus.org or oregonstate.edu.

BEAVERS SALUTE: OSU is offering 2,000 free tickets to this Saturday’s game to active members and veterans of the United States Armed Forces through the Department of Athletics’ popular BeaverSalute outreach. Tickets are first come, first serve prior to game-day and can be reserved by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS or in person at the Gill Coliseum Ticket Office (9 a.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays).

THE SERIES
•   Saturday is the 41st meeting in the series that dates back to 1961.
•   ASU has a 26-13-1 advantage, but OSU has won five of the last eight games and four straight at Reser Stadium.
•   This is the first time ASU has been ranked for a game in Corvallis since the Beavers beat the No. 25 Sun Devils 35-20 Oct. 1, 2011.
•   OSU enters Saturday attempting to break a five-game skid to opposing ranked teams.
•   The last six games have been relatively close overall in the series; average margin in the score is nine points.
•   OSU won only one game (1993) in the series between 1972 through 2002 (23 games).
•   Beaver QB Sean Mannion set an OSU record for pass attempts with 66 vs. ASU Oct. 1, 2011. He also completed a then school-record 40 passes.
•   Sean Mannion has played in two games vs. ASU and is 71-for-112 for 661 yards, 3 TDs and 8 INTs.
•   ASU won 30-17 last year (Nov. 16) at Sun Devil Stadium. Beaver TE Connor Hamlett had career-highs for receptions (9) and yards (119). OSU had five turnovers in last season’s loss.
•   Former Beaver Brandin Cooks caught nine passes last season vs. ASU, pushing him over the top as OSU’s career leader for catches – then with 100.
•   Notable current records in the series or in Reser Stadium history: Most passing attemps (66, Sean Mannion, Oct. 1, ‘11); co-most receptions (14, Mike Hass, Sept. 25, ’04); Most TFL’s (7, Richard Seigler, Oct. 20, ’01); co-most TDs scored vs. OSU (5, Ben Malone, ASU, Oct. 27, ’73).

THE HOME STRETCH: Oregon State is in the midst of playing four of its last five regular season games at home; Only Army in the FBS plays more with five games and Connecticut equals the Beavers with four home dates.  It’s the first time the Beavers have played three consecutive home games vs. league opponents, started Nov. 1 vs. Cal, since the end of the 1998 season (Cal, UCLA, Oregon).

BOLDEN AIMS FOR CATCH RECORD SATURDAY: With all of the great Oregon State receivers in recent years, that includes Biletnikoff Award winners Mike Hass (2005) and Brandin Cooks (2013), no Beaver has ever pieced together three straight games of 10 or more receptions. Sophomore Victor Boldenhas that opportunity vs. ASU after coming off a 10-reception game last week vs. WSU and a 11-catch effort the week before vs. Cal. Bolden is averaging 6.4 receptions per game, 23rd in the nation.

SIMPLY THE BEST: Beaver QB Sean Mannion is the new record holder for career passing yards in the Pac-12 with 12,873. He is on his way, at his current season average, for 13,685 yards which would be the eighth-highest total in NCAA history behind Case Keenam, Houston (19,217), Timmy Chang, Hawai’i (17,072), Landry Jones, Oklahoma (16,646), Graham Harrell, Texas Tech (15,793), Ty Detmer, BYU (15,031), Kellen Moore, Boise State (14,667), and Colt Brennan, Hawai’i (14,193).

MANNION’S CLIFFSNOTES: The following is a quick summary of quarterback Sean Mannion’s accomplishments to date (a more detailed biography is also available in these game facts):
•   First three-year team captain in school history.
•   2014 Manning Passing Academy Air-It-Out Challenge winner.
•   2014 Elite 11 QB Camp Challenge winner.
•   Maxwell Award Watch List for the nation’s top player.
•   Davey O’Brien Award Watch List for top QB.
•   Manning Award Watch List for top QB.
•   Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award candidate.
•   Walter Camp Award Watch List (All-America teams).
•   Senior CLASS Award finalist (character, community service, academics, athletics).
•   Pac-12 career passing leader with 12,454 yards.
•   Currently second on the active completions list for a FBS quarterbacks with 1,119 (Taylor Heinicke, ODU, 1,170).
•   His 12,873 yards is second among active Division I quarterbacks. (Taylor Heinicke, Old Dominion, 14,375).
•   His .651 career completion percentage is on OSU record pace.
•   Needs 2 TD passes to become the all-time OSU leader – Derek Anderson (2001-04) had 79.
•   Broke the Pac-12 record for single season passing yards last season with 4,662.
•   He can join former Oregon standout Bill Musgrave as the only quarterbacks in league history to earn Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week accolades in four different seasons.
•   Set a then Pac-12 record last season for back-to-back games passing with 974 yards combined against California and Washington State.
•   Has graduated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and is working on a Master’s in interdisciplinary studies.
•   “You’re a freakin’ Albatross Sean Mannion … use your reach.” Offensive Coordinator John Garrettin an August practice.
•   Check out Sean Mannion’s website at http://seanmanniontheqb.com/

DEFENSIVE LINE ISSUES: The Beavers will finally, it appears, have their full complement of defensive linemen this week. Starters Lavonte Barnett, Jaswha James and Jalen Grimble are all expected to be available for Saturday night. Barnett and James returned to the lineup last week after missing two games – those two have combined for seven starts this season. Grimble makes his return after missing the last five games – started the previous three before his injury.

41,223: The number of yards Oregon State quarterbacks have thrown for since Beaver head coachMike Riley returned to the sideline for his second tenure at the start of the 2003 season. That equates to 23.4 miles, the most in the league during the timeframe.

SCHOOL RECORD COACH: Mike Riley continues to build on his school record for victories, now with 92 (92-78). He has 57 league wins, which is 11th in Pac-12 history. Riley’s overall league record is 57-61 (14 of those losses in his first era of 1997-98) – his second tenure (2003-present) league mark is 55-47. Riley is the longest tenured coach in the Pac-12 in his 14th year at OSU; the rest of the league entering the ’14 season includes Kyle Whittingham, Utah (10 yrs), Steve Sarkisian, UW/USC (6), David Shaw, Stanford (4), Todd Graham, ASU (3), Mike Leach, WSU (3), Rich Rodriguez, Arizona (3), Sonny Dykes, Cal (2), Mark Helfrich, Oregon (2), Mike MacIntyre, Colorado (2) and Chris Peterson, UW (1). Riley finished second in an ESPN poll of FBS coaches the week of Sept. 15 2014 for being the most underrated coach (Rice’s David Bailiff was first).

THE NEW COORDINATOR: For the first time since the 2005 season, OSU has a new coordinator in the coaching staff. Longtime offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf (2005-13) left the program in January to return to the NFL with the New York Giants as quarterbacks coach. Langsdorf replacement is John Garrett, who has had a lengthy NFL coaching career with the Cowboys (his brother Jason is the head coach), Bengals, Cardinals and Buccaneers, as well as in college at Virginia. Garrett also coaches the quarterbacks and tight ends with the contributions of graduate assistant coach Tavita Thompson.

60 YEARS: No other team in the Pac-12 can boast as much NFL coaching experience as the Beavers. OSU’s full-time coaches have 60 years of NFL experience, including Mike Riley as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers.  Here is a closer look – Mike Riley (4 years), Mark Banker (3), Bruce Read (7),Mike Cavanaugh (2), John Garrett (19), Rod Perry (23) and Chris Brasfield (2).

BEAVS AT 108: Oregon owns the most victories in the Pac-12 Conference this century with 142, followed by USC (139/115 with vacated wins), OSU (108), Arizona State (102), UCLA (101), Stanford (98), Cal (92), Washington (85), Arizona (83), WSU (75).  Non-traditional Pac-12 teams Utah has 121 victories this century and Colorado has 73. The Beavers hit the 100-win plateau this century in the Sept, 21, 2013 win at San Diego State. The previous 100-win stretch started during the 1966 season, ending with 1999 – nearly 34 seasons (365 games). This century’s 100 victories were achieved in just over 13 seasons (168 games).

COULD HAVE; ELECTED AGAINST: The Beavers could have played 13 regular season games as allowed by the NCAA when a team travels to Honolulu to play Hawai’i. Head coach Mike Riley elected to have a second bye for the season.

OTHER SCHEDULE NOTES: There are several oddities to this year’s schedule for the Beavers. Here is a closer look:
•   OSU and Cal are the only teams to have a streak of three consecutive home league games.
•   The Beavers, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Washington are the only teams to play on the last six dates of the season.
•   Oregon State is the only “Power 5 Conference” team that ends the season with four home games in the last five dates.
•   Oregon State is the only team that began the Pac-12 portion of the season with two road games and is the only team to play three of its first four league games away.
•   Oregon State is one of four Power 5 teams that only played three home games in the first full eight weeks of the season.

TEAM CAPTAINS: Quarterback Sean Mannion is serving as a co-team captain for the third consecutive year – no Beaver prior has ever been a captain for three seasons. Linebacker Michael Doctor is in the co-captain role for the second straight year. Safety Ryan Murphy and center Isaac Seumalo are in their first years with the leadership honor.

YOUNG RECEIVERS: With the loss of junior receiver Richard Mullaney, the Beavers possess the youngest starting receiving corps in the Pac-12. OSU anticipates starting Victor Bolden (So.), Jordan Villamin (Fr-RS) and Hunter Jarmon (Fr-RS) Saturday. No other team in the league starts more than one freshman or sophomore per the latest depth charts made available by the schools.

RUSHING SIGNIFCANTLY BETTER: While still not satisfied, Beaver head coach Mike Riley has witnessed significant improvement in the run game from a year ago. The Beavers already have more touchdowns rushing this season with 16 than they did all of last year with 15.

ROMAINE OR OWENS; SAME RESULT: For several reasons, the Beavers have used two placekickers this season – senior Trevor Romaine and freshman-redshirt Garrett Owens. The duo have combined to make 18 of 21 field goal attempts for the second-best percentage in the Pac-12 at .857 (Washington leads at .875). OSU’s 18 field goals rank as tied for fifth in the nation with Oklahoma State. West Virginia has 22, Ball State 21, and Utah and Penn State have 19.

577: That’s the number of combined tackles for the Beavers’ three starting linebackers – Michael Doctor (239), D.J. Alexander (191) and Jabral Johnson (147). OSU’s senior trio is one of the most experienced, if not the most experienced, linebacker corps in the Pac-12. For the first time since 2007 the Beavers started three senior linebackers in the season opener.

TURNOVERS: Over the last four seasons (47 games) OSU has forced 97 turnovers, fourth-most in the conference and 14th in the nation. Here is a closer look courtesy of ESPN: Oregon (119), Arizona State (111), Washington (99), Oregon State (97), UCLA (91), USC (88), Utah (86), Arizona (80), Stanford (77), Washington State (75), California (72), Colorado (62).

WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE, WIN THE GAME: Over the last 134 games, Oregon State is 51-11 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent, 11-36 when committing more and 13-12 when even.

PROTECTING THE BALL: The Beavers are one of the better teams in the nation for taking care of the ball in 2014 – with just 10 turnovers (compared to 26 last season). The Pac-12 overall has not turned the ball over for the most part with some of the best teams in the nation – Oregon has 7 turnovers (Tied for 3rd fewest in the country), USC and Arizona have 8, Arizona State 9, and Washington and OSU with 10.

ODD IS AWESOME; EVEN NOT SO MUCH: The Beavers have allowed just 71 points (51 1st/20 3rd) in the odd numbered quarters, but 184 (94 2nd/90 4th) in the even quarters.

80-9: That’s the record of Oregon State when it leads after three quarters with Mike Riley as head coach.  Since the start of the 2004 season it is 60-5.

BOWL HISTORY: Starting with the 1999 season thru 2013, Oregon State has appeared in 11 bowl games – tied for the second-most in the league. Oregon has 14 appearances, followed by OSU (11), Utah (11), USC (11), UCLA (11), Arizona State (10), Cal (8), Washington (8), Stanford (7), Colorado (6), Arizona (5) and Washington State (4).

STINGY DEFENSE: Oregon State’s experienced defense has posted 18 quarters of allowing 100 yards or less this season.  The Beavers rank second in the Pac-12 for total defense allowing an average of 344.3 yards per game. Here is a closer look.
8 yds – Stanford (3rd qtr)
9 yds – Portland State (3rd qtr)
13 yds – San Diego State (4th qtr)
16 yds  — Utah (2nd qtr)
31 yds – Portland State 4th qtr)
32 yds – Hawai’i (1st qtr)
39 yds – Colorado (3rd qtr)
50 yds – USC (1st qtr)
56 yds – San Diego State (3rd qtr)
61 yds – Portland State (1st qtr)
65 yds – Utah (1st qtr)
71 yds – San Diego State (1st qtr)
75 yds – San Diego State (2nd qtr)
79 yds – Hawai’i (2nd qtr)
87 yds – Hawai’i (3rd qtr)
88 yds – Washington State (4th qtr)
98 yds – Utah (4th qtr)
100 yds – Stanford (4th qtr)

60 YEARS AND COUNTING: Oregon State’s own Jack Saling has volunteered in the Reser Stadium, formerly Parker Stadium, Press Box for 60 years – the longest active streak in the nation. Jack served as the play-by-play typist for decades before assuming his new role as part of the participation chart tracker. His son Gene is in his 47th year as a volunteer.

PENALTY ISSUES: The bad news is that Oregon State is next to last for most penalties per game in the nation at 9.56 (Baylor is last at 9.89). Of the 20 most penalized teams in the nation, the Pac-12 has seven of them. The Beavers are commiting a league-high 83.6 yards per game in penalites. OSU’s 86 penalties are four more than all of last season in a 13-game year.

SCHOLAR ATHLETES: Oregon State’s seniors are all on track to graduate this academic year. Quarterback Sean Mannion possesses his bachelor’s in liberal studies and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies. The following student-athletes will graduate in December; D.J. Alexander (human development/family studies), Tyler Anderson (new media), Bud Delva (communication), Michael Doctor (human development/family studies), Obum Gwacham(marketing), Connor Hamlett (management), Malcolm Marable (new media), Michael Morovick(management), Ryan Murphy (human development/family studies), Trevor Romaine (human development/family studies), Roman Sapolu (public health), Terron Ward (new media) and Dylan Wynn (human development/family studies). Steven Nelson (sociology) will graduate in March andKeith Kostol (electrical & computer engineering), Devon Filipe (exercise and sport science) andTyrequek Zimmerman (human development/family studies) and Siale Hautau (Spanish) will graduate in June..