NCAA Football Preview (Stanford-Oregon St)
Posted: Sat September 20, 1997 at 6:53 a.m EDT
Stanford (1-1) at Oregon St (1-0) 4:00 pm EDT
Stanford looks to rebound from a tough loss as it
begins the Rose Bowl chase with a visit to perennial Pac-10
Conference doormat Oregon State.
The game marks the Pac-10 debut of Oregon State coach Mike
Riley. Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham is 1-1 against Oregon
State.
Stanford will be out for revenge after Oregon State pulled off a
26-12 upset victory last season. In that game, the Beavers
defense set school records by recording 11 sacks, 17 tackles for
loss and 20 quarterback hurries.
The Cardinal (1-1) saw their nation-leading six-game winning
streak end last week with a 28-17 lost to number seven North
Carolina. The Beavers (1-0) had a week off after routing North
Texas 33-7.
Quarterback Chad Hutchinson was solid against the Tar Heels,
completing 16-of-34 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown.
The matchup with the the Beavers secondary, their defensive
strength, should be interesting. Oregon State starts three
juniors and one senior -- all returning starters. Armon Hatcher
led last year's squad with five interceptions while Andrae
Holland, Larry Bumpus and Basheer Elahee all had four.
Another featured matchup should be the Oregon State offensive
line, which did not allow a sack in 41 passing attempts against
North Texas, and the Cardinal defensive line, which has recorded
eight sacks this season, four in the loss to North Carolina.
Stanford's two-headed rushing attack, which is keyed by Anthony
Bookman and Mike Mitchell, was held to just 43 yards last week.
Bookman and Mitchell rank fourth and fifth on the Cardinal's
all-time rushing list.
Junior flanker Troy Walters has been the Cardinal's main
playmaker so far in 1997. Against North Carolina, he accounted
for six receptions for 93 yards to go along with three punt
returns for 71 yards. Walters leads the Cardinal 14 catches for
259 yards. No other receiver has more than five catches.
Beavers quarterback Tim Alexander was the star in the
season-opening win, accounting for 287 yards in total offense,
the second-highest in his career and the 21st-best single-game
mark in school history. He had career-high marks of 21
completions and 37 attempts for 207 yards and one touchdown.
Running back DeShawn Williams was held somewhat in check by
North Texas, accumulating 72 yards on 12 carries with one
touchdown.
Cardinal punter Kevin Millar leads the Pac-10 and is sixth in
the nation with a 47-yard average.
Stanford is 1-1 in conference openers under Willingham, but it
has lost three of four and eight of the last 10. The last time
the Cardinal opened the conference season against Oregon State
was 1986, a 17-7 win.
This will mark the 65th meeting between the schools. The
Cardinal lead the overall series 44-17-3.
© 2003 SportsTicker Enterprises, LP
|
