2008 Oregon State Beavers Football Preview

2008 Oregon State Beavers season preview from Maddux Sports. Below you can find our official Oregon State Beavers football preview as well as the 2008 Oregon State Beavers Football Schedule. Haven't had much luck beating your bookie? This season up your chances and order Maddux's winning college football picks.

Coach: Mike Riley (8th year at Oregon State)
Team Name: Beavers
2007 Overall Record: 9-4
Returning Starters: 10

The Oregon State Beavers (9-4 overall, 6-3 Pac-10) had a good season in 2007, finishing third in the conference. The Beavers went to the Emerald Bowl where they beat Maryland 21-14. OSU has talent and some depth in some areas, but they also start a lot of inexperienced players.

Junior quarterback Lyle Moevao proved himself last season when he took over for injured starter Sean Canfield and led the club to a 4-0 mark and a bowl berth. He may start in 2007 rather than Canfield. In 2006, split end Sammie Stroughter had 74 catches for 1,293 yards, a 17.5 average and five touchdowns. He’s back for 2008 after missing 2007 due to personal problems. The running game will feature redshirted frosh Ryan McCants. He has talent but will compete with junior college transfer Jeremy Francis for the starting spot. Overall, the frontline looks to be sound.

The Beaver defense was rated first in the nation against the run and eighth overall in yards allowed. The frontline is sound and includes senior defensive end Victor Butler who notched 10.5 sacks last season. The linebackers are talented and experienced and the squad is deep. The secondary welcomes back three of four starters, including SS Al Afalava (64 tackles, 56 solo) and senior corner Keenan Lewis (3 INT).

The Beavers will play three tossups—September 6 at Penn State, September 13 when Hawaii visits and November 21 visiting Arizona. Victories versus Stanford, Washington State and Washington look to be certain. Six and six is possible as is a low-end bowl bid.

Mike Riley (47-38 in seven years) has spent his entire college-coaching career at Oregon State. In two seasons, his team has earned 19 victories. This is a tough team to figure out. They could be three and nine or six and six or seven and five. There’s a lot of talent but it is untested. Riley is a fine coach; in the past two seasons, the Beavers have beaten every team in the Pac-10 except UCLA. This season it could go one of many different ways.

Oregon State Beavers Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away
Aug 28	Stanford	Away
Sep 6	Penn State	Away
Sep 15	Hawaii	Home
Sep 22	USC	Home
Sep 29	Utah	Away
Oct 6	Washington State	Home
Oct 13	Washington	Away
Oct 27	Arizona State	Home
Nov 3	UCLA	Away
Nov 10	California	Home
Nov 17	Arizona	Away
Dec 1	Oregon	Home

 

For more info on the 2008 Oregon State Beavers football program, view the Beavers football site or you can read about other Pac-10 teams below.