The media on Oregon State

ESPN‘s “Top 25 Overview”:

After a bye week, Cal comes into this week’s game against Oregon State with its highest ranking in over 50 years. The Bears will have to keep their guard up as the Beavers have had success at Cal, winning their last three games in Berkeley

Bruce Feldman: “Week 7 Picks”

Cal 44, Oregon State 23: The Bears are very explosive, although I doubt they have the kind of defense that can win a national title. Still, OSU will be too one-dimensional to pose much of a threat.

SF Chronicle: “Beavers rely on speedy defense”

[Yvenson] Bernard is averaging more than 100 yards a game again this season and had the best day of his career two years ago against Cal, when he rushed for 194 yards in a 23-20 upset of the then No. 18 Bears in Berkeley. Two years before that, in 2003, the Beavers upset Cal in Berkeley one week after the Bears had handed eventual co-national champ USC its only loss of the season.

In 2004, Oregon State had defending national champion and No. 3-ranked LSU all but beaten in Baton Rouge, but three missed extra points, including one in overtime, sent the Beavers to a 22-21 defeat. Last year, Oregon State, then 4-3, finished off a major upset, ending USC’s 38-game regular-season winning streak when Van Orsow knocked down John David Booty‘s two-point conversion pass for a 33-31 victory over the No. 3 Trojans.

Riley and Van Orsow use words like “confidence” and “opportunity” to explain Oregon State’s upset binge, and to get another one Saturday, the Beavers will need a solid game from sophomore quarterback Sean Canfield.

Contra Costa Times: “Bears and Beavers defenders want to bring the heat”

Both teams have reasons to believe defense can make an impact in today’s game at Memorial Stadium. The Beavers (3-3, 1-2 Pac-10) are tied for second nationally with 26 sacks, and with the uncertainty about Cal’s quarterback situation, they may be relishing the chance to bring the heat even more.

The Bears, meanwhile, can’t wait to make some plays against Oregon State’s Sean Canfield, who has thrown 13 interceptions, more than any quarterback in the land. “It has us licking our chops a little bit,” Cal linebacker Worrell Williams said. “If we can put a little pressure on him, get him in a bad situation, he might give one of those to us.”

This is not the game the Bears (5-0, 2-0) wanted to go into unsure about the availability of quarterback Nate Longshore, who is trying to recover from a sprained left ankle he suffered in Cal’s last game at Oregon on Sept. 29. The Bears had thought the bye week had come at just the right time and Longshore would be a sure thing by today. But coach Jeff Tedford is calling Longshore’s status a game-time decision. …

OSU is without wide receiver Sammie Stroughter (kidney) … Canfield, meanwhile, has thrown at least two interceptions in four of the Beavers’ six games, including five in a 44-32 loss to Arizona State.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “Pac-10 Notebook”

Oregon State started 2-3 last season… before rolling up victories in eight of its final nine games. So perhaps the Beavers are in for the same reversal of fortune this year. And haven’t they won three consecutive games at California? …

Oregon State “leads” the nation with 23 turnovers, in large part because Canfield “leads” the nation with 13 interceptions. It was considered a minor victory when he had only two against the Wildcats, but that number may have been low because the offense played conservatively in the second half and gained only 44 yards. …

While Canfield can’t make mistakes against Cal if the Beavers hope to pull off the upset, the more intriguing matchup may be the Bears’ offensive line against the Beavers’ aggressive front. Cal has given up only four sacks in five games. The Beavers average 4.33 sacks per game, second in the nation.

The Oregonian: “Swallow up the run”

…[T]he Bears weren’t overpowering in their last game, gaining just 115 net yards on the ground in a 31-24 win at Oregon. While the Ducks’ run defense is suspect, the Beavers’ run defense is the stingiest in the country, allowing 43.3 yards per game. Meanwhile, the Beavers’ pass rush has accounted for 25 sacks, No. 1 in the Pac-10 and tied for second among all Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

Those numbers tell Cal coach Jeff Tedford that Oregon State might be trouble in Saturday’s game, even though the unbeaten Bears are a two-touchdown favorite. “You watch these guys on tape, not only the rush defense but the pass rush, and they’re really, really good up front,” Tedford said. …

Last week, the Beavers suffocated the Arizona offense, sacking quarterback Willie Tuitama eight times. The Wildcats had a net of nine rushing yards in the game. … Stopping the run would be a good start if OSU wants to upset Cal.

Oregon StatesmanJournal: “Beavers have history of Berkeley wins; Canfield holds the key”

Another Cal rout? Another stunning Beaver upset? Here are some numbers that lead me to think the Beavers have a shot. OSU is giving up 43 yards per game on the ground, first in the nation. The Beavers also are second in the nation in sacks. Perfect! Shut down the run and then sack the snot out of quarterback Nate Longshore when he tries to pass. The only problem with that scenario is that the Bears’ speedy receivers will severely test a banged-up OSU secondary, and Beavers QB Sean Canfield still is putting the vise grips on coach Mike Riley’s mental health. If Canfield is interception-free, OSU has a shot. If he throws three, it could get ugly. I think it will be somewhere in between. Cal wins 31-17.