Pac-10 Preview: Eastern Washington (0-0) @ Oregon State (0-0)
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by user Deuelio
The Pac-10 season begins tonight with a pair of teams starting their seasons. On paper, Oregon State should roll past Eastern Washington, but history has told us otherwise.
Series History – It will be the teams’ second meeting, with the Beavers pulling out a 21-19 win over the Eagles at home in 2000 en-route to an 11-1 season and a Fiesta Bowl Championship. The Eagles had a couple of chances to grab the lead after pulling to within 21-19 but could not get over the hump.
Oregon State – The Beavers will look to get off to a quick start for the 2006 season and the Eagles will likely post little challenge for OSU. The Beavers will be reminded of the 2000 affair often this week and will not overlook the Eagles. Even with a pretty big rivalry game the next week vs. Boise State, the Beavers cannot and will not overlook the Eagles.
Eastern Washington – Consistently one of NCAA 1AA’s most successful teams, the Eagles have won a share of the last two Big Sky championships. According to the official game press release, Eastern returns 14 starters on offense but the losses appear to be costly. Gone is Walter Payton Award winner and Big Sky Offensive MVP, in quarterback Erik Meyer, Big Sky Defensive MVP Joey Cwik and two-time All-American at WR Eric Kimble.
Key Players
Oregon State
Matt Moore – The senior QB will benefit from the return of Joe Newton, who missed all of the 2005 season with an ankle injury. Newton will help relieve some of the pressure from losing Biletnikoff winning WR Mike Hass, who has moved to the NFL. Moore must be sure he knows what color the Beavers are wearing on Thursday after throwing a Pac-10 leading 19 picks last season.
Newton – One of the Pac-10’s best tight ends, Newton will hope to regain the form he showed in 2004 when he had 687 yards receiving and seven TD’s. Newton should help the Beavers in the red zone and will help ease the load on underwhelming and unproven WR’s.
Sabby Piscitelli – One of the conferences best safeties, Piscitelli is the leader of Oregon States defense. Sadly, that defense is/was lousy. For OSU to return to a bowl game, the Beavers must get back to the attacking, quick defense personified by Dennis Erickson in the 2000 campaign. Piscitelli is a hard hitting, instinctive safety, with the kind of heart, determination and swagger fellow defenders can get behind.
Eastern Washington
Chris Peerboom – Not only does Peerboom have to replace EWU legend Meyer, he has to do it at Oregon State and then at West Virginia the following week. Peerboom was a lifetime OSU fan growing up in Portland, but was not recruited by the Beavers and headed for Eastern Washington. To make matters worse for Peerboom, head coach Paul Wulff has made no bones about playing two QB’s early. Peerboom will start, but RS freshman Matt Nichols will get some PT as well. All eyes will be on Peerboom early though as he sets out to prove to Beaver coach Mike Riley that he is a Pac-10 caliber quarterback.
Ryan Cole – Another scorned Beaver, Cole returns to Reser after a two-year stint in Corvallis. Wulff is dependant upon Cole and the rest of the RB corps saying, “[B]etween Ryan and the rest of our running back corps, we have to have those guys really perform well for us.” Cole will undoubtedly be fired up for his Reser return, and if he can take some pressure off Peerboom and an inexperienced WR set, EWU, could hang around. Cole rushed for 879 yards and 14 TD’s last year for the Eagles.
Shea Emry – Replacing yet another longtime and award winning starter, the sophomore from Vancouver B.C. will have to grow up in a hurry if the Eastern defense is to stand a chance. Emry replaces Big Sky Defensive player of the year Cwik, who started 40 games and never missed a contest at EWU. Says Wulff about inexperience, “It’s one of those situations where it’s going to be baptism by fire, and we’ll just have to find out.” Shea Emry. Meet Yvenson Bernard, Joe Newton and a Pac-10 offense. Good luck.
Thoughts and Notes:
OSU returns all five starting offensive lineman and the Pac-10’s second leading rusher in Bernard….Peerboom was 2-13 with 4 INT and 0 TD’s last year….Emry recorded 12 tackles as a freshman last year….Bernard’s 120 yds/gm average was 10th in the nation and fourth in the Pac-10…troubled OSU DT Joe Rudolph has left the OSU program after several off field incidents had left the big man in the doghouse…Coach Paul Wulff has led Eastern Washington to seven straight winning seasons…EWU’s last win over a NCAA 1A program was an 8-5 victory at Idaho in 2003…Eastern plays at OSU and at West Virginia before hosting Central Washington…Joe Newton broke his foot in a non-contact drill in fall practice and missed all of last season
Date
Thu 08/31/06, 1:07 pm EST
