2008 Oregon State Beavers
Written June 6, 2008 by Jason Lowry
Jason Lowry is at it again and this time he has his 2008 Oregon State Beavers predictions. The Beavers are coming off a pretty impressive season where they finished 9-4 overall and 3rd in the Pac 10 at 6-3. With a strong finish there has to be some hope that this team can have another winning season under head coach Mike Riley, who is 47-38 in 7 seasons at Oregon State. It might be harder than it sounds as they lost 10 starters from last season’
s squad, and will only have 3 starters coming back on defense. If they can fill the holes on defense this team could be a big surprise in 2008. Before we go making predictions for the season, lets take a look at what they got on both sides of the ball.
Offense:
With 7 starters returning on offense, this unit should be able to put up some impressive numbers this season. While Sean Canfield looked like the man at quarterback, but because of injury it looks like fellow junior Lyle Moevao will be the guy taking the snaps to open the season. Moevao did see some playing time last season, but his numbers need to improve or Canfield will likely get the job back when he is healthy. Whoever ends up at quarterback should have no trouble finding targets as Sammie Stroughter is a big time player and the team has young talent in sophomores Darrell Catchings and James Rodgers, and solid veteran talent in seniors Shane Morales and Chris Johnson. The Beavers are high on redshirt freshman Ryan McCants at running back, but have some solid back up options in junior college transfer Jeremy Francis and true freshman Jaquizz Rodgers. There are 3 returning starters on the line and the team only needs to find a center and right tackle.
Defense:
This unit produced the best rush defense in the country last season, but all four starters on the line are gone. The team hopes that because it used a deep rotation that they will be able to produce another solid unit here. It looks like pass rushing specialist Victor Butler will get a shot at one of the end spots along with junior college transfer Simi Kuli. Pernnell Booth if healthy could be a solid defensive tackle, but missed most of spring with an ankle injury. All 3 starting linebackers are gone, but Bryant Cornell and Keaton Kristick should step in nicely, and there are a number of others vying for the other starting spot. The secondary should improve on its 72nd ranked pass defense, as it returns 3 starters including both corners from last season in Brandon Hughes and Keenan Lewis. Al Afalava should be a force at safety and it looks like senior Bryan Payton will get a shot at holding onto the other starting spot.
Prediction: 4th in the Pac 10
We got these guys higher than many people might think they should be, but we wouldn’t be surprised if this team doesn’t have a repeat of last season. They will have some early tests when they host Michigan State and head to Maryland in week 3. The team was able to beat Maryland in the Emerald Bowl to end their season last year. We really think that the defense won’t be hurt as bad as many might think, and the offense has the looks like it could put up some big numbers next season. We are thinking another 8 or 9 win season for the Beavers.
If you are looking to get a head start on the NCAA Football season, be sure to head over to Bodoglife.com and get an account up and going. Also be sure to check back as professional handicapper Jason Lowry will continue to roll through his team-by-team 2008 NCAA football predictions. As always feel free to leave any comments in our comment box.