Beavs to Battle Ducks in Civil War Friday

UNIFIED FOR UCC: For the rest of the season, the Beavers will wear a black UCC ribbon on their helmets to honor the fallen from the tragic events of Oct. 1 at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore. (115 miles south of Corvallis).

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS: Construction of the Victory Through Valley Project that will renovate the Valley Football Center began last Sunday, following the Beavers' final home game of the 2015 season. To watch progress of the demolition and constuction to the web cam at http://webcam.oregonstate.edu/reser/ ... Lead-gift donors, OSU president Ed Ray, head coach Gary Andersen, vice president/director of athletics Todd Stansbury, and CEO of the OSU Foundation Mike Goodwin participated in a ceremonial groundbreaking on Saturday in the north end zone to mark the beginning of the $42 million project. The new-look building that is on target to be ready late next summer, will include expanded sports medicine and equipment operations areas, as well as the team's locker room, football hall of fame and auditorium. For more on the project follow go to www.ourbeavernation.com.

THE SERIES/GAME FACTS
•   Saturday is the 119th meeting in the series that dates back to 1894.
•   At 119 games, the series ranks as tied for the fourth-most contested in FBS history. Games through the 2015 season – 125, Minnesota vs. Wisconsin; 120, Missouri vs. Kansas; 120, Cincinnati vs. Miami (OH); 120, North Carolina vs. Virginia; 119, Civil War; 119, Auburn vs. Georgia.
•   Oregon has a 62-46-10 advantage and has won seven straight in the series.
•   OSU's last win in the series was in 2007 at Autzen Stadium, 38-31 in overtime. Current OSU graduate assistant coaches Lyle Moevao and Dorian Smith both started in that game – Moevao was the quarterback, completing 20 of 37 passes for 245 yards with one rushing touchdown. Smith, a defensive end, was second on the team for tackles with 11.
•   The series has the distinction of having the last scoreless tie in college football (1983).
•   Oregon won last season's game at Reser Stadium 47-19 behind the four touchdown passes and 367 yards passing by Marcus Mariota. OSU was led by Storm Barrs-Woods' 128 yards rushing. The game marked the last for Beaver QB Sean Mannion (St. Louis Rams) who concluded his Pac-12 career record passing yardage mark with 13,600.
•   Notable current records in the series by OSU or against OSU: First time OSU had two backs with over 100 yards rushing (Bob Cornelison, 123 & Sam Baker, 111 – Nov. 25, 1950); Most points kicking (20, Alexis Serna (11/20/04); Longest INT return (94 yds, Jay Locey, Nov. 22, '75); co-longest run at Reser (83 yds, Jeremiah Johnson, UO, Nov. 29, '08); co-most TDs scored rushing at Reser (4, Ken Simonton, Nov. 21, '98); Most points 2 teams at Reser (103, Nov. 29, 2008); Co-field goals made (5, Alexis Serna, Nov. 20, 2004); Largest Attendance at Reser (47,249, Nov. 24, 2012).
•   Oregon passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach Matt Lubick was an assistant coach under Oregon State offensive coordinator/then Cal-State Northridge head coach Dave Baldwin in 1996 and again at San Jose State 1997-98. During the 1999-2000 seasons Lubick was the defensive backs coach/recruiting coordinator at OSU under head coach Dennis Erickson.
•   Oregon passing game coordinator/secondary coach John Neal was OSU's defensive backs coach from 1987-89.
•   The playing surface at Autzen Stadium is named Rich Brooks Field. Rich Brooks played at OSU 1960-62 and was an assistant freshman coach while working towards his master's degree and then a full-time defensive line coach 1965-69.
•   Beaver volunteer coach Gary Crowton served as Oregon's offensive coordinator 2005-06.
•   Oregon public address announcer Don “It Never Rains at Autzen Stadium” Essig and his wife Janet are OSU graduates.
•   OSU radio play-by-play announcer Mike “Doc” Parker is a graduate of Oregon in sansony (rhetoric and communications).

A GLANCE AT NEXT YEAR: As of November 23, 2015, Oregon State will play its first three games of the 2016 season as non-conference affairs. The Beavers will open the season Thurs., Sept. 1 at Minnesota, followed by home games Sat., Sept. 17 vs. Idaho State and Sat., Sept. 24 vs. Boise State. The Pac-12 portion of the schedule is expected to be announced in January.

UNDAUNTED BY RANKINGS: Since 2005, Oregon State is tied with North Carolina State for the most wins by an unranked team against an FBS ranked team with 12.

NUMBERS DON'T LIE: As of Tuesday, Oregon State has 54 active scholarship players (85 allowed per NCAA) available for Friday's game at Oregon. Head coach Gary Andersen has elected to redshirt 15 players, while the rest of the scholarship players are unavailable (again, as of Tuesday), due to injuries or illness. The Beavers also have six medical retired scholarship players (do not count against 85), three of them were starters during their careers.
M.A.S.H. UNIT: As noted earlier, the injury bug has been busy going through Oregon State players in 2015. Twenty-three players that began the season in the two-deep have combined to miss 75 games due to injury. Among those are several season-ending injuries of particular importance, OT Sean Harlow (28 consecutive starts) suffered a season-ending leg injury against Colorado and TE Caleb Smith (16 starts entering the season) was lost for the season after game 2. In addition, senior Gavin Andrews who would have been slated to start on the offensive line has missed the entire season due to injury.

LINEUPS IN FLUX: The starting lineups on both offense and defense have been something of a moving target in 2015. The Beavers' offense has seen 22 different players on the field for the first snap while 24 different defenders have started. On the offensive side, four different tight ends and three running backs have earned starts. On defense, eight players have started along the defensive line, eight linebackers and five different cornerbacks have received starts.

ON THE JOB TRAINING: Oregon State has one of the least experienced rosters in the nation. Twenty-six players have gotten the first start of their careers in 2015, the fourth-most first-time starters in the nation (Kansas & UCF have started 33 and TCU has 27) including: S Brandon Arnold, RB Chris Brown, DB Devin Chappell, OG Drew Clarkson, QB Seth Collins, CB Treston Decoud, OG Kammy Delp, DE Titus Failauga, WR Datrin Guyton, LB Kyle Haley, CB, Kendall Hill, OT Will Hopkins, DT Sumner Houston, LB Manase Hungalu, WR Paul Lucas, QB Nick Mitchell, RB Ryan Nall, S Gabe Ovgard, NT Kyle Peko, DE Baker Pritchard, TE Noah Togiai, LB Bright Ugwoegbu, DT Kalani Vakameilalo, TE Brent VanderVeen, CB Dwayne Williams and LB Jonathan Willis. In total, the Beavers have had 32 players get their first taste of Division I college football, tying for the 11th-most first-timers in the country.

YOUTH IS SERVED: OSU is one 25 teams in the country to have played 20 or more freshmen in 2015. The Beavers have had exactly 20 rookies see game action in 2015 including four true freshmen: QB Seth Collins, WR Paul Lucas, RB Deltron Sands and TE Noah Togiai. Among the 16 redshirt freshmen to play thus far are: OL Drew Clarkson, OL Kammy Delp, WR Datrin Guyton, DL Sumner Houston, WR Drew Kell, QB Marcus McMaryion, QB Nick Mitchell, OL Trent Moore, RB/TE Ryan Nall, S Gabe Ovgard, S Adam Soesman, LB Bright Ugwoegbu, DT Kalani Vakameilalo, CB Dwayne Williams, DE LaMone Williams and LB Jonathan Willis.

SENIOR CLASS: The Beavers are one of the most inexperienced teams in the country. OSU possesses 13 seniors on the active roster, which ranks as the youngest team in the Pac-12 and is tied as the ninth-youngest team in the nation. Included in those 13 seniors is OL Gavin Andrews and TE Caleb Smith, both of whom will miss the season leaving only 11 that play.

THE DRIVE: The Oregon State and Utah football programs will be featured in the Pac-12 Networks' The Drive: Pac-12 Football this fall. Episodes are scheduled for initial air dates as Nov. 25 and Dec. 2.

BEST COACH: According to a recent ESPN.com survey, 99 college football players were asked who (other than their own coach) is the best coach in the country? Gary Andersen tied for third behind the likes of Nick Saban and Urban Meyer.

3-4: During the spring practice session, head coach Gary Andersen, assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake and staff made the decision to shift to a primary defensive alignment with three down linemen and four linebackers. It marks the first time the Beavers have lined up in a primary 3-4 since the Jerry Pettibone era when Bronco Mendenhall, current BYU head coach, directed the defense in 1996.

NO FREE PASSES: Opponents have had to earn their own first downs this season, for the most part the Beavers have allowed just 14 first downs via the penalty through nine games. Last year, OSU was among the worst in the conference for that dubious stat providing opponents with 31 free passes.

WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE, WIN THE GAME: Over the last 148 games, Oregon State is 51-15 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent, 11-40 when committing more and 16-15 when even.

1904: The number of yards Oregon State has rushed for this season. That's 487 more yards than of all of last season (1,417) and 677 yards more than the 2013 team (1,227).

THAT'S ODD: OSU has accumulated more first downs rushing than passing, which to some extent is to be expected with the new offensive scheme. The Beavers have 88 first downs via the rush compared to 81 via the pass. Last year for the season OSU had 78 rushing first downs compared to 138 via the air. The last time Oregon State finished a season with more first downs on the ground than through the air was in 2000 when the Beavers rushed for 119 first downs and passed for 116.

THE MITCHELL BATTERY: For the past four weeks, Oregon State has used a quarterback-center battery of brothers Nick Mitchell and Josh Mitchell. According to a recent survey of college football SIDs, the Mitchells are the only brothers to snap to each in recent memory. Minnesota has a brother combination at center and quarterback, but the duo has never played at the same time.

INSIDE THE 20: Beaver punter Nick Porebski, one of 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award, has had a single season school record 26 punts downed inside OSU's opponents 20-yard line. He leads the Pac-12 for the category. He also has just one touchback. OSU has punted 61 times this season (tied with ASU for the most), but teams have returned those punts for a meager 32 yards (0.5 avg.)

QB ON THE MOVE: It didn't take freshman Seth Collins long to show his mobility and a very different skill set than Beaver fans are used to seeing at the position. Collins dodged, dipped, ducked, dived and dodged his way to 152 rushing yards against Weber State. It is the most yards an OSU quarterback has ran for since Tim Alexander set the school-record of 205 rushing yards against Northern Illinois in 1996 ... Collins rushed for 536 yards before suffering an injury in practice leading up to the game at Utah. He recently returned to practice and could be available this week at Oregon. He is currently 96 yards short of the Oregon State single season record for rushing yards by a quarterback which is held by Don Shanklin with 630 in 1994 (the Pac-12 single season record of 986 was set in 1997 by UW's Jake Locker).

FRESHMEN QUARTERBACKS: Per a survey prior to the season, Oregon State entered the season as the only team in the nation that had no quarterbacks with playing experience and had only eligible freshmen signal callers. Prior to Seth Collins starting the season-opener against Weber State, the last Beaver true freshman quarterback to start for the Beavers was David Moran in 1996. Moran started three games in what was then a wishbone system, switched to cornerback prior to 1997 and before that season transferred to Northern Arizona .. all three of OSU's eligible quarterbacks, Collins and redshirt freshmen Marcus McMaryion and Nick Mitchell have played for the Beavers this season with both Collins and Mitchell earning starts.

2x1: Recently senior tailback Storm Barrs-Woods became the second player in Oregon State history to achieve 2,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving during his career. Barrs-Woods has rushed for 2,674 career yards, fifth in OSU history, and 1,079 receiving yards. He joins Jacquizz Rodgers (2008-10) as the only other 2,000 x 1,000 player in OSU history. Further, Barrs-Woods became just the fourth player with 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards joining Pat Chaffey (1986, 88-89) and James Rodgers (2007-11) ... Barrs-Woods is one of only four active players that began their careers as running backs that have 2,000 career rushing yards and 1,000 career receiving yards (D.J. Foster, Arizona State; Elijah McGuire, Louisiana; Josh Ferguson, Illinois).

NEW LOOK LINEBACKERS: Entering the season Oregon State needed to replace all three starting linebackers from 2014 - a group that had combined to start 91 games and make 628 tackles. The Beavers returned two players with starting experience, Rommel Mageo and Caleb Saulo, who combined to start 10 games in 2013. According to a recent survey, those 10 returning starts ranks as the sixth-fewest in the nation for the position. Those two juniors plus a group of youngsters that includes juniors Kyle Haley (1 start) and Ricky Ortiz (1 start at linebacker), sophomore Manase Hungalu (3) and redshirt freshmen Bright Ugwoegbu (2) and Jonathan Willis (3) have combined for 298 tackles, 14.5 tackles-for-loss, 6.0 sacks, five interceptions, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a pass breakup.

TRUE STUDENT-ATHLETES: Twelve of the Beavers' 13 seniors are on track to graduate this academic year: Gavin Andrews (June/economics), Lavonte Barnett (March/sociology), Storm Barrs-Woods (December/human development & family sciences), Kellen Clute (March/digital communications), Jalen Grimble (December/economics), Jaswha James (December/sociology), Josh Mitchell (December/sociology), Naji Patrick (December/human development family studies/public health), Ali'i Robins (December/sociology), Larry Scott (December/human development & family studies), Caleb Smith (March/liberal studies), Shane Wallen (March/exercise & sport science).

PAC-12 ALL-ACADEMIC: Fifteen Oregon State football student-athletes were named to the Pac-12 All-Academic team Tuesday, including three apiece on the first and second teams. RB Damien Haskins (public health), OL Will Hopkins (business marketing in OSU's Honors College) and OL Isaac Seumalo (business administration) were first team honorees while OL Drew Clarkson (undeclared), DT Sumner Houston (construction engineering management) and TE Brent VanderVeen (sociology) were second team. LB Malik Gilmore (economics), LB Kyle Haley (public health), QB Marcus McMaryion (exercise and sport science), QB Nick Mitchell (undeclared), RB Ryan Nall (undeclared), LB Ricky Ortiz (agricultural sciences), S Gabe Ovgard (business), K Garrett Owens (sociology), and OL Dustin Stanton (business administration) received honorable mention.

CAMP WILLIAMS: Earlier this summer 12 OSU football student-athletes spent a week at the National Guard Training Site in Bluffdale, Utah, for a crash course in leadership skills taught by the U. S. Army's 19th Special Forces Group. The participants learned leadership and teamwork skills and how to prioritize, sacrifice, brainstorm and trust, and how to synergize in small and large units for the good of the group, attributes that translate to the football field and to their professional and personal lives once they embark on a life beyond football after graduating from OSU. Players involved include: Lavonte Barnett, Victor Bolden, Devin Chappell, Kammy Delp, David Henry, Fred Lauina, Rommel Mageo, Josh Mitchell, Cyril Noland-Lewis, Ricky Ortiz, Kyle Peko and Caleb Saulo. For more of the story go to osubeavers.com.

PLUS .500 NON-CONFERENCE SEASONS: Oregon State achieved its fourth straight non-conference slate with a winning record. The Beavers won all three non-conference (non-bowl) games in 2012 and again in 2014 while they posted a 2-1 record in 2013 and this season.

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