Giant Killers -- The Season Begins

Oregon State University Athletics is proudly celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the famed "Giant Killers" football team. Led by the late head coach Dee Andros, Oregon State posted a 7-2-1 record that included victories over No. 1 ranked USC, No. 2 Purdue and then a tie with the new No. 2 team in the land UCLA.

Historian Kip Carlson is in the midst of writing a six-part series on the team that originally prints in the gameday program that is available at Reser Stadium.

The Giant Killers will be honored at this Saturday's game vs. Colorado that kicks at 1:07 p.m. Tickets are available for the early afternoon contest at BeaverTickets.com

PART 2 – THE SEASON BEGINS

Just how fast can these kids grow up?

That was the key question as Oregon State faced the opening game of its 1967 football season, against Stanford in Portland's Multnomah Stadium. When the Beavers reported for fall drills in late August, they had just 26 lettermen and only five seniors; the squad included over 30 sophomores, and many of the juniors were junior college transfers.

"We have some experience, but it's one year of experience," said Dee Andros, entering his third season as Oregon State's head coach. "How quickly our new men, the men up from the Rooks (freshman team) and junior colleges become veterans will determine how good of a team we area … we're a sophomore-junior team where last year we were a sophomore-senior team."

The Beavers had finished 1966 with six straight wins to post a 7-3 record.

"Last year, about mid-season, our kids became veterans," Andros said. "This year we hope they get there a little sooner."

Some of the Beavers getting preseason attention were a trio of juniors: quarterback Steve Preece, fullback Bill Enyart and defensive tackle Jess Lewis.

Preece had backed up Paul Brothers the previous season and was a fleet run/pass dual threat from Boise, Idaho. Enyart, a 6-foot-3 1/2, 225-pound converted linebacker from Medford, would step in for the graduated Pete Pifer to continue the Beavers tough inside running game. Lewis, from Aumsville, was one of the nation's outstanding heavyweight wrestlers and had amazing quickness.

Halfbacks Billy Main, a sophomore from Lafayette, Calif., and Ernie Smith – brother of world-class sprinter Tommie Smith – a junior from Lemoore, Calif., were two reasons the Beavers' option offense figured to be quicker than the previous year. Senior linebacker Skip Vanderbundt, from Pacerville, Calif., and junior defensive guard Jon Sandstrom, from Sandy, would help anchor the defense. Junior guard Dave Marlette, from Stockton, Calif., and junior center John Didion, from Woodland, Calif., would be part of the unit opening holes up front.

Oregon State had been tabbed for a fourth-place finish in the Pacific-8 Conference, with Southern California and UCLA tabbed as the favorites and near the top of the preseason national polls. The Beavers had tied for second in 1966.

Stanford was tabbed for fifth place in the preseason; Stanford head coach John Ralston was sorting out a quarterback battle between junior Gene Washington and two others. It would be the first meeting between the Beavers and Indians since 1964.

The game – the only major college game scheduled in Portland that fall - was expected to draw 25,000 to 30,000 fans. $1 from the sale of each ticket would go to a fund to save athletics in the Portland Interscholastic League; the city's public schools were in danger of having sports programs cut from the budget unless $200,000 could be raised in the late summer and early fall.

The 22,570 who showed up saw all the scoring occur in the second quarter of Oregon State's 13-7 win. Main scored on a five-yard run and Stanford answered with a 98-yard kickoff return by Nate Kirtman to knot the game 7-7. Mike Haggard, a senior from Portland, then booted field goals of 22 and 28 yards for the final margin.

Stanford took the ball inside the Oregon State 40-yard line four times and came up empty on each. Vanderbundt had three interceptions and OSU rushed for 174 yards as the Beavers took their seventh straight win over two seasons.

Andros was pleased with how the Beavers responded after Kirtman's return: "A thing like that can destroy morale," the OSU head coach said. "But these kids came right back to win. I'm as proud of them as any team I ever coached."

Next up was a trip to Arizona State, which had a four-game winning streak of its own; the Sun Devils were a quick team with a defense led by NCAA heavyweight wrestling champ Curley Culp. The Beavers had won 18-17 in Tempe the previous season.

At the end of the evening, one OSU player calculated the heat had stripped the Beavers of a total of 450 pounds, including 16 by Vanderbundt alone. Oregon State scored a touchdown in each quarter for a 27-21 win; the final margin came as Arizona State scored on the game's final play. The Beavers rushed for 329 yards and defensive end Harry Gunner, from Port Arthur, Tex., turned in his finest game to date in helping stop the Sun Devils.

With eight straight victories, Oregon State now had the nation's longest winning streak as it headed to Iowa, where it had won 17-3 in 1966. The Hawkeyes were installed as a one-point favorite, having opened their season with a 24-9 upset of Texas Christian. Andros anticipated a physical game: "They gang tackle you and knock you around. We got to go after this bunch, and if we do, there's gonna be some real collisions."

The Beavers got the best of those collisions in a 38-18 win, leading 21-0 after one quarter and 31-0 at halftime. OSU rushed for 394 yards, including 321 in the first half. Said Iowa head coach Ray Nagel: "Oregon State just overpowered us. This is a better team than we expected to meet. Oregon State didn't do anything we were not ready for; they did it better. This is a very sound team."

One Oregonian surprised by the result was Gov. Tom McCall. As the guest picker in the Oregon Journal's Football Jackpot contest, he'd picked the Hawkeyes. Later that week, McCall – a former sportswriter – wrote Andros and the Beavers: "As one who used to make part of his living picking the Saturday afternoon results, I was afraid after eight in a row the psychology of football might overtake you in Iowa City. I am glad I was wrong. I hope my published miscalculation had the effect of making you feel, 'Let's show that boob at the state house!' You did – and I couldn't be happier."

Now winners of nine in a row, Oregon State would go on the road for the third straight week and return to Pac-8 play at Washington. The Huskies, picked for third in the conference, were 2-1 and would be looking to avenge a 24-13 loss in Corvallis in 1966.

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The Huskies did just that, with some help from the Beavers. OSU lost three fumbles and was intercepted twice, falling 13-6 in front of a raucous crowd of 55,000. A Preece touchdown run gave Oregon State a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, but Washington evened the game with a pair of second-quarter field goals. In the final period, a fumble gave UW the ball at the OSU 32 to set up the winning score.

"You don't make the mistakes we did against a fine, solid team and expect to win," Andros told reporters after the game. "We've got six games left. I have no doubt we'll bounce back, because these kids have character … they're bawling right now, but that's okay, because if it doesn't hurt to lose, you don't have a chance to be a winner. They're hurtin', and we'll be winners again."

Oregon State would have a chance to get back on the winning track when it finally played in the enlarged Parker Stadium. The opponent would be Brigham Young, which was allowing just 46.3 yards rushing per game in compiling a 2-1 record.

A Kiwanis Kids Day crowd of 22,232 saw three BYU quarterbacks combine to pass for 316 yards in taking a 31-13 win. The Beavers, averaging 263 yards per game rushing entering the game, were limited to 115 yards on the ground.

"We just didn't have it all day," Enyart said.

Andros remained low-key in the postgame locker room.

"I didn't chew them out," Andros said. "I didn't think it would help us get ready for next week."

The Beavers, having gone from a nation-high nine-game winning streak to a two-game losing streak, would now play at Purdue, ranked No. 2 in the nation. It would get no easier after that: the Beavers would also face No. 1 Southern California and No. 3 UCLA in the next four weeks.

NEXT: Bouncing back.

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