Spring Break
Football loses, but has two games to left to win
Derek Anderson takes responsibility for his poor showing on Saturday
Eric Powell
Barometer Sports Writer
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In Seattle Saturday, OSU's Derek Anderson had his worst game as a college quarterback with five interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns, en route to OSU's 41-29 loss to the Huskies.
It's easy to say that Anderson is only a sophomore and days like this will happen. Some quarterbacks could hide behind this shield of inexperience and blame poor outings on their age.
Anderson isn't one of those players. Leaving late in the game with an ankle injury, Anderson had the perfect excuse to not face the media after his horrific day. But Anderson knows that he is the leader of this Oregon State team, not just now, but for years to come. He came out, iced ankle and all, to face the critics.
"Nothing to be proud of," Anderson said of the game. "You throw five picks and you can't expect to win."
Coming out and taking the heat for a disappointing loss shows Anderson's teammates and fans that the quarterback has what it takes to be successful.
When the team is winning, and everything seems to be going right, being the starting quarterback is an easy job. But when things go wrong, the character of the person comes out. Anderson showed his true colors by handling the postgame proceedings the way he did.
Anderson's teammates know the type of person he is, and regardless of his performance on Saturday they will be with him throughout because they know he will do anything in his power to lead his team to victory.
"[I] just let him go, let him handle it the way he's going to handle it," offensive tackle Mike Kuykendall said. "I just tell him I'm with him, and I'm just going to keep blocking. That's all I do."
Coach Dennis Erickson also knows that Anderson is the man at quarterback for the Beavers. A former quarterback himself, Erickson will live and die with Anderson at the helm because he has confidence in the sophomore.
"I just think he made some bad throws, to be honest," Erickson said. "I threw six [interceptions] one time when I was playing."
With just two Pac-10 games remaining for the Beavers, the team knows their place in OSU history will be judged by how they come out following this disappointing loss next week at Stanford.
Will they fold up their tents and call it quits?
Or will they rally behind their courageous leader and play the way they feel they can?
"You've got to come out and play your best football," defensive end Noah Happe said. "We definitely need that win down there at Stanford to go to a bowl game and then we've got Oregon at home. We're not losing to the Ducks at home."
Happe is not only showing his confidence in his defensive unit to lead the Beavers to victory over their last two games, but his belief that Anderson and the offense can be counted on as well in the Oregon State postseason run.
Win or lose for the Beavers over their remaining games, Derek Anderson will stand as the leader for the Oregon State team. Whether he is forced to talk about a disappointing loss, or an emotional victory, Anderson will handle the pressure admirably.
With the always inspired and dominant play of the OSU defense, and Anderson's leadership, losing doesn't even seem like an option anymore.
Eric Powell is a sports writer for The Daily Barometer. He can be reached at baro.sports@studentmedia. orst.edu.
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