Spring Break
Utes bigger test than USC for upstart Beavers
Adam Loghides
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: Sports
College football is a "what have you done for me lately" kind of sport. One week ago, the USC Trojans were being heralded as the best team Pete Carroll has had. After the Beavers exposed them, they are now (allegedly) the ninth-best team in the nation, behind Texas Tech and BYU.
The Beavers play another Thursday night special this week, on the road against 15th-ranked Utah. There won't be a national audience this time - unless you get the Versus network - but, believe me, the nation will be watching.
Last week was a conference game against the number one team in the nation on ESPN. This one is a non-conference game against a Top 25 team on a network whose biggest annual sporting event in the Tour de France.
Every coach will tell you that the biggest game is your next one. Never has that been truer than this week for the Beavers.
The proof is in the nationwide pudding. Minutes after the USC game, I got a text message from a buddy who stayed up late on the East Coast to watch it. The message said, "Congrats on the big win. Now, don't screw it up."
That about sums it up.
If you go out with an out-of-your-league woman and fly her to Rome for pizza, then the next date better be to somewhere better than Chuck E. Cheese.
With a loss tonight, the Beavers run the risk of actually being held in lower regard than before the USC game. It may be unfair, but it's true. Welcome to the big time, Corvallis.
Budding star Jacquizz Rodgers may be small in stature, but he is big on the national scene. Can you imagine the eyes opening wide in Utah when they witnessed his 186-yard, two-touchdown performance against USC?
Utah has the fifth-ranked rushing defense in the nation and will be geared up to stop "Quizz." That means more of the load will likely drop in the lap of Lyle Moevao. If "Quizz" isn't able to pinball his way to another 100 yards and two touchdowns, Moevao will need to pick up the slack, with the help of his receiving crew.
The Beavers play another Thursday night special this week, on the road against 15th-ranked Utah. There won't be a national audience this time - unless you get the Versus network - but, believe me, the nation will be watching.
Last week was a conference game against the number one team in the nation on ESPN. This one is a non-conference game against a Top 25 team on a network whose biggest annual sporting event in the Tour de France.
Every coach will tell you that the biggest game is your next one. Never has that been truer than this week for the Beavers.
The proof is in the nationwide pudding. Minutes after the USC game, I got a text message from a buddy who stayed up late on the East Coast to watch it. The message said, "Congrats on the big win. Now, don't screw it up."
That about sums it up.
If you go out with an out-of-your-league woman and fly her to Rome for pizza, then the next date better be to somewhere better than Chuck E. Cheese.
With a loss tonight, the Beavers run the risk of actually being held in lower regard than before the USC game. It may be unfair, but it's true. Welcome to the big time, Corvallis.
Budding star Jacquizz Rodgers may be small in stature, but he is big on the national scene. Can you imagine the eyes opening wide in Utah when they witnessed his 186-yard, two-touchdown performance against USC?
Utah has the fifth-ranked rushing defense in the nation and will be geared up to stop "Quizz." That means more of the load will likely drop in the lap of Lyle Moevao. If "Quizz" isn't able to pinball his way to another 100 yards and two touchdowns, Moevao will need to pick up the slack, with the help of his receiving crew.
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