#11 BEAVERS LOOK TO CHOMP DOWN ON #14 CARDINAL DEFENSE IN THEIR LAST ROAD GAME OF THE SEASON

Storm Woods After Practice 11/8/12

RILEY AFTER PRACTICE 11/8/12

 

The autumn leaves are falling throughout Corvallis which means the Beavers historic season is nearing its end.

With one last road game in front of #11 OSU there is definitely a sense of purpose around this 2012 squad.

From 2003-2009 OSU has seen success in the months of November and December going 29-13 during that stretch.

The Beavs will look to make that 30 wins in these late season months as they travel to Palo Alto to take on the #14 Stanford Cardinal.

On paper this matchup is shaping up to be a defensive battle, which is nothing new to the Beavs who have gone up against, and played fantastic defense all season.

Stanford has been dominating their opponent’s productivity, holding teams to 16.6 points per game which puts them 1st in the Pac-12.

They are also currently playing the nation’s best run defense at only allowing a stifling 57.8 yards per game.

This will be a key factor on Saturday as the pressure once again will be put on the run game of OSU.

Although the Beavs are coming off an impressive running attack against Arizona State last week, in which Terron Ward surprised the Sun Devils defense by rushing for 146 yards, including an explosive 53 yard touchdown run.

A healthy Storm Woods will also be back in action this weekend after not seeing any action last week, but this has not discouraged Woods who had a positive attitude about his knee after practice Thursday.

“This is honestly the best I’ve felt in a while”

Woods went on to stress the importance of a balanced offensive attack against the stifling Cardinals defense.

“It’s important because if they shut you out in the run game they know you’re going to pass it, so if we keep it off balance it’s a better combination for us to score and get positive yards.”

The passing attack will be lead once again by once backup quarterback Cody Vaz, who has proven himself as a starter this season going 3-0.

Even though Vaz took a beating last week against the ASU aggressive defensive line he still managed to go 14-33 for 267 yards with 3 touchdowns and an interception.

Vaz will be looking to speedy wide outs Marcus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks to provide sparks on the offensive end not only in catching the ball, but on the ground as well.

Cooks and Wheaton are leading the Pac-12 in all purpose yards with Cooks averaging 121.5 ypg and Wheaton gaining 112.1 ypg.

With numbers like this it’s clear why even Wheaton has called this explosive pair, “the best receiving duo in the conference”.

Another player who has been making a name for himself in this conference for the past 4 years is senior corner back Jordan Poyer.

It has been a big week for Poyer who was invited to play in the Senior Bowl this January, due in part to his nation leading .71 interceptions per game.

Poyer and the rest of the OSU defense will hope to build on their already dominate turnover margin which is at +7 on the season.

This may be possible as Stanford will turn to Kevin Hogan in what will be only his 2nd start this season.

However the Cardinal offense has been dominating on the ground so far this year lead by senior running back, who is only 53 yards away from his 3rd consecutive 1000 yard season.

Like every game so far this season the Beavs will be tested on both sides of the ball once again, but as this group of players has proven they are up to the task.

Head coach Mike Riley pointed out every game should be played like it’s the biggest of the season.

“It’s football season, it’s been that way for 37 years. Every game is like the Super Bowl. First game, good season, rough season, every game is always the same.”

And if OSU needs any extra motivation there are plenty of In-N-Out burgers around Palo Alto, which seems to be a recipe for success on the road this season.

 

 

#11 OSU will battle #14 Stanford at 12 pm on Saturday November 10th on Fox.