Football preview

Friday, October 17, 1997

Football preview

PREVIEW:

By Brent Boyd

Daily Bruin Staff

In most seasons it would be hard to tell who was more excited:
Mike Riley, head coach of Oregon State, or the 17th-ranked Bruins,
who will meet the Beavers at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Rose
Bowl.

"It’s great fun to go to the Rose Bowl," Riley said. "That’s
just one of the greatest places in the world. It’s a great stadium,
has a great environment, the whole deal. So I’m excited about it
and I think this will be real good for us."

Any other year and the Bruins (4-2, 2-1 Pac-10) would welcome
the perennial conference also-rans with open arms and chalk the
game up as an automatic victory.

But this year the game is anything but a sure victory: The
Beavers (3-2, 0-2) are off to their best start in nearly in a
decade.

They haven’t stood above .500 this late in the season since
1988, and a win here Saturday would result in their first
three-game winning streak since 1970.

"I’m impressed with what they’re doing and how they’re playing,"
UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said. "Needless to say, this is going to
be a real challenge to our football team."

For those detractors who claim OSU’s quick start is simply the
result of a weak schedule – the three victories have come against
North Texas, San Jose State and Utah State (a combined record of
4-13) – just ask Pac-10 rivals Arizona State and Stanford how much
of a challenge the Beavers can provide.

Both teams escaped with narrow three-point victories in
Corvallis.

"They very easily could be 5-0," Toledo said.

So, why the dramatic turnaround from last year’s 2-9 squad? Two
words: Mike Riley.

Riley, who quarterbacked Corvallis High School to the state
title in 1970, returned home after a four-year stint as USC’s
offensive coordinator.

And although this soft-spoken unassuming coach would never admit
it, he has taken a program with a losing reputation and bad
attitude and turned it into one that believes in itself.

"They’re searching, they’re just trying to grab onto something
that can lead them out of this deal – and it’s not me," Riley said.
"It’s something, the team, a group to latch on to … to help them
feel better about themselves."

After all, it’s hard to feel good about yourself when you play
for a school that has won only 22 conference games over the past 23
seasons, and hasn’t played in a bowl game since 1965.

"They’re like all guys who come to college – they all want to do
well personally and want their team to do well," he continued. "And
when it doesn’t they don’t feel that good. So, when we got here, it
was like wow, these guys don’t like it here, they don’t feel good
about themselves – it was scary."

But Riley is smart enough to know that five games does not
constitute a complete turnaround: Rather, it is just something to
build on.

"We have a lot of cliches, but one that we latched on to was
that we just have to go day-to-day and try to get better each
game," he said. "And then see where we are and take a look at it
again."

One thing that looks totally different from a year ago for the
Beavers is its offensive formation. For years, Oregon State had run
the wishbone, but this year Riley has adopted more of a balanced
offense.

Last year, OSU averaged only 85 passing yards per game, compared
to over 230 on the ground. This year, the Beavers average 237
through the air and 114 on the ground.

All these changes have been made despite the fact that the
current Beaver players were recruited to fit the old system.

"This will be a transition for a long time as far as what we
want it to be eventually," Riley said. "This will be a good
foundation because it has a lot of bootleg passes and sprint-out
passes and misdirection and very little passing from the
pocket."

The one player who has played the most significant role in this
transition is quarterback Tim Alexander – who could just as easily
be a tailback or a receiver.

"He’s one of those guys that is special enough athletically that
he could (play various positions) in the NFL," Riley said. "He’s
fast, has good body control, all of those things. For our team I
always thought it would be important for him to be quarterback
because we are inexperienced in the line and we are trying to build
something that is very new. He’s a guy that can create a little
bit, so maybe the play doesn’t have to be executed perfectly –
which it won’t be because we’re inexperienced and young."

Defensively, the squad is having success too, allowing only 15
points per game – the third-best in the conference. And current
UCLA defensive coordinator Rocky Long can be partly thanked for
that.

Long was the defensive coordinator in Corvallis before coming to
UCLA last season.

"I think that one of Rocky’s influences is that of an
aggressive, hard-playing defense," Riley said. "They have kind of
responded to the system."

Well, they’re responding to the system both offensively and
defensively.

Eight points away from having an unblemished record – just how
good are they?

"I don’t know," Riley said. "We played Stanford and [Arizona
State] tough, but are we good enough to win those games? We haven’t
done it yet. You need to win some games first so you can say
that."

They’ll also have to win games on the road – something they
haven’t done since 1994 in Pasadena. Since defeating the Bruins
23-14 on Oct. 15, 1994, the Beavers have lost 12 consecutive road
contests.