I completely agrre with them, and when I do that, I refer to let you read superior writing about there.
Rivals says: Miami
I say......
16. Oregon State Beavers
Did you know that the lowest ranked team to ever play in a BCS bowl was Stanford. The Cardinal ranked 22nd in the nation while winning the PAC-10 and advancing to the Rose Bowl that season. I expect the Beavers could give that number a run. The Beavers are good, easily good enough to contend for the PAC-10 title, but the schedule is a nightmare, and there are plenty of teams in the conference that can make similar claims. Oregon State has lost out on their chance to play in the Rose Bowl in the Civil War in two straight years, this year could be more of the same or the year they finally break out and win it.
The offense is very similar to what one expects in Corvallis, one or two stars, a lot of medicore but overacheiving players, and an undersized offensive line. This year should feature more of the same. Jaquizz and James Rodgers, the standout siblings at WR and RB, should provide one of the best skill tandems in the nation. After that, things get a little murky. Star QB Sean Canfield will have to be replaced and that worries a lot of people, I am not one of them. I don't know who will get the job, but I don't suspect it matters much. Canfield was good but in all likelihood was at best the conferences 5th best QB, something that his replacement certainly will find an acheivable goal, and the Beavers run first anyway. James Rodgers is one of the countries best WR's, which will also help with the transition behind center. The line is better than most but it won't wow anyone, but the Beavers have always overacheived with little talent, and this years crop of players is better than they are used to seeing.
The defense finished 57th in the country in scoring defense last year, that would be cause for concern if it wasn't for the fact that Arizona, Oregon, Stanford, and Washington, perhaps the top competitors for the Rose Bowl this year, all finished at 52nd or below as well. USC and UCLA have the conferences best defenses, but the Trojans can't go to a bowl, and Bruin ofense is awful, meaning that impresive or not, the Beavers probably have the best defense among contending teams this year. The secondary is very, very physical and in a conference where everyone seems to love throwing the ball, the Beavers have a big advantage on defense. They aren't the most talented but there is a lot of depth there, the defensive line is very strong up the middle, which should make running the ball difficult as well. The pass rush will have to improve though, lasts squad finished near the bottom in sacks and tackles for loss.
The schedule is the reason why they can contend for that lowest ranking BCS record, not the talent. The Beavers have a reputation for starting slow and really improving once conference play starts. This season will be no different, the start the year by playing the two best non-BCS squads, maybe ever, in two of the first three games. Both are virtually raod games, one in Boise against the Broncos, and the other is a "neutral-field" game against TCU in Arlington, Texas. The game between them is against Louisville, a bad team, but still a Big East team. There are no lay-ups on the non-conferene schedule. The good news is that Oregon and USC, the two best teams in the PAC-10, both come to Corvallis. Most of the other key games, Washington, Stanford, Arizona, are on the road, but the Beavers should be better than all of those teams. The season ends harshly though, with USC, Stanford, and Oregon in consecutive weeks.
This team has all the talent to do big things, but with the schedule they play, and their history of slow starts, I can't see this team losing any less than three games. That being said, two of those will be out of conference, making a conference title a very realistic goal.
Prediction: Rose Bowl, PAC-10 champs.
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