Beavers “have a feeling” they can take down Cardinal

With No. 4 Stanford University in town, now would be as good of time as any for Oregon State University to reclaim the "Giant Killers" label.

"In the last couple years, the Beavers have accomplished, taken down, teams like this, of their caliber," said wide receiver Markus Wheaton. "I think we're all pretty confident going into this game."

The way the players talk, one would think Oregon State (2-6, 2-3 Pac-12) is 6-2 and not the other way around.

"I don't know; I just have that feeling," redshirt freshman Scott Crichton said. "This feeling that we can beat this team. Not just me, but everyone else too."

The "Giant Killers" mantra for the Beavers dates all the way back to 1967, when they defeated top-ranked University of Southern California 3-0.

The name has held up in recent times. Since 2005, OSU has won against a top-25 ranked team at least once in each season—including wins over No. 3 USC in 2006, No. 2 University of California, Berkeley in 2007, and No. 1 USC in 2008.

Oregon State has yet to knock off a ranked team this year, so some could say they are primed for that upset.

"There's a lot of history here of Oregon State being giant killers, and why not?" asked junior cornerback Jordan Poyer. "Why can't it be us? Why not it be the game where we really come together and we really do surprise a lot of people? And I really, truly think that it could happen."

Stanford (8-0, 6-0) comes into Reser as 21.5 point favorites. The last time the Beavers were that big of underdogs at home? When USC came to town in 2008, and we know how that turned out.

While the history of upset potential is there, a lot has to be done to actually pull it off.

"(Stanford) is very, very good in all areas," head coach Mike Riley said.

All of the hubbub about the Cardinal surrounds quarterback Andrew Luck. But everyone knows about him. It's the other facets of Stanford's game that are equally as difficult to prepare for as the Heisman frontrunner.

"They're tremendous at running the football, that's a given," said Riley. "They've had some running numbers that have been unbelievable."

Stanford averages 215 yards on the ground per game, which is ranked 19th nationally. In their game against the University of Washington two weeks, they ran for a ridiculous 446 yards.

Stepfan Taylor leads the way in the backfield with the second best rushing average per game (99.6) in the conference.

Stanford's defense might be just as good as that prolific offense too.

"What's not talked as much about—but should be—is their defense and their special teams," Riley said. "They just are all-around a good football team, that's why they're ranked where they are in the country."

Opponents have only been able to put up 17 points per game against Stanford, which is ranked 13th nationally. That also includes USC's 48 points in last Saturday's triple-overtime shootout.

"I've noticed that their defense is just as good as their offense," Wheaton said. "They have a great defense when you look at the numbers, they're really good. I think we're just going to attack the secondary, just try to win on the back end."

For Oregon State, there's not question as to what they're playing for.

"Pride," said Crichton. "Playing for pride right now. This win will definitely get us more confident just to go throughout the season—finish the season strong."

"We've got a month left of our regular season games to grow," said Riley. "So we talked totally this morning about attitude, about growth, about opportunity, and then being a team."

This OSU team may not be as good as in the past when they knocked off top-three teams in consecutive years, but they still feel confident in their ability to win against any opponent, regardless of their national ranking.

"Just believing in ourselves," Crichton said. "We're the only ones who think we can win, no one else believes it. We're always the underdog in every game."

"I'm not thinking about the record or anything like that, I just want to win this Saturday," said senior left tackle Mike Remmers.

Stanford will be here Saturday whether the Beavers are ready for them or not. For the Cardinal, they are eyeing the national championship. For Oregon State, it's playing for pride and playing spoiler that will fuel their fire.

The "Giant Killers" have done it before, but under the circumstances, this may be their hardest giant they have had to slay.

Warner Strausbaugh, sports writer

sports@dailybarometer.com