IT'S BEAVER GAME DAY!!!!!!!!

OK, I have to admit it, I am pretty nervous right now.  I am nervous on just about any Beaver game day, but today seems a bit more "nervousier" than in years past.  I am biting my nails down to my cuticles I am so nervous.  Thank God I have to go to a funeral today, otherwise my day would be a mess.

Am I nervous about the fact the Beavers front seven is "new" this year?  Well, the folks over at Building the Dam say I shouldn't be.

Am I nervous about the fact that the Beavers offensive line is something of a patchwork, given that both Tavita Thompson and Jeremy Perry aren't playing this week against the 'Furd?  Well, I have some inside information regarding the O-Line and the rotation that is going to be used tonight.  Suffice it to say I think the O-Line will be just fine.  In fact, after tonight I suspect that Andy Levitre's name is going to to become popular with Beaver fans.

Am I nervous about McCants, 'Quizz and James Rodgers and their ability to maintain the high level rushing attack that has been a staple for the OSU offense for so many years?  According to Cliff Kirkpatrick at the gazette-Times, McCants is ready to be the next great running back at Oregon State.  No need to worry, I guess.....

Should Beaver Nation be concerned about Lyle "the Smile" Moevao and his ability to run this offense?  Consider that he was undefeated as a starter last year, he has lost somewhere between 18-20 pounds, and has a full year of practice in Riley's offense under his belt, and it is clear that Moevao is ready to be the leader of Beaver Nation.

The Smile reminds me a lot of Jonathan Smith, who got no respect from PAC-10 writers and pundits because of his relatively small stature, but was a leader on and off the field and got the most from the physical talents God bestowed upon him.  The Smile's physical abilities are considerably greater than Smith's, but they need to be given the faster, quicker defenses that now roam PAC-10 football fields.

Bottom line:  I think The Smile will do just fine.

No, what has me concerned is what I call "The Beaver Blahs."  Beaver Nation knows what I am tlaking about.  The Beavers can never get out of the starting gate firing on all cylinders.  We start slow, make stupid mistakes, lose to teams we have no business losing to, and generally the football team frustrates the hell out of Beaver Nation. 

We have come to expect it.  Remember the great 11-1 team of 2000.  The first game that year was against Eastern Washington and we won by a single point.  Last year we beat a Utah team that we should have run over by 17.  And we all remember the stinkers the Beavers laid in the second game of each of the last three seasons (I don't count the first game of the 2005 season against Portland State - the second D-I team we played that year was Louisville) where the Beavers were outscored 139 to 44.

I am concerned that the Beavers will come out flat, against a game 'Furd team that is going to see an opportunity to get a cheap PAC-10 win early in the season against a lackluster Beaver team that probably thinks just by throwing their helmets on the field they will beat the 'Furd.  If past performance is any indicator of future effort, then all of Beaver Nation knows this is a very real possibility.

Any longtime resident of Beaver Nation is used to losing.  We don't like it, but we can accept it, as long as our guys gave it 100% on the field and represented The Hard of the West (Oregon State, not the 'Furd) with class and dignity.  It is when the Beavs start playing like morons that really gets The Nation in an uproar.  I don't think Riley will let that happen, which is why I think the Beavers will win this one, albeit by a very close margin.

My prediction: OSU 34 - The 'Furd 28