What Oregon State Needs To Do To Defeat Stanford In Pac-10 Opener

I can hear it now, the chanting of OOOO-SSSS-UUUU vibrating through Reser Stadium. The rowdy sea of orange and black primed for the first home game of 2008.

Unfortunately, they will have to wait until September 13th when Hawaii rolls into town.

As for the Beavers' week one match up, Stanford could prove to be a tough road win for the rebuilt Oregon State University squad.

Last season was a difficult one to say the least for Coach Harbaugh and company.  After finishing 4-8 Stanford looks to build on the momentum of their thrilling fourth quarter comeback victory over USC in The Coliseum. 

Add a win on the road against Arizona and a victory over Cal in "The Big Game" and Stanford has a lot to look forward to in 2008.

Offensive Outlook:

Senior quarterback, Tavita Pritchard returns to lead the Stanford offense, although the job won't be handed to him.  Jason Forcier and Alex Loukas pushed Pritchard for the starting spot throughout the fall. In their final scrimmage, Pritchard looked good and will most likely be the starter for the Thursday night opener versus Oregon State.

The Cardinal lost two of their top three receivers in Evan Moore and Mark Bradford.  The two combined for 1,123 yards and four TD's.  It doesn't sound like much, but the 44 percent of total receiving yards could be difficult to reproduce.

Richard Sherman will be the go-to guy for Pritchard this season.  Good hands and a 6'3" 191 pound frame will give defensive backs around the league fits.  Luckily OSU has two of the conference's best corners in Brandon Hughes and Keenan Lewis. 

Sophomores Doug Baldwin and Ryan Whalen are unproven and look to add offensive production at the WR position.

The strength of any good offensive team is the offensive line. Stanford returns four seniors who anchor the experienced group.  Head Coach, Jim Harbaugh, has labeled the O-line the strength of his team.  The only loss was center Tim Mattran who started all 12 games last season.

After a patella tendon tear against Oregon, senior OT Allen Smith remains sidelined and is a big question mark entering the opener. All-in-all, the O-line looks to create big holes for the running backs and protect Pritchard. 

Pritchard was sacked an astounding 48 times last season.

The running back position is of major concern.  Injuries sidelined Anthony Kimble and Toby Gerhart last season and staying healthy could prove to be difficult. 

Gerhart, a two-sport star, played outfield for the Cardinal during their CWS run in 2008.  After his season-ending ACL tear last year, Gerhart looks to rebound and provide depth at the RB position with his tough, grind it out mentality.

Anthony Kimble led Stanford with 526 yards rushing last year despite missing five games due to injury.  Kimble is a dual threat with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield (45 career catches for 365 yards) and speed on special teams (26 kickoff returns for 493  yards).

Many questions have yet to be answered for the offense.  Unfortunately for the Cardinal, the first test comes in a conference game against what should be a very fast and stout OSU defense.

Defensive Outlook:

From 2006 to '07 Stanford implemented a four man front and boy did it pay dividends. The defense went from nine total sacks in '06 to 37 in '07, fifth in the Pac-10.

Five players return with starting experience, including defensive ends Pannel Egboh and Erik Lorig. The two only combined for six sacks last season, but should improve on those numbers.

As a team, Stanford's 37 sacks and 101 tackles for a loss accounted for 755 total yards lost.  With experience and growth in the front four, teams may have a tough time running the ball with consistency.

If the return of five defensive lineman doesn't spark your belief, the return of all three starting linebackers should.  Defensively, this is Stanford's strength. Snyder, Maynor, and Amajoyi lead what should be a great front seven for the Cardinal.

The LB trio tallied 231 tackles, 18 sacks, and 40 tackles for loss.  Depth at the position is of no concern, Coach Harbaugh is content with the improvement of his backups.

The Stanford secondary returns leading tackler Bo McNally and veterans Austin Yancy and Wopamo Osaisai, try saying that five times fast.  While the loss of Nick Sanchez and Tim Sims will hurt, there is plenty of experience to remain competitive.

Combine the three returning linebackers with the experience of the front four and the Stanford defense is poised for good things in 2008.

OSU's Game-Plan:

OSU will look to exploit Stanford's alleged lack of speed with the Rogers brothers on the edges while McCants pounds the ball inside. The tight-ends will be key to OSU's success. Last season the position didn't produce as needed and Moevao struggled in passing situations with limited options.

This year, the receving core of Stroughter, Rodgers, Johnson, Catchings, and Morales should give Moevao those options.  It's now just a matter of getting them the ball. The receivers are too much athletic for Stanford to match up one-on-one.

The defense will rely on it's veteran secondary and put pressure on Pritchard with aggressive DEs Butler and Norris.  Constant pressure should lead to turnovers. 

Opposed to what most may think, I see this being a great game.  Two teams searching for respect in the Pac-10 will battle, but I have a hard time believing that Stanford will have all it's pieces together come August 28th. 

Prediction: 

OSU's offense proves to be too explosive and diverse.  Defense limits Pritchard to under 200 yards throwing while shutting down the running game.

If OSU can win the turnover battle, they should take care of business and come off The Farm with a 1-0 conference record and momentum going into State College.

OSU  30     Stanford 17