No. 21 Oregon State's Motto: "Anything Is Possible"

As critics push their jaws firmly shut and quietly take a seat (at least for the next week), all they have to do is look at the BCS, AP Top 25, and USA Today polls to see that OSU has emerged as a late season contender for the Pac-10 title and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

The embarrassment at State College is now an afterthought. However, chatter of a Penn State rematch has begun circling water coolers around the valley.

A sold-out Dad's Weekend crowd of just under 46,000 packed Reser Stadium for the ABC broadcast and provided the loudest home field advantage that I have experienced at OSU since its upgrades began in 2003.

With California visiting, it was to be the biggest test for OSU since virtually handing the game to Utah just five weeks ago. Had OSU held on to win, they now would have won eight straight after the victory over the Bears.

As the season progresses and OSU takes yet another step towards their first Rose Bowl in 44 years, fans are likely searching online for the cheapest flights into LAX.

But is this a bit premature with two very tough games left—at Arizona and at home against Oregon in the Civil War?

I say not in the least.  If not for hopes and dreams, what good would it be being a fan?

Many fans, critics, and pessimists—call it what you will—have voiced their opinions about Oregon State needing to forget about such talk because of the road that still lies ahead of them.

While this should ring true in the locker room amongst players and coaches, fans are left to dream of the impossible.

In 2000, would you have ever guessed OSU would end up No. 4 in the nation and 11-1 when it was all said and done? This after their poor showing against June Jones and Hawaii in the 1999 O'ahu Bowl.

Beavers and BCS? No way.

In 2006, would you have put money on Boise State beating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl? Most definitely not.

On the other hand, would you ever have guessed in 2004 a 12-0 SEC Auburn team would be denied the chance to play for the title?

It's why we play the games and always hope for the best.

As many know, Oregon State was the doormat of the Pac-10 and the nation just 10 years ago.

Fans often asked, "Why DO we play the games?" Thoughts of bowl games and winning seasons provided punch line after punch line for the '80s and '90s Beaver squads. 

The strides this team has taken in the past decade are monumentally big.  While recruiting is not at the USC level, it is steadily improving, and recruits around the nation are taking notice of the Beaver program.

A new indoor facility, new state of the art weight room, and a gorgeous stadium (which will hopefully be finished in the next three years) are key reasons for OSU's success.

The 2008 version of the Beavs has been all about growth and perseverance. If you ask anyone, impossible is not a word used at OSU.

But what truly drives this OSU football machine is work ethic, determination, a belief in the team over the individual, and the thought that anything is possible.

Here's a glimpse into what OSU was facing coming into the season.

Preseason predictions of no better than sixth in conference and as bad as eighth. They're now tied for first and hold the tiebreaker over USC, who sits 7-1 on top of the conference.

A front seven which lost all its starters from the year before and was gashed in weeks one and two. That same group has molded into the nation's No. 17 total defense by harassing opposing quarterbacks and flying to ball carriers.

For Mike Riley, he had never won against UCLA and never beaten Cal at home. He has since done both, and in impressive fashion.

They had a quarterback who wasn't tall enough and couldn't make the deep throw. They had another one who didn't make decisions fast enough and couldn't lead this team.  Moevao and Canfield have teamed up for the conference's best passing attack thus far in 2008.

Lastly, a running back who was "too small" and had never stepped foot on a collegiate football field. Now Quizz Rodgers has three Pac-10 player of the week honors, has destroyed the freshman rushing record, and is on not only the Doak Walker Award list, but has even received votes in the Heisman Race.

To say it is impossible for OSU to make the Rose Bowl just adds another item to the bulletin board of doubt that these players seem to thrive off of.

With a 20-4 record in October, November, and December over the past two-and-a-half years, OSU has become the most consistent team in the conference behind USC, and this year is proving no different.

As the Beavers enter the final two games of their season, they remain optimistic, however grounded in reality.

The players reiterate it before and after each Saturday: "one game at a time."

OSU now has a renewed sense of winning, not yet a tradition. However, their second Pac-10 title in eight years and second BCS Bowl would certainly create momentum that would be tough to stop for the small town of Corvallis—aka Beaver Nation.

Next up, Arizona.