Spotlight On ... the other Oregon

Posted: October 11, 2012

THAT WOULD be State, as in Beavers, who are 4-0 for the first time since 2002, when they lost their next three and finished 8-5. Even in 2000, when they went 11-1, they lost their fifth game (33-30 at Washington). They haven't been 5-0 since 1939, when they lost their sixth game and ended up 9-1-1.

The Beavers, after going 3-9 last season, were picked to finish last in the Pac-12 North. But Mike Riley, in his 12th season, might at least be strengthening his job security. Nobody's suggesting this team will make it to the Rose Bowl, something OSU's done only three times. The last was after the 1964 season. Their lone win came in their first try (Jan. 1, 1942), when they played Duke in Durham, N.C., due to the war.

But if nothing else, they've provided one of those early unexpected story lines.

Now the Beavers go to Brigham Young (4-2), which has lost, 7-6, at Boise State and beaten Utah State, 6-3, in the last 3 weeks. The Beavers opened the season with wins over then-nationally ranked Wisconsin and UCLA (on the road). They also won at Arizona. Both times, Riley celebrated by taking his kids to Jack in the Box, a fast-food chain that's big in California and Arizona. Where else can you get two tacos for 99 cents?

They'll be without sophomore quarterback Sean Mannion, who injured his knee last week. He was throwing for 339 yards a game. His replacement is junior Cody Vaz, who hasn't played since 2010 and hasn't started since high school. Backing him up will be redshirt freshman Richie Harrington, a walk-on.

"It's a great opportunity for our team," said Vaz. "I can't wait."

BYU, which is favored, won last year in Corvalis, 38-28.

Jack in the Box doesn't have a store in Salt Lake City.

- Mike Kern