Oregon St. Beavers Ready to be Noticed

Oregon State is 6-0 for the first time since 1907 when the Beavers finished the season with that record.

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

By Jasmine Watkins 

Oregon State is ranked No. 7 in the BCS standings but still seem to be unnoticed. With South Carolina losing to Florida this past weekend, the Beavers moved up one spot from No. 8.

But still, no one is really considering them a legitimate threat as that other team in Oregon continues to overshadow them.

When a team starts the year off the radar, it is often difficult to get the attention of others, but through six games, the Beavers are doing their best to make noise in the BCS standings.

For starters, Oregon State has a versatile quarterback in Sean Mannion, but when he tore his left meniscus on October 6^th in a win against Washington State, everyone counted them out.

Everyone except themselves. They knew it was just time for their backup quarterback, Cody Vaz, to step it and pick up where Mannion left off.

And Did he ever.

Remaining cool under what is immense pressure from these fans and big shoes to fill, Vaz lead the Beavers into Provo to beat the Cougars 42-24 in his first collegiate start.

He said to ESPN that it eased his mind a little knowing already that he was going to start.

“When you go into practice and the game as the backup you’re always sitting their wondering if or when you’ll have to go in, but knowing I was going to start a week ahead of time took a lot of the pressure off of me.

His chemistry with the receivers came into question before the game but they were quickly answered as he went 6 for 6 to begin the game. He finished 20 of 32 for 332 yards and three touchdowns.

“It was a good win, but that the same time, it’s in the past. Right now, we’re solely focused on Utah,” Vaz said in an interview with ESPN.

Vaz proved that no matter who is behind center, they are a competitive team.

Then came the news that Mannion was ready to play, not even a month after having surgery on his meniscus. He would serve as the backup quarterback so it is not to jeopardize the chemistry that Vaz has quickly created with the receivers.

Vaz handled himself just as he did the previous week, leading the Beavers to a victory over Utah 21-7.

If the Beavers keep this pace, their showdown versus the rival Oregon Ducks could have tremendous effects on the race to a BCS Championship.