Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson is rebuilding, once again hoping to take the nation by surprise like he did with an 11-1 record in 2000.

This year, at 3-0, Oregon State is slowly gaining back the respect it lost last season, when it finished 5-6.

The Beavers’ troubles began at the outset of last year. Fresno State knocked them off in their first national-television game, a turning point for each program. Fresno State was instantly recognized, while OSU went from national-champion contender to Pac-10 doormat. Saturday, the two teams meet again.

This year, though, Oregon State plays without Ken Simonton. One of last year’s preseason Heisman favorites went from among the best running backs in the nation, from a sure-fire first-round pick, from Oregon State’s all-time leading-rusher — well, nevermind, he’s still that — to out of football.

“It really took us a while to get started last season, what with the upset and then the (Sept. 11) delay,” said Jonathan Smith, last year’s starting quarterback who now serves as an OSU graduate assistant. “So it was definitely not the right start to our season.”

But 2002 marks a fresh start for the Beavers. After beating Eastern Kentucky, Temple and UNLV, OSU faces Fresno State again.

The Bulldogs stand at 1-2, but their record requires a closer look. Their first game was a 23-21 loss to then-No. 25 Wisconsin. Most recently the Bulldogs fell, 28-24, to Oregon on a touchdown in the final two minutes of the game.

Still, Oregon State never figured its early-season loss to Fresno State would foreshadow the rest of last season.

“It was a shock to our confidence,” Smith said. “It took us a while to recover from that.”

Beaver coach Dennis Erickson was more blunt.

“They outcoached us, they played harder than we did, they wanted it more than we did, plain and simple,” Erickson said. “They just kicked our rear ends and should be congratulated for it.”

But Oregon State features a different look from last year’s squad. The Beavers’ quarterback is the athletic, 6-foot-6 Derek Anderson, who holds a 185 quarterback rating and has completed 66 percent of his passes. He’s thrown 12 touchdown passes with no interceptions.

Wide receiver James Newson, who was 32 yards shy of 1,000 last year, caught four of those touchdowns. The Beavers average 496 yards.

The defense has seven sacks and 28 tackles for losses.

“We lost to Oregon State in 1999 and beat them last year,” Fresno State coach Pat Hill said. “I know this year there will be a revenge factor when we go to Corvallis.”

Even though Smith said Erickson has avoided a vengeful mindset in practice this week, the former quarterback and his ex-teammates are thinking about it.

“As a coach, it would be a waste of time (to talk about it) because the guys remember exactly how the feeling was going down there and getting beat,” Smith said. “It’s fresh in their minds already.”

A crowd of more than 35,000 is expected at a sold-out Reser Stadium for what could be the game that brings Oregon State back to the national rankings.

“(Oregon State) fans are going to be into it, and that’s good,” Hill said. “It’s what a football game should be like. You’re going to have two highly-motivated football teams.”

Said Erickson: “This will give us a little more of a barometer of where we are because of how they’ve played. It’s going to be a heck of a football game. We’re excited about playing them, and I know they are, so we’ll see what happens on Saturday.”

Fresno State (+11.5) at Oregon State

Saturday, 6:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net

Ah, the revenge game. Will Oregon State avenge last year’s loss?

Hard to say. Fresno’s heart has been broken twice already this season. The Bulldogs’ two-point loss to Wisconsin and four-point loss to Oregon makes for hopes of an eventual upset. But Fresno State is going back to quarterback Jeff Grady, who was injured against Wisconsin, after starting Paul Pinegar for the last two games. Both quarterbacks have performed adequetly, but what effect will the continuous changing have on the rest of the team?

The Bulldogs want to get running back Therrian Fontenot some playing time, as well as starter Rodney Davis, who averages 5.1 yards per carry.

Pick: Oregon State 21, Fresno State 20

No. 10 Florida (+4) at No. 4 Tennessee

Saturday, 3:30 p.m., CBS

Either Volunteers’ quarterback Casey Clausen or Gators’ quarterback Rex Grossman could end up winning the Heisman Trophy in December. But for now, both players turn their attention to winning this weekend. Clausen has outplayed Grossman thus far, attaining a 74.2 completion percentage as well as a 146.3 quarterback rating. Meanwhile, Grossman has four interceptions and three touchdown passes. Is new Florida head coach Ron Zook to blame?

Maybe. But the bigger problem for Florida is going to be stopping the Tennessee running game. Considering Florida gave up 178 yards on the ground to lowly Ohio, Volunteer running back Cedric Houston could have a field day.

Pick: Tennessee 27, Florida 20

No. 7 Virginia Tech (-3) at No. 19 Texas A&M

Saturday, 3:30 p.m., No TV

Texas A&M’s only chance is its defense. Mark Farris complete less than half his passes (18 for 45), and leading rusher Derek Farmer averages just 3.6 yards per carry.

The Texas A&M rushing defense, though, held Pittsburgh to 56 yards and just 1.4 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech running backs Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones average 6.2 and 6.5 yards per carry, respectively. Whoever wins the rushing struggle could come out on top.

Pick: Virginia Tech 34, Texas A&M 17

No. 12 Notre Dame (+2) at Michigan State

Saturday, 3:30 p.m., ABC

Will Notre Dame suffer a letdown after shocking Michigan? Can Michigan

State come back from an embarrassing loss to California?

Notre Dame has struggled against MSU during the last five years, compiling a 0-5 record. But this year, celebration has begun in South Bend, Ind., where the Fighting Irish finally scored an offensive touchdown Saturday. Overlooked, though, were the four turnovers they committed.

Pick: Michigan State 24, Notre Dame 17

No. 17 North Carolina State (+2) at Texas Tech

Saturday, 12:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net

No, it’s not a misprint — Texas Tech is favored though N.C. State’s Philip Rivers leads the nation in quarterback rating at 202.3 and completes almost 67 percent of his passes.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech lost big to Ohio State in its first game and had an unimpressive victory versus winless Southern Methodist.

Pick: N.C. State 33, Texas Tech 16

Published on September 18, 2002 at 12:00 pm