By
Ryan Finley
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Simonton, Smith lead high-octane Beaver attack
The Pacific 10 Conference has had its share of surprises this season, but the biggest shock in 2000 has been the emergence of Oregon State - a one-time league doormat - to national prominence.
When the UA football team plays host to the No. 10 Beavers Saturday at Arizona Stadium, it will mark a collision between the Pac-10's top scoring offense and the conference leader in scoring defense.
There will be pressure from both sides to win Saturday.
A Beavers victory would make OSU's Nov. 18 game against Oregon a battle for a likely Rose Bowl bid.
Should the Wildcats win, they would become bowl eligible with just one game left in the season.
UA sophomore linebacker Lance Briggs said that a win against the Beavers would soften the blow of losses to Oregon, UCLA and Washington in previous weeks.
"We need to be thankful to play such a great team this late in the season," Briggs said. "We still have a chance to prove to people that we are a really good Wildcat team."
Much of OSU's success is due to running-back Ken Simonton.
Though small - just 5-foot-7 and 175 pounds - the junior from Pittsburg, Calif., has almost single-handedly brought the Beavers back to respectability.
Simonton has made numerous converts, including UA head coach Dick Tomey.
"A lot of people thought that he was too small, but he's the best around now," Tomey said.
So far this season, Simonton is averaging 143.1 yards-per-game - top in the Pac-10 and sixth nationally.
"He has gotten a lot stronger since he was a freshman," Tomey said. "He is definitely a great player to have when you go into a new job like (Erickson) did (in 1999)."
Simonton's size hasn't diminished his national renown - the junior was named a preseason first-team All-American by Athlon Magazine, a Doak Walker Award candidate, and an Heisman Trophy candidate. He was also named one of the nation's top six running backs by Playboy Magazine prior to this season.
Simonton's backup, 5-foot-10, 187-pound senior Patrick McCall, is a transfer from the University of Michigan and is averaging 63.4 yards-per-game.
OSU head coach Dennis Erickson said that McCall's recent success has allowed Simonton to rest and avoid injury from the artificial surface on the Beavers' home field, Reser Stadium, in Corvalis., Ore.
"We are fortunate to have two other running backs besides Ken," Erickson said. "Ken's been beat up off and on throughout the season. Patrick's come in and has played very, very well."
Erickson - who said he expects to sign a contract extension in future weeks, ending speculation that he will leave for another job - has managed to turn around a Beaver team that hasn't been to the Rose Bowl since 1965.
How bad was OSU in previous seasons? Before this season, Oregon State had not defeated Southern California since 1960.
This is a different OSU program, one that has managed to defeat USC, 31-21, manhandling the Trojans both on the ground and through the air.
Junior quarterback Jonathan Smith has feasted on opponents' run-oriented defenses, managing a 127.4 passing efficiency, good for fourth in the Pac-10.
In order to defeat the Beavers Saturday, UA and its "double flex eagle" defense must first shut down Simonton's rushing attack and then manage to stop Smith, who will use the pass-happy "spread" offense to strike quickly.
"Defensively, it's the scheme that they've had there for years," Erickson said of the UA attack. "They run around and play hard. They're always one of the best defensive teams in the country."
Erickson, who said he doesn't believe in polls, believes the Wildcats and Beavers are closer than their records - and subsequent rankings - indicate.
"There's no difference between them and us," he said.
