You are probably thinking they scheduled Oregon State just to make all the parents proud, but don't chalk up the win just yet folks.

Although the Beavers were 0-8 in the Pacific 10 Conference a year ago, they made headlines last week with their 26-12 upset over Stanford. Two weeks before, the Beavers (1-5 overall, 1-3 in the Pac-10) took California to triple overtime before losing 48-42 and only lost because they missed a gimmie field goal in the second overtime.

"They are a physical, tough, relentless team and have a unique defensive scheme," UA head coach Dick Tomey said. "To come back from the Cal loss to play with the mentality they had against Stanford is a great accomplishment for their team."

Arizona (3-3, 1-2) had last week off and is coming off a 14-7 defeat from Southern Cal on Oct. 12.

The Oregon State defense had a school record 11 sacks on Stanford quarterback Chad Hutchinson.

"Eleven times is astronomical, and that is not even counting all the times that they knock you down," Tomey said.

But Arizona isn't intimidated by the numbers, instead they are focusing on the positive.

Although Arizona quarterback Keith Smith was knocked out of the game against USC with a bruised shoulder, Tomey is not worried about Smith's health.

"He is fine, he is ready to roll," Tomey said.

Smith is the Wildcats' leading rusher averaging over 67 yards per game. Smith has scored all five of the Wildcat rushing touchdowns and is averaging 163 all-purpose yards per outing.

"Having Keith, we have not been as patient enough with our other backs, but that has a lot to do with Keith's ability to make things happen," Tomey said.

The next best Wildcat rusher is senior Gary Taylor who is averaging 62 yards a game.

The week off was good for the shoulder but hard for Smith to take.

"I hate the bye weeks (weeks off), I am not used to them," Smith said. "In high school you have a game every week."

Smith said he is confident with the shoulder, "It hurts a tiny bit, but I am ready to go."

"The hardest thing about the shoulder was that the USC game was the first time in his football career, through high school, all of it, that he was missed part of a game," Tomey said.

The Wildcats are 3-0 at home this year and plan to continue OSU's 10-game consecutive Pac-10 road loss streak. In the 19 times the two teams have met, the Wildcats have 16-2-1 record.

Last week's win was obviously a big confidence booster for the Beavers, but maintaining the high from the game is the key.

"I am hoping that it will be a real boost for the rest of the season," OSU head coach Jerry Pettibone said. "But there is a normal emotional let down after a big game and we need to get back to how we were in that game for Arizona."

The Beaver defense is unique in the way it takes chances on nearly every play, sending different looks to cause problems. It was successful against Stanford. Besides the sacks, the team had six more tackles for a loss of yards, forced three fumbles, broke up five passes and intercepted two passes. However, taking big risks opens the door to big plays by the other team.

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