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OSU air attack could mean a difficult fight for Wildcats

The athletic department at Oregon State might have made its best decision in 29 years over the summer when it hired former Seattle Seahawks head coach Dennis Erickson.

The Beavers have since clinched their first winning season since 1970 (6-3 overall, 3-3 Pacific 10 Conference) and are riding a three-game winning streak and ranked ninth in the nation in total offense. In addition, with its win against California last week, OSU made itself eligible for a bowl game.

It's been a long time since such success graced the Beaver program.

The last time the Beavers won four in a row was 1968, and the last time OSU went to a bowl game was the Rose Bowl in 1965.

The spread-offense that Erickson has implemented this season features the versatility of his personnel. The team ranks first in the Pac-10 in passing with sophomore Jonathan Smith averaging 256 yards per game and also features the Pac-10's leading rusher in 5-foot-7 tailback Ken Simonton (124.1 yards per game). The two sophomores are the keys to the Beavers' attack.

"We try to be balanced," Erickson said. "We had our most success when we've had a balanced attack."

Simonton has 1,117 yards on the ground this season and is scoring an average of 10 points per game.

Smith took over the starting quarterback job early in the season after Terrance Bryant went down with an injury. Since then, Smith has been superb (150 of 306, 2,327 yards, 12 TD, 7 INT), flourishing in Erickson's wide-open offensive scheme.

"He (Smith) understands defenses really well and doesn't make a heck of a lot of mistakes," Erickson said.

Wide receiver Imani Percoats (43 receptions, 706 yards, 4 TD) is Smith's favorite target, but the receiver position for the Beavers is deep. The Arizona secondary will find it difficult to key on one since OSU spreads the ball around so well.

OSU's red-zone scoring percentage is also impressive - the Beavers have scored on 31 of 40 trips inside its opponents' 20-yard line.

However, against California last week, the Beavers scored only 17 points and punted 14 times, proving that too many options aren't always a good thing.

With such a high-powered offense, the Beaver defense is often overshadowed. The defense hasn't slouched, though, coming into Saturday's game ranked No. 1 in the Pac-10.

Three returning starters spearhead the Beavers defense in middle linebacker Jonathan Jackson (64 tackles, 2 INT) and defensive tackles Shawn Ball (39 tackles, 6 for a loss) and Aaron Wells (30 tackles, 6 for a loss).

The secondary is anchored by strong safety Terrence Carroll (45 tackles, 3 INT). He began the season as an All-American candidate and has not disappointed. The Beavers will be tested defensively differently than previous games because of Arizona's offensive weapons, Carroll said.

"We haven't played against two quarterbacks that move as much as the Arizona quarterbacks, so we will focus on that," he said. "We will also focus on Trung and try to stop him, and Northcutt as well.

"Arizona has a lot of threats and a lot of skilled players, and I think this game will be our biggest challenge of the season."

Like Arizona, the OSU defense relies more on speed, rather than size.

"We're not very big, but we run very well on defense," Erickson said.

Carroll said that team unity on defense is vital to the Beaver team.

"I think we're a really cohesive unit out there," Carroll said. "We try to fly to the football and rely on each other to do our jobs."