A special weekend for Erickson, 2001 Fiesta Bowl champions
Last weekend was a special one for Dennis Erickson. But it was that way, too, for a lot of coaches and players who served under him during perhaps the most special season in Oregon State football history.
Erickson, six assistant coaches and 55 players were on hand in Corvallis to represent the 2001 Fiesta Bowl championship team that was inducted into the Oregon State Athletic Hall of Fame.
How does ‘The Jackhammer’ do it? ‘I have no idea’ says the Beavers’ Colletto
There is no spot for Jack Colletto on Oregon State’s football Mount Rushmore. They likely won’t put his likeness in bronze on campus. He won’t make any All-America teams or cause NFL scouts to swoon.
But it’s safe to say that in 125 years of football in Corvallis — from the Farmers to the Hayseeds to the Aggies to the Orangemen to the Beavers — there has never been a player quite like “The Jackhammer.”
‘The Whale’ spouts off on the great running backs in Oregon State history
By Jim Wilson
(Editor’s note: Oregon State’s spring practice began on April 6. To get Beaver Nation in football mode, radio analyst extraordinaire Jim “The Whale” Wilson offers his appraisal of the top five running backs in Beaver history.)
Jermar Jefferson officially ended his Oregon State career when he declared for the NFL draft in December 2020. That didn’t come as a surprise to most Beaver fans, but it does leave a huge vacancy in the Beaver backfield as Jefferson was one of the best to ever tote the football for the Orange and Black.
In three years — make that one full year and two partial seasons — Jefferson leapfrogged into the conversation as one of the top five running backs in Beaver history. He is fifth in career rushing yards behind a decorated group that includes Ken Simonton, Steven Jackson, Jacquizz Rodgers and Yvenson Bernard.
With Scott Barnes and Bob de Carolis, talking everything Reser Stadium
On Tuesday, five days after the seismic announcement that Oregon State will “complete” Reser Stadium, I spoke for a half-hour with Scott Barnes via telephone.
The Beavers’ athletic director seemed flush with emotion over reaction to plans for a $153-million project that will upgrade the west side of Reser and augment the $80-million renovation to the east side that was completed in 2005.
On Beaver and Duck football, reffing in the NBA this season, Keanon Lowe’s movie, Terry Baker and the Heisman and death of a champion …
Knocking it around on a variety of subjects on a drizzly Sunday in the Willamette Valley …
• I can’t imagine Jonathan Smith got much sleep Saturday night.
Oregon State’s 27-24 loss to Stanford couldn’t have been much more painful for the third-year Beaver coach.
Losses like that are daggers to the heart a coach trying to build a program.
On the Pac-12 bowl picture, the Heisman, the Eagles’ curious two-point call and more …
A few football thoughts, along with a closing note about golf …
• The lineup of Pac-12 bowl affiliates has been slimmed considerably with the shut-down of the Sun, Holiday, Redbox and Las Vegas Bowls for this year due to COVID-19 complications.
That leaves the Rose Bowl — a CFP semifinal game this year, meaning that the Pac-12 will almost certainly not be a participant — the Alamo Bowl, the L.A. Bowl and the Independence Bowl. The Pac-12 requires a team to be .500 or better to be bowl eligible, so if a team is able to get in its scheduled seven games, it must go 4-3.
The conference has yet to announce a plan for the final weekend of regular-season play (Dec. 18-19).
From Lincoln Logs to football stadiums: Jim Wilson’s thoughts on each of the Pac-12 venues …
It is a strange feeling to watch a football game without fans in the stands. It is even stranger to watch college football on Saturdays knowing that Pac-12 football stadiums are sitting idle.
Through these unprecedented times, I’ve learned how much I appreciate all the pageantry and build-up around the stadiums and the energy that college football fans bring to the overall atmosphere.
And I miss the stadiums themselves.