Whoa! Some serious Beaver hate goin' on over at the Vancouver Columbian.

Wow. Nick Daschel of the Columbian must not like the Beavs. Or else he wants some serious hate mail from Oregon State fans.

Nick predicts, no not predicts...guarantees that the Beavers will finish last in the Pac-10. First, read this excerpt and his reasoning:

Columbian.com - Commentary: Pac-10 fantasy football

"It's fantasy if you believe that:

...

* Some team other than Oregon State will finish last in the Pac-10.

Too much is working against OSU:specifically talent, breaks and schedule.

The Beavers return 16 starters, but it's the eight who have left who matter most. Six were in NFL training camps, and most will stick.

Bad breaks? OSU has already had a season's worth, and the season hasn't started. Three of the team's best returnees, tight end Joe Newton, linebacker Chaz Scott and receiver Marcel Love, are likely finished for 2005.

Who designed the Beavers schedule, Saddam Hussein? Six of OSU's first seven opponents could be Top 25 teams.

Say hello, cellar.

...

Oregon State 2-9"


First of all, exactly what does talent mean? Lack of proven talent maybe, but the last two recruiting classes at OSU have been some of the best recruiting classes we have ever had! Lots of these young guys were recruited by almost everybody. Including many of the newest starters to replace those 8 guys who left. Lamar Herron recruited by USC, Fuller by everyone in the Pac-10, Jeremy Perry by everyone, Tavita Thompson by Colorado, Matt Moore was a top-10 QB. Anyways, there's talent there. Even the JC transfers look good, Aaron Miller, Nate Wright, and Ruben Jackson. I admit it is unproven, but you cannot say there's no talent. We've had unproven talent before in Stephen Jackson, Brandon Browner, Aric Williams, et all and one point.

The breaks have been bad for OSU, but only the Newton injury really hurts. The other positions are two of the deepest positions on the team and OSU will be able to absorb the losses of Love and Scott just fine.

Our schedule this year is quite a bit easier than last year. No USC, no LSU, WSU at home, ASU at home, Boise St. at home, Arizona at home, Stanford at home. Many of those games we might have a hard time winning on the road. At home they are much more winnable. Plus, we have an amazing winning percentage at home since 1999. However, having to play at Cal, UCLA, Louisville, and Oregon is bad. But other than the Civil War we may have lost those games at home anyways. Playing at Washington is a toss up. It depends on how good Washington is more than OSU.

A record of 2-9 means the Beavs only win one other game besides PSU. Who? Stanford? Arizona?


Here's what I expect to happen:

PSU - W
BSU - ?
UL - L
ASU - W
WSU - W
CAL - L
UCLA - L
UA - W
UW - W
STAN - W
UO - L

6-5 or 7-4. Depending on the BSU game. The D should be good enough for 3-4 wins alone.

Any thoughts? Am I way off base here? Do you agree with Nick?