Stuff from around the internet

I love this time of year. The boards are busy, optimism abounds, and radio stations make rap songs about your players. That's right, 1080 the Fan came back after the Mike Hass song and made a song for Yvenson Bernard. The way he is getting hyped up around the country (and the way he's looked in practice), he deserves it. Ev should have a huge season. Check out what the Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook had to say about him:

Team preview: Oregon State
(Only available to ESPN Insiders. But it's a great preview. Possibly the best non-local one I've seen.)

Depth is an issue in the backfield, but Oregon State returns one of the more dynamic talents in the conference in junior Yvenson Bernard (5-9, 202). And if he stays healthy, Bernard has a chance to be the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year.

Yes, he's that good.

In 2005 Bernard finished ninth in the nation with 120.1 rushing yards per game, but he's got other skills. With Reggie Bush having left for the NFL, Bernard is arguably the best receiving tailback in the conference. He caught 37 passes last season and this year, that number could easily hit 50. Overall, he finished last season with 1,637 yards from scrimmage, including the sixth-highest ground total in program history with 1,321.

Comparisons to Reggie Bush. If he can be that guy every game this season, we'll be pretty good. If he becomes the Pac-10 offensive player of the year, the Beavs will be heading to San Diego or LA.


And here's his song:

1080 THE FAN PODCASTS

You have to click on "1080 THE FAN SONGS" and login first. Then you can download and listen as many times as you want.

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The new Duck billboards are out on the internet. They look actually kinda lame. They tried to do something like they had last year, which was cool. But these just look like they're all sleepy or something. And what about the guys smiling while throwing or catching? Are they trying to sell jerseys or football tickets?

Ducks 2006

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Finally, I'll end with a couple more season predictions from SI and the Blue Ribbon Preview.

SI ranks the Beavers 79th. Below Stanford and Arizona. WSU is 51st. Hmmm...

Here's Blue Ribbon's team analysis:

We think the two most-improved teams in the Pac-10 this season will be Oregon State and Arizona. That said, the Beavers weren't as bad as their record indicated last season and could have easily earned the program's sixth bowl invitation in seven seasons with a break against either Arizona or Stanford.

All the makings are there for the second-best season in program history. The Beavers won 11 games in 2000 and nine in 1962. Including a bowl game, there's no reason Oregon State can't go 10-4, maybe even 11-3.

Obviously, the key to this predicted success is Moore, but unless there's a mental block that the coaching staff is unaware of, he appears headed for a breakout season and with future NFL players like Bernard and Newton around him, this offense should be fun to watch. The defense has holes, especially the front seven, but barring an outbreak of injuries in August, Banker and Riley should be able to put together one of the top three or four units in the conference.

And while the Beavers just don't have the depth of USC or UCLA, we think Oregon State can challenge for third place in the Pac-10 and at the least, place fifth at 8-5. Either way, anything less than a bowl bid would be wildly disappointing and to us, a big surprise.

Grading the Beavers
Offense A-
Special teams B
Defense B
Intangibles A-

These guys sound almost too optimistic, but if someone nationally can think it...maybe it could happen.