Oregon State faces a ‘fundamentally sound’ Huskie team on senior day

By Brenden Slaughter

Sports Reporter

What Washington presents:

The Huskies have been plagued by an inconsistent campaign in 2015, as they have shown incredible highs, such as a 49-3 victory over Arizona and lows like last week when they allowed 27 straight points to Arizona State in a loss. They are a talented team on the defensive side of the ball, currently ranking No.1 in scoring defense and No. 2 total defense in the Pac-12.

Head coach Gary Andersen mentioned that regardless of their record, they are a well-coached team.

“It’s a Chris Petersen-coached team, which means they’re gonna be fundamentally sound,” Andersen said. “They’re gonna take care of business. I know they haven’t won all the games that they wanted to win. Great respect for what they do on defense.”

Defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake sees Washington as a tough matchup based on their systems and personnel.

“They have great schemes on offense and defense,” Sitake said. “They have a lot of speed at the skill positions and are coached very well so it’s going to be another big challenge.”

OSU student support still strong:

For a college student, it’s never easy to wake up on a Monday morning — period. But OSU students are still lining up at 5:00 a.m. to support the Beavers. The student fan support this year has often been the focal point of Reser Stadium, and it hasn’t stopped with OSU’s declining season.

Andersen said that the fans need to hang in there, and the wins will be there soon enough.

“Those kids are out there. It’s an unbelievable fan base. The first thing is we want to be able to continue to build to get a product out there that is winning those football games,” Andersen said. “As far as this year goes, I just unbelievably appreciate the support and the care factor, from Beaver Nation to the kids.”

Senior running back Storm Barrs-Woods will be playing his final game at Reser Stadium this week, and it means everything to him that the fans are always at Reser.

“It just shows you that Beaver Nation is loyal,” Woods said. “I remember in 2011 when we went 3-9, there were still guys lining up for tickets, so it goes to show you that their aren’t any bandwagon fans here. They are loyal to the Beavs, and that is why we are able to play at the highest level each time we are at home.”

Senior center Josh Mitchell will also be playing his last home game at Reser Stadium this weekend said the fans getting up at 5:00 a.m. is a game changer.

“The students are awesome, and it means the world to us,” Mitchell said. “Looking at this school you just see how much they care. This school has some of the best fans not only in the Pac-12, but in the country.”

What’s in a name?

Senior defensive end and linebacker Jaswha James (pronounced Joshua), explained the abnormal spelling of his first name. According to the Inglewood, Calif. native, his mother was so affected by the painkillers she took during labor that she wasn’t thinking straight afterwards. James admitted he was skeptical of the story, but laughs about it.

College football players are on budgets too:

After practices, players file off the field while grabbing Gatorade, chocolate milk and other items to refuel. Some players use their helmets to carry extra bottles, taking as big of a haul as they can.

“You’ve got grab as much as you can and bring it back to your house,” said freshman running back Ryan Nall. “Or we’d have to pay for it all.” 

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