Beavers Eager for Respect

Yvenson Bernard watched prognosticators dismiss his Oregon State team this preseason with the nonchalance that comes from experience. Reporters picked the Beavers fifth in the Pacific-10, in which they finished third last season.

"I'm so used to it, I don't even care," the running back said.

His teammates agreed. Even though Oregon State won 10 games last season, became the fourth team in four years to beat Southern California and returns 16 starters, the Beavers have been largely ignored this preseason. That happens when a team with a nondescript history hails from Corvallis, Ore., not even one of the major population centers in the state, let alone the West Coast.

"It's kind of our lot in life, but I love the vantage point from which we come," Coach Mike Riley said. "We recruit some guys that have a chip on their shoulder and want to prove they can play anybody in the country."

The program's history compounds its anonymity. In 1999, the Beavers ended a 35-year bowl drought. During the span, Oregon State experienced 27 consecutive losing seasons and finished ninth or 10th in the Pacific-10 in each of those years.

"I think probably we still battle that a little bit," Riley said.

Even after the Beavers crushed Notre Dame in the 2000 Fiesta Bowl, their only Bowl Championship Series appearance, their profile rose little. Oregon State boosted it last season, though, when it knocked off then-No. 2 USC, 33-31. This season, with the Trojans widely considered the No. 1 team in the country, that victory amplifies Oregon State's confidence.

"We knew their names coming out of high school," center Kyle DeVan said. "It proved to ourselves that we could hang with any team in the country. I think that really opened the eyes of a lot of people."

The USC win catapulted Oregon State to a flurry of victories after a rocky start. After five sloppy games, Oregon State stood at 2-3, its season crumbling. Riley called a team meeting.

"You either fight or flee," Riley said. "You either fall apart or stand together."

And so, the Beavers won eight of their last nine games and played in the Sun Bowl against Missouri, where they pulled within a point with a touchdown in the final seconds. Riley thrust his index finger into the air as the Oregon State sideline exploded around him, celebrating the touchdown that brought the Beavers to the brink of overtime. All they needed was the extra point, which is what Riley's finger signaled: one point.

But when referees called for the play to be reviewed on replay, Yvenson Bernard rushed to Riley.

"Coach, let's go for it," he said. "Let's put them away right now."

Riley gathered the other members of the offense and asked them what they wanted. All 11 players voted for attempting the two-point conversion.

"Okay," Riley said, shifting his gaze back to Yvenson Bernard. "But you're going to get the ball."

Riley called a simple running play, a straight ahead push up the middle from three yards out. Yvenson Bernard plunged into the end zone, his legs churning through a pile of bodies. The Beavers won, 39-38.

"What's better than running up the middle against a Big 12 rush defense?" DeVan said. "Coming from the West Coast, a lot of people don't think we can challenge other defenses up the middle."

That's because they discount Yvenson Bernard, a senior who has run for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and is the leading returning rusher in the Pacific-10. Yet, when national experts rattle off the stable of great backs in college football this season, Yvenson Bernard is typically forgotten.

Not in Corvallis, though. This season will be his second as team captain, a label he earned with toughness. Two seasons ago, he hurt his shoulder and his knee. He didn't practice most weeks and had his knee drained of fluid before each game.

"And then he'd go get 100 yards on Saturday," Riley said. "It was an incredible show of toughness."

After this season, he'll likely join a surprisingly successful list of Oregon State alums. Chad Johnson, Steven Jackson and Nick Barnett became stars in the NFL. Just two years ago, Mike Haas won the Biletnikoff Award at Oregon State, and Alexis Serna, still the Beavers' kicker and punter, won the Groza Award.

"We've had some great players that people lose sight of," Riley said. "When they go to the pros, it's, 'Hey, that guy went to Oregon State?' "

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