Canfield, Beavers roll into ASU game

CORVALLIS - Along with dissecting the play of his current quarterback, Mike Riley had the opportunity Sunday to revel in the performance of a former Oregon State quarterback who dialed up the coach's office in the Valley Center.

It was Derek Anderson on the phone, after throwing five touchdowns for the Cleveland Browns.

"They'll have to hold off on the Brady Quinn coming-out party," Riley joked, in reference to the Cleveland rookie who is No. 2 to Anderson.

Meanwhile, the video of Riley's current quarterback playing against Idaho State eased some concerns the coach had after the previous two games and solidified Sean Canfield's status as the OSU starter.

In completing 21-of-30 passes for 353 yards and two touchdowns, Canfield should have gained some confidence for the challenges of Pac-10 opponents.

"It's part of the process, but that part is a very good thing," Riley said in his Sunday teleconference. "When you get out there and make some plays and a few in a row, you see how it's really supposed to work. Now, it's a matter of building on that.

"Obviously we're going to play against a lot better defenses and a lot more speed. It's still important to see you can do it."

There's certainly no question the challenge will be greater when the Beavers (2-1) open the Pac-10 schedule at Arizona State (3-0) on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Sun Devil Stadium.

"They look fast, and they put pressure on quarterbacks," Riley said of the Sun Devils. "They look very aggressive and fast on defense. I'm just impressed with how they're playing.

"Their four-man rush is causing problems. We'll have to do a great job up front."

Riley rated the play of his offensive line as improved from the previous game against Cincinnati, but still not what he feels the Beavers need. There were not only a couple of sacks of Canfield, but tailback Yvenson Bernard suffered a slight shoulder injury when he was thrown down in the backfield after a blocking breakdown.

That's a definite no-no, Riley said, for the linemen to not allow Yvenson Bernard a step to get going.

The injury is "insignificant," the coach said, calling it "a little bit of a stinger," but he'd prefer to avoid that kind of wear on his tailback.

The Beavers will be watching a couple of other injuries in the coming days. Defensive end Jeff Van Orsow suffered a bruised thigh against Idaho State and "we'll nurse him through the week," Riley said.

Reserve linebacker Dwight Roberson had swelling in the knee that was injured against the Bengals - "not a great indicator," Riley said. More testing is scheduled, but if Roberson is out for any length of time, it will give the Beavers more reason to pull true freshman Keith Pankey out of his redshirt status.

"I'm not sure we really want to do that," Riley said, though he added that "Keith from the beginning (of practices) has impressed everybody. He's probably physically ready to go, and mentally he's on top of things."

The Beavers have played only two true freshmen, receivers Darrell Catchings and James Rodgers, in the three nonleague games. Riley said the Beavers are even more likely to hold out running back Ryan McCants - "that will be good for the program," the coach explained - with the return of Clinton Polk, who missed the first two games clearing up his academics.

Polk was OSU's second-leading rusher in 2006, and ran 37 yards for a touchdown on his first carry of this season. He finished with four carries for 44 yards Saturday.

"I was impressed with that," Riley said. "He showed good life and some intensity."

The Beavers also used the final nonleague game to test out reserve kicker Justin Kahut. He made a 38-yard field goal and then converted three times after OSU touchdowns. After redshirting Kahut in 2006, Riley said the Beavers were hopeful of giving him a taste of live action this season, and the opportunity arose with the lopsided nature of Saturday's game.

"We've got high expectations for him down the road," Riley said.

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