Cliff Kirkpatrick

The Oregon State football team doesn’t usually visit the stadium it plays in on the road the day before the game for a walk-through practice.

Coach Mike Riley thinks it’s more of a hassle getting the whole team there than it’s worth. Plus the Beavers have seen all the Pac-10 venues, and most nonconference venues are not that special.

He’s making an exception for Saturday’s game against No. 6 TCU. The game will be at the lavish NFL Cowboys Stadium. The plan is to get the Beavers accustomed to the bigger stadium, see the giant video board and everything else at Jerry World.

“I have a former coach friend that played there last year, and he said to go do a practice the day before the game to get the wow factor out of the way,” Riley said. “We are going to go down there, instead of practicing here (in Corvallis on Friday), we are going to get up a little bit earlier (to get to Texas early enough) and get a 5:15 p.m. practice in. I think it will go well, go see the stadium, and do our regular pregame walk-through down there.”

Playing in that stadium has the players as excited as much as facing a top-10 team on national television. Playing in a stadium like this lets them live out the dream of doing that on Sundays.

Most of them won’t have the opportunity. That’s why these games are so important to them.

“That’s just smart,” CB James Dockery said of doing a walk-through. “Coach Mike Riley is a smart guy. He knows how to cover all the areas to get ready for a game. I want to see the stadium, but we know it’s a business trip. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime (opportunity). We’ll be able to go down there, take all our pictures and get it over with. Once we leave, when we come back, we’ll know what time it is.”

First-year starting QB Ryan Katz will benefit the most from a walk-through. He’s the one who has to be comfortable from the start.

“The awe factor once you get there will be there,” Katz said. “It’s a great stadium and can’t wait to see it. It’s a good idea to get acclimated before we play Saturday.”

On the way to Dallas
I’ll be on the way to Dallas way too early Friday morning. Remember to follow me at twitter.com/cliffgt for regular updates throughout the weekend.

And check the blog throughout the game for updates. I’ll have photos and video of Jerry World up before the game.

What’s in my iPod
New season means an update to the iPod for trips. I decided to add my favorite Dallas-area band Pantera for this game.

This is the song the Beavers should play as they come into Reser Stadium. If you are not ready for football after this song, the blood in your veins has stopped flowing.

Check out the above video of Oregon State RB Jacquizz Rodgers talking about the season opener on Saturday against No. 6 TCU.

If you missed my story Monday in the GT about the Rodgers brothers and the homecoming game they face, you can read it here.

This must be a big game. I’ve been swamped with various radio and podcast requests in the last two weeks. I typically do one or two a week, but this has been through the roof.

Some have been national, some regional and local. Dallas media has had me on its airwaves. I’ll be on the PB&J Show in Roseburg on Friday night. Here’s a link to that show that that was pre-taped. Here’s a podcast link from the TCU side.

Story links
Here’s a link to my main story in Thursday GT on OT Wilder McAndrews. It documents his string of physical setbacks to now that he’s the starting LT for the TCU game.

Wait for it, comments about him not being the best OT should come soon. But really, McAndrews is playing well and has potential, while Michael Philipp missed a ton of time due to injuries.

Here’s a link to the story about the throwback uniform for the Civil War. It has reaction from coach Mike Riley and LB Keith Pankey.

Here’s a link to my oddball Q&A with DE Gabe Miller. This will be a weekly deal through the season to see how these guys think.

Here’s a link to my Wednesday story. It looks at WR Aaron Nichols and OG Burke Ellis, and their rise to being starters.



Oregon State assistant SID Hank Hager sent out pics of the special Nike uniform from New York City. He said OSU’s is in the middle of this picture, jersey No. 1. I’ll have better ones as the days progresses.

Here’s a clear shot below.

OSU released that the uniforms will be worn during the Civil War. I knew they would be used on a big national game – USC or Oregon.

Well, tell me what you think of them. Don’t hold back.

And a side view of the helmet.

Here is the press released that describes what you are seeing.

NEW YORK CITY – The new one-time use Oregon State football uniform was revealed Wednesday morning in Manhattan as the Beavers were one of 10 teams to to use the Nike Pro Combat uniforms.

The Beavers, the only team to participate from the Pacific-10 Conference, will wear their uniform on Dec. 4 in the Civil War against Oregon.

The jersey is an ode to the Oregon State “Giant Killers” team from 1967. As described by Nike, an orange, called Solar Orange, is the predominant motif, seen on the helmet, base layer sleeves, pants and socks.

To match the archival dirtied white look of 1967, the pant color is Sail instead of stark white. An iconic ‘O’ mark is used on the front left hip of the pant, while ‘OSU’ forms on the gloves when the palms face outward.

Corresponding footwear in Solar Orange and Black completes the ensemble.
“The Nike Pro Combat System of Dress merges innovation and inspiration to deliver the lightest uniform in the industry,” Global VP and GM of Nike Athletic Training Kris Aman said. “The designs incorporate cultural cues emblematic of each team’s identity and heritage. They’re more than uniforms, they’re expressions of pride.”

With padding integrated into the base layer, the outer uniform becomes a lightweight, breathable sheath with a fitted, superhero look.

The sleek jersey and pant are constructed from a four-way stretch twill that rapidly sheds sweat and water, ensuring that even when wet, these uniforms are lighter than their standard-issue counterparts when completely dry.

Overall, the uniform is 37 percent lighter than current designs.

++++

USA Today has story up about technology in the home vs. the stadium. Of course, that brings up the site of the season opener – Cowboys Stadium. Here’s sidebar on the videoboard.