There’s plenty of time to catch up on your Oregon State football team reading since the game kicks off at 8 p.m.

Here’s a link to my Saturday story in the GT on what the safeties have to do to contain UNLV’s shotgun spread offense.

Here’s a link to the front page story of the Game Day special section on the five things the Beavers must concentrate on in the game.

The following is something I write for the game day called the Players to Watch for both teams. They don’t get posted on the Internet, so here they are on the blog.  All preview stories are up now and can be read here.

Tim Clark
6-0, 180, cornerback
Tim Clark is the most seasoned of the Oregon State defensive backs, being a senior with six starts before last week’s season opener. He is the leader of a young secondary that will be tested tonight against UNLV’s shotgun spread offense that likes to pass the ball.

Clark has played well in relief in his three previous seasons.. He has one career interception, nine pass breakups and 55 tackles. He plays aggressively and can be a shut-down corner, but needs to play more consistently.

He will be one of the primary players asked to defend UNLV’s most proficient receiver in history, Ryan Wolfe. And he likes the challenge.

“I love going against receivers of this caliber,” Clark said. “I made my name coming out of a little high school going up against bigger guys and I’m always looking forward to the challenge.”

Clark played well last week against Portland State. He broke up a pass, forced a fumble, made four tackles and was never beat deep.

Facing the run-and-shoot was a good experience for the secondary to build for this game. It was an easy game but now the defensive backs are ready for more.

“It went good and it was nice to get that game feel,” Clark said. “In the secondary, we got our communication dow and feel pretty good about it.”

Ryan Wolf
6-2, 210, wide receiver
Ryan Wolfe is the primary target and deep threat for quarterback Omar Clayton in UNLV’s shotgun spread offense.

When the Rebels need a complete pass, Wolfe has been there more than anyone else. Plus, he has a knack for big plays.

The senior is UNLV’s career leader in receptions with 214, receiving yards with 2,802 and 100-yard games with 10. He’s the NCAA’s No. 2 active career leader in catches, 14 behind Central Michigan’s Bryan Anderson.

Wolfe is a two-time first-team all-Mountain West Conference selection. He’s already on the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the nation’s top receiver.

Lindy’s magazine called him the most dangerous deep threat in the Mountain West Conference, and listed him as the 19th best receiver in the nation.

Wolfe caught five passes for 67 yards last week against Sacramento State to lead the Rebels.

“He’s a really good receiver,” Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. “He’s smart, tough and catches the ball. They use him very well, playing all over the field. Who covers him depends on where they put him; it could be a corner, safety or linebackers. Everybody will have their share of coverage.”

A discussion topic
The last comment by Riley above is something that bugs me about the defensive scheme. If there’s a star receiver, opponents can line him up inside and the Beavers cover him with an LB.

Many coaches go, let’s put our top cover guy on him wherever the WR goes. In this case, Clark on Wolfe. Stud CBs love the challenge of being the guy to take away a star WR.

The question is: do you like the idea of one CB vs. one WR, or OSU’s style of whoever the WR lines up against gets him? There’s more to it than that for OSU with the coverage scheme and ways they adjust to the offense, but that’s basically how it goes.

Media notes
Also, remember follow me on twitter throughout the weekend. I’m at twitter.com/cliffgt.

The pregame blog will be up when I get to Sam Boyd Stadium. Please comment and ask questions before, during and after the game.

First-time posters won’t have their comment up immediately. I have to approve it first, then the following posts go up right away.

The postgame blog will be up in the early morning. I’m going to have to get print and Beavers Sports stories up first.

What’s on the iPod

I had to redo the iPod last night. So here’s a look at what’s playing on my it. It’s the latest offering form Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath with Dio)

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