Cliff Kirkpatrick

First off, here’s a link to my main story in Wednesday’s GT on the Oregon State football team’s view of the rivalry with Washington. Here’s a link to the notebook.

Here are the highlights of Oregon State football coach Mike Riley’s press conference this week.

What are your thoughts on the competitive Pac-10 race?
“If you are watching if from the outside it’s a lot of fun. Each game has its own mystery to it. There are surprised every week. There are good games every week. What people deem as surprises, it’s not any more. It’s very balanced.”

How do you look at your 12-man senior class?
“It’s amazing we have Senior Day already. It’s amazing how time flies. They’ve all been key, key factors. It’s a great group of guys. They’ve done an outstanding job for the program

Should QB Sean Canfield be up for postseason honors?
“As the season progress and you get to this point of the year, he has moved into that position that people have to look at that. If you look at the big picture nationally, he can stand up with anybody.”

How to gauge Canfield’s completion percentage of 69.6?
“That’s an outstanding percentage. That’s a big jump for the Beavers, historically much better. That’s attributed to everybody. With good blocking and good route running, the quarterback still has to make the right decisions and do it fast. That’s the one big factor that’s developed in Sean. That’s a product of playing the game and great preparation.”

Is is hard to go into a game you are expected to win?
“We try not to focus on outside expectations about a ball game. We try not to worry about that. They know this is a good football team with good players. I’d be surprised and very disappointed if we didn’t maintain the focus for this game.”

Will Senior Day be a distraction or motivation?
“I think it’s a great event and a celebration for those guys. I hope the preparation is the same every week. We don’t say we are going to get better prepared or work harder for any event. It should be about doing your best. But Senior Day is an celebration of a great group of men our fans appreciate. They’ll get to share in that, and then it’s on to the game.”

Do you have the same vibe of previous end-of-the-season runs?
“We’ve gotten better and won games lately. That’s good to look back on if they occur. When you are in the middle of them you should only try to get the next win. You have to prove it. It only came from a ton of preservation in the past. They weren’t playing as well as this team.”

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Related posts:

1. Cliff: Final presser
2. Cliff: Mike Riley interview
3. Cliff: Riley interview
4. First Sun Bowl presser
5. Cliff: Offseason football, Riley