Cliff Kirkpatrick

It wasn’t a foregone conclusion the Oregon State football team’s offense was going to be successful this season.

There was a returning QB and star RB, but the offensive line needed to be rebuilt with two underclassmen on the left side, true freshman Michael Philipp and walk-on Grant Johnson.

Read more about the linemen and the man behind them, Mike Cavanaugh, in Thursday’s GT here. And check out the above video of OG Gregg Peat. He talks Washington State and Cavanaugh.

Here are a few comments from Peat that didn’t make the story or the video:

“That’s the way he coaches,” he said of Canvaugh’s aggressive approach. “He gets the most out of us. We like that.”

“In the beginning of the season it was a rocky start,” Peat said. “We gave up a lot of sacks and the run game wasn’t where we wanted it. But as the season went on we got better, but we are not perfect, by far.”

The offensive lines development led a stellar offense. Sean Canfield leads the conference in passing and Jacquizz Rodgers is up for several postseason offensive awards.

“This offense has turned into a pretty good picture,” coach Mike Riley said. “Our offense threatens people with the interior running game with Quizz. It threats on the edge with James (Rodgers) and Markus Wheaton. Our running game is balanced. We have a number of guys making plays in the passing game.”

OSU reached the point that if the running game is stopped, the passing game takes over, and vice versa. There can be gimmick plays such as Wild Beaver or be conventional.

“Its fun to see the overall growth and production,” Riley said. “It’s important for us to continue to climb. You can feel it when we are going good with the execution and guys making plays.”

Balance has come from the backups and support personnel. TE Joe Halahuni and WR Damola Adeniji are prime examples of the offense spreading the wealth.

“Playing for Joe was a big deal,” Riley said. “He hasn’t played much before. He was overcoming a significant (knee) injury. It was just a matter of time before it clicked in. Once it did, it’s a good thing. The quarterback looks to him more, and there’s more in the game plan for him.”

RB Jovan Stevenson and WR Aaron Nichols are examples of the backups stepping in so there’s no difference in the offense.

“When you got that going that whoever goes in and it doesn’t matter, that’s a good thing,” Riley said. “We try not to be overly excited about that. That’s what we expect. That’s why they practice and that’s why they are on the team. When they go in the game our expectations is to help us carry on if we are doing well, and if not, help us get better. They are very good examples of us being able to do that.”

Getting to know …
Here’s a link to my oddball Q&A with C Alex Linnenkohl. For a preview, he’s another player afraid of these creatures.

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The Oregon State football team wrapped up the week of practice for No. 4 Southern California on Thursday. The offensive workout looked a little sluggish, but coach Mike Riley felt it went well.

“It was good work today,” he said. “There was a lot of enthusiasum. We got a good week of practice. That’s all we can say about it. Now we have to go play.”

The weekly tradition of pumping crowd noise in on the last workout of the week continued, but it was a little louder than usual. The L.A. Memorial Coliseum will have more than 93,000 inside.

Injury news
Backup split end Geno Munoz has a hip-flexor injury and he may not make the trip to Southern California, Riley said.  Aaron Nichols, who’s the No. 3 slot back, will back up Damola Adeniji at split end.

Reserve offensive guard Colin Lyons went down with a knee injury this week. He had an MRI, and the severity isn’t known, yet.

Freshman receiver Micah Hatfield will be on crutches for six week from his broken leg suffered last week. His rehab will be long-term, Riley said.

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The betting lines for the Oregon State football team’s game against Stanford keep wavering. Depending who you believe it’s even to Stanford by two.

There’s open competition at the slot back spot with Casey Kjos (back) easing back into practice. Jordan Bishop, Aaron Nichols and Kjos all had time with the first and second strings in Wednesday’s practice.

DT Brennan Olander (knee) returned to practice after taking a day off to rest. CB Tim Clark (teeth) has been back on the first string this week.

QB Lyle Moevao doesn’t have full strength in his shoulder. He’s working with the second string, but I have to wonder about Ryan Katz. If he’s the guy of the future, he’s not getting any work running the offense in practice.

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