Cliff Kirkpatrick

LAS VEGAS – After pushing for the Las Vegas Bowl for the Oregon State football team for so many years, I’m over it.

Let’s just say not every bowl can be the Sun Bowl.

Players and coaches all said the hospitality was great and everything was wonderful because it goes with the job. And after their workouts it’s all about fun on The Strip.

Las Vegas and the concept for the bowl in the dead time of the year is great. This is a destination city, but …

Comparing how helpful the bowl folks are in El Paso to Vegas is night and day. Everyone knew each other by first name at the Sun Bowl, and I didn’t know anyone here.

I didn’t even meet the head PR guy, not as if that mattered. It took three attempts to find the media room in the Venetian. All I wanted was a credential. Each time I was lost, accosted by security or the place wasn’t open in the middle of the afternoon.

Each day was an adventure to find out what was going on with bowl events, where and when. And when you arrive you are too late due to sitting at epic stop lights or events were changed.

I had a similar vibe for the 2007 Emerald Bowl. And don’t get me started about miserable game day conditions there with Mother Nature, the setting and rent-a-cops.

This is the fourth year in a row that OSU’s bowl had terrible weather. It was windy at the Sun Bowl in 2008, wet and cold in the Emerald Bowl in 2007 and frozen in the Sun Bowl in 2006.

This was a rough trip for me due to logistics more than anything. To top it off a late afternoon flight is delayed, so I won’t get back to Corvallis until Christmas Eve.

When it comes to OSU’s postseason destination, it has to be Sun Bowl or above. I hear San Diego, San Antonio and Pasadena are nice this time of year.

But, really. This was a good experience – to learn from – for the team if not for the media. The only drawback for the Beavers was the date on the calender and the lack of young guys practice.

Since this post is about travel and the city experience, please share your trip and how it went. Did anyone win it big?

And here’s a classic number as I leave town late in the day that’s fitting.

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LAS VEGAS – The Oregon State football team was blasted by BYU, 44-20, on Tuesday night in the Las Vegas Bowl. Check out the postgame interview with OG Gregg Peat and QB Sean Canfield.

Here’s a link to a story in Wednesday’s GT on what went wrong. Here’s the main story about this might be the shocking loss that kicks the Beavers in the pants. Here’s a link to the report card. It was straight Ds across the board. Here’s the notebook with a lot of stats and figures.

“We prepared really hard for a long time,” LB Keith Pankey said. “We wanted to send our senior out with a win. They just beat us.”

The Beavers were obviously out-played. There are many reasons as to why. When you read the stories in Wednesday’s GT they’ll be talked about – wind, bad execution, being unlucky and suffering momentum killing plays.

“The fumble return for a touchdown is a killer,” Peat said. “What do you say about that. We just had to go to the next play. What do you do, you look at the scoreboard later.”

Canfield took the blame for not throwing the ball forward, like planned. RB Jacquizz Rodgers said it was so cold the ball and his gloves got slick and he just dropped the ball.

Coach Mike Riley thought the ball was an incomplete pass, and made that point in the postgame interview.

People will get after the coaching. The big thing on that is there wasn’t a plan for the wind. Riley put part of the blame on the wind because the Beavers weren’t prepared for it to be howling at 55 mph.

Look at OSU’s offense. There are many specific plays sent laterally to the Rodgers brothers. The wind made it difficult to use them. By the time they moved away from the plan, momentum was gone and blew up the game plan.

What needs to be learned out of this game is BYU’s killer instinct. The Cougars took advantage of Rodgers’ first career fumble and turned it into points. Then they kept going and going and going.

“They just came out and played harder than us,” Rodgers said. “They executed and we didn’t.”

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LAS VEGAS – The trip to Sam Boyd Stadium was uneventful, even though you have go across the city from The Strip. It did take 30 minutes.

Getting here two hours before kickoff was perfect. There was no traffic and the the police started stopping traffic – for no reason. So there was no congestion, yet.

Signs everywhere say the game is sold out, but that’s not true since OSU didn’t sell that many tickets. A note in the Las Vegas paper this morning said it’s going to be a poor turnout.

It’s very windy, and although the rental car temperature gauge says 50 degrees, it feels colder. It’s going to be bad by the end of the game. Rain is in the distance of the desert but it should hold off.

Anyway, check back throughout the night. The blog will be updated. Feel free to comment or ask questions.

To answer an early blog question, the Beavers came out to warm up and are wearing all white. There’s no orange surprise this bowl game.

It’s gale force winds sweeping through Sam Boyd leaves are begin blown all over the field. This could be Sun Bowl II with the passing games altered due to wind. The wind is clocked at 30 mph with gusts up to 42 mph.

A.C. Green, Steven Jackson and Gary Payton are supposed to be on the OSU sidelines for the game. Looks like relations remain good with the big-money alumni.

First quarter
After two 3-and outs for BYU and one for OSU, the Beavers go on a 37-yard drive for a TD. There were four rushing plays, capped off with a 1-yard QB sneak by Sean Canfield. OSU up 7-0 with 8:46 left.

BYU comes back with an 84-yard drive into the wind. There was a good mix of pass and run in 14 plays. RR Harvey Unga pounds one in from 1-yard out. Game tied 7-7 with 2:47.

The wind blew the field goal net into the posts and got tangled. Things are getting absurd around here.

Canfield threw a lateral pass that RB Jacquizz Rodgers dropped, so it was a fumble. LB Matt Bauman recovered it and returned it 34 yards for a TD. BYU goes up 14-7 with 1:41 left.

That was Rodgers’ first career fumble. That was his 518th rush and 622nd touch.

Beavers are held to a punt, and though they recovered a fumble for a TD. But a holding call nullified the play. Beavers kick again.

Second quarter
BYU takes the ball 69 yards on 11 plays for its first drive of the quarter, but settle for a 28-yard field goal by Mitch Payne. The Beavers aided the drive with a pass interference penalty. BYU up 17-7 with 9:21 in the half.

The wind is not 43 mph out of the northwest with gusts up to 55 mph. Johnny Hekker had punt caught by the wind and it went six yards. That set up a 25-yard TD pass from Max Hall to Luke Ashworth. BYU up 23-7 after the Beavers block the extra point by James Dockery.

Beavers put together a solid drive, but it stalled on the BYU 22-yard line on downs. Dropped passes hurt them. The running game is the only thing working. They should just try to pound the ball with Quizz.

Third quarter
The Cougars kept the wind at their back and stopped OSU on downs after a fake field goal didn’t gain a first down. That gave them a 32-yard field and another touchdown, capped off by a 17-yard TD pass by Hall to Dennis Pitta. BYU up 30-7 with 8:51 left.

Fourth quarter
Game over. I’m scrambling to get my print stuff in. Check by late tonight or early Wednesday for the postgame blog.

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