Cliff Kirkpatrick

Oregon State TE coach Robin Ross takes any time he faces this weekend’s opponent personally.

He graduated from Washington State in 1977, played for the Cougars and coached the defensive line there in 1986.

“Any time you play there can be other things besides just another game involved,” Ross said. “It’s where you know people. You work with those people and it becomes more than a game. You want to come back and do your best. You want to go win, and don’t want to go lose.”

Ross coached there when current Washington State coach Paul Wulff and CB coach Jody Sears played for the Cougars. WR coach Mike Levenseller played on the same WSU team as Ross.

He still knows the secretary, Marie Taylor, who has worked there since he was with the program.

While he wants to win this week, Ross feels bad for his alma mater and friends with the struggles they gone through.

“You hate to see it,” Ross said. “I spent a lot of time at Washington State. I enjoyed my career there. You would like to see them win every game but one. I think they are playing hard. They have gotten better. It has been a tough season for them. Things take time.”

Injury report
Backup RB Ryan McCants (sick) was out of practice Thursday and most likely the game, coach Mike Riley said.

“We’ll see if he can go,” Riley said. “He had 102 temperature today, so my guess is he’s out. You can’t play a guy in that condition.”

Reserve LB Kevin Unga (groin) is probably out for the game.

LB Tony Wilson (knee) returned to practice this week. The redshirt freshman has been out since the end of spring practice recovering from ACL surgery. Wilson was the projected No. 2 MLB this season.

“I don’t know that he’ll get into the games this year,” Riley said. “He could help if he’s really ready to go. We’ll see. We might start by getting him in on a special team.

Sound of quiet noise
The Beavers did their usual Thursday tradition of playing crowd noise during the practice. The funny part was that it wasn’t all that loud. At one point this week there was a report that only 15,000 fans will be in Pullman for the Washington State game.

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Oregon State RB Ryan McCants returns to action Saturday at Southern California after offseason knee surgery. It’s his hometown game since he’s from Corona, Calif.

He was hurt at then end of spring practice. The timing was bad because he was the focal point of the running game with starter Jacquizz Rodgers taking the spring off to recover from a shoulder injury.

McCants wanted to earn more playing time as the No. 2 ball carrier. Instead, he went through a long rehab. Here are his thoughts going into the USC game as he tries to reclaim the No. 2 spot.

How eager are you to get on the field?
“Any time you get to come out and play football is a blessing. Going through five months of ACL rehab will teach you that.”

Are you 100 percent?
“I can get a little stronger. But as far cutting and practicing, I feel great. My confidence in my knee is based on my rehab.”

Are there any concerns?
“We went pretty hard in the rehab process. I don’t have any concerns about my knee. I’m pretty sure it’s 100 percent.”

What kind of shape are you in?
“Minus my knee, I’m the best shape of my life. It was countless hours in the weight room with the weight staff getting my knee back to health.”

Did you keep up with the offense?
“Adding what I’ve learned in years past, I’m out there watching film and paying attention in practice. I’m ready.”

What’s it going to like for you standing on the sidelines waiting for the call to go in the game?
“I’m going to be excited for the chance to play. Whenever they call me I’ll be ready. You look forward to playing back home, it’s something special. But it’s still a game we have to play and win.”

What do you want to accomplish the rest of this season?
“I want to do whatever I can to help our team win. We have the capability to do to some good things. I’ll do whatever I can to contribute – special teams or offense.”

What about you personally?
“Just play and do whatever is asked of me.”

Beating USC
Check out my main Wednesday story in the GT. Even though Beavers are a three-touchdown underdogs, they go on the record saying it’s a winnable game. Here’s a link to the notebook, which leads looks at OSU’s success after byes.

Video report
Below is a clip of DT Stephen Paea and DE Ben Terry talking about the upcoming USC game.

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The Oregon State football team was thrilled by its return trip from Arizona State after Saturday night’s game. The Beavers arrived at the Valley Football Center around midnight, 45 minutes ahead of schedule.

“You wouldn’t think 45 minutes would make that much difference, but it does,” coach Mike Riley said of the extra rest everyone received.

Here’s a link to my Monday story in the GT. It’s a further review of the Saturday’s game with some of the following updates.

There were no major injuries to come out of Saturday’s game. LB Keaton Kristick aggravated his stinger of a week ago, so he’s getting an MRI as a precautionary measure.

“I anticipate everything is going to be OK,” Riley said.

CB Tim Clark needs four more teeth pulled, but that will be done during the bye week after this week’s home game against Stanford.

RB Ryan McCants (knee) begins working with the scout team this week in preparation for returning to games after the bye at USC on Oct. 24. This will be the first hitting for him since the middle of spring practice in April.

“That will get him back into playing, and then we’ll start with the game prep,” Riley said.

WR Darrell Catchings (ankle) remains out this week with the earliest return at USC.

“Darrell is quite a ways a away,” Riley said. “We’ll go week to week with that. That high ankle thing, it seems like it’s three times as worse as a normal sprain.”

Road warriors
The Beavers have won their last six games way from Reser Stadium. They beat Washington, UCLA and Arizona on the road last year, won the Sun Bowl and defeated UNLV and Arizona State on the road this season.

This was also the first time they won the first two road games of the season since beating ASU and Iowa on the road in 1967.

“If you want to be a good team you have to win on the road,” Riley said. “We lost two at home, and we needed to make some up. And that was a good one to make up.”

WR James Rodgers leads the Pac-10 in all-purpose yards. PHOTO/AP

Stats highlights
The Beavers are second in the Pac-10 in passing offense (247.8 ypg), third in rush defense (87.4 ypg), ninth in sacks allowed (3.2 per game) and 10th in sacks (0.6 per game).

RB Jacquizz Rodgers is fourth in the conference in rushing (101.6 ypg) and 20th nationally.

WR James Rodgers is first in the Pac-10 in receptions (7.4 per game) and Quizz is second (6.6). James is first in yards per game (93.2), Quizz is seventh (56.2).

James Rodgers is first in all-purpose yards (187.0), and fifth in the nation. Quizz is second in the Pac-10 (139.0).

Kristick is second in the Pac-10 in tackles (8.4 per game). QB Sean Canfield is fourth in the conference in pass efficiency (134.0) and total offense (207.2 ypg).

Beavers walk off Sun Devil Stadium with a win for first time in 40 years.

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