OSU Football: Who will take over for Jacquizz?

After a tremendous career at Oregon State, sensational running back Jacquizz Rodgers opted to leave for the NFL a year early instead of staying for his senior year. This came as somewhat of a surprise to Beaver Nation, who had high hopes of Quizz and older brother James playing together for one final year in Corvallis. Since Jacquizz was projected as a late second or early third round pick, coupled with being a running back (who generally have short shelf lives at the next level), his decision to leave was a logical, albeit disappointing one. His skill set wasn't necessarily going to improve with another year of college, and running the risk of an injury just wasn't worth potentially hurting his professional future. 

Now that one of the most productive players in Oregon State football history has departed, the big question heading into Spring and the off-season is who will take over for Quizz behind Ryan Katz in the OSU backfield? Let's take a look at some names to get familiar with.

Returning Players:

#19 Jovan Stevenson, 5'11" 186 lbs (So.): Stevenson played a bit as a true freshman behind Quizz in 2009, but sat out last season due to injury. He should be back to full strength by the time Spring ball rolls around. He is a little slight of weight, but is very shifty and has good acceleration and could be a nice weapon, although it remains to be seen if he can get the bulk of the carries.

#24 Ryan McCants, 6'1" 228 lbs (Sr.): McCants was supposed to be the all-star running back to take over for Yvenson Bernard in 2008, but after a lackluster performance in his first start, he took a back seat to Jacquizz for the next three seasons. A bruiser who has had an inconsistent career, McCants is looking to redeem himself for his senior year and play up to the hype he had when he landed here.

#34 Jordan Jenkins, 6'1" 211 lbs (Jr.): Jenkins rose up the depth charts this past season to be the primary backup to Jacquizz in 2010. Not exceptionally fast or shifty, but has good vision and runs hard and always falls forward.

#22 Malcolm Marable, 5'7" 157 lbs (rFr.): Built in the same mold as Jacquizz and Bernard, Marable redshirted last season, getting most of his action on the practice squad. A very shifty back, he will be looking to prove himself and continue the trend of diminutive running backs at OSU.

Incoming Players:

Malcolm Agnew, 5'10" 180 lbs (Fr.): A three star running back from St. Louis, MO, his father played for the St. Louis Rams in the 90's and was a part of their Super Bowl winning team. His coaches rave about his instinct and his durability. Don't be surprised if he contributes right away. 

Storm Woods, 5'11" 205 lbs (Fr.): Another three star back, Woods hails from Pflugerville, Texas and will join the team presumably in the Fall. Woods makes quick cuts and has decent breakaway speed and could also be a contributor in 2011.

Terron Ward, 5'7" 185 lbs (Fr.): A 2010 recruit, Ward greyshirted last season and will have four years of eligibility left. Another shorter back, Ward was a sprinter in high school and played at California powerhouse De La Salle. 

It's always hard to tell who will come out atop the depth charts by the time the first game rolls around, but these are names to get familiar with. Most likely, one of these guys will separate themselves from the pack and become the next productive running back for the Beavers in 2011.

Noteworthy Tours (Pacific Northwest): February

Nothing intriguing is coming to town in January, so let's skip ahead to February.

Underoath
Thursday
Animals As Leaders
A Skylit Drive

Tuesday February 1 @ Roseland Theater, Portland

Interesting mix of genres, with all the support bands more or less displaying a piece of Underoath's ever evolving sound. Animals As Leaders alone would be worth the price of admission, as Tosin Abasi is one of the best guitar wielders in metal today.

Haste The Day
MyChildren MyBride
The Chariot
A Plea For Purging

Friday February 4 @ Hawthorne Theater, Portland

This is Haste The Day's last stop in Portland as they are calling quits after rocking for nearly a decade. Awesome support bands that put out exceptional albums in 2010 (with the exception of MCMB's, which quite frankly was awful). Good hardcore and metal to get rowdy to.

Motorhead
Clutch
Valient Thorr

Saturday February 5 @ Roseland Theater, Portland

This show caters to the older crowd who still likes to throw back a brewski and pump the fist. Clutch's southern feel and Valient Thorr's overall ridiculousness should make for a fun show.

Finntroll
Ensiferum
Rotten Sound
Barren Earth

Friday February 11 @ Hawthorne Theater

Viking metal!

Times Of Grace
Straight Line Stitch
War Of Ages
Proven

Saturday February 12 @ Hawthorne Theater

Times of Grace features Adam D from Killswitch Engage as well as former KsE front man Jesse Leach. Solid group of metalcore acts, should be interesting to see what Adam D. is wearing cape-wise.

If you like what's in store for February, boy will you get excited for the month of March.

2010 College Football Season: Auburn Wins It All

After a relatively controversial college football season, with major suspensions being handed out (albeit a bit curiously) at Ohio State, investigations involving money with Auburn's all-everything Cam Newton, and slick agents interfering with major players at North Carolina and Alabama, a national champion was finally crowned with the Auburn Tigers hanging on to knock off the Oregon Ducks. While most around the country were anticipating a high-scoring affair, both defenses rose to the occasion and used the time off to slow down each other's high powered attacks.

Oregon never could quite get enough going on the ground to keep Auburn on its heels. The Tiger's defensive front proved to bee too much for the slight in size Duck line, taking away the middle of the field on option plays, forcing Oregon to go outside where they never had a chance to get past Auburn's linebackers. The passing game worked relatively well for the Ducks, although a good portion of the yardage came on a long pass to Jeff Maehl. The real problems occurred in the red-zone. Oregon had a couple empty visits that really hurt them in the long haul. Darron Thomas statistically outplayed the Heisman winner, but his forced passes into double coverage and interceptions gave Auburn too much help.

The Tigers did enough on offense to hold on to the game, including a game winning march at the end of the game to seal their national title fate. Cam Newton was bottled up for most of the game, but converted on key third downs when he needed to, showing great poise instead of frustration. Auburn did not overwhelm Oregon by any means, but their strength on the offensive and defensive line did wear on the Ducks (although Oregon's play calling did have the Tigers with their hands on their hips quite often). It helped that they had Newton to count on when it mattered, with less timing and precision to worry about like Oregon. It wasn't SEC dominance, but it did prove again that a team that relies on its offensive scheme to win games has a hard time getting into rhythm after a long layoff (i.e. 2008 Oklahoma, 2001 Florida State stand out the most. Also 2003 and 2004 Oklahoma, 2002 Miami, 2006 Ohio State, 2009 Texas...).

TCU fans feel a little bit like Auburn fans did and 2004 and Oregon fans did in 2001: missing the chance to prove they belong amongst the elite and a chance to knock off the top team in the country. Can we please get this playoff ball rolling? Like I mentioned before, just take the Top 8 teams in the final rankings of the BCS, have a three-round playoff starting New Year's Day, and have at it. This year, it would have looked like this:

1. Auburn

8. Arkansas

4. Stanford

5. Wisconsin

3. TCU

6. Ohio State

2. Oregon

7. Oklahoma

One could argue that the Big East and ACC deserve automatic invites, but Connecticut and Virginia Tech were less than impressive in their bowl games. Based on the way the teams played in their bowl games, Auburn probably would have made it past Arkansas and presumably Stanford. On the other side, the Ducks may have struggled with Oklahoma, and TCU would have also had issues dealing with Pryor and Ohio State. But we will never know, as BCS representatives pretty much hinted that the system would go back to the old  "Poll and Bowl" system rather than progressive towards a playoff. Such a shame.

Now that the SEC has won the last five national titles, the love fest will continue into next season. With a changing of the guard at Florida, Alabama losing all of its play makers, Arkansas presumably losing its star QB, Auburn all but certainly losing Cam Newton, and Georgia and Tennessee a shadow of their former selves, the conference could be down next year (relatively). Look for the West region of the country to keep rising to the top of the college football world (Oregon, Stanford, TCU, Boise State, and Nevada all in the Top 11) and making another push at putting another team in the National Championship game. Not to mention Eastern Washington won the FCS National Title.

Next season also marks the beginning of the conference shape-shifting across the nation. The Pac-10 will be the Pac-12, the Big Ten will have 12 teams and the Big 12 will have 10 teams. Confusing? BYU will be an independent, the Mountain West will get Boise State in 2011 and Fresno State, Nevada and Hawai'i in 2012. TCU will join the Big East in 2012 (TCU, for the record, is in Texas, which last I checked was in the Southwest...but I digress). A lot of old rivalries collapsing and hopefully new ones igniting. Let's hope next season brings a little less hullabaloo but keeps delivering on Saturdays with the upsets and passion that make college football so exciting to watch.