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Beavers Eager for Respect
Yvenson Bernard, left, and Oregon State have been picked to finish fifth in the Pacific-10.
(Wily Low - Associated Press)
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"Coach, let's go for it," he said. "Let's put them away right now."
Riley gathered the other members of the offense and asked them what they wanted. All 11 players voted for attempting the two-point conversion.
"Okay," Riley said, shifting his gaze back to Bernard. "But you're going to get the ball."
Riley called a simple running play, a straight ahead push up the middle from three yards out. Bernard plunged into the end zone, his legs churning through a pile of bodies. The Beavers won, 39-38.
"What's better than running up the middle against a Big 12 rush defense?" DeVan said. "Coming from the West Coast, a lot of people don't think we can challenge other defenses up the middle."
That's because they discount Bernard, a senior who has run for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and is the leading returning rusher in the Pacific-10. Yet, when national experts rattle off the stable of great backs in college football this season, Bernard is typically forgotten.
Not in Corvallis, though. This season will be his second as team captain, a label he earned with toughness. Two seasons ago, he hurt his shoulder and his knee. He didn't practice most weeks and had his knee drained of fluid before each game.
"And then he'd go get 100 yards on Saturday," Riley said. "It was an incredible show of toughness."
After this season, he'll likely join a surprisingly successful list of Oregon State alums. Chad Johnson, Steven Jackson and Nick Barnett became stars in the NFL. Just two years ago, Mike Haas won the Biletnikoff Award at Oregon State, and Alexis Serna, still the Beavers' kicker and punter, won the Groza Award.
"We've had some great players that people lose sight of," Riley said. "When they go to the pros, it's, 'Hey, that guy went to Oregon State?' "
