Civil War QB Analysis

In this game the styles of the QB's are completely opposite. OSU QB Sean Canfield is a classic drop back passer and Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli is a dual threat QB that can run and pass. Masoli is at his best when he fakes the ball to RB LaMichael James which gets the opposing teams LB's to come up making the passing game very effective. If Oregon State gets behind in this football game by three or more scores they can rely on Canfield's arm to get them back in the game, but if the Ducks fall behind they will have a hard time getting back in the game if Masoli is forced to throw the football and abandon the run. It will be interesting to see which QB style prevails in this game.

In last year's meeting Masoli was able to connect on a number of deep throws. Masoli hit Ed Dickson for a 45 yard TD reception and Jeremiah found Terence Scott for a 76 yard TD reception. Masoli finished the game 11/17 for 274 yards, with 3 TD's and he averaged 16.1 yards per pass. The big reason that the Ducks won that game was, because they rushed for a total of 385 yards. This season Masoli has thrown for 1,865 yards, rushed for 619 yards, with14 TD's and 4 INT's. The Beavers must keep the ground game in check and force Masoli to make plays through the air.

Sean Canfield did not play against the Ducks in the last Civil War, but the impressive numbers that he has put up this season gives OSU fans a lot of confidence and belief that their team can go to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1965. In 65 the Beavers lost 34-7 to the Michigan Wolverines. OSU's last Rose Bowl victory was a 20-16 victory over Duke in 1942. Canfield has thrown for 2,797 yards, 19 TD's, 6 INT's and is completing 70.3% of his passes. Sean had 300- yard games this season against Arizona (303), USC (329), UCLA (305), and against California (342). With his ability to complete passes at a high clip and the ability of Jacquizz Rodgers to pick up yards on the ground it will not be easy for the Ducks to slow down this offense. Two of the best QB's in the Pac Ten will be on display when these two teams meet at 6 P.M on ESPN. With the memories of last season's debacle fresh on their minds expect OSU to make this one a much closer contest, because it is a rivalry game and the Rose Bowl is at stake.