Victory over Arizona has Beavers optimistic

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 10:43 AM PDT

CORVALLIS (AP) — After two losses in conference games, Oregon State was admittedly down. A victory over Arizona has made the season considerably brighter.

‘‘I think that this will give us some sunlight,’’ center Kyle DeVan said. ‘‘It will give us something to look forward to. Everyone’s emotions are turning up and I think it will be good for us.’’

The Beavers can take last season as inspiration. After a 2-3 overall start, with losses in the first two conference games, Oregon State won eight of their last nine games to finish 10-4.

The Beavers hope Saturday’s 31-16 victory over the Wildcats could be the start of another strong second half.

‘‘We needed this win for our team as far as momentum, for our offense, and for the rest of the season. We all knew we couldn’t afford to drop another game,’’ cornerback Brandon Hughes said.

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Yvenson Bernard led the offense with 140 yards rushing and three touchdowns, one receiving.

Sophomore Sean Canfield completed 17 of 30 passes for 139 yards for the Beavers (3-3, 1-2 Pacific-10), who led 24-3 after the first quarter but this time didn’t surrender the lead.

The Oregon State defense sacked Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama eight times, and allowed the Wildcats only nine yards rushing.

Tuitama, who entered the game ranked atop the Pac-10 with an average of 320 passing yards per game, completed 18 of 38 passes for 222 yards for Arizona (2-4, 1-2). He was intercepted three times after throwing just four through the season’s first five games.

Oregon State was coming off a stunning 40-14 loss to UCLA, in which the Beavers disintegrated in the final quarter, giving up a 14-12 lead. The week before, the Beavers led 19-0 at Arizona State before losing 44-32.

‘‘I was really proud of how we came back,’’ coach Mike Riley said. ‘‘We all know it’s not perfect at this point but there are a lot of good things we can build on from today. I thought we were ready to go this week, pressure was great, coverage was great, and we just kept playing the whole time.’’

The Beavers have won eight of the last nine against the Wildcats, including last season’s 17-10 victory in Tucson. But two seasons ago, Tuitama made his first career start and torched Oregon State for 335 yards in a 29-27 win.

The Beavers face a considerable challenge this coming week in preparation for a visit to California. The Golden Bears, who were idle Saturday, jumped a spot from No. 3 to No. 2 in the polls, helped by USC’s stunning 24-23 loss to Stanford.

Cal’s last game was a 31-24 victory at Oregon, which also jumped Sunday in the rankings from No. 14 to No. 9 despite also having a bye.