Beavers grudgingly get second bye week.

Byline: Bob Rodman The Register-Guard

CORVALLIS - The Beavers probably would like to say bye-bye to the byes.

They are now amid their second of three scheduled bye weeks this season, the third to surface on Nov. 29 because Oregon State and USC agreed to play before an ABC national television audience on Dec. 6 at Los Angeles.

The Beavers, 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-10 Conference, drew their first bye on Oct. 11 after starting the league race with consecutive wins over Arizona State and California.

Then they rested, and lost to Washington.

Fresh off a 52-23 mauling of Arizona, the Beavers are resting again before Stanford visits Reser Stadium on Nov. 15.

"I'd rather not have the byes but we do and I'm not going to make a big deal about it," OSU coach Mike Riley said.

"I'm not going to complain about it."

In his first term at Oregon State, Riley's 1998 team had a bye before the Civil War game against Oregon. "And we won," he said, remembering the 44-41 double-overtime victory.

"The only real answer to a bye is winning the next game, then you don't have to worry about it, don't have to answer all the questions about it," Riley said. "Just win and go on."

However, Riley did admit to being sensitive to what happened after OSU's first bye of this season.

"I am changing some things we do during the bye week," he said. "We are practicing one more day this week and one less next week."

Record pursuit

James Newson, Oregon State's senior split end, has been chasing the school's career touchdown reception record since the season began.

Newson already owns the all-time receiving mark (3,210 yards), the career receptions record (186), the single-season touchdown reception mark (12) and the single-season receiving yards standard (1,284).

He has just two touchdown catches this season, the second coming last weekend against Arizona that tied him with Vern Burke's 39-year-old record for career scoring receptions at 19.

Burke played for the Beavers in 1962-64.

One more touchdown catch and still another receiving record will rest in Newson's trophy case.

Injury update

Junior free safety Mitch Meeuwsen "will be OK" after sustaining a bruised left shoulder in the Arizona game, Riley said.

Senior defensive end/holder Dan Rothwell, who missed the WSU game and performed the short snaps in the Arizona game because of an injured left foot, "is sore but should be ready to go for Stanford."

Chaz Scott, a second-team sophomore linebacker, sustained two stingers in the Arizona game and "will rest during the bye week."

Reversal of fortunes

In the first three-plus years of the current decade, Oregon State has won 30 of its 45 football games.

The Beavers, who have won 27 of their past 31 games at Reser Stadium, won just 29 games in all of the 1990s.

Best dressed ...

Oregon State's attire of orange pants and black jerseys for last weekend's Arizona game was the first time the Beavers wore such an ensemble since 1935, according to OSU historians.

Lon Stiner was the coach then. In the modern era, Oregon State wore orange pants and white jerseys for two road games during the 1999 season - at Stanford and against Hawaii in the Oahu Bowl. The Beavers, led by first-year coach Dennis Erickson, lost both games. Erickson promptly mothballed the orange pants for his remaining three seasons at OSU.

Riley said that the orange pants idea for the Arizona game came from linebacker Richard Seigler.

"I'm not a big fan of the orange pants," Riley said, "but this is not about me. It was the players' decision (to wear them)."