OSU

NOTEBOOK

By Cliff Kirkpatrick

Corvallis Gazette-Times

CORVALLIS — One of the most asked questions about Oregon State’s nonconference football game at Hawaii this Saturday is who will officiate.

And that answer is a Western Athletic Conference crew, coach Mike Riley said Saturday night.

While Pacific-10 Conference officials have been known for questionable calls over the years, it has been a similar — if not worse — situation for officials at Hawaii.

After Alabama lost at Hawaii with a string of unusual penalties in 2003, Wisconsin only played its game there in 2005 because neutral officials were used, and the Badgers won.

OSU didn’t ask for anything out of the norm of the home team’s conference officials working next weekend’s game.

“We’ll be fine,” Riley said, repeating himself after being asked about the situation several times.

The schedule

The players took Saturday off, while the coaches started preparing a game plan for Hawaii. The team has a minor workout and film session today, with practice Monday-Wednesday.

OSU leaves for Hawaii on Wednesday afternoon and will practice in Aloha Stadium on Thursday.

“We’ll get on (Hawaii) schedule right away and do our normal stuff,” Riley said. “There won’t be much time to do much (extracurricular) stuff, but it will still be a unique trip. The kids will be able to see the island because of where we are staying.”

No Wheat-Brown

There’s no change in junior wide receiver Anthony Wheat-Brown’s suspension for violating team policy, Riley said. He has missed two games stemming from a situation at the Nov. 11 game at UCLA.

Senior Ruben Jackson has played in his place and has caught six passes for 126 yards and rushed for 40 yards on four attempts.