By Steve Gress
Corvallis Gazette-Times | Posted: Sunday, September 14, 2008 12:00 am
CORVALLIS - After allowing Penn State and Stanford to run wild the first two games of the season, the Oregon State defense wanted to make a statement on Saturday afternoon in its home opener against Hawaii.
The front seven took its share of blame for the two losses, so that group had a players-only meeting earlier this week.
They talked about how last year's defense set the tone for the rest of the team.
On Saturday, the defense played much like last year.
After giving up a touchdown on Hawaii's first drive for an early 7-0 lead, the Beavers shut down the Warriors the rest of the way in a much-needed, dominating, 45-7 nonconference win at Reser Stadium.
The turnaround began after Slade Norris stopped Daniel Libre for a 5-yard loss on third-and-1 to force a punt on the Warriors' second possession.
OSU scored on the next possession to tie the game and began to seize control.
"All week long we talked about getting a momentum going and celebrating after big plays," Norris said. "Last year, the defense somewhat carried the momentum of the entire team. After that first third down we kind of got together and rolled from there."
Roll they did as the Beavers held Hawaii to its lowest total yards output since 1998. The Warriors finished with 211 yards of total offense with only 57 on the ground.
"I thought it was what we needed to do," linebacker Bryant Cornell said. "There was no doubt about it, there were some questions on defense and there still are. But it was a step in the right direction. Everyone contributed. I loved playing today, it was fun."
Cornell was in the middle of a lot of action. His third-quarter interception gave the Beavers possession at the Hawaii 28, and seven plays later Jacquizz Rodgers scored from a yard out to put OSU up 28-7.
Cornell nearly had another interception in the second quarter when he stepped in front of a shovel pass, but he couldn't hang on to it. Had he been able to, it would probably have gone for a score.
"That was too early in the game to make a big play so I let that one go," Cornell said with a smile.
The Beavers had three interceptions, with Keenan Lewis and Greg Laybourn also coming away with picks.
The Beavers also forced Hawaii into five three-and-outs and ended two other drives after two plays on interceptions. After the opening drive, Hawaii threatened just once, missing a field goal attempt late in the first half.
"We thought they would pass a lot, and they did," Cornell said. "But in the first quarter they tried running the ball and got some yardage. But we rallied back and we adjusted and shut them down."
While they will take the win, the Beavers know there is still room for improvement.
"I always feel like it's just a beginning," Cornell said. "You can never be satisfied. You can be happy that you won but there's always things you can do better."