![At the bottom of the third inning, the Lions are still scoreless. Rowe stands at home plate, preparing to bat, while Vandenbrink stands off to the side as the next batter up. Despite having the bases loaded, the team was unable to score any runs. “It’s just the beginning of the season. We’re just going to be playing out best by June, [and] that’s where champions are,” Rowe said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_3077-1200x900.jpg)
![All smiles. The group poses for a photo with last year’s book, “This is Our House,” along with their award for third Best in Show. Meikle, who was an Editor-in-Chief for the yearbook last year as well, holds both and stands at the center of the group. “That was an amazing feeling, going and grabbing the third place award,” Meikle said. “All of it paid off. I cried so much over that book, being able to receive [the award] was one of the highlights of my high school career, it was like the coolest thing ever.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/8bookpose_philly-1200x800.jpg)
After a very sloppy start against Eastern Washington, the Oregon State Beavers, have bounced back going 4-1 since that close loss against the Eagles. With one of the best offenses in the country, the Beavers are well on their way to challenge Stanford and Oregon in the Pac-12 North race.
Oregon State has come a long way in two years, going 3-9 in 2011 and going 9-3 in 2012, the best turn around in school history. Coming into this year, The Beavers were ranked 25th. Losing at home to FCS team Eastern Washington, a disappointing loss across Beaver Nation. Since then, the Beavers have bounced back winning four straight games against Hawaii, Utah, San Diego State and Colorado.
Even though they have shown their weaknesses in defense, their offense has been on fire. With quarterback Sean Mannion leading the country in passing yards, with 2018 yards and wide receiver Brandin Cooks leading in receiving yards, with 807 yards. This has made them one of the best quarterback and receiving duos in college football. With running back Storm Woods out for the past two games with a concussion their running game has been slow but Woods will be back when the Beavers play Washington State.
The Beavers don’t have a practice facility that looks like a spaceship or a hundred uniform combinations but they have rebranded with a new logo. Along with a new logo they have done a redesign for all of the football uniforms, making them look sleeker and more updated along with other teams in college football.
Overall, the Beavers are back on track after their first loss against Eastern Washington. With an upcoming road stint against Washington State and Cal, the Beavers should be in good shape when they come back to Corvallis on Oct. 26 against Stanford.
