Oregon State Faces Pitt in Insight Bowl

No. 24 Pittsburgh will face Oregon State tonight at the Insight Bowl in a rare Big East-Pacific 10 matchup that features two teams with 8-4 records and two of the country’s toughest defenses.

“It looks like a defensive struggle on paper,” Oregon State Coach Dennis Erickson said, “but you never know.”

Oregon State enters tonight’s game at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix with the No. 10 defense in the nation, giving up 293.0 yards a game. Pittsburgh is No. 11 at 293.4.

“When I see Pitt’s defense, I really see our defense,” Oregon State tailback Steven Jackson said. “They’re both athletic. It’s not just one guy tackling the ball carrier; they really swarm to the ball. They remind me of my team a lot.”

Pittsburgh Coach Walt Harris said it could be “one of the best matchups of all the bowls.”

The Panthers lost four games by a combined 24 points, including a 28-21 loss on the road to No. 1 Miami on Nov. 21. Pittsburgh drove to the Hurricanes’ 20 in the final minute, but Rod Rutherford’s fourth-down pass into the end zone was just out of Yogi Roth’s reach.

“We’ve had some heartbreaks, but you know it was us. We’ve got to do a better job and finish those games better,” Harris said. “We’re a good 8-4 football team. How good? I think this matchup will tell us a lot about that.”

Pittsburgh’s biggest concern will be stopping Jackson, the Pac-10’s leading rusher by nearly 600 yards who ranked No. 4 nationally with a school record 1,656 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry.

“I’ve seen a lot of guys play in my career,” Erickson said. “He might be as good as anybody I’ve ever coached. He’s only a sophomore. He’s got speed and size.”

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After playing such powerhouses as Miami, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, it would be understandable if Boston College had a hard time taking little-known Toledo seriously.

But the Eagles are insisting that they know just how tough their Motor City Bowl opponents will be. The teams meet today in the first college football game at Detroit’s new Ford Field.

“Toledo could win 10 games for the third year in a row, and I don’t care what conference you are playing in, that’s impressive,” Boston College quarterback Brian St. Pierre said.

The biggest challenge for Boston College (8-4) will be to stop the spread offense for Toledo (9-4), which features a bewildering number of formations and options.

Boston College, on the other hand, runs a fairly basic attack led by St. Pierre and tailback Derrick Knight.

Pittsburgh was the teams’ only common opponent this year. Boston College lost to the Panthers, 19-16, in overtime; Toledo was routed, 37-19.

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Colorado freshman tackle Will Down was sent home and will not be with the team Saturday for the Alamo Bowl following his arrest in San Antonio on public intoxication charges.

Down, from Escondido, and senior linebacker Drew Wahlroos were charged and ordered to appear in court Jan. 7, the magistrate’s office said. Down also was charged with failure to identify himself to police early Tuesday morning.