East of the Mississippi

As OSU travels this week to face Louisville in a nationally televised game (Saturday, 9 a.m. PT, ESPN) at the Cardinals' Papa John's Stadium (42,000), let's review both the matchup and the history of what happens when the Beavers travel east of the Mississippi River to play football.

This will be the first-ever meeting for both schools and only the fourth time Louisville has played a team from the PAC-10. Previous meetings have all been against Arizona State, where UL is 2-1. With wins over Portland State and Boise State, OSU has not yet cracked the Top 25, while the Cardinals, 1-0, are 10th in USA Today/Coaches and 11th in AP. For sure, the Beavers will be ranked if they can pull the upset.

In 109 seasons, the Beavers have traveled east of the Mississippi 42 times, for an overall record of 13 wins, 27 losses and two ties. The scary part is that, since 1967, OSU has enjoyed only one victory on the road against teams from east of the river, a 35-3 whipping of Temple University in Philadelphia in 2002. Before this, the last bunch of Beaver gridders to taste success in the far east was Dee Andros' 1967 Giant Killer squad, which toppled No. 2 Purdue, 22-14.

The 1942 Rose Bowl, from the 1942 Beaver Yearbook. For a larger view of this picture, click here.

Other historic road wins include a 20-0 victory in 1915 over highly regarded Michigan State; a 25-13 shocker over the New York University Violets in Yankee Stadium in 1928; a 9-6 victory over powerful Fordham in 1933; and an upset of second-ranked Duke, 20-16, in the 1942 Rose Bowl, contested in Durham, N.C., because of World War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor less than a month earlier.

In 1965, 1974 and 1976, OSU traveled east of the Mississippi three times each year. In '65, wins were turned in against Illinois and Syracuse, but a loss to Northwestern spoiled the party. In 1974, Oregon State came up short against Syracuse, Georgia and Ohio State, and the same was true in '76, as the Beavers went 0-3 against Kentucky, LSU and Syracuse.

To date, OSU has competed but twice in football in the Blue Grass State, losing to Kentucky in 1968, 35-34, then returning in 1976 to fall once again to the Wildcats by a score of 38-13.

If there's anything for certain about this weekend's game, it's that OSU is due. Are you ready for some football?