USC and UCLA Take On State of Oregon : Wilhelm Will Try to Throw Away the Past as Improved Beavers Pay Visit to Bruins

Erik Wilhelm probably won’t make anyone forget John Elway.

Oregon State’s senior quarterback will, however, probably replace the former Stanford quarterback as the all-time passing leader in the Pacific 10 Conference.

Wilhelm, a left-hander from Lake Oswego, Ore., moved to No. 2 on the all-time list last week, overtaking Jack Thompson and Jim Plunkett as he passed for 215 yards in a 21-10 victory over Fresno State.

Wilhelm, who has passed for 7,821 yards in his career, will continue his pursuit of Elway’s record today when the resurgent Beavers, owners of a 3-2 record that represents their best start in 18 years, meet No. 2-ranked UCLA (4-0) at 3:30 p.m. at the Rose Bowl.

“I’m sure it will mean a lot to me later, but it’s not a major concern right now,” Wilhelm said of passing the record of 9,349 yards, which will be his if he averages 254.7 passing yards--about 10 yards less than his current season average--in Oregon State’s last 6 games of the season.

Of more immediate concern to Wilhelm is keeping the Beavers competitive, which neither he nor anybody else in the last two decades had been able to do consistently before this season.

Oregon State hasn’t had a winning season since 1970, when it was 6-5, and has won as many as 4 games only once since 1971.

The Beavers haven’t beaten UCLA since 1978 and have lost 11 of their last 12 games against the Bruins. Last season’s 2-9 record included a 52-17 defeat by UCLA.

Two years ago, Oregon State lost to UCLA, 49-0, as Wilhelm threw 6 interceptions.

“I was younger then,” Wilhelm said. “I was a sophomore. I don’t think anything like that will happen again, but who knows?”

Nobody, of course, but Oregon State is improved. And so is Wilhelm, who passed for 2,736 yards and 17 touchdowns last season but was intercepted 21 times and ranked ninth in the Pac-10 in passing efficiency with a rating of 111.1. Against Stanford, he was intercepted 7 times, breaking his own school record.

Wilhelm, though, was hampered by ankle and knee injuries in that game, and in three others at the end of the season, including the UCLA game, in which he completed only 12 of 29 passes for 81 yards.

Still, his ability was questioned, and some of those doing the questioning were his teammates and the Beaver coaching staff.

Coach Dave Kragthorpe recruited two junior college transfers, Nick Schichtle and Matt Booher, and announced that he was throwing the quarterback job wide open.

Wilhelm, his left knee repaired through arthroscopic surgery, won the job back and is having his best season. He has completed 66.3% of his passes for 1,324 yards and 9 touchdowns. And, after throwing 52 interceptions in his first 3 seasons, he has been intercepted only once in 196 attempts.

His passing efficiency rating is up to 137.2.

“He’s improved dramatically,” said Mel Kiper Jr., a National Football League draft expert who projects the 6-foot 3-inch, 201-pound Wilhelm as a middle-round draft choice. “He’s not real mobile, and he tends to run hot and cold, but he’s been on more than he’s been off this year.”

The soft-spoken Wilhelm credits his big numbers to the Beavers’ “Air Express” offense, which Kragthorpe brought with him from Brigham Young and Idaho State. Wilhelm once threw 64 passes in a game. Nine times, he has thrown 50 or more, including once this season.

“Those things happen in this offense,” Wilhelm said. “The quarterback is expected to do certain things, and if he does, he’ll have a lot of (impressive) statistics.”

Conversely, Wilhelm said that his efficiency has improved because Oregon State is running more often, and more effectively, this season.

Last season, the Beavers rushed for only 47.1 yards a game, which ranked last--by 67.2 yards a game--in the Pac-10. This season, they have rushed for 148.6 yards.

“If you have a balanced offense, you can do (more effective) things with play action,” Wilhelm said. “In the past, we have not had a running game, so we’ve relied almost completely on the pass. And it’s a lot easier for a defense to cover a one-dimensional team.”

So, the Beavers are no longer so predictable, and they’re no longer getting beaten up every week.

“We’ve played some pretty solid football in all of our games,” Kragthorpe said. “We really haven’t had a stinker.”

Bruin Notes

Today’s game will be telecast live on Prime Ticket. . . . A crowd of about 50,000 is expected. . . . Oregon State is 1-1 in the Pac-10, having beaten California, 17-16, and lost to Arizona, 24-13. . . . UCLA defeated Washington, 24-17, last week in its conference opener. . . . UCLA tailback Brian Brown, who has not played this season because of a hamstring injury, returned to practice this week, but is not expected to play today. Coach Terry Donahue said that Brown would probably play next week against Cal at Berkeley. . . . Linebacker Eric Smith, who suffered a concussion in the Nebraska game last month, returned to practice this week, but is listed as questionable. Smith experienced 3 weeks of headaches and dizziness because of the injury, Donahue said. . . . Nick Schichtle, Oregon State’s backup quarterback, is a former UCLA walk-on. . . . In its victory over Oregon State last season, UCLA gained 618 total yards, the seventh-highest total in school history.