Sean Mannion, QB

11/18/2012 - Oregon State registered its first blowout of the season on a rainy Saturday night at Reser Stadium, but the outcome may end up as a footnote if it turns out to be Jeff Tedford's last game at California. The 16th-ranked Beavers (8-2, 6-2 Pac-12) welcomed back starting quarterback Sean Mannion, and he threw four touchdown passes in the first half of a 62-14 victory over the Golden Bears (3-9, 2-7). The outcome was the most lopsided Oregon State win in its 65-game series with Cal. The defeat concluded Tedford's worst season in his 11 years in Berkeley.

Mannion, displaced as the starter for four of the past five games by Cody Vaz after undergoing a surgical procedure on his left knee, finished 24-for-33 for 325 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. Beavers receiver Markus Wheaton caught seven passes for 99 yards and a score, while Oregon State running back Terron Ward produced 128 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.

Not much went right for Cal, which racked up 15 penalties totaling 172 yards. On top of that, Oregon State's offense rolled to 559 total yards. Cal also lost three fumbles, and quarterback Allan Bridgford threw an interception. Bears running back Isi Sofele gained 104 yards on 18 carries. - The Sports Xchange

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The decision to go with the inexperienced Mannion over incumbent starter Ryan Katz was one that many fans struggled with as coach Mike Riley's team floundered in 2011.

As the season went on, however, the confidence Riley and offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf showed in Mannion started to pay off with the young passer throwing completing 64.5% of his passes for 3,328 yards and a respectable 16-18 touchdown to interception ratio (considering his inexperience).

While the Beavers have perhaps been better known for producing defensive backs and linebackers throughout Riley's 11-year tenure, he's quietly been very successful in churning out NFL quarterbacks, including Derek Anderson, Matt Moore and Sean Canfield.

Like Canfield, who is now a member of the New Orleans Saints, Mannion looks the part but doesn't appear to possess the type of arm strength to strike the fear into opponents at this time. Also like Canfield, however, Mannion flashed the anticipation, touch and accuracy, overall, to be successful.

Mannion earned Freshman All-American honors after the 2011 season but may see his numbers fall in 2012 as the Beavers will hope to feature a more balanced attack.

As only a redshirt sophomore, he's far from NFL-ready, but make no mistake that if he continues to make the strides quarterbacks have generally made in their second and third seasons under Riley, the Beavers could once again be featuring a pro caliber signal-caller.

--Rob Rang