INSIGHT BOWL Oregon State, Pitt clash for first time on gridiron tonight

The Beavers and Panthers were going in opposite directions success-wise when the regular-season ended.
PHOENIX (AP) -- Oregon State's regular season ended with hope, Pittsburgh's with heartbreak.
The teams will meet for the first time tonight, an Insight Bowl match-up that will define just how successful the season was for both.
"We see this game as a challenge and an opportunity to raise Oregon State's profile," Beavers linebacker Nick Barnett said. "Being an East Coast school, Pittsburgh gets a lot of publicity, so it's a real opportunity for us to play a very good team on national television."
The last time Oregon State was in Arizona, it didn't look like the Beavers would be going bowling anywhere.
The Beavers lost 13-9 to Arizona State on Oct. 12, their third straight Pac-10 defeat, to fall to 4-3 overall and 0-3 in the conference.
"It was a low point for us," sophomore quarterback Derek Anderson said.
Strong finish
Right after that game, tailback Steven Jackson went to the coaches and asked to carry the ball more. The result was a 4-1 finish, with victories over California, Arizona, Stanford and Oregon. The lone loss was at Washington.
Both teams are 8-4. The Panthers lost their last two games, but one was nearly a monumental upset.
In a 28-21 loss at 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," coach Walt Harris said. "It's a credit to our football players and our preparation to be close in those games. ... We're a good 8-4 football team. How good? I think this match-up will tell us a lot about that."
School record
Jackson set a school record and was the runaway winner of the Pac-10 rushing title with 1,656 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Stopping him will be Pittsburgh's first priority.
"He's big and talented and can run around you or over you," Panthers linebacker Brian Beinecke said. "He had three 200-yard rushing games this season and is a threat both running and catching the ball. But we've faced some very talented running backs this year."
Both teams have tough defenses.
Oregon State ranks 10th nationally, allowing 293 yards per game. Pittsburgh is 11th at 293.4.
"When I see Pitt's defense, I really see our defense," Jackson said. "They're both athletic. It's not just one guy tackling the ball carrier, they really swarm to the ball."
Fitzgerald is weapon
The Panthers' most spectacular weapon is wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, the first unanimous all-Big East selection as a freshman.
But Rutherford and Fitzgerald will need some help from running back Brandon Miree against an Oregon State defense that allowed just 92.3 yards per game, ninth-fewest in the nation.
"If you're not running the ball, you're going to have a long afternoon," Harris said, "because nobody throws the ball on a consistent basis over and over, and Rod Rutherford is not a quarterback who wants to be in a game where you have to throw the ball 50 times. He's not quite there yet."
They are both once-downtrodden programs now accustomed to success, which will make losing even tougher to take.
"We've come a long way now, three bowls in a row," Pittsburgh center Chad Reed said, which probably hasn't happened since the early 1980s (1982-84) so it's an opportunity for us to show off how hard we've worked and how far we've come. Hopefully, we can impress some people Thursday night."
Oregon State, not long ago considered the worst program in college football, has been to three bowls in four years under coach Dennis Erickson. Two years ago, the Beavers routed Notre Dame 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl.
"Oregon State," Erickson said, "is going to be somebody to deal with, I really believe, for a long, long time."