The long odds of the Oregon State Beavers scoring their first victory on Saturday against the Arizona State Sun Devils got longer when it was announced that true freshman running back Malcolm Agnew would miss the game.
Agnew, who became the first true freshman in school history to start a season opener, appeared on track to return to action from a nagging hamstring injury, but he re-aggravated it during practice Thursday.
In that season opener, Agnew ran for 223 yards and three touchdowns against Sacramento State. However, his monster day wasn't enough to overcome the pesky Hornets, as the Beavers fell to their FCS opponent in overtime 29-28.
The injury depletes an already struggling Oregon State offense, who rank 112th (out of 120 teams) in the nation in scoring at 15.7 points-per-game.
In the opener, they benched quarterback Ryan Katz for freshman Sean Mannion, who has struggled. Their best playmaker, wide receiver James Rodgers, missed the first two games with injury before returning last week against UCLA.
With Agnew out, look for even more attention to be paid to Rodgers, who in 2009 caught 10 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown in the Beavers' 28-17 victory at Sun Devil Stadium.