CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Oregon State held its first spring practice Thursday, preparing for a 2001 season that will carry enormous expectations.

"Our goal is to compete for the Pac-10 championship and go to a bowl game," coach Dennis Erickson said afterward.

But pursuit of a bowl game simply will be too little to ask when the Beavers begin the season Sept. 1 at Fresno State. After their record-setting 2000, nothing short of another Bowl Championship Series game will do for the Beavs.

	Ken Simonton needs just 738 yards to become the Pac-10's 2nd all-time leading rusher.

Oregon State stunned the country by going 11-1 last season, including a 41-9 rout of Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. The Beavers finished the season ranked No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and No. 4 in the AP poll, the school's highest rankings ever.

OSU conducted the first of 15 spring workouts Thursday facing several uncertainties, however. Chief among them is who will catch passes from quarterback Jonathan Smith.

The Beavers lost their top three receivers from last season: Chad Johnson, Robert Prescott and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, as well as tight end Marty Maurer. The top returning players -- Seth Trimmer, Aaron Hill, Shawn Kintner and James Newson -- combined for just eight catches, 80 yards and no touchdowns last season.

"It's an issue that were going to have to address. We've got four or five guys that need to step up on Saturdays," said Smith, who sat out the first workout while recovering from surgery on his left hand. He's not expected to take part in contact drills. "We've got guys stepping up each year, and we expect that this year too."

Junior college transfer Andre Cyrus and true freshmen Jayson Boyd and Josh Hawkins won't be available until summer camp, which begins Aug. 9.

Four of the eight JC transfers are enrolled in school and able to practice.

"It's really early to tell with JCs after one practice. But we wouldn't have recruited them if we didn't think they could perform at this level," Erickson said.

While the Beavers are stocked well at running back, with leading Pac-10 rusher Ken Simonton backed up by Patrick McCall, they lost three starters on the offensive line.

Also, Erickson hopes either Nick Stremick, Ryan Kanekeberg or the chronically injured Shayne House will step forward to win the backup quarterback spot behind Smith, so the coach can redshirt incoming freshman Derek Anderson.

Oregon State loses three defensive linemen, including ends DeLawrence Grant and LaDairis Jackson. Junior college players will take their places.

With the best recruiting class in school history, the Beavers are confident they can meet the challenge for the Pac-10 title, and possibly a national championship. Fans already are convinced. They've bought a school-record 17,500 season tickets.

"The whole town is still excited about last season, but we realize it's a new start," Smith said. "That's what spring is about."