If you are still having night terrors over last weekend’s heart wrenching loss to now-No. 18 Georgia, get over it.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda, the fact of the matter is: they didn’t.

And with Oregon State looking to erase the memory of two consecutive losses this season, the Sun Devils have to approach this game with a must-win mindset or this season might begin to spiral out of control.

On Saturday, ASU will embark on a critical four-game chunk of its schedule, with contests against the Beavers, Washington State, Washington and Stanford.

If the Sun Devils play the way they are capable of, they could end up at 6-1 after these initial Pac-10 matchups.

However, in this über-competitive conference, any one of those teams could knock off ASU, save the Cougars, and we could potentially be looking at a Sun Devil squad toting a 3-4 record if complete hell breaks loose.

When ASU returns from their clash with the Cardinal, they face back-to-back-to-back games against Cal, USC and Oregon.

Yikes.

That is why it is imperative that the team comes out victorious against OSU so they can build up some momentum heading into the meaty part of the schedule.

If this team loses any confidence before the second half of Pac-10 play, they will be lucky to get one win against the big three.

But if history is a good indicator, which it usually is, the Beavers are long shots on Saturday.

They have not won a regular season game in Tempe since 1969.

Ironically, the last time the Beavers won at Sun Devil Stadium it was in the postseason, and current ASU coach Dennis Erickson was at the helm for a 41-9 beat down of Notre Dame in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl.

But don’t let its record in Tempe fool you.

This is not your parent’s OSU team.

James and Jacquizz Rodgers are No. 1 and 2 in the conference respectively in all-purpose yards and they are major reason why the Beavers went 9-4 last year.

Eerily enough, they started out with the same record as this year (2-2), before going 7-2 in their last nine.

So how does ASU avoid becoming the first victim if the Beavers have a repeat performance of last season?

For starters, let’s hope that the MASH unit that is the offensive line can protect senior quarterback Danny Sullivan.

OSU senior linebacker and Valley product Keaton Kristick has racked up 34 tackles this year and will be licking his chops in anticipation of the fresh meat on the ASU line.

Secondly, it would be nice to see the receiving corps catch the ball when it is thrown to them.

And on the flip side of that coin, it would be nice to see Sullivan connect when the receivers are open.

They just have not clicked yet, but it is only a matter of time.

Also, sophomore defensive end James Brook’s return to the lineup should finally help senior Dexter Davis get that elusive first sack.

This isn’t necessarily one of the marquee matchups that await the Sun Devils, but those won’t mean a thing if they do not pick up a win on Saturday.

Reach Erik at emschimm@asu.edu.