The Western Athletic Conference announced Monday it is reviewing the hit by Boise State safety Winston Venable during Saturday's Oregon State-Boise State game that took out OSU receiver James Rodgers. The WAC said a decision will most likely be made on Tuesday. Oregon State did not request the review.



Rodgers, a senior, took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Venable with 9:27 to play in the third quarter when trying to block for quarterback Ryan Katz. Rodgers didn't return in the Beavers 37-24 loss to the No. 3 Broncos and was on the ground for several minutes before being helped off the field. Trainers took away his helmet to ensure he would not go back in the game, but Rodgers appeared to be OK later, walking up and down the sideline and talking to his teammates.



Sunday night during his conference call, Riley stopped short of saying that the hit on Rodgers was a cheap shot; the replay didn't reveal much and there was no penalty on the play.



"I don't know what to say about that,'' said Riley. "It was helmet to helmet. James was in the middle of a guy running to the ball. I don't know if it was inadvertent or not.''



This week, Rodgers is expected "go through the protocol" for players who have concussion-like symptoms. Trainers say that if everything goes well, Rodgers might be back to practice by Wednesday.



Rodgers is No. 5 nationally in all-purpose yards, average 184.3 yards per game, and considered one of the best return men in college football.



The Beavers host Arizona State in their Pacific-10 opener Saturday.



