Oregon State’s football team has come a long way since its season-opening loss to FCS squad Sacramento State. The Beavers have a new quarterback (redshirt freshman Sean Mannion took over for sophomore Ryan Katz early in the season), an improved pass defense and renewed optimism for the future.
Yet they’re still nearly 30-point underdogs to Oregon in this weekend’s Civil War, and universally expected to suffer their fourth-straight loss to the Ducks.
“Oregon is really, really good, as everyone knows, so it will be a huge challenge,” said Oregon State head coach Mike Riley, according to The Oregonian.@@CE@@
But not, according to the Beavers, an insurmountable one.
“It’s awesome, because I feel like the only people who expect us to win are the people in this building,’’ Oregon State defensive tackle Kevin Frahm@@ce@@ said to The Oregonian.
Indeed, the Beavers believe they have improved in several facets over the course of the season, particularly quarterback play. Although not a strong runner, Mannion has been an efficient thrower, completing a shade under 65 percent of his passes this season. He had arguably the best game of his college career in his team’s best win of the season, a 38-21 upset of Washington last week.
“(An) area we’ve grown is just in offensive passing production,” Riley said.
Oregon State’s passing offense, which ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in yards per game, will receive a major boost if senior wide receiver James Rodgers is healthy enough to play against Oregon. Rodgers, the program record-holder in career receptions, injured his ankle last week against Washington, but anticipates playing in his last college game.@@CE@@
“I should be good, just a little minor ankle sprain,” Rodgers said to The Oregonian.
Either way, Mannion and Oregon State’s offense will probably have to be successful through the air to have any shot at notching an upset. For much of the season, the Beavers’ ground game has been nearly nonexistent.
Oregon State is 11th in the conference in rushing yards per game, one of only two teams to average less than 100 yards per contest.
“Offensively, I’d like to say (we’ve improved) running,” Riley said. “But we haven’t.”
Oregon State hasn’t been any better stopping the opposition from gaining yards on the ground. The Beavers allow 181.5 rushing yards per game, which could be a recipe for disaster against LaMichael James and Co.@@yes@@
Conversely, Oregon State’s passing defense is formidable. The Beavers are second in the conference in passing yards allowed per game and haven’t allowed a 300-yard passer since they faced Arizona in early October.@@ce@@
“We’re a way better pass defense team (than we were at the beginning of the year). We’ve grown a ton in that area,” Riley said.
Riley also singled out Oregon State’s kicking game as a strong suit. However, he acknowledged Oregon kick returner De’Anthony Thomas can make even the best kicking units look bad.
“It’s scary,’’ Riley said to The Oregonian. “We are not unaware of how good he is and how he can change the game … but you can’t be too careful. We don’t want to be stupid and give them the ball in the middle of the field.’’
While outmatched athletically, Oregon State will do everything it can to prepare for the dynamic speed of players like Thomas in practice this week.
“We can’t simulate the speed that they physically have necessarily with the scout team, but we have to practice what they do,” Riley said. “We also have to practice with how fast they do it — their tempo — so that is definitely a part of the preparation for Oregon.”