BYU Football: Previewing the Oregon State Game

At the beginning of the year, this week’s game looked to be a pretty tough challenge for a team we expected to be striving to move from good to great.

But, alas, the Oregon State Beavers have failed to live up to expectations this season and have been, frankly, downright dreadful at times.

And so, too, have the Cougars, with a brewing quarterback controversy, an offensive coordinator struggling to put two halves together and a defense that gets more porous each week.

So, what can we expect when the Cougars make the trip to Corvallis?

Ghosts of the Past

The last time BYU and Oregon State met was in the 2009 Las Vegas Bowl.

It was a game BYU dominated from start to finish, winning 44-20, but the game was out of hand at 30-7 by the end of the third.

Since that game, Oregon State is 6-12 and a struggling shell of themselves.

Cougar fans hope they aren't the catalyst for another turnaround.

So Just Where Is Corvallis, Anyway?

Corvallis, Oregon is a small town of about 50,00 people between Portland and Eugene.

Oregon State University is about 25 percent smaller than BYU, with around 23,000 students. The Beavers play in Reser Stadium—a smaller venue similar to that of Rice-Eccles.

Oregon State is actually like the University of Utah in many ways. It’s within an hour drive from its hated rival, which has significantly more fans, much better facilities and a better academic record.

Although, Eugene is no Salt Lake City and Corvallis isn’t even a Provo.

But regardless, it’s a true college town and offers a nice college football atmosphere.

On the Mend?

By all accounts, OSU was off to a disastrous start of the season, losing at home to Sacramento State in overtime.

The Beavers followed that up with losses to good Wisconsin and Arizona State teams and a pretty poor UCLA program.

But last week, Oregon State started righting the ship by beating an Arizona team in shambles. So, will this win lead to momentum for the Beavers? Or are they a bad team that happened to play a worse one?

Will the Cougars Break the 30-Point Mark?

The Beavers are giving up an average of 30-plus points per game and have given up 27 or more in every game.

This is good news for a BYU squad which had not yet eclipsed that milestone. Even better news is OSU gave up 378 yards passing to Arizona.

If the Cougars can’t move the ball against this team, they’ll struggle all season.

Stopping the Rush

Oregon State is a whopping 104^th in rushing offense this season, making the Beavers the worst rushing attack BYU has faced this season.

That’s good news for a squad that struggled against Utah State a couple weeks ago

Grounding the Air Game

After a dubious start against Sacramento State, Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion has become an efficient passer and has put up more yards every game than any BYU quarterback has in any. In fact, Mannion posted 340 yards against Arizona State.

But the rushing attack of OSU is so poor, the pass is the only option for the Beavers.

This may scare a few BYU fans who have watched opposing quarterbacks successfully move the ball in recent games.

Third Down Conversions

Oregon State has been very average on third downs this season, converting less than 40 percent of the time. However, the same could have been said for San Jose State last week.

But the Cougars allowed the Spartans to convert 50 percent of the time, a major jump over their average.

BYU must find ways to end drives in ways other than field goals and touchdowns.