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With the Oregon State football team (7-4, 5-3 Pac-12) set to face No. 11 Oregon (9-2, 6-2) at Autzen Stadium on Saturday, BeaversEdge gives five reasons why the Beavers can upset the Ducks...
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1. Oregon State Wants This Game More
To put it simply, Oregon State can win this game against Oregon because they want it more...
Following Oregon's blowout loss to Utah last week that crushed any college football playoff hopes, it's anyone's guess exactly how the Ducks are processing it.
Will they come out flat? On fire? Disinterested? Very interested? Those are all questions I'm thinking about as the Ducks prepare to host the Beavers. I tend to think that this matchup will be a hangover game for the Ducks where the lingering effects of the loss to Utah leak into this week.
Oregon State meanwhile, knows they've got a chance to put the capstone on a special regular season and will be hungry to climb higher into postseason consideration.
With the opportunity to achieve a lot more with a win over Oregon, I expect the Beavers to come out playing with a ton of focus, energy, intensity, and passion as the chance to achieve something very rarely done in Corvallis is right in front of them.
Can the same be said for the Ducks?
2. Oregon State's Rushing Attack Is Better
Great rushing attacks win football games, and Oregon State's is the best the Pac-12 has to offer.
Averaging just under 230 yards per game, the Beavers pride themselves on having a strong running game that in turn opens up the rest of the offense. To win this contest against Oregon, they'll need to establish the ground attack early and often to control the tempo and set the tone.
Defensively, the Ducks allow just 128 yards per game on the ground to opponents, but the Beavers proved last week against ASU that they're capable of overcoming the better rush defenses in the conference.
While Oregon's third-ranked rushing attack (212 per game) isn't far behind, the Beavers currently boast the superior rotation with BJ Baylor, Deshaun Fenwick, & Trey Lowe to Oregon's with Travis Dye.
Losing CJ Verdell early in the year was a big blow for the Ducks, and despite Dye having a near 1,000-yard season, the ground attack hasn't had quite the same punch.
The Beavers will need to account for QB Anthony Brown in the run game as he's approaching 600 rush yards this season, but the blueprint for success is there after slowing down ASU's Jayden Daniels a week ago...
OSU has proven throughout the season that they're the best rushing attack in the conference, and to win this game against Oregon, they'll need to prove it one more time.
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