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With the Oregon State football team (4-2, 2-1) falling to Washington State (3-3, 2-2) 31-24 in Pullman on Saturday, BeaversEdge.com gives five important takeaways from the loss.
5 Takeaways
1. The Defense Took A Massive Step Back
-> Just when it looked like the Oregon State defense had started to turn the corner, some old habits reared their ugly heads in the loss to Washington State.
For the first few games of the season, it looked like the once-maligned Beaver defense had made significant strides, as evidenced by a stronger run defense and a unit that stopped the Huskies last week with the game on the line.
However, that progress that we saw the first few weeks of the season appeared absent against the Cougars as quarterback Jayden de Laura led a WSU offensive onslaught that ripped the Beavers to tune 491 yards of total offense and 399 yards through the air.
While those numbers aren't mind-boggling by any stretch with how offenses operate in the Pac-12 these days, it was the way that the Beavers allowed the Cougars to essentially have whatever they wanted on offense.
And unlike previous weeks where the defense was able to force several turnovers to turn the tide, they only forced de Laura into one interception, which prevented a would-be field goal attempt to close the first half.
It seemed as though the secondary were on skates and consistently guessing what de Laura and the WSU receiving corps were up to, which led to miscommunications and lapses we just haven't seen on this widespread of a level since the Purdue loss.
Perhaps the most concerning aspect was the defense's inability to make adjustments. For what it's worth, the Beavers did hold Washington State to three points at the half, but there were signs throughout the first half that the Cougars were starting to find their footing.
Coming out of the halftime break, WSU scored touchdowns the next four times they touched the football and minus the final kneel, never came away empty-handed.
2. The Beavers Need A Passing Attack
-> For the second straight week, Oregon State's passing attack was almost non-existent and that's a trend that cannot continue if they're going to be successful in the second half of the season.
After throwing for 48 yards against the Huskies, quarterback Chance Nolan was a little better against the Cougars, going 11-of-25 for 158 yards, but had two interceptions and no touchdowns.
Also for the second straight week, the Beavers' receivers were largely absent sans a couple of nice catches here and there.
The depth and versatility of the receiving corps have been touted all season long, but the lack of a go-to consistent threat has appeared in a big way against the Huskies and Cougars the past two weeks.
Against the Huskies last week, OSU had six receivers haul in seven passes for 48 yards, this week, it was six receivers having 11 catches for 158 yards. A modest improvement sure, but not near the production the receivers are cable of.
It's hard to say whether more of the blame falls on Nolan or more on the receivers, but in either case, the concerning trends we've seen in the passing game the past two weeks certainly need to get remedied.
OSU's ground attack is elite (more on that in a moment), but the passing game is going to have to be a factor for the Beavers to be a consistently good offensive unit. Getting things back on course in that regard and returning to a state of offensive balance will be paramount to this teams' success.
3. BJ Baylor & Deshaun Fenwick Are Elite Running Backs
-> In terms of a massive positive from this contest, it's the continued dominance running back of B.J. Baylor and the breakout of RB Deshaun Fenwick. After having arguably their best game as a true 1-2 punch last week against the Huskies, the duo exploded against the Cougars.
Baylor led the way with the yardage and carries, recording 145 yards on 18 attempts, while Fenwick found the endzone twice and tallied 127 yards on 15 attempts. Baylor's yards per carry was 8.1 & Fenwick's was 8.5, showing that very little could slow down this dynamic duo.
While their performances will largely be overshadowed by the loss, this was easily the best game they've had simultaneously and that's going to be a big advantage down the stretch of the season.
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