9/2/2022 football Edit

BeaversEdge Staff Predictions: Boise State vs Oregon State

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Every Friday of each game week, the BeaversEdge.com staff will give its predictions for Oregon State's matchup.

With the Beavers (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12) set to face Boise State (0-0, 0-0 MW) under the lights of Reser Stadium on Saturday night, BeaversEdge Publisher Brenden Slaughter, recruiting analyst Dylan Callaghan-Croley, and writer T.J. Mathewson give their two cents on the matchup and who's going to come out on top!

BRENDEN SLAUGHTER'S PICK

PREDICTION: Oregon State 34, Boise State 28

Oregon State is starting the 2022 season with a win...

This should be a dandy of a contest as I see this as a matchup between two evenly matched teams... however, I give Oregon State a slight edge based on the home-field advantage and a more established top-to-bottom roster.

For the Beavers to find success and ultimately come out on top against the Broncos, the offense needs to limit mistakes and put up points. That'll start with establishing a strong running attack as we've seen from the Beavers the past several seasons, but also getting the passing game going with Chance Nolan.

The Beavers established their run-first identity in a big way last season, but for the offense to take the next step, I'd like to see Nolan have a strong contest where he looks like the QB we saw against USC last season.

On the flip side, the defense needs to keep QB Hank Bachmeier under control. He's one of the premier quarterbacks the Beavers will face this season and they'll need to limit his ability to make plays down the field. If they're able to play stout defense in the secondary and create some pressure, I like the Beavers' chances.

I think we'll see a great and close contest, but I've got the Beavers taking this one by a score as OSU wins their first season opener since 2015...

- Brenden Slaughter

DYLAN CALLAGHAN-CROLEY'S PICK

PREDICTION: Oregon State 35, Boise State 31

This is a super tough game to get a feel one, on one end I think Oregon State is the better team, on the other, Boise State has a good chance to win the Mountain West Conference this season and if they play at their best, could knock off the Beavers. That being said with home-field advantage, I'm giving Oregon State the victory in this one.

If the Beavers can establish a run game early on in this one and work Chance Nolan into the game, I think they have a great opportunity to set the tempo early. Nolan will need to play a quality game and limit his mistakes by not trying to force the ball downfield, just has to play smart football. For Boise, this game will likely come down to Hank Bachmeier. He together a pretty good 2021 campaign, completing 62.8% of his passes for 3,079 yards and 20 touchdowns. Like Nolan, if he can play smart football for four quarters, Boise State's offense should be able to move the ball quite a bit even if their rushing attack isn't overly impressive.

We'll see what the defensive coordinator Trent Bray will have dialed up for Bachmeier. He's a tough quarterback to game plan for as when being blitzed, he was 88-for-142 last seaon for 1,165 yards and 13 touchdowns to just three interceptions. However, keeping him under consistent pressure will be key as he completed just 45.3% of his passes last season when under pressure.

If the Beavers can force Boise State into a one-dimensional offense and get consistent pressure on Bachmeier, I like their chances of winning this on Saturday night.

- Dylan Callaghan-Croley

T.J. MATHEWSON'S PICK

PREDICTION: Oregon State 31, Boise State 27

If you put these two teams on a neutral field, the line might be a pick'em, so it will be really interesting to see the impact that the Reser Stadium crowd has on the home team. The key in this game is the Beavers' defensive line, they need to get back to disrupt Bachmeier and show considerable improvement from last season.

Oregon State can't take that huge step forward only sacking the quarterback 16 times like they did in 2021. I don't think the Beavs will have too much trouble stopping the Boise State run game, a unit that ranked near the bottom of the country last year, and still would be underwhelming with considerable improvement. All eyes point to the D-Line and the secondary.

On the offensive side, I want to see some flash from Chance Nolan. I know Jonathan Smith and Brian Lindgren won't let Chance throw it 35 times a game, but the redshirt junior needs to hit his throws when he gets them, especially down the field. A quality performance against a quality opponent to start the season will go a long way to doing that.

A high temperature near 80 degrees on Saturday makes for ideal throwing conditions. I think Oregon State will come out in front of the home crowd and jump out to an early lead while riding a late turnover and the running game to victory.