BeaversEdge Staff Predictions: Oregon State vs San Jose State

With the Beavers (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12) set to face San Jose State (0-1, 0-0 MW) in San Jose on Sunday afternoon, 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 45, San Jose State 21

Game week is finally here and Oregon State is starting the 2023 campaign with a road victory in San Jose...

While there may be some first-game jitters, especially starting on the road, there are talent mismatches across the board and I expect Jonathan Smith's squad to be rearing and ready to roll.

The Beavers have the advantage of having San Jose State game tape as they played USC last weekend, but on the other side of the coin, SJSU has the benefit of having the first-game miscues out of the way.

Ultimately, I expect this matchup to be a big-time showcase for new OSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei as the Beavers will be looking to showcase their passing game and offensive balance they've been preaching all offseason.

Oregon State's running game and its prowess are well-documented and I fully expect the Beavers to be able to unleash Damien Martinez, Isaiah Newell, and Deshaun Fenwick to run wild behind an offensive line that is amongst the best in the country.

However, I also think the Beavers will look to push the ball downfield with Uiagalelei and really try and hit those big-time passing plays that were seldom last season.

Defensively, Spartans' QB Chevan Cordiero figures to be a challenge for the Beavers and defensive coordinator Trent Bray with his dual-threat ability and knack for extending plays, but he's not enough to lead the Spartans to the upset win.

SJSU will likely look to test the Beavers' new-look secondary with some shots downfield, but OSU's front seven should be able to create some nice pressure and force Cordiero into hurried throws...

San Jose State may give the Beavers a bigger challenge than they're expecting, but ultimately, the Beavers' superior depth and talent across the board will rise to the top.

I like Oregon State to cover the spread and win by 24...

T.J. MATHEWSON'S PICK

PREDICTION: Oregon State 38, San Jose State 17

Oregon State sits as a 16.5-point road favorite to open the much-anticipated 2023 season.

That tells me Vegas and us here at BeaversEdge agree that the Beavers should win week one and probably comfortably by that mark.

Let's start on the defensive side. I'm most excited to watch this defensive line in game action for the first time, and the Beavers could use a good pass rush to help break in a few new starters behind them. USC only got Chevan Cordeiro on the ground one time in SJSU's 56-28 loss to open the season.

More importantly, how is the interior pass rush going to look?

Isaac Hodgins was confident in the group's ability to rush the passer from the interior when he talked to the media on Thursday, referencing the job he, Joe Golden, Takari Hickle, Thomas Collins, James Rawls, Sione Lolohea, and co. have done during August.

With those new starters in, there's bound to be some growing pains against a QB as good as Cordeiro, so that's why it's going to be the responsibility of the guys up front to negate that.

On offense, I think everyone should be pretty confident the Beavers can just line up and run the football straight at SJSU and move the ball comfortably. So, instead, I am looking for DJ to connect on a few throws out of the pocket AND take a couple of shots, whether it be to Anthony Gould or Zach Card.

I'm also curious of the run/pass balance the first week with a new-uber-talented quarterback against a seemingly outmatched team across from you.

Last thing: I think everyone saw USC freshman Zachariah Branch blowtorch the SJSU special teams in week zero, don't be surprised when one of the Beavers' preseason-all-conference returners takes one to the house on Sunday.

DYLAN CALLAGHAN-CROLEY'S PICK

PREDICTION: Oregon State 41, San Jose State 20

When everything kicks off on Sunday, all the hype from the offseason and preseason no longer matters. Oregon State won't be surprising anyone this year; everyone knows what Jonathan Smith's Beavers can do on the field.

Now with some much-needed reinforcements, this Beavers team can win the Pac-12, though they will need to play excellent football from start to finish.

Their week one matchup against San Jose State is the type of game you'd like to see OSU leave little doubt throughout the game. This is one where it may be close for a quarter or half, but ultimately, the Beavers should be able to pull away as the game progresses, leading to a comfortable victory.

This defense should be primed for a big fall, and SJSU is a quality offensive test for week one. That being said, I think the Beavers' athleticism and experience on the defensive side of the ball will win the day.

On offense, I think the Beavers will try to keep things pretty simple, at least as much as they can. If things work early on, they'll stick to them; no reason to empty the playbook against the Spartans when you'll need some of those plays deeper in the playbook down the road.

I do expect Damien Martinez and the Beavers's rushing attack to set the tone, but I also expect that the Beavers will look to get DJ Uiagalelei going early as well.

San Jose State making this a game in the first half wouldn't be surprising, but I think this Beavers team is too experienced and talented for the Spartans to hang with over four quarters. I'm thinking something like a 21-14 game at halftime before the Beavers dominate the second half en route to covering the 16-5 point spread plus more.

• TALK ABOUT IT ON THE DAM BOARD

• SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE

• SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCASTS ON APPLE & SPOTIFY

• LIKE US & FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK

• FOLLOW THE STAFF ON TWITTER - @Beavers_Edge, @b_slaught, @RivalsDylanCC, & @tjmathewson