BeaversEdge Staff Predictions: San Jose State vs Oregon State

With the Oregon State Beavers (4-4) set to square off with San Jose State (5-4) on Saturday afternoon, BeaversEdge Publisher Brenden Slaughter, recruiting analyst Dylan Callaghan-Croley, and writers T.J. Mathewson and Ryan Harlan give their two cents on the matchup and who's going to come out on top!

T.J. MATHEWSON'S PICK

This game is the biggest coin flip of any the Beavers have played this season. Two programs coming off their second bye week, right after their worst losses of the season, both facing big quarterback decisions.

This isn't a great matchup for Oregon State after what we watched California shred them through the air. San Jose State's "spread and shred" has produced impressive results, and has pushed WR Nick Nash into the spotlight chasing the wide receiver triple crown.

Now, we do know that the Beavers play significantly better at home, especially on defense. Will that hold up this week? While the defense will improve by getting guys like Jaden Robinson and Thomas Collins back, the offense is a huge question mark. Who the Beavers start at QB will go a long way into telling us what kind of offensive strategy they will employ.

I will guess that if it's Ben Gulbranson, it will be more conservative, and if it's Gevani McCoy, then a little bit more diverse with an emphasis on his legs being a factor.

No matter who, I don't think it will be a great day offensively, but it will be enough to sneak by the Spartans.

PREDICTION: Oregon State 23, San Jose State 20

TJ's season record: 6-2

MORE: WATCH: Offense Talks SJSU & MORE | Beavers In The NFL: Week 9 Recap | MBB: Beavers Open With Win Over UTU | Quick Hits From Trent Bray

DYLAN CALLAGHAN-CROLEY'S PICK

Oregon State is fresh off a bye week and will be looking to get back on track this weekend against a San Jose State team that in my opinion has output expectations coming into this year.

The Spartans have been a really well-coached team this year, which should be no surprise concerning their head coach Ken Nuimatolo.

The Spartans offense has been quite high-powered all things considered this season and has been impressive despite playing two different quarterbacks. The rushing attack is very solid, despite poor offensive line play as well. Looking at their defense, I think it is exploitable.

However, I have questions about the Beavers' offense this week, and while we know the rushing attack is going to be most likely fine, how about the passing attack?

I think I have too many question marks about this Oregon State team coming out of the week. Perhaps they used the bye week to answer some of those questions internally.

I also have question marks about the Beaver defense and their ability to stop the San Jose rushing attack in this game. It’s been a point of struggle for the Beavers' defense all season and if San Jose can run the ball routinely in this game, it’s gonna potentially be a very long day for the Oregon State defense, even though the secondary should be up to the task against the San Jose passing attack.

Perhaps a change of quarterback will spark the offense, especially through the air, but it would take a big step of improvement from the whole team as well this week in my opinion for that to happen not just to change a quarterback...

Overall just too many questions for me...

PREDICTION: San Jose State 27, Oregon State 23

Dylan's season record: 7-1

BRENDEN SLAUGHTER'S PICK

Following a bye week for both teams and some likely soul-searching for both as the Spartans had a lopsided loss to Fresno State before the off week, while the Beavers are currently mired in a three-game skid.

This figures to be a solid matchup as these two squads are closer than you think and the oddsmakers think the same, as this matchup opened as a three-point favorite and hasn't moved.

We talked about it a little bit on this weeks' edition of the EDGE Podcast, but this was the first time all season a Beaver line didn't move slightly throughout the week. That tells me that the fine folks in Vegas truly see this as a toss-up game, giving the slight nod to the Beavers being at Reser Stadium.

I do like the Beavers in this matchup, by the slightest of margins...

Simply put, Oregon State's season is on the line for this matchup. If you win, it will reverse a lot of the negativity we've seen during the losing streak, but if you lose, the hope of a bowl game is nearly out the window.

That being said, I expect the Beavers to come out playing with their hair on fire... while they're focused week-to-week, if you can't get this one, the season will be slipping away, so I expect OSU's upperclassmen to set a standard of getting the win no matter what.

Oregon State's offense should be able to move the ball against SJSU's, and on the flip side, the Beavers have an ace up their sleeve to slow down star wideout Nick Nash, with senior CB Jaden Robinson returning after a four-game absence.

Look for the Beavers to make a statement and ride the Dad's Weekend crowd to a seven-point victory...

PREDICTION - Oregon State 31, San Jose State 24

Brenden's season record: 7-1

RYAN HARLAN'S PICK

We're on the other side of the Beavers' second bye week of the 2024 season, and this matchup against San Jose State will decide how the rest of the schedule's stretch run plays out.

If you had told me back when the season started that this would be the game that decides how the 2024 season will go, I likely wouldn't have believed you.

However, if the Beavers come out flat against a solid squad like SJSU, then your chances of making it to a bowl game are done for the season.

I expect that the Beavers will come out on Saturday playing with high intensity to reverse the losing streak they have found themselves in and set themselves up to make a bowl game.

Now, the Beavers have some good news: This bye week came at a good time, and many players who haven't seen any game action in the past few weeks are expected to return on Saturday.

Jaden Robinson and Thomas Collins are expected to return to the starting lineup after missing time due to injuries. Still, I wonder if we see Kobe Singleton or Amarion York return into the fold. However, while the Beavers get Collins and Robinson back, the question remains who will be the starting quarterback for the Beavers on Saturday.

Gevani McCoy was benched against Cal in favor of Ben Gulbranson and Gabarri Johnson. Whether we see one of those three or all this weekend remains to be seen, but we expect one to trot out onto the field on Saturday.

Head coach Trent Bray declined to comment on Monday who would be the Beavers starting quarterback this weekend but mentioned that the bye week came at a perfect time as they weren't getting the production they wanted out of the position.

When Gulbranson came in against Cal, some of that production showed through in the passing game which will likely be needed in addition to an effective run game to keep up with San Jose State. Regardless of who it ends up being, they'll need to play smart football against an opportunistic defense that has 14 INTs as a unit.

The oddsmakers have this as a toss-up game, with the Beavers being slightly favorited, and I agree with that because there are many unknowns for the Beavers' health and quarterbacks this weekend.

Give me a close Oregon State win to write the ship.

PREDICTION: Oregon State 24, San Jose State 21

Ryan's season record: 7-1

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