Jonathan Smith on Tristan Gebbia: 'We've got confidence in him'

Just two games into the 2020 football season, Oregon State's passing offense has been a shell of what it was last season under the direction of Jake Luton and it's very simple what needs to happen to get the ship back on course.

Tristan Gebbia needs to be better. A lot better.

The 6-foot-2, 201-pound redshirt-junior quarterback has come under a fair amount of external scrutiny from Oregon State fans throughout the first two weeks of the season as he's been inconsistent and inefficient moving the offense.

After having a rough first half in the opener against Washington State, Gebbia was able to salvage his line in an Oregon State comeback attempt, finishing with 329 passing yards and one touchdown while also completing 71 percent of his attempts. His passer rating was 135.3, which is excellent.

Against the Huskies, however, Gebbia couldn't find a rhythm all night as he recorded 85 passing yards with one interception and no touchdowns. He struggled to move the offense down the field through the air and if it hadn't been for Jermar Jefferson, the offense would have had a historically bad day.

While many fans on the outside may be imploring the Beavers to re-open the QB competition, that's not happening as the team has complete confidence in him.

"We've got confidence in him," head coach Jonathan Smith said. "He's been our starting quarterback and he's done some good things and also has some things he needs to get cleaned up. "Everything always comes to the quarterback first as far as critiques go, but we're fully confident in Tristan."

Of the teams in the Pac-12 who have played two games this season (eight), Oregon State ranks last in passing offense and last in passing efficiency. There's no question that if the Beavers are going to not have these lulls on offense where everything goes flat and they stack up three and outs, they're going to need to do much more in the passing game, and that all starts with Gebbia.

"We've got to find more balance on offense. The more we're having success running the ball, the more people are going to try and force us to throw. I'm fully confident that we can... we've got a great group of receivers, a tight end in Luke Musgrave that can do some things in the passing game, and (Jefferson) has had some catches, so we're fully capable and Tristan is too."

While some criticism will continue to flow externally amongst OSU fans until Gebbia proves otherwise, internally, the Beavers aren't worried. Smith himself has been in this position before and he describes his quarterback as a heavyweight waiting to hear the bell ring.

"The guy is competitive and it really means a lot to him. He's already back to work and he understands football isn't a game of perfect. He relishes the opportunity to get back in the ring and keep on swinging."