Oregon State Beavers Football: Wednesday Report
OSU Football Recruiting Nuggets
Beaver Commitment Tracker (10/17 Update)
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Oregon State football returns to Reser Stadium on Saturday as the Beavers (1-5, 0-3) host the California Golden Bears (3-3, 0-3). With the Bears entering the contest on a three-game skid, OSU sees this game as an opportunity to not only get a win, but to also build momentum for the back loaded end of season schedule.
There are several notable streaks for both teams as they enter Saturday’s contest. Oregon State hasn’t won a Pac-12 game since the Civil War in 2016, while Cal has yet to win a Pac-12 road game under Justin Wilcox. One of those streaks will have to give this weekend and the Beavers’ are hoping the extra time and preparation will give them an edge.
While OSU’s offense has thrived in year one under new head coach Jonathan Smith and exceeded expectations, the defense hasn’t been nearly as effective six games into the season.
Defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar’s group has allowed 541 yards per game to opposing offenses this season, and while it’s still a lopsided number, the Beavers feel that the bye week came at the right time for them to hone in on their areas of concern.
“We had an opportunity to get an extra full practice in on Sunday, which we normally don’t get,” Tibesar said. “There’s a little more bounce in every players step since they didn’t have a game on Saturday. Now, we’re rested up and we’ve got to carry that energy throughout the week at practice and on Saturday.”
Cal has been a bit of a mixed bag this season as the Golden Bears entered the top-25 rankings after week three as they started the season 3-0 with wins over North Carolina, BYU and Idaho State before then dropping their first three to start Pac-12 play.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Bears were blasted at home by UCLA last weekend 37-7, giving Chip Kelly his first win. All in all, it’s hard to predict which Bears team the Beavers will face on Saturday.
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“They’ve been a tale of two teams,” Tibesar said. “In their first three games, they looked really good and played very well and then the last three games, they’ve struggled a little bit. Certainly they’ve had their issues with turnovers and we’ve had issues causing turnovers, so hopefully we can take the ball away.”
Defensively, the Beavers know that they’ll have their hands full with Cal's dynamic offense as former Eastern Washington head coach Beau Baldwin uses a lot of variations in terms of packages to confused defenses.
“Cal is one of the most multiple offenses that we have seen so far,” Tibesar said. “We’re going to see a lot of different personnel groups out there. They have the ability to get big on you and also have the ability to spread you out with five wide receivers. That presents its own challenges being able to match up with all those different personnel groups.”
One thing working in the Beavers’ favor defensively this weekend is that barring any late week setbacks, there’s a good chance that cornerback Isaiah Dunn and defensive end Jeromy Reichner will play. Dunn has only played in one game this season as he’s dealt with a nagging knee injury sustained in summer workouts.
Dunn, who is the Beavers’ fourth highest ranked defender according to Pro Football Focus, has been patiently trying to work his way back onto the field.
“It’s just a day by day thing,” Dunn said. “I feel better everyday with the rehab and physical therapy. The injury happened in summer doing workouts, and I expected to be back to be back for the first game of the season, but it didn’t go that way. After Nevada, my knee was really sore and I couldn’t move very well.”
Defensive lineman Isaac Hodgins added that the Beavers having added depth could be the game-changer they’ve been looking for.
“Getting people back from injury really helps with our depth,” Hodgins said. “Most of the issues we’ve had on defense have stemmed from mental errors. It’s not that we aren’t good enough, it’s just that mentally we’re having busts. We need to tighten up some of the technique things and have less mental errors, and we’ll be able to shore up a lot of our gaps.”
Tibesar elaborated on the challenges that Baldwin and the Bears present offensively, by diving into specific things that the Beavers will look to slow down.
“They have a wide range of run game options,” Tibesar said. “They’re going to use direct tailback runs, quarterback read runs, and quarterback designed runs where the QB is keeping the ball no matter what. All of those things, along with their passing game, creates a challenge for us.”