PROMO: Join BeaversEdge.com and get 30 DAYS FREE!
With the 2021 season on the horizon, BeaversEdge.com is introducing all 12 of Oregon State's opponents over the course of summer.
Today, we dive into the 10th game of the season, a home matchup with the Stanford Cardinal...
MORE: NUGGETS From Oregon State's Final Day Of Fall Camp | WATCH: Day 18 Interviews
The Game
Date: Saturday, November 13th
Time: TBD
Location: Reser Stadium; Corvallis, Ore.
TV: TBD
---
Oregon State 2020 Record: 2-5 (2-5 Pac-12)
Stanford 2020 Record: 4-2 (4-2 Pac-12)
2020 Recap
In the pandemic-shortened, conference-only 2020 campaign, Stanford was able to play in six total contests, finishing with a 4-2 overall record.
All in all, the 2020 season was about as successful as you could have asked for from a Stanford perspective given what they had to deal with last season.
Not only were the Cardinal dealing with all the same issues as everyone did last year, but they also weren't able to play or practice in their home state for a brief amount of time.
After defeating California across the bay midway through the season, the Cardinal didn't return to the state of California until the final week of the season to play UCLA. During its road contests against Washington & Oregon State, the Cardinal were practicing within that respective state.
Even with all that uncertainty and moving around, the Cardinal still managed to have themselves a very solid winning season.
That speaks volumes to the consistency of the program that David Shaw has built...
Best Win: vs Washington on Dec. 5th (31-26)
Worst Loss: @ Oregon on Nov. 7th (35-14)
2021 Outlook
Heading into the upcoming campaign, it's going to be really interesting to see where the Cardinal end up...
After a wildly successful 2020 that showcased just how good of a coach Shaw is, I think the Cardinal is a prime regression candidate this season.
I may very well end up looking foolish for this prediction, but I think there's a decent chance Stanford is one of the lower-tier teams in the Pac-12 North.
Stanford isn't that far removed from a 4-8 campaign under Shaw in 2019 and given that we can't take too much from 2020, I'd say there's a chance we see Stanford settle in as a team that is fighting for bowl eligibility.
However, they're still Stanford, which means they've got a fair amount of talent, so you never know how things are going to shake out.
On the other side of the coin, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Cardinal play better than I expect and win a few more, but they're a team to me that needs to showcase themselves on Saturday to see truly where they stand.
All in all, I expect Shaw to have his program competitive in every game, but I think they'll be fighting all season to make a bowl game...
Key Players: QB Jack West - QB Tanner McKee - WR Brycen Tremayne - RB Austin Jones - LB Levani Damuni - DE Thomas Booker - DB Kyu Blu Kelly
Season Projection: 5-7
Early Prediction
You heard it here first folks... Oregon State will be getting the Stanford monkey off its back this season.
If you can believe it, the Beavers haven't beaten Stanford since 2009!
For perspective, Jaquizz Rodgers and Sean Canfield were leading the Oregon State offense, while Stanford was boasting the likes of Andrew Luck and Toby Gerhart...
Bottom line, it's been a really, really long time since the Beavers cut down the tree and I think this is the year they're able to get the job done.
Given that the Beavers have dropped the past two contests to Stanford by a combined six points, I see this as a game that a lot of the upperclassmen are going to have circled on their calendars.
The Beavs had their chances to knock off the Cardinal each of the last two seasons and I see this as the year that they're finally able to get over the hump.
It's been a long time since the Beavers tasted victory against Stanford and this seems like a great opportunity to get the job done.
I like the Beavers to win by a score...
Oregon State 31, Stanford 24
Previously
Week 7 - BYE
----
• Talk about it inside The Dam Board
• SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCASTS on APPLE & SPOTIFY
• Follow us on Twitter: @Beavers_Edge, @b_slaught & @JaredHalus
• Subscribe to our YouTube page.
