Every Friday during game week, the BeaversEdge.com staff will give its predictions for Oregon State's matchup. With the Beavers (2-4, 1-2 Pac-12) looking to get back on track against the Cal Bears (4-2, 1-2) in Berkeley on Saturday, Managing Editor Brenden Slaughter and Recruiting Analyst Jared Halus give their two cents on the matchup and who's going to come out on top.
BRENDEN SLAUGHTER'S PICK
If there's one thing we can count on each week in the Pac-12 conference, it's that anything can happen. As evidenced by UCLA's romp over Stanford on Thursday night, each week is unpredictable and you never quite know how these matchups are going to turn out.
That's the feeling I've got as the Beavers head to Berkeley.
Unsure.
Could the Beavers bounce back and have an impressive response following a 52-7 beatdown by Utah a week ago? Sure. Could the Beavers show marginal improvement and lose a winnable game? Absolutely. Could we see a neck and neck game where turnovers decide the winner? You bet.
There are a lot of possibilities for this game, but the one that I've settled on is that the Bears are going to win a somewhat close game. While the Bears boast an impressive defense, it's not quite Utah level and I think the Beavers will find some success moving the ball. However, Cal has had a bye week to prepare, and having an extra week to dissect the subpar OSU defense is going to be just too much of an advantage for a solid Cal squad.
Prediction: Cal 31, Oregon State 17
JARED HALUS' PICK
Adversity has struck, and how the Beavers respond to it could be defining.
It would be really easy to get down & out following a 52-7 loss to Utah, but that is not what we are going to see from Oregon State this Saturday.
Cal has had as weird of a season as anyone. From looking like a force after beating Washington to squeaking out close wins against North Texas and Ole Miss, there has been no consistency thus far from the Golden Bears.
Many people are writing Oregon State off, but I think this will be closer than expected. While I am not ready to forecast a win, you will certainly see a more competitive game than you saw last season when the two teams faced off in Corvallis.
Prediction: Cal 35 Oregon State 28
