Staff Predictions: Oregon State vs Ohio State
Every Friday during game week, the BeaversEdge.com staff will give its predictions for Oregon State's matchup. Of course to start the season, OSU has the daunting task of facing Ohio State in Columbus.
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BRENDEN SLAUGHTER'S PICK
It's no secret to anyone in college football that Oregon State is severely over-matched in it's 2018 opener against the No. 5 Buckeyes.
The Beavers are a 38.5 point underdog and are coming off one of the worst seasons in program history in 2017 as the team went 1-11 and promptly hired former quarterback and Washington offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith to rebuild from the ground up.
It will be a battle of two brand new coaches on the field as Smith leads the Beavers and interim HC Ryan Day leads the Buckeyes. It will be interesting to see whether any of the off the field drama with Ohio State lingers onto the field and if it makes any difference, but make no mistake, the Buckeyes are simply the bigger, faster, and stronger football team.
Look for the Beavers to keep the game close early, by perhaps even scoring the games' first touchdown, but ultimately the lack of depth for OSU on the defensive line and the secondary combined with the NFL type defense Ohio State possesses, will be the Beavers' downfall.
It's the first game of the Smith era and I think we'll see some exciting moments from players like Jake Luton, Artavis Pierce, Isaiah Hodgins, Andrezj Hughes-Murray, Kee Whetzel and Hamilcar Rashed that give Beaver fans and coaches optimism heading into the home-opener against Southern Utah.
Prediction: Oregon State 17, Ohio State 48
MIKE SINGER'S PICK
Brenden thinks the game could be kept close early but then Ohio State will pull away. I don't see that.
I think Ohio State will jump out to an early 21-0 lead, which will put Oregon State in a really interesting spot. Will the Beavers be able to keep their chins up and stay competitive or will they roll over?
I tend to think that the Beavers will keep the fight. Jake Luton, whether you like it or not, is the most seasoned quarterback on the roster and the best leader of the group. He and the staff will be able to keep the offense motivated to keep trying to put points on the board.
Defensively, this is simply going to be a brutal matchup for Oregon State. The secondary is going to need help as being put one-on-one with the Ohio State receivers won't bode well for them, but the defensive line and linebackers will need all of the help they can get too.
Ohio State is going to put up a lot of points, so the key for the defense is to just play sound football -- don't give up dumb mistakes, don't miss bad tackles, and communicate well. They'll get beat because Ohio State simply has better players, but Oregon State can't make it easy for them to move the ball by beating themselves.
Prediction: Oregon State 10, Ohio State 52