The 3-2-1: Breaking Down Oregon State's Schedule

1. Oregon State has three of its first four games at Reser Stadium

-> Despite not having fans behind them, it's a huge advantage for the Oregon State football team to have three of its first four games in the friendly confines of Reser Stadium and Corvallis.

This year more than ever, being able to play at home and be in your normal routine could be a huge advantage. With the number of protocols around travel this year for the conference, traveling is going to be more grueling than a typical year so the Beavers could have a real advantage there.

Toss in the fact that the Beavers will be facing brand new Pac-12 head coaches Nick Rolovich & Jimmy Lake in weeks one and two and that could also be a plus for Jonathan Smith and Co.

2. The Pac-12 schedules really, really wanted the Oregon-Oregon State game in the middle of the season

-> After the original schedule was postponed in the wake of the coronavirus, the schedule makers really had an affinity to make the Oregon-Oregon State game to the middle of the year. Just like the schedule that was released in August, this new schedule features the contest between the two in-state rivals as each teams' fourth game of the season.

There's been a strong contingent of supporters on both sides that have been clamoring to keep this contest as close to the end of the year that it possibly can, yet there it appeared right in the middle.

Granted, unlike the old schedule that would have seen the matchup on October 17th, at least this team there will be a little more normalcy playing the Ducks on the Friday following Thanksgiving.

It's certainly not ideal to have three contests after the all-important matchup, but at least seeing the Ducks and Beavs take the field the day after turkey day will remind us of the good ole days.

3. The schedule is daunting, but not impossible

-> While at first glance the schedule seems quite tough, I don't think anything is going to be normal this season. Sure, the teams that were expected to be near the top likely will be, but I think this year could be a season where all bets are off in every game.

With no fans in attendance, this could really be like an NBA bubble situation where the teams that succeed are able to manufacture and create their own energy.

Can the Beavers be better at that than their opponents over the course of the season? That's the million-dollar question on my mind because more so in college than any other level, the home team feeds off the home crowd. Nothing will be normal this season, so it's my opinion that every game this season is going to be a toss-up.

Anything can happen...