10/1/2022 football Edit

The 3-2-1: Oregon State Falls To 0-2 In Pac-12 Play

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

Publisher

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With the Oregon State football team falling to Utah 42-16 on Saturday afternoon, BeaversEdge has an edition of the 3-2-1, giving three things we learned, posing two questions, and giving one prediction...

Three Things We Learned

1. A Bad Day All-Around For Oregon State

-> It just wasn't Oregon State's afternoon in Salt Lake... From nearly the opening kickoff, things didn't look right for the Beavers, particularly on offense as quarterback Chance Nolan had his second straight off game before exiting with a neck sprain in the second quarter. However, even before the injury, Nolan just didn't look himself. It started on the second play from scrimmage where Nolan threw his first interception, setting the Utes up in great field position for their first score.

The Beavers then responded with a touchdown drive of their own that was mostly runs and then the defense forced a three and out of Cam Rising and the Utah offense. Then, on the second play of OSU's third drive, Nolan threw a pick-six, putting the Utes up 14-7. From there, Nolan definitely had a case of the picks in the head following the previous week against USC as he missed several more throws, including a would-be touchdown to Jesiah Irish that he overthrew.

When the Beavers ultimately had to make the quarterback change due to Nolan's neck injury that occurred on a quarterback draw play, the odds of success dramatically dipped. While Ben Gulbranson did flash some solid moments, he still tossed a pair of interceptions to go along with 177 yards. There weren't a ton of positives to take away for the Beavers in this one unlike the previous loss to USC, so this is definitely one they'll want to flush ahead of a matchup with Stanford next week.

2. Jam Griffin Should Be RB1

-> If there was a bright spot from Oregon State's offense on Saturday, it was Jam Griffin looking like the most efficient running back in the Beavers' backfield. Deshaun Fenwick led the backfield with 44 yards on 10 carries, but Griffin was close behind with 42 yards on eight carries.

Damien Martinez logged 10 carries for 23 yards, struggling to gain any separation from Ute defenders. For the second straight week, Griffin was the most efficient back in the rotation, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, nearly a yard more than Fenwick's 4.4 per.

Given the fact that the Beavers haven't been able to establish a dynamic running game like we've been accustomed to these past several seasons, perhaps the team needs to focus on featuring a single guy in the backfield. Perhaps the by-committee approach is too important with all the talent in the backfield, but Griffin has shown the ability to be a go-to guy these past two weeks with explosive, tough running and he needs more than eight touches in a contest...

3. Redzone Inefficiency Looms Large

-> Outside of the Silas Bolden 29-yard touchdown run, Oregon State's offense was held out of the endzone by the Utes, instead settling for three Atticus Sappington field goals and one redzone interception in the other trips to Ute territory. Credit Sappington for kicking clutch kicks in place of Everett Hayes and keeping the Beavers in striking distance early into the second half, the Beavers' inability to score touchdowns proved costly.

All things considered, the Beavers actually put together a decent performance offensively in this one, it just felt all too inconsistent and out of rhythm. The Beavers ended up tallying 417 total yards, but the playcalling was erratic and didn't really seem to set the offense up for success, most notably in the redzone.

The Tre'Shaun Harrison 83-yard catch resulting in three points is the massive standout in this department, you have to capitalize at that moment, and that's why the Beavers finished with one touchdown and a bunch of field goals.

The Beavers left a lot on the field offensively last week against the Trojans, now we saw a bunch of points left out there against the Utes... that's not a winning recipe in the ultra-competitive Pac-12 and something the offense will have to correct in quick order...

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Two Questions

1. What Does Oregon State Do At Quarterback?

-> Following the loss to Utah, a massive elephant has worked its way into the Oregon State locker room... who is the quarterback moving forward? While Nolan ultimately exited the contest due to a neck sprain, he didn't necessarily look all that comfortable prior to leaving. Then, in place of Nolan, backup quarterback Ben Gulbranson wasn't able to necessarily show enough to say that he should be the guy over Nolan when he's healthy.

Nolan's status will be an important storyline this week as it'll be interesting to see if his injury lingers beyond this contest... having a quarterback issue five games into the season is certainly a bad look for the offense and there's no question things have to get corrected as the play has been subpar at best during the two most important weeks of the young season...

I do believe that Nolan is still the Beavers' best option currently when healthy and right, but there's no question he hasn't looked right these past two games. This will be a tough spot for the Beavs to navigate because lack of quarterback play is certainly holding this team back...

2. How Does Oregon State Respond Mentally To Two Tough Losses

-> The last two weeks have been brutal for Oregon State... not only did the Beavers lose a heartbreaking, winnable game against the Trojans last week, but they also had this contest against the Utes where it seemed like the deck was stacked against them from the start and couldn't catch a break.

For the offense to have another four giveaways, the defense not forcing any, and the offense securing just one touchdown, this certainly has all the looks of a demoralizing loss for the Beavers.

How the Beavers respond to these tough losses could ultimately determine what type of season this is going to be. Expectations from the players after the 3-0 start and even the 3-1 start were that a Pac-12 championship was still within their grasp... following the loss to Utah that talk is shelved as it suddenly becomes priority one that the Beavers figure out what's went wrong these past two weeks...

One Prediction

Oregon State Bounces Back, Earns First Pac-12 Win vs Stanford

-> While the last two weeks have been brutal for Oregon State's confidence following the 3-0 start to the season, they'll get a bit of a break playing a Stanford team that doesn't boast the same top-end talent as USC & Utah. Stanford's home-field advantage is nearly non-existent and it could be the perfect get-right game for Jonathan Smith and Co...

Expect the Beavers to bounce back with a win over Cardinal on the farm next weekend...