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Published Nov 19, 2021
Oregon State Preview
Joe Healey
Staff Writer
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Another year another trip to Corvallis for the Sun Devils, the fifth time in the last six contests between the two teams if you're keeping count. Reser Stadium in recent years hasn't been totally unkind to ASU, but Saturday will showcase the best Oregon State team we've seen in a while. Here's our examination of Arizona State's upcoming opponent.


Oregon State Offense


This game places two similar quarterbacks against one another, as Oregon State's Chance Nolan and ASU's Jayden Daniels share a few similar qualities, strengths, and deficiencies.


Nolan ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in passing yards per game (201.6), with Daniels at ninth, while both are tied for third-most interceptions thrown in the league (eight). However, Nolan has 16 touchdown passes to Daniels' eight.


Based on the formula used for calculation, however, Nolan is a very "efficient" quarterback, as he leads the conference in pass efficiency rating (152.4).


In all, Nolan has completed 63.2% of his passes for 2,016 yards with his 16 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. He enters this game with some momentum as a passer, as he's had three of his best four games of the season in the past three outings, having thrown for 257 yards against Stanford after a 255-yard performance against Colorado and a 243-yard effort against California.


He is a notable threat on the ground – albeit not quite as dangerous as his counterpart for this Saturday – as he has netted positive yardage in all ten games this year, has five games with at least 30 rushing yards and on the season has 59 carries for 274 yards with a touchdown.


The evident strength of the Oregon State team this season is its incredible run game, which tops the Pac-12 and ranks in the nation's top-10.


After three years as the understudy to star rusher Jermar Jefferson, B.J. Baylor has enjoyed a sensational season in 2021 as he became the first Pac-12 runner to top 1,000 yards on the ground this season. In all, he has 1,050 yards on 176 carries with 12 touchdowns, placing him 13th nationally in total rushing yards, 15th in rushing yards per game, and tied for 18th in rushing touchdowns.


A strong candidate for First-Team All-Pac-10 honors and potentially the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year award, Baylor rushed for more than 100 yards in his first four conference games of the season, including at least 140 in three of those four. However, he has slowed down a bit of late, as he had 23 carries for 80 yards last week against Stanford, 22 rushes for 98 yards versus Colorado, and was limited to 42 yards on 13 carries against Cal.


The Beaver ground attack is far from a one-man show, as it's likely that three or four other rushers in addition to Nolan at quarterback could be used in some capacity on Saturday.


Baylor's top backup is bruiser Deshaun Fenwick, a 6-2, 230-pound beast who transferred to OSU from South Carolina. On the year, he has 430 yards on 73 carries (5.9 avg.) with four touchdowns. In 15 games for the Gamecocks from 2018-20, Fenwick totaled 523 rushing yards on 97 carries with two scores.


Adding to the run game is former Washington transfer Trey Lowe, who has an eye-catching 7.1-yard average on 41 carries as he has 292 rushing yards and one score.


To top it all off, Sun Devil fans likely remember Jack Colletto, the quarterback turned linebacker turned offensive running threat who scored two touchdowns against ASU last year. The 6-3, 239-pound power-sized Swiss army knife has seven rushing touchdowns this year on just 23 carries while also tacking on a touchdown catch as well as four tackles and an interception on defense. Though he may sound like a bit of a 'gadget' player, he ranks in the top-10 in the Pac-12 in rushing touchdowns and, in many cases – including against ASU last year – has proven to be extremely difficult to stop, no matter how predictable his presence is on offense.


At wide receiver, Trevon Bradford leads the way with his 31 receptions for 501 yards and four touchdowns – all team highs for the season so far. Earlier this season against California, he set a new single-game career-high with 124 receiving yards.


Bradford is a "super senior" in every sense, as he has played at least four games in every season for the Beavers since 2016 as he was limited to four appearances and was granted a redshirt in 2019. Saturday's game will be his 50th career appearance at Oregon State, and he has 140 career receptions for 1,774 yards with 13 touchdowns.


Former Florida State transfer Tre'Shaun Harrison is Oregon State's second-leading receiver with 22 catches for 308 yards and two touchdowns. He tied his career-high of five receptions last week against Stanford.


In what appears odd and may or may not be an insignificant footnote, Harrison is listed at the bottom – third – on the depth chart at his wide receiver position for this week.


Elsewhere at receiver, Zeriah Beason, Champ Flemings, and Tyjon Lindsey are all expected to see ample action on Saturday.


Flemings ranks third on the team in receiving yards with 241 and has a team-best 21.91 yards-per-catch average. Lindsey ranks third on the squad with 16 catches in just seven games, totaling 232 yards and three scores. Beason has 11 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown.


Teagan Quitoriano and Luke Musgrave are both listed as first-stringers at tight end and have been quite productive this year, as Quitoriano has 15 catches for 166 yards with three touchdowns, Musgrave has 11 receptions for 163 yards, and both players aid in the Beaver run game.


Quitoriano has started all ten games this season, while Musgrave has six starts when Oregon State opens with a two-tight end look.


The Beaver offensive line figures to start tackle Joshua Gray and guard Jake Levengood on the left side, guard Nous Keobounnam and tackle Brandon Kipper on the right side with Arizona native and former University of Arizona transfer Nathan Eldridge at center.


Gray, Eldridge, Keobounnam, and Kipper have each started all ten games, while Levengood has seven starts but has missed three of the last four.


Altogether, Oregon State's offensive line has performed at an exceptional level as it has paved the way for the league's best rush offense while tying for first in the conference and 10th nationally with only ten sacks allowed on the year.


Oregon State Offense Summary


As the numbers indicate, Oregon State is going to prioritize the run game, starting – but certainly not stopping – with Baylor.


However, this is not an offense that is incapable of passing, so ASU can ill afford to go all-in on stopping the run and allow Nolan to connect with Bradford and his other receivers.


With the stellar figures posted by OSU's run game and its offensive line, this should be one of the stiffer challenges ASU's defense – especially its defensive front – has had perhaps all year.


Oregon State Defense


The Oregon State 3-4 defensive alignment begins up front with tackle Alexander Skelton surrounded by ends Simon Sandberg and James Rawls.


Rawls has 22 tackles, including 3.0 for loss, Skelton has 12 total tackles, and Sandberg has 10 tackles, including 2.0 for loss.


As a whole, the Beaver defensive line has generated minimal pressure as the entire group has combined for 1.5 sacks in 10 games.


At linebacker, OSU has an excellent pair of inside 'backers in conference-leading tackler Avery Roberts and Omar Speights.


One of the most productive defenders in the entire nation, Roberts is the Pac-12 leader in total tackles and tackles per game while ranking third nationally in per-game average and fourth in total tackles. He is the only player in the conference thus far to have surpassed the 100-tackle mark for 2021.


In all, he has 111 tackles, including 8.0 for loss with 1.5 sacks, adding an interception, a forced fumble, and two pass breakups.


Roberts, who began his career at Nebraska before transferring to OSU, has at least ten tackles in eight of 10 games this season, including five with at least 12 tackles. Across the 16 games he's played since the start of the 2020 season, he has 12 double-digit tackle games, including a 21-tackle output against Utah last season.


Speights ranks ninth in the Pac-12 in total tackles with 67, including 4.0 for loss with two interceptions.


Andrzej Hughes-Murray and either Addison Gumbs or Riley Sharp figure to start at the two outside linebacker positions for the Beavers.


Hughes-Murray is the team leader with 4.0 sacks and ranks second on the team with 6.5 tackles for loss as part of his 38 total tackles. Sharp has 30 total tackles, including 5.5 for loss with 3.0 sacks, while Gumbs has yet to appear in a game this season.


In the secondary, cornerbacks Rejzohn Wright and Alex Austin are joined by safeties Jaydon Grant and Kitan Oladapo, as well as nickel defensive back Ron Hardge III.


Grant leads all Beaver defensive backs and ranks third on the team with 50 total tackles, adding two interceptions and five pass breakups. Oladapo has 48 tackles, including four for loss and a share of the team-high of eight pass breakups.


Austin has 40 tackles with one interception and six pass breakups, while Wright has 36 tackles, including two for loss, and he splits the team-highs of two interceptions and eight pass breakups. Hardge has 20 tackles with two pass breakups.


Oregon State Defense Summary


Though things have certainly been positive for the Beavers as a team this season, head coach Jonathan Smith implemented a coaching staff shakeup recently by dismissing defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar last week and promoting Trent Bray, a former ASU assistant coach to his position.


In general, the Beavers rank near the middle or in the bottom half of the Pac-12 in several defensive categories as they rank sixth against the run (142.9), seventh in both scoring defense (26.3) and total defense (388.1), and 10th in pass defense (245.2). Although that passing defense number may strike as alluring to a struggling Sun Devil aerial attack, Oregon State is opportunistic against the pass and ranks third in the conference with 12 interceptions.


Oregon State Special Teams


Kicker Everett Hayes has connected on 8-of-12 attempts this year, oddly with two of his four misses coming from between 30-39 yards.


Punter Luke Loecher averages an excellent 47.14 yards on 22 punts. He does not have enough punts to qualify, but if he did, he would rank in the nation's top-10 in punting average.


In the return game, Trevon Bradford averages 8.3 yards on seven punt returns, while Champ Flemings (19.3 avg.) and Jesiah Irish (21.0 avg.) have been the primary kickoff returners.


Overall Summary


Ah yes, the familiar sinking feeling in the stomach of Sun Devil fans everywhere facing a November night game in Corvallis against the Beavers.


Though bowl eligible for the first time since 2013, don't think that Oregon State will coast through its final two games on autopilot on the way to a lower-tier postseason outing.


Like ASU, the Beavers still hold a sliver of hope to win their division as, again like the Sun Devils, the winner of the Oregon – Utah matchup this Saturday could keep the proverbial door open for Oregon State in the north, just as an Oregon win would keep ASU alive in its divisional race heading into kickoff at Reser Stadium.


Again, similar to the Sun Devils, Oregon State is a much, much different team at home versus on the road, as the Beavers are 5-0 this year in Corvallis but 1-4 away from home.


This game places perhaps the top two running backs in the conference against one another in head-to-head action, and the top performer of the two might not only lead his team to victory but could gain significant traction in the race for Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year accolades.


ASU has to do everything necessary to avoid the inexplicable slow start it had last week at Washington, a deficit that was surmountable largely because of the offensive ineptitude by the Huskies. Oregon State is a much different creature offensively, so if the Sun Devils spot the Beavers an early two-score lead as they did with Washington last week, the game can run away from ASU in a hurry.


In all likelihood, key factors in this game – in addition to making sure ASU snaps into action quickly – will be which team steps up the most against the run and which quarterback can avoid critical mistakes.


Familiar Faces

· Oregon State assistant coach Trent Bray coached at ASU from 2009-11


· Oregon State OL Darling Cooper (Gilbert Williams Field HS) and OL Nathan Eldridge (Anthem Boulder Creek HS) are Arizona natives


· ASU WR Chad Johnson, Jr.'s father, Chad Johnson, played at Oregon State in 2000 with current OSU head coach Jonathan Smith at quarterback


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