Oregon St Beavers 2016 NCAA Football Preview
OREGON ST BEAVERS
PAC-12 Conference – North Division
2015 Record – 2-10
ATS – 3-9
2016 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating Rank
North Division #6
Conference #12
2015 Recap
It was expected to be a struggle. Year one of the Gary Andersen regime got off to a bumpy start with a 2-win season and a finishing stretch of nine consecutive losses. The Beavers were one of the most inexperienced teams in the country and it showed on the field. The faithful in Corvallis are hoping for tangible improvement this season.
2016 Preview
OFFENSE
Utah St transfer Darell Garretson might be a nice fit at QB. Last year’s starter Seth Collins moves to WR this season and could provide some interesting options on offense given his overall athleticism. We are actually pretty optimistic about the passing game given the talent on hand. Garretson will have the top two WRs from 2015 to rely upon as well as 6-6 266 (!) monster TE Caleb Smith who only played in two games last season.
The Beavers have to able to find some kind of running game to provide balance to the offense. Otherwise, they are just going to be a mediocre PAC 12 team with a good passing attack and crummy defense.
Last season they managed to rush for 178 yards per game BUT the leading rusher was QB Seth Collins, who as noted earlier, now moves to WR. Essentially, the Beavers are starting over here. We do like the look of the offensive line but just cannot trust the offense until we see some production in the running game vs decent teams.
DEFENSE
Last season the Beavers finished up last or 2nd-last in the PAC 12 in several defensive categories including total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense, pass efficiency defense and sacks. That pretty much covers it. This season they appear to be inexperienced and a bit light on talent once again as three key pieces from the 2015 unit are gone, and nobody with more than two sacks is back for this campaign. Maybe the new DC can make a difference, but in our view, it is going to take at least another year before the Beavers defense is respectable.
SPECIAL TEAMS
There are definite bright spots in this group. The Beavers are set in the kicking game with Garrett Owens and punter Nick Porebski back for this season. Victor Bolden is very dangerous on kickoff returns as he placed in the top-30 in the FBS in kickoff return average and took one back 100 yards for a TD in 2015.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 2.5
MEGALOCKS says:
Looking at the schedule, it is entirely possible that the Beavers get off to a decent start as they face Idaho St, Colorado and California in the first five games, and all of those contests are winnable. After those early games the schedule gets pretty nasty.
Overall, we give the BEAVERS a 2.5 ATS Value Rating (Poor) this season. We feel that the Beavers are still at least a year away from being consistently competitive in the PAC 12. We are pretty certain they will not repeat last season’s 0-9 conference record, or the 3-9 overall mark ATS, but the questionable running attack and defense puts them near the bottom of our ATS rankings to start the season.
Want more Oregon St Football ?
Website
http://www.osubeavers.com/index.aspx?path=football
Forum
http://www.scout.com/college/oregon-state/forums/1704-beaver-football-talk
http://bennyshouse.freeforums.net/board/3/men-iron
News
http://www.oregonlive.com/beaversfootball/
http://bleacherreport.com/oregon-state-football
http://www.buildingthedam.com/football
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/oregon-st-beavers
https://twitter.com/BeaverFootball @BeaverFootball
https://twitter.com/ginamizell @ginamizell Gina Mizell
https://twitter.com/DannyJMoran @DannyJMoran Danny Moran