Oregon State’s homecoming weekend was soured by the Las Vegas Rebels in a 33-25 loss at home. Now, the Beavers seek a rebound performance on the road against the California Golden Bears this week.
“Moving on to Cal, defensively they’re playing really well, a lot of physical kids,” said Oregon State head coach Trent Bray when asked about his initial thoughts on their matchup with Cal at the team’s press conference.
“Offensively they got good runners, doesn’t matter who’s at running back, [their] quarterback is talented, it’s gonna be another defensive challenge for sure,” said Bray.
The Beaver’s O-line was tasked with holding up against the Vegas pass rush, however they allowed six sacks. On top of that, they also failed to block on special teams by giving up a blocked punt.
“You know we had that one bad one under center, and you know stuff happens it’s football, later in the game you get tired which is a factor, but I feel good about [our] snaps, so we need to get snaps in before the play and make sure those are going in,” said center Luka Vincic when asked if the line’s snaps are improving ahead of Cal.
Despite recording a takeaway and holding an offense that was averaging 260 rushing yards per game to just 188, the UNLV loss showed needed improvement for the defense still.
Heading into their matchup against the Golden Bears, this unit is allowing 35.3 points per game over their last three matchups, going 1-2 over this span.
“I do feel like it has have improved; last week after that initial drive, it was the long drive, gave up about 85 yards, after that, we settled down holding them well,” said defensive coordinator Keith Heyward after asked if he feels that the defense has improved from a week ago, “I just think the players did a really good job, the run game, made it an emphasis, and is definitely something to build upon.”
OSU has daunting ramifications ahead of their matchup with Cal. A win could keep them alive for bowl game eligibility, something the program under a first year head coach could greatly benefit from.
The Beavers take off to Berkeley, California to play the Golden Bears this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN2 with high hopes to get their season back on track.