Beavers nearly pitched a shutout against Idaho State, Boise State presents bigger challenge for OSU defense

The Oregon State football team took to the practice field Wednesday in preparation for Mountain West opponent, Boise State.

With the defense in full force and coming off of a 37-7 win against Idaho State last Saturday, the team is looking to build on their momentum that was established against the Bengals.

Defensive coordinator Kevin Clune was pleased with the overall performance of his defensive unit against Idaho State, along with the mindset of his squad.

“There were many things we did well including force turnovers. It seemed every time if we would make a mistake, we would correct it and the players would make a good play,” Clune said.

What the Beavers struggled with against Idaho State was preventing yards per play as well as total yards given up.

“We gave up too many free yards in pass defense and in penalties and we need to improve on that in order to win against an offense that can execute as well as anyone in the country,” Clune added.

Boise State, unlike Idaho State, brings new challenges such as more creativity in the play calling as well as the physicality of their players on offense.

Junior cornerback Dwayne Williams talked about what the defense needs to improve on going into Saturday’s game.

“We always appreciate a win,” said Williams. “We’ve got to do a better job at tackling and playing sound defense, because we understand that Boise is a much better team and going to bring it.”

The Beaver’s were able to do something against Idaho State that they struggled with in the year prior, force pressure on the quarterback and record three sacks. Junior outside linebacker Titus Failauga was responsible for 2 of those sacks.

“I was able to stick to my job, focus on the game plan and was able to get to the quarterback. Turnovers and sacks definitely give the team confidence and it shows others that we can play hard,” Failauga said.

Boise State is 9-3 against Pac-12 opponents since 2006. The Beavers however, hold the winning record overall against the Broncos at 5-3 all time, which should give the defense even more momentum heading into Saturday.

“It is going to be tough, but we have a better chance against Boise (State) than other teams do,” said Failauga. “We can win here, no questions about it.