– Last Updated on June 8, 2018 7:51 am
2017 Football Preview – Pac 12 – Oregon State Beavers
Looking for 2017 Oregon State Beavers predictions? The Beavers were mostly dreadful last season going 4-8. Their worst stretch came during a 1-7 skid that took up a bulk of the year, yet they did end the campaign with some momentum, going 2-0 in their final games and getting a celebration-worthy win over in-state rivals the Oregon Ducks for their first Civil War victory since 2007.
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- 2017-18 College Football Preview – Oregon State Beavers
- Head Coach: Gary Anderson
- 2015 Record: 4-8
- Oregon State Beavers Odds to win the 2017 FBS Championship: 500-1
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- ***More 2017 NCAA Football Team Season Previews***
The question, of course, is: Will any of that momentum translate to next season?
2017 Oregon State Beavers Predictions: Team Strengths
Momentum/Familiarity: The Beavers don’t have enough momentum to roll to a seven- or eight-win season, but they are showing improvements under head coach Gary Andersen.
In Year 1 of the Andersen experiement, the team found two lonely victories. Last season, it doubled to four.
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There’s an inherent positive that comes from familiarity, and it’s the exact counter to the negative that comes with trying something new. The Beavers aren’t going to shock the world, but they’re slowly turning their program around, and that’s good news for fans in Corvallis.
The Running Game: Oregon State’s biggest strength can be found in the backfield. Ryan Nall, Artavis Pierce and Trevorris Johnson are going to make up one mean running back core. In fact, it very well could prove to be the best in the Pac-12.
On top of that, OSU has a boom-or-bust prospect coming in in the form of former Oregon Duck tailback Thomas Tyner. Tyner, once touted as arguably the best high-school running back in the state, showed NFL potential before dealing with injuries.
If he’s unable to find a spot in Oregon State’s rotation, the team is still set up for immediate success.
If he re-establishes himself as a great running back…watch out.
2017 Oregon State Beavers Predictions: Team Weaknesses
Run Defense: The Beavers’ defense overall showed promise last season. That’s a good start.
The problem? The run defense was still atrocious.
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Last season, Oregon State was 80th in running yards allowed per contest. To make matters worse, they were 101st in yards per carry allowed and 70th in total yards allowed on the ground—all despite being just 30th in rushing attempts allowed.
If the Beavers are able to turn this weakness into a strength, they’ll be in great shape. The catch is that this is a tough task to accomplish over the course of a single season.
Schedule: The schedule is going to do Oregon State no favors this season. Not only does this team start conference play in September, but there’s a tough stretch in the middle that could cause a similar dip to what we saw last year.
For three weeks in a row, Oregon State will play host to the Washington Huskies, then make their way down to USC, then head back home to play the Colorado Buffaloes—the South Division champions.
The Beavers need to hope they can do some damage in non-conference play because it’s tough to picture this group winning more than three games against Pac-12 competition this season.
Oregon State Beavers Prediction: 5-7
Oregon State is trending in the right direction. It improved last season, and it’s going to improve again this season.
The problem is that the team isn’t going to improve enough to make a splash in a Pac-12 North that could prove to be the toughest division in all of college football.
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If the running game is as good as advertised, OSU will be able to compensate for some of its flaws. But if the run defense is as bad as advertised, there won’t be anything that can mask that deficiency.
Beavers fans should be excited about the future, but understanding that there are baby steps involved in the improvement is important when it comes to differentiating between reality and the fantasy that followed a monumental yet insignificant win over the Ducks last December.
2017 Oregon State Beavers Football Schedule
- 8/26/17 2:30 PM ET @CSU
- 8/26/17 2:30 PM ET @CSU
- 9/2/17 2:00 PM ET PRST
- 9/9/17 10:00 PM ET MINN
- 9/16/17 5:30 PM ET @WSU
- 9/30/17 TBD WASH
- 10/7/17 TBD @USC
- 10/14/17 TBD COLO
- 10/26/17 TBD STAN
- 11/4/17 TBD @CAL
- 11/11/17 TBD @ARIZ
- 11/18/17 TBD ASU
- 11/25/17 TBD @ORE
What do you think about our 2017 Oregon State Beavers predictions? Please leave us a comment below telling us how you think they’ll do in 2017!
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