Chantel Jennings, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Oregon State Beavers preview

What to expect from Gary Andersen’s first season in Corvallis remains a mystery. On offense, the Beavers lose the Pac-12’s all-time leading passer in Sean Mannion. On defense, they get just two starters back. On the sideline, Oregon State has an entirely new staff. The only certainty: A North title is out of reach.

Offense

How the Beavers beat you: The loss of Mannion leaves a massive void for the Pac-12’s lowest-scoring offense (25.7 ppg) in ’14, but the new QB won’t be without versatile playmakers at just about every skill spot. Top target Victor Bolden (72 catches and 798 yards, both team highs) returns at flanker, and split end Jordan Villamin came on late as a redshirt frosh, grabbing 4 TDs and averaging 17.4 yards per catch in November (578 yards and 6 TDs overall). But more important than the wideouts is the return of RB Storm Woods. His carries (12.1 per game in ’14) will almost certainly increase with Andersen, who arrives with a well-known rep earned at Utah State and Wisconsin. “I’m not going to sit here and make any promises,” he says, “but everywhere we’ve been, we’ve run the ball effectively.”

How you beat the Beavers: Even with OSU’s veteran line, the thought of facing true frosh QB Seth Collins or redshirt frosh QB Nick Mitchell must have Pac-12 front sevens planning a blitz party. OSU gave up 36 sacks (tied for No. 102 in the FBS) and converted on just 31.7 percent of third downs, a Pac-12 worst. Oh, and the Beavers will face three of the top 10 most efficient pass-rush units from ’14 (Utah, Stanford and Washington), not to mention a Week 2 trip to Michigan (No. 25).

Defense

How the Beavers beat you: OSU’s new D-coordinator, Kalani Sitake, oversaw a Utah group that led the nation in sacks (55) in ’14. While he wants the Beavers to be as aggressive, especially up front, Sitake inherits a team that lost its top six tacklers and excelled at stopping the pass (248.1 ypg, No. 3 in the Pac-12) but not getting to the QB (29 sacks, tied for No. 8 in the league). Still, DT Lavonte Barnett (tied for a team-high 4½ sacks) returns, as do DE Jaswha James and Miami transfer Jalen Grimble, who missed six games with a knee injury. “That’s the biggest thing that’s changed—energy,” says Grimble of Sitake’s emphasis on pressure. “There’s no relaxing, no taking plays off.”

How you beat the Beavers: With OSU transitioning to a more flexible 3-4 and working in nine new starters, growing pains are to be expected, though Andersen says the overhaul is “a tremendous opportunity that’s presented for a bunch of young players.” Yet the reality remains that a veteran group gave up 31.6 points per game (No. 9 in the Pac-12) in ’14, despite being No. 4 in total D (406.3 ypg). Some of that discrepancy can be attributed to late-season lapses in the air—while OSU finished with a TD-per-attempt rate of 4.7 percent, that number rose to 8.4 percent over the final four games.

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