Fixing Special Teams Must Become Oregon State Football's Biggest Priority
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The Oregon State Beavers suffered another excruciating loss in week five against Houston at Reser Stadium. The Beavers (0-5) are off to one of their worst-ever starts in program history, and fans in Corvallis are beginning to feel restless with the team, the coaching staff, and the overall state of the program. There is a lot where the Beavers can improve on. Here are three ways they can get better going forward.
1. Special Teams
This remains the No. 1 way the Beavers can get better, which we've mentioned in quite a few post-game articles, and still nothing has changed. The Beavers' special teams were poor against Cal, Fresno State, and again at home against Houston. Oregon State had two kicks blocked, one right before the first half and the other one that could have been the game-winner.
Beavers coach Trent Bray said Monday that there will be no changes to the special teams coaching staff going forward. Pro Football Focus has given the Beavers a grade of 51.6 on special teams, which ranks 133rd out of 136 teams...It literally can't get much worse at this point.
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2. Scheme better against tight ends
Houston tight end Tanner Koziol had six catches for 86 yards, including one for 50 yards that went for a touchdown. The Beavers' linebackers and secondary have had trouble covering tight ends all season. Ducks tight end Kenyon Sadie reeled in four catches for 60 yards and a touchdown at Autzen Stadium against the Beavers. Texas Tech tight end Terrance Carter Jr had an astounding six catches for 102 yards and a touchdown in the Red Raiders' win over Oregon State. There's a clear and present pattern here.
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3. Secondary has to buckle up and get stops
The Beavers' defense as a whole has been shockingly bad this season. The Beavers have allowed 34,36,45,41, and 27 points through their first five games of the season. The secondary should receive some blame. The Beavers' secondary has allowed two receiving touchdowns to Houston, four to Oregon, and four to Texas Tech. What used to be a “bend but don't break” defense in the past for Oregon State has changed to just “break”.
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Kyle is a 2019 graduate of Southern Oregon University and currently does play-by-play for SOU football and men’s and women’s soccer. He hosts a daily sports show in southern Oregon on The Ace Sports Radio, 107.9 FM and 1300 AM. Kyle also does play-by-play for the Rogue Valley Royals hockey team and the North Medford High School Black Tornado for TableRockSports.net. Kyle lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife and a Dalmatian named Penny.