Next Steps: How Oregon State Moves On From Embarrassing Fresno State Loss
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The Oregon State Beavers are coming off of a confusing and disappointing loss in Week Two against Fresno State at Reser Stadium. The Beavs allowed 16 fourth quarter points in the 36-29 loss. Special teams were an obvious issue, and the Beavs defense was giving up big yardage throughout the game. Here’s where the Beavers can improve going forward.
1. Figure out the special teams debacle
This one is much easier said than done, but it needs to be addressed. The Beavs suffered from six botched snaps on special teams. The Oregon State special teams suffered from two missed PAT’s and a missed field goal which caused the Beavers to have to go for two late in the game which they failed to convert.
The special teams will only be tougher to execute outside of the friendly confines of Reser when the Beavs are playing in Lubbock and in front of the raucous crowd in Eugene.
MORE: How Did Oregon State's Future Opponents Fare In Week Two?
2. Stop the run
The Oregon State defense has been porous at best throughout the first two weeks. Fresno State sprinted for 197 yards on the ground, and starting Bulldogs running back Rayshon Luke averaged 7.2 yards per carry.
The Beavers lost contain on Bulldogs quarterback E.J. Warner quite a few times, as Warner scrambled out of the pocket three separate times for a total of 57 yards. The Beavers will face much better running backs in the next two weeks than they have in the first two weeks, and will need to buckle up on defense to prevent any embarrassing losses.
3. Execute better on two-point conversions (or conversions, in general)
With the lapse of production from Oregon State’s special teams, they have been forced to go for two four separate times in the first two weeks of the season. The Beavers have failed to convert on each of the four attempts, and the game against Fresno State could have been different if the Beavs would have just converted on one of their attempts.
Oregon State will continue their season this week on Saturday (September 13) with a trip to Lubbock, Texas Tech to face a Texas Tech team ranked inside the top 25, followed by a trip to Eugene on September 20 to face Dan Lanning and an even higher-ranked Oregon Ducks squad.
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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.