Oregon State Football @ UTEP: How To Watch, Preview, Storylines
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Last week, the Oregon State football program picked up its first win under new head coach JaMarcus Shephard with a 52-17 rout of Montana in Corvallis. This Saturday, the Beavers play their fourth and final non-conference game of the season on the road against the University of Texas-El Paso, better known as the UTEP Miners.
While this will be Oregon State's final contest of the season that won't be televised nationally, Beaver fans will likely have to purchase at-least a 1-month subscription to the Mountain West Conference's MW+ in order to stream the game.
Here's everything you need to know about Saturday's battle in El Paso as the Beavers go for consecutive wins.
Oregon State Beavers (1-2, 0-0 Pac-12 Conference) @ UTEP Miners (1-2, 0-0 Mountain West Conference)
Date: Saturday, September 26
Time: 6 p.m. PT
Location: Sun Bowl Stadium - El Paso, Texas
TV: MW+ ($10.99 Monthly, $89.99 annually)
Radio: Beaver Sports Network
Point Spread: Oregon State -10.5 on FanDuel
A Return to the Sun Bowl
While the Beavers have not played UTEP previously, they have played in their home stadium, the Sun Bowl, three different times. Appearing in the postseason bowl game of the same name, Oregon State won that contest in 2006 and 2008, while they lost to Notre Dame at the end of the 2023 season. The 2006 and 2008 Sun Bowl wins stand out as two of the more memorable wins of the Mike Riley era.
The Atkinson-Legree Connection
Sophomore Oregon Statequarterback Braden Atkinson has thrown for 1122 yards with eight touchdowns and only one interception through the first three games of the year. Freshman Jesse Legree has gone over 100 yards receiving in each of the first three games, making him the first Beaver to achieve that feat in three consecutive games since Brandin Cooks in 2013. The two are quickly becoming one of the productive quarterback-receiver combos in country. Legree leads the nation in receiving yards with 476, and Atkinson is second nationally in passing yards.
UTEP's Homecoming Game
Oregon State have the honor of being UTEP's homecoming opponent this weekend. History favors the Beavers in this regard as the Miners are 2-8 in their last ten homecoming games.
With a 1-2 start, the Miners' lone victory of the season came at home against FCS Texas Southern two weeks ago. However, UTEP's other two opponents for an Oklahoma team ranked No. 10 at the time in Week One, and last week against No. 19 Michigan. While their loss to Oklahoma was a 51-0 blowout, the Miners played a very strong first half against Michigan before the Wolverines pulled away in that 52-17 result.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
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About State of the Beavs
Each week, veteran sports broadcaster and writer Matt Bagley examines the news and storylines at play for Oregon State University Athletics. Occasionally joined by contributors for On SI's coverage of the Beavers, as well as the occasional guest spot from Beavers past, present, and future. Get caught up with the playlist below. New episodes are typically released on Tuesday mornings.
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Joe Londergan joined the SI brand in 2023 with G5 Football Daily. With over 15 years of experience in covering and working directly in college and pro sports, Joe's expertise has been featured in Front Office Sports, SB Nation, and XRAY.FM. He is a member of both the Football Writers' Association of America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. Joe holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a master's degree in sports administration from Seattle University. Outside of his writing career, Joe enjoys golfing, although he admits that while he hits driver decently, his short game is a liability.
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