Keys to Victory For Washington State Football at Oregon State

November football begins for Washington State with it taking on its lone Pac-12 counterpart, Oregon State, for the first time this season. The Cougs and Beavs will end their regular season together as well in a few weeks but the focus right now is on Corvallis and the game in Reser Stadium. The Beavers come in with a lowly 1-7 record with their only win coming against FCS Lafayette. It's a game that WSU should win and if they want to avoid the upset, here's what they'll have to do against OSU on Saturday.

Fix Streakiness on Offense

Lately Washington State's offense has been productive enough to get it done but they could be a whole lot more balanced while doing it. Last week in the win over Toledo, WSU scored 21 of its 28 points in the third quarter but got blanked in the first and third frames. After two punts to start the game, the Cougars scored on their next three possessions before again failing to produce any points on their next four drives. All was well that ended well against the Rockets but it would be in their best interest to stop the hot and cold streaks.

Putting together longer, more sustained drives will go a long ways and Oregon State might be just the team to do that against. The Beavers haven't done that great of a job at putting a stop to opposing offenses in 2025. Zevi Eckhaus and his unit need to put a real emphasis on moving the chains, especially in short yardage situations and not necessarily going for the home run ball. If WSU can get points on the majority of its drives, it should comfortably come out with a victory here.

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Shut Down Hankerson

One of Oregon State's biggest offensive weapons this season has been running back Anthony Hankerson and, simply put, if he isn't doing anything then neither are the Beavs. Hankerson has run for 671 yards and six touchdowns this season, enough to lead the team by quite a wide margin. If the Cougs can bottle him up and force OSU quarterback Maalik Murphy to hand the ball off to other carriers or throw, then their odds get even better.

Murphy has had a rough season throwing the ball, having tossed on average one interception per game this year. Putting the ball in the air is an adventure for the Beavers and stopping Hankerson will be the top way to make that happen. Guys like Isaac Terrell and Parker McKenna will play a big role for Washington State's defense in slowing down the rushing attack. For a duo that has 77 combined tackles and 5.5 sacks, these two need to be the enforcers every time the Oregon State runs it.

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Take Advantage of OSU's Third Down Woes / Avoid Fourth and Short

The Beavers have really not been good at moving the chains on third down this year, converting less than 40% of the time on the critical down. They do, however, improve significantly on fourth down when they do go for it. That's why the Cougs need to not only stop Oregon State on third but do in such a way that results in distances that all but force them to punt. Making plays that lose OSU yards will be critical and sacks might be the way to do it.

The Beavers have given up 12 sacks this year for a total of 93 yards lost. If the Washington State defensive line can pin its ears and dial up pressure on third down, there's a good chance they can get the Beavs moving backwards. Keeping Oregon State away from fourth and manageable is important. This is a team that is already out of bowl contention and doesn't have a lot to lose at this point. Odds are they'll be more likely to roll the dice on fourth down than most of the teams WSU faces this year. The Cougars can't even give them the chance.

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