Things haven’t been going well for the Beavers in recent seasons, to put it lightly. Oregon State has won a total of seven games the past three seasons and notched just a single victory in 2017. While there is some hope that new head coach Jonathan Smith – a former Beavers’ quarterback – can turn things around, it won’t be a quick fix and it’ll take some time before Oregon State is a real factor in the Pac-12 North.
Oregon State 2018 regular season win total
Over 3 (-115)
Under 3 (-115)
Odds courtesy of BetDSI Sportsbook.
What Happened Last Year
The Beavers started out 1-1 after a win against Portland State, and then it was all downhill as the team lost 10 straight to close out the season. The Beavers also lost starting quarterback Jake Luton to injury early in the season and had to deal with a midseason coaching change as Gary Andersen left after six games. While it may take some time for the wins to come, Smith appears to be a good fit to lead the program and that stability alone should be a positive development.
What Will Change This Year
A week one trip to Ohio State certainly won’t make things easy on the new coaching staff and a week three matchup at Nevada won’t be a cakewalk either. The home opener against Southern Utah looks to be the Beavers best shot at a non-conference win and a chance for the team to develop some momentum.
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Outlook & Prediction
While Luton will likely be back at quarterback, the Beavers will need to find a way to replace running back Ryan Nall. Not only will they need to replace him, but they will need to find ways to increase production as the team only averaged 20.7 points per game in 2017. With a senior quarterback and stability in the coaching ranks, Oregon State may be a better football team in 2018, but that improvement won’t necessarily show up in the wins column – at least not in a major way. It’s hard to find wins on the Oregon State schedule and four wins seems very unlikely, take the under.
