3 Things We Learned From Oregon State's Loss to Oregon in Week 3
The Oregon State Beavers are 2-1 following a 49-14 loss to the Oregon Ducks on Saturday. Arguably the toughest opponent on paper that Beavers will face this year, it's not all doom and gloom in Corvallis as the season continues for Trent Bray's team.
Here are three things we learned from Beavs' loss that can be built upon for the next several weeks.
Gevani McCoy Is Getting There
The start to Gevani McCoy's tenure as Oregon State's starting quarterback hasn't necessarily been the flashiest. However, it hasn't really needed to be that thanks to the success of OSU's run game. McCoy has been very solid week-to-week, including in the loss to Oregon. McCoy had a season-best rushing day with six carries for 52 yards on top of 22 completions (64.7%) for 172 yards. He has completed 67.1% of his passes through the first three games.
"I think he's gotten better every week," Bray said this week. "There's still stuff he's got to do more of...but he's getting better and he's feeling more comfortable."
Pass Coverage Needs To Be Tighter
Bray noted in his Monday presser that coverage by Oregon State's secondary throughout the contest was too soft at times. This contributed heacily to Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel's stellar day.
"We were either giving them too much respect and playing too soft in coverage or you know basic fundamental techniques weren't there when they have been all year," Bray noted
Gabriel finished the day with 20 completions on 24 attempts for 291 yards and two touchdowns. Gabriel also ran for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Finishing Needs To Improve, Despite A Tough Fight
Through three quarters of Saturday's game, Bray believed the Beavers' were still in the fight, despite an 18-point difference. The Beavers forced just six third downs in the game, allowing the Ducks to convert on four of them. The Beavers were allowing 33% of their defensive third downs to become conversions prior to Saturday.
If the defense gets off the field, the offense obviously has more chances to score. However, OSU's offense was not much better than the defense as the game wore on, with three punts and two turnovers on downs in the second half.
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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.