3 Things We Learned From Oregon State's Win Over Purdue in Week 4
To start Trent Bray's first season as head coach, the Oregon State Beavers are 3-1 following a 38-21 win over a Big Ten opponent in the Purdue Boilermakers. It's an encouraging start for a team who found their identity in the running game over the first 25% of the regular season. That running game was on display once again in this latest victory.
Here's what we learned and what to consider about this Beavs' team during their idle week.
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A good option? The speed option!
One week after the Oregon Ducks found a modicum of success running a number of option plays against the Beavers, OSU did the same thing against Purdue. Quarterback Gevani McCoy executed a handful of successful option runs himself, while also moving the offense down the field pitching to Anthony Hankerson or Jam Griffin at times. McCoy actually posted the highest rushing yardage total of his entire college career in this game with 66 yards. Making this concept more frequent in the play calling seems to fully unlock that aspect of McCoy's skillset.
Darrius Clemons could be a bigger part of the offense
Saturday marked the first game in a Beaver uniform for Michigan transfer receiver Darrius Clemons. Clemons had missed the first three weeks of the season with an injury suffered in fall camp. Clemons made three catches for 35 yards in the game on five targets. Bray noted postgame that his aim was not to burn Clemons out in his first game back. As Clemons gets more comfortable, he could be a bigger target in the upcoming weeks.
"It was great to have Darrius back," McCoy said postgame. "The whole time that he's been out, he's still been at. practice, involved in his playbook...I think he will continue to have a very big impact on our offense and help us out in many ways."
The rushing defense needs to improve against CSU
In the first two weeks of the season, Oregon State's rushing defense turned in strong outings allowing 82 yards against Idaho State and 72 yards against San Diego State. Against the Oregon Ducks, the Beavs allowed 240 rushing yards, then 263 against Purdue.
"Definitely we can't let them run the ball like that," Trent Bray noted after the game, despite his happiness with the overall team effort.
Colorado State will feature a rushing offense averaging a respectable 174.3 yards per game next week.
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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.