Oregon State Football: Keys To Victory vs Air Force
The Oregon State Beavers dropped to 4-5 last Saturday, thanks to a 24-13 loss to the San Jose State Spartans. That loss marked Oregon State's fourth consecutive defeat this season. After starting the season with aspirations of reaching a bowl game, the Beavers need to win two of their final three games to make that happen.
Now, the Beavers face a 2-7 Air Force team that has struggled mightily this year. After this, it gets significantly harder with games against Washington State and Boise State, both of whom are ranked. Here are three things Oregon State needs to do this week to get back to .500 on the year.
Seriously, Stop Turning The Ball Over
We've said this many times this year, but it remains incredibly important - the Beavers have to hang on to to the ball. We said it again last week, but OSU turned the ball over three times, including one interception that turned into an easy pick six. OSU are -5 in turnover margin this season, outside the top 100 in FBS.
While the Beavers lead the nation in average time of possession with 35 minutes per game, Air Force are not far behind at 33 minutes per game. Bottom line: not turning the ball over limits Air Force's opportunity to drain the clock.
Red Zone Execution Has To Be Better
Oregon State have reached the red zone 35 times this year. In those trips, they have scored 22 touchdowns (20 rushing, two passing) and kicked five field goals. That's a red zone conversion rate of 77.1% - #109 in FBS. Last week against San Jose State, Oregon State had a number of ill-fated possessions that ended in the red zone - one was a lost fumble, one was a turnover on downs, and one was an interception.
"There's some things that we could certainly do differently in execution. It's usually the stuff that leads up to it also. I've thought long and hard about a lot of that stuff. So hindsight is 2020 and there's things I would certainly like to change," offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson said this week of the those issues close to the goal line.
Defensively, Stick To Your Assignments
Even though things have not gone Air Force's way in most games this season, the triple-option can't be taken lightly. If one point of attack isn't open, the Falcons can quickly shift to another. Winning individual battles and not requiring other players to abandon their own assignments in order to cover up a weak spot in the defense will go a long way.
"Playing against this offense, if you would have one person not be right, then they'll gas you, and they'll find it. So we need everybody to do their job. They're one eleventh, right? Because it's not going to be one person," defensive coordinator Keith Heyward said this week.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
Week 12 - Oregon State Football @ Air Force: How To Watch, Preview, Time, Date, Storylines
State of the Beavs: What is the future of Oregon State Football? + Beavs Basketball Has Begun
WATCH: Trent Bray Talks Final Stretch of Oregon State's Football Season
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.