Oregon State Football: Keys To Victory vs. Nevada Wolf Pack
The Oregon State Beavers are 4-1 to start the season, capturing the imagination of Beavs fans who want to see a return to the postseason in year one of the Trent Bray era. They'll have the chance to get to 5-1 this weekend with a road game at Nevada on Saturday at 4:30 PM PT.
Here are three things the Beavers must keep top-of-mind in order to better their chances of a third consecutive win.
Hankerson Must Be Ready To Be The Guy
As of Thursday night, there's no official word on the extent of running back Jam Griffin's injury. The Beavs have some depth at running back with Jake Reichle and Salahadin Allah, who will contribute if the situation calls for it. However, Anthony Hankerson will get the bulk of the carries if Griffin's injury does keep him out for an extended period of time. Hankerson had a career-high 26 carries in the Colorado State win for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Tighten Up on Defense
Don't let the 2-4 mark fool you: Nevada are a fairly efficient offensive club. The Wolf Pack have scored on 21 of 22 trips to the red zone this year. 20 of those trips turned into touchdowns. The Beavs have allowed 12 of 17 opponent red zone trips to become points.
Furthermore, the Beaver defense has had some trouble against the run this season, allowing more than five yards per carry three in three games and six yards per carry twice. Nevada are averaging five yards per carry to start the season.
Keep McCoy Healthy
Gevani McCoy's athleticism was a major factor in him winning the starting quarterback job for the Beavers this fall. His contributions in the running game, especially last week, have helped get OSU to this point. McCoy scored three times on the ground against Colorado State with a career-high 91 yards.
As previously noted, Jam Griffin's injury means the rushing load is going to shift and McCoy could get even more carries. The downside of that is the Beavs may open the Idaho transfer up to more hits and risk injury. Bray and offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson will have to strike that balance on Saturday and in the weeks ahead.
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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.