Oregon State Football: Keys To Victory vs San Diego State
The 1-0 Oregon State Beavers are in sunny San Diego this week to face Sean Lewis' SDSU Aztecs. The Aztecs are also coming off of a victory last weekend and, while young, demonstrate some promise in Lewis' system. It's a battle of two west coast schools looking for their first FBS win of the season.
Here's what Trent Bray's Beavers need to do to move to 2-0 and claim a win over their Mountain West foes.
Start Things Off Right
Last week against Idaho State, two of Oregon State's first three drives had, frankly, pretty disastrous endings. Their first possession ended in a lost by fumble by Jam Griffin in the red zone. The Beavs' third possession ended in a safety as a result of bad snap on a punt attempt that went out of bounds in the end zone.
No matter who the opponent is, this team can't afford to let things like that happen and get put in a hole early.
The Foe That Knows You Well
Oregon State's rushing attack looks like the thing they'll be hanging their hat on this season, between the stable of solid running backs and an experienced, technically-sound offensive line. Few people probably know that more than Sean Lewis, who was Colorado's offensive coordinator last season. In that role, he made use of three notable current Oregon State starters with the Buffs: Anthony Hankerson, Van Wells, and Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan.
Obviously, don't deviate much from what you do best, but the Beavs may need to sneak one or two surprises into the play calling this week, to keep Lewis and the Aztecs from completely figuring them out.
Keep The Aztecs' Backfield In-Check
SDSU true freshman quarterback Danny O'Neil had a good start to his college career last week against Texas A&M-Commerce with two touchdown passes and 214 yards through the air. Given his lack of game experience, Melvin Jordan and the rest of the defense need to generate pressure and make O'Neil uncomfortable.
The good news for the Aztecs is they have Marquez Cooper at running back, who would probably be the best running back in the G5 if not for Boise State's Ashton Jeanty. Cooper had 27 carries for 223 yards and two touchdowns.
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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.