Oregon State Cracks Top-50 in Final SP+ Preseason Rankings for 2024
ESPN college football expert Bill Connelly released the final preseason SP+ rankings for the 2024 season on Tuesday.
"SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking," Connelly qualifies when describing the system.
The Oregon State Beavers land at #50 in that list ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Total SP+: 3.2 Offensive SP+" 30.5 (51) Defensive SP+:27.3 (62) Special Teams SP+: 0.6 (10)
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Oregon State finished the 2023 season at #19 in the SP+ rankings. An important thing to keep in mind when it comes to these rankings is returning production is a major point in determining these rankings. Given Oregon State's losses in the transfer portal, including leading rusher Damien Martinez, starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, are hard to ignore in that regard. Then there's the massive change from Jonathan Smith to Trent Bray as the Beavers' head coach after Smith was hired by Michigan State.
Nevertheless, things could certainly be worse for the Beavers, who did make a few notable transfer portal additions of their own and play their first schedule of a post Pac-12 world. The Beavers will get to show how their offseason work has paid off on August 31 when they host Idaho State in Reser Stadium
JOE LONDERGAN
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.