Colorado @ Oregon State preview
Reser Stadium
Last Meeting ( Oct 1, 2016 ) Oregon State 6, Colorado 47
Two Pac-12 teams in varying degrees of turmoil meet Saturday afternoon when Oregon State hosts Colorado. The Beavers started the week by announcing that the program and head coach Gary Andersen have mutually agreed to part ways after a 7-23 record over the last 2½ seasons while the defending Pac-12 South-champion Buffaloes find themselves struggling at the bottom of the division at 0-3.
Andersen is walking away from a contract that was guaranteed to pay him $12.6 million through the 2021 season and cited issues with the program’s direction and his assistants as a reason for his abrupt departure, according to texts sent to reporters at the Oregonian newspaper. In the meantime, Oregon State has appointed cornerbacks coach Cory Hall, who only has been with the program since 2016, to serve as the interim coach as the school organizes a national search to make a full-time hire for 2018. Colorado, meanwhile, will be trying to bounce back from a deeply disappointing 45-42 loss last Saturday to visiting Arizona in which backup quarterback Khalil Tate replaced injured starter Brandon Dawkins early in the game and proceeded to burn the Buffaloes with an FBS quarterback-record 327 rushing yards and five total touchdowns. “I’ve had teams that have lost hope, but I don’t think that this team has gotten even close to losing hope,” Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said in his weekly Tuesday news conference. “I think this team has just gotten mad, and that’s a good emotion when you push it the correct way.”
TV: 4 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network. LINE: Colorado -11
ABOUT COLORADO (3-3, 0-3 Pac-12): The Buffaloes have been blown out by Washington (37-10) and dropped narrow decisions to UCLA (27-23) and Arizona to enter the week as one of three winless teams in Pac-12 play. Overshadowed by Tate and the Wildcats on Saturday, Colorado senior running back Phillip Lindsay rushed for a career-high 281 yards and three TDs on 41 carries and trails only Stanford standout Bryce Love on the conference rushing leaders list at 135 yards per outing. On the other side of the ball, linebackers Rick Gamboa (8.3 tackles) and Drew Lewis (7.5) lead a defense which started strong but has since surrendered an average of 36.3 points and 482.7 yards in Pac-12 play.
ABOUT OREGON STATE (1-5, 0-3): The Beavers’ only win has come against FCS-member Portland State (35-32), but they’ve opened conference play with a brutal gauntlet in losing to nationally-ranked Washington State (52-23), Washington (42-7) and USC (38-10), with the first and third contests on the road to boot. That certainly hasn’t helped the program’s stat line, which shows Oregon State at the bottom of the conference in scoring offense (19.3 points), scoring defense (45.0), total offense (321.2 yards) and turnover differential (minus-7). Senior Darell Garretson has replaced the injured Jake Luton as the starting quarterback for the last two games but has only thrown for 271 yards, no TDs and an interception while the Beavers likely will get back leading rusher Ryan Nall (68.2 yards, 4 total TDs) after he missed last Saturday’s loss at USC with a sprained ankle.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The series is knotted at two wins apiece since Colorado joined the Pac-12 in 2011, but the Buffaloes have won the last two, including a 47-6 romp last season in Boulder.
2. Lindsay ranks second to Love in Pac-12 all-purpose yards (160.0) and became the Buffaloes’ all-time leader last week with 4,989 yards.
3. LB Manase Hungalu leads the Beavers in total tackles (48), tackles for loss (3.5), sacks (1.5) and interceptions (two).
PREDICTION: Colorado 33, Oregon State 16