Arizona State @ Oregon State preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 1, 2011 ) Oregon State 20, Arizona State 35

Arizona State and Oregon State are coming off painful losses as they head into their pivotal Pac-12 Conference game Saturday night in Corvallis, Ore. The key matchup will be Oregon State’s aerial game against Arizona State’s secondary. Despite owning the 15th-best passing attack in the nation, the No. 13 Beavers are switching their starting quarterback, giving Cody Vaz the nod after Sean Mannion was intercepted four times in last weekend’s upset loss against Washington. Vaz will be up against the third-stingiest pass defense in the nation and the No. 2-ranked team in sacks.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Oregon State -4.5

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12): The Wildcats are hoping two key pieces of their defense are back on the line against Oregon State. Defensive lineman Will Sutton, who leads the team in sacks (8.5), suffered a bone bruise to his knee during the first series against Oregon two weeks ago, then missed last weekend’s last-second loss against UCLA. Defensive end Junior Onyeali is aiming to return from a shoulder injury that has forced him to depart the last two games. Onyeali has five sacks this season. Sutton and Onyeali would help shore up a defense that missed an extraordinary amount of tackles last week.

ABOUT OREGON STATE (6-1, 4-1): Stuffing the opponent’s run game remains a key part of Oregon State’s success this season. The Beavers are allowing an average of 83.4 rushing yards, which is fifth-lowest in the nation, and 2.9 yards per carry. The toughest players to block have been linebackers Michael Doctor and Scott Crichton. Doctor had nine tackles last week against Washington to boost his team-leading total to 46. Crichton has 12.5 tackles for loss this season, including eight sacks. They’ll be up against an offensive line that allows an average of three sacks, which is 105st in the nation.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Vaz started two games last month while Mannion was recuperating from a knee injury and led the Beavers to wins against BYU and Utah.

2. Arizona State running backs D.J. Foster and Marion Grice have combined for 51 receptions, 10 for touchdowns. Grice has 12 touchdowns overall, which is third-most in the conference.

3. The Sun Devils started 5-1 last season before losing their final five games. They started 5-1 again this season and have now lost two straight.

PREDICTION: Oregon State 31, Arizona State 21