Oregon State is in the thick of the Pac-12 title race
As the Oregon State football team gets back to action after its bye week, the primary goals the team had set at the beginning of the season are still in reach.
The Beavers (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12 Conference) are one of four teams with one loss in conference play and will host Washington, the sole unbeaten team, in mid-November.
A berth in the Pac-12 Championship game and even a spot in the College Football Playoff remain real possibilities. Coach Jonathan Smith said he knows players are aware of the bigger picture, but he does not want the team looking past upcoming games against Arizona, Colorado and Stanford.
“We’re not trying to dodge. We want some energy and excitement about what we’re doing,” Smith said Monday at the Valley Football Center. “We want to play in meaningful games at the end of the year and the only way you’re going to do that is taking care of business right now.”
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There were just four Pac-12 games on the slate this weekend. UCLA took care of business against Stanford, and Oregon pulled away for a win over Washington State. But USC’s recent slide continued with a home loss against Utah and Washington was fortunate to escape with a win over visiting Arizona State.
With five weeks remaining in the regular season, the conference race appears to be wide open.
Smith gave the players time off during the bye week and the team held just a couple of practices, including a session Sunday night. The bye week is an opportunity for players to recover after the opening stretch of the season and the squad is in pretty good shape in terms of injuries.
Defensive back Ryan Cooper Jr. started in the win over UCLA and made one of the key plays of the game with a 67-yard interception return. But Smith said he is continuing to struggle with an injury that has been bothering him for weeks and his status for the Arizona game will be decided later in the week.
Center Jake Levengood sat out the UCLA game due to injury and guard Tanner Miller slid over to that spot in his absence. Smith said Levengood practiced Sunday and the team is optimistic he will play Saturday.
Pac-12 in AP poll
Oregon State climbed a spot in this week’s poll, moving up to No. 11. Washington (7-0, 4-0) is the top-ranked team in the conference at No. 5 and Oregon (6-1, 3-1) is eighth. Utah (6-1, 3-1), which announced Saturday that quarterback Cam Rising will not return this season, is ranked 13th. UCLA (5-2, 2-2) is ranked 23rd and USC (6-2, 4-1) fell to the 24th spot.
Colorado kickoff set
Another night game was added to Oregon State’s schedule Monday. The Beavers will kick off at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4 against Colorado in Boulder. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
