Oregon State did a lot right in the win over UCLA, but there is work to do during the bye week.
Oregon State has bounced back from its loss at Washington State with three consecutive victories, two of them against ranked opponents. The Beavers (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12 Conference) go into the bye week ranked 12th in the country.
Following are three thoughts on Oregon State’s 36-24 win over UCLA (4-2, 1-2).
Velling’s hot streak
Sophomore tight end Jack Velling entered Saturday’s game against UCLA with a team-high five touchdown receptions. The Bruins must not have seen that statistic because they left Velling wide open for two more touchdowns.
The first touchdown came late in the first quarter on a pass from freshman quarterback Aidan Chiles, who took over for starter DJ Uiagalelei on that series. On third-and-goal from the 10, Velling ran a slant route toward the sideline, caught the pass from Chiles at the 5 and ran untouched into the end zone.
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After the game, Velling wondered if a teammate had successfully screened his defender on the route. There were three defensive backs on that side of the field at the snap, one went with Jesiah Irish and two stayed with Silas Bolden. By the time Bolden’s defenders recognized Velling was the target, it was far too late. This was a well-designed play, executed perfectly.
Velling’s second touchdown came late in the third quarter and is a great example of his growing chemistry with Uiagalelei. Velling ran a simple seam route straight up the field and there wasn’t a Bruin anywhere near him as he caught a pass from Uiagalelei for a 32-yard touchdown.
Velling said the team practiced that play all week and the pass never came to him. Despite that, Velling said after the play was called Uiagalelei told him he might be the target.
Uiagalelei suspected, based on UCLA’s tendencies and the Beavers’ field position, that the Bruins’ two deep safeties might get pulled to the outside, leaving the middle of the field open for Velling. That is exactly what happened and once Velling ran past the linebacker at the line of scrimmage, he was on his own.
“I kind of told him, hey man, be alert, this throw, it’s there, be ready to go,” Uiagalelei said. “He ran a great route, kept it up the seam, got the look we expected right there.”
No redshirt for Chiles
By taking the field Saturday against UCLA, it became official that Chiles would not be using this as a redshirt season. Chiles has now played in five of Oregon State’s seven games and in order to redshirt a player can appear in a maximum of four games.
In truth, redshirting never seemed like a serious option for Chiles or the coaching staff. He arrived at Oregon State as a highly sought after recruit and in the transfer portal era redshirting is less of a consideration for top quarterbacks. It also helped that he arrived early for spring practice and immediately looked like he was ready to play.
In limited action, Chiles’ statistics have been outstanding. He has completed 16 of 21 passes (76%) for 171 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
“We feel like the more opportunities he gets, the better he gets,” coach Jonathan Smith said. “We’re really confident in him, we’re not changing the offense when he goes into the game. He’s comfortable when he goes out there.
“I think it’s been a nice mixture for DJ and Aidan, continuing to work throughout the week because they both feel like they’re preparing to get plays.
“Look, the guy’s our backup quarterback currently. We want to keep getting him in the game so if he’s called upon to win us a game he’s ready to do it.”
The coaching staff is not just considering this season. By showing confidence in Chiles now, they are also sending a message about his future importance to the program.
Defensive concern
The Oregon State defense played a big part in the win over UCLA. First-half interceptions by Akili Arnold, Andrew Chatfield Jr. and Ryan Cooper gave the Beavers a lead they would not relinquish.
Oregon State’s pass defense was outstanding throughout the game, holding the Bruins to 16 completions on 35 attempts for a total of just 169 yards. But the Bruins had consistent success running the ball, finishing with 284 yards on 50 attempts (5.7 yards per carry).
That continues a recent trend. A week ago, California ran for 240 yards on 7.3 yards per carry. In both games, the Beavers were facing opponents with young quarterbacks and their offenses were focused on keeping the ball on the ground.
And it is important to acknowledge that Chip Kelly is a master at designing effective rushing schemes. There is no one better at getting running backs the ball in the open field against single defenders who have to make difficult tackles in space.
With those points in mind, that is still a lot of rushing yards to give up and something Oregon State will work on during the bye week.
“It’s going to be an area of focus, there’s no question,” Smith said. “We get the bye week to kind of study ourselves. We’ve got to shore some things up. I think this rushing total is way higher than we want it, back-to-back weeks and so that’s something we’ve definitely got to put an emphasis on.”
