Oregon State Feeling Good Heading Into Top 25 Matchup Against UCLA

Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei warms up before an NCAA college football game against California, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

By STEVEN VAUGHAN, 750 THE GAME

Most of the college football world is talking about the Oregon/Washington game this week up in Seattle. But the Beavers have a top 25 matchup of their own – a game against UCLA where the loser could be out of the Pac-12 Championship race.

750 The Game Beavers Contributor T.J. Matthewson joined the Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano to talk about how the program is feeling coming into this matchup against the Bruins.

“They got to be feeling good because they played this type of game just two weeks ago against Utah, and you saw how that went,” Mathewson said on 750 The Game. “The Beavers at home just play to their strengths, which is defense. They haven’t needed it to be perfect but when they look across the other side and see another team who might only allow 14-21 points it’s like this kind of plays in to our strengths.”

DJ Uiagalelei has been a lightning rod his whole collegiate career whether it was at Clemson or at Oregon State. But Uiagalelei is coming off his best game as a Beaver when he threw for five touchdowns against Cal. Freshman Aidan Chiles has been inserted into the game plan the last three games even when Uiagalelei is playing well, but Mathewson said he doesn’t understand why the Beavers are taking that approach.

“Some people just love to talk about it,” Mathewson said of the QB juggling. “It’s kind of annoying to talk about it especially after last week. I’m not sure what else DJ’s supposed to do. They’re scheduling these drives for Aidan Chiles, especially in a game against Cal who were able to score 40 points on the Beavers defense, and it’s like, well what if Aidan goes in there and screws up? And it perhaps throws DJ out of rhythm.

“(DJ) has two drives where they score on both of them and he gets yanked out for Aidan Chiles. It’s kind of weird.”

While Uiagalelei had his best game, the Oregon State offense hasn’t been as good as some might have expected overall. Mathewson says consistency in both the run and pass game will help the Beavers reach their potential.

“It comes down to identity. We think of the Beavers as a running team. And they’ve been very successful running the football this season. But they bring DJ in and the idea of bringing DJ in is that your passing game is better. The quarterback consistency has not been there. I think having a multi-dimensional offense is a good thing, but when you don’t always execute all facets of the offense, which we’ve seen from the Beavers this season, it’s hard to stay consistent.”

Oregon State is -3.5 at home against UCLA on Saturday per BetOnline.

Listen to the full interview with T.J. Mathewson by clicking the podcast below. Catch the Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano weekdays 3-6 p.m. in Portland exclusively on 750 The Game.