How The Oregon State Offense Can Pick Up The Defense In 2023
By STEVEN VAUGHAN, 750 THE GAME
What are the expectations for the Oregon State Beavers this fall? My hand is raised for a Vegas trip and a spot in the conference title game.
Coming off of 10 wins, there is a lot of optimism in Corvallis. The Beavers are losing a lot on defense but welcome a big-name transfer at QB in DJ Uiagalelei.
Spencer McLaughlin of the Locked on Pac-12 Podcast joined John Canzano on 750 The Game and had one big question regarding the Beavers.
“How does the potential increase in production, or at least capability, at the quarterback position counteract a potential defensive regression?,” asked McLaughlin on 750 The Game.
That’s a question that Oregon State is going to need to answer. The Beavers defense is losing a lot of players off of last year’s best defense in the Pac-12. McLaughlin thinks that even if Oregon State regresses some, they are still going to have be solid on that side of the ball.
“If Oregon State is a 20% worse defense than they were a year ago, that’s still top half in the Pac-12,” McLaughlin pointed out.
McLaughlin thinks the Beavs new signal-caller at quarterback could compensate for any year-to-year regression seen by the defense.
“I think if the defense is good but not great like it was last year, but you can get DJ Uiagelelei to be a good version of himself — not necessarily the best version of himself, but a good version of himself — then I think your offense can be at the very least more versatile and more multiple than it was a year ago.”
Could a more dynamic passing game have helped last year’s squad to a Pac-12 title game? It’s certainly possible. There should be an improvement at quarterback from 2022 regardless of who wins the starting job in week one. But the real question facing Oregon State is how much can they mitigate against drastic defensive regression from last season’s dominance.
A trip to Vegas may hang in the balance.
Listen to the full interview with Locked on Pac-12 Podcast host, Spencer McLaughlin, by following the link below.
Catch the Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano weekdays 3-6 p.m. in Portland exclusively on 750 The Game.
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