Three Burning Questions For The Oregon State Beavers
By STEVEN VAUGHAN, 750 THE GAME
Oregon State football has gone through a lot in the past 2 seasons. From having a ton of momentum winning the Las Vegas Bowl against Florida to losing their coach and their conference. There has been uncertainty in Corvallis.
Coming into the 2024 season Oregon State has a win total of 7.5 wins according to many of the top sportsbooks in the United States. A doable yet challenging win total for the Beavers. How can Oregon State achieve that goal and win 8+ games? I have three important questions that need to be answered for a good season for OSU.
Who is the quarterback going to be?
It is a three man race for the starting quarterback job. Gevani McCoy, Gabarri Johnson, and returner Ben Gulbranson are all candidates for the job. Right now it sounds as if McCoy is the leader in the clubhouse to get the gig. McCoy is a transfer from Idaho where he threw for 42 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in the past two seasons for the Vandals. McCoy is a former Jerry Rice Award winner, given annually to the top freshman in FCS when he threw for 27 touchdowns as a freshman. Former winners of the Jerry Rice award include Cameron Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Trey Lance and Cooper Kupp.
Gabarri Johnson is a transfer from Missouri. Johnson didn’t throw a pass for the Tigers as a freshman. But he was a four start prospect coming out of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington. The 5’11” quarterback was considered by 247 Sports as the no. 22 quarterback in the nation 2022 class. Johnson said one of the big reasons why he transferred to Oregon State is because of the relationship he has with new offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson who recruited Johnson at UCLA.
The final candidate is Ben Gulbranson. Beavers fans know Gulbranson well. He threw for 1,455 yards in 2022 while leading the Beavers to a 7-1 record in games he started that season.
To me the answer is McCoy. I know what they have in Gulbranson. It’s fine but if Oregon State is looking to win games with the quarterback position it has to be McCoy or Johnson. Gulbranson is a good quarterback with an elite run game and elite defense. Something Oregon State doesn’t have. McCoy has a ton of college experience and deserves a chance to prove what he can do on this level. Johnson is an unknown and I do want to see what the talented freshman can do. But with the experience McCoy has. He needs to be the day one starter, and for Oregon State to win eight games. McCoy has to be a difference maker.
Is the coaching staff ready to lead this program to a higher level?
Oregon State thought they had their guy in Jonathan Smith. Then they didn’t. Now they feel like they have their guy in Trent Bray. Bray is a former Beaver linebacker who seems to love everything about Corvallis and has said all the right things. He also brought in Ryan Gunderson, a former OSU quarterback, to be his offensive coordinator. He brought in Keith Hayward, a former OSU defensive back, as his defensive coordinator. An all Oregon State staff seems like the perfect fit for the fans in Corvallis. You need to have the right mindset for that community. There are a few problems in my opinion. Bray has never been a head coach before. Gunderson has never been a coordinator before. Hayward has been a defensive coordinator for one year with UNLV. That’s not a lot of experience.
On paper all of these guys have great resumes. But in order for Oregon State to win eight games this season. They are going to need the coaching staff to coach up these players, because this is for sure the least talented group Oregon State has had in the past 3 years. I think Bray is going to be a good head coach. But will he be a power 5 good coach? Or a Mountain West good coach? In order for Oregon State to get to eight wins and stay relevant. Bray has to be a good power 5 coach.
Will the fanbase be bought in to the program for the entire season?
Two loses in three seasons. That is all the loses Oregon State has at Reser Stadium in the past three seasons. Reser Stadium has been one of if not the toughest place to play in the Pac-12 the past couple of seasons and a big reason is the fans. The fans have been rabid and loud. In 2022 when Caleb Williams and USC came into Corvallis. We were expecting fireworks. Instead we got a 17-14 USC win where Williams only threw for 180 yards and completing 44% of his passes. It took Oregon State’s Chance Nolan to throw four interceptions in the game for the Trojans to win. Williams went on to win the Heisman trophy that season. Reser Stadium has been a house of horrors for teams. Will that be the case this year?
It’s easy to get up for the games against Oregon, Washington, USC, and Utah. Can the same be said for Colorado State, UNLV, and San Jose State? Those need to be wins for the Beavers this season, and with a less talented roster than years past. They will need the crowd. I think and hope Reser Stadium is packed, full, and loud this year. But how many times can Beavers fans be kicked down and expected to get back up? They don’t have a conference. They lost their coach who was an all time quarterback at the school. They lost their top two quarterbacks, top running back, top receiver, and top tackler in the transfer portal this season. There is a lot of unknown about the future of the program. If Oregon State loses to Oregon at home, and then loses to Purdue the next week at home. Will the fans still come out when they need it the most? I hope so, but I would understand if they didn’t.