Pac-12 football: Gary Andersen believes Oregon State is ready to compete

The second half of last November’s rivalry game represented everything that Gary Andersen wants from his Oregon State football program.

The Beavers ran through the heart of Oregon’s defense as they rallied for a 34-24 victory. Ryan Nall finished with 155 rushing yards in an effort that validated OSU’s toughness. And now, the Beavers have to keep opponents from doing the same thing to them, as they open the season Saturday at Colorado State.

Oregon State’s defense improved markedly in 2016, yet the Beavers still gave up 179 rushing yards to Utah’s Joe Williams in his return from retirement. Starting from a baseline of an 0-9 conference record in Andersen’s first season, the Beavers have come a long way. But much more remains for them to move into the middle tier of the Pac-12 North.

Offensively, they need a better passing game. Junior college transfer Jake Luton was awarded the starting job over former Utah State quarterback Darell Garretson, who broke his ankle against Utah last October, and is expected to upgrade the position.

Defensively, Andersen wants 30 sacks and 30 takeaways from a group that produced 18 sacks (tying for the fewest in the Pac-12) and 20 turnovers last season. And “we need to stop the run,” he said.

That’s always the starting point for the Cottonwood High School graduate, a former Utah defensive coordinator and Utah State head coach. The Beavers should provide more resistance up front this season, after the defense posted some nice statistics against the pass in 2016 – mainly because running against them was too easy at times.

“I would say our kids believe they have the physical ability and toughness to impact games now,” Andersen said.

The Beavers don’t play Utah this year in the Pac-12′s scheduling rotation, the first time that’s happened in the Utes’ seven seasons of Pac-12 membership. In any case, the first half of the schedule is challenging at this stage of the program’s development. Nonconference games with Colorado State and Minnesota will be good tests, and OSU’s first three Pac-12 opponents are Washington State, Washington and USC.

OSU is visiting Colorado State this weekend, as the Rams take advantage of their opportunity to play 13 games. So the Beavers will have two byes in 14 weeks.