Oregon State football finished the 2022 season with an impressive 10-3 record, and the losses came against USC, Utah and Washington. While Utah blew out Oregon State, the USC and Washington games both came down a field goal. The Beavers also rattled off elite wins over Oregon and Florida in the bowl game.
DraftKings Sportsbook has set the price on Oregon State’s win total at 8.5, with the over priced at only +120. The Beavers are +1200 to win the Pac-12, which is behind USC, Oregon, Washington and Utah. With another strong season expected from bookmakers, let’s dive into Oregon State’s season preview.
2023 Oregon State Football Predictions & Season Preview
Oregon State Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff
Oregon State retains the services of Jonathan Smith for his sixth season as head coach. Smith has a 26-31 record with Oregon State, but he has done a solid job turning the program around. After three straight losing season under Smith, Oregon State has 17 wins over the past two years. This season, Smith returns almost complete continuity in his coaching staff. At offensive coordinator, Brian Lindgren also returns for his sixth season. Prior to the Oregon State gig, Lindgren coordinated Colorado’s offense from 2013 to 2017. Trent Bray returns as defensive coordinator for his second season after a strong showing in 2022. Bray previously coached linebackers with Oregon State from 2018 to 2021. The continuity among coaches should be a positive for this team.
Oregon State Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense
Quarterback
Oregon State hit the transfer portal and brought in former Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. He completed 229 of 370 passes last year (61.9% completion percentage) for 2,521 yards (6.8 yards per attempt), 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Uiagalelei is listed at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, but has allegedly lowered his playing weight. He has solid mobility with 545 yards on 142 carries last year. These numbers include 20 sacks, which should improve in Oregon State’s offense. He finished as the fifth-graded quarterback in the ACC last year, per PFF. He will now join Ben Gulbranson, who took over for Chance Nolan after injury last year. Nolan has since transferred to TCU. Gulbranson completed 121 of 194 pass attempts (62.4%) for 1,455 yards (7.5 yards per attempt), nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Gulbranson does have some mobility with 52 yards on 40 attempts. However, his efficiency metrics and rushing ability both trail Uiagalelei. As of right now, Uiagalelei should be considered the favorite to start, but Gulbranson proved more than serviceable as a potential starter as well. Behind them, Oregon State recruited 4-star freshman Aidan Chiles, who should serve as depth this year and potentially become the quarterback of the future. This is a strong quarterback room by normal Oregon State standards.
Running Back
Oregon State returns its top 3 rushers. 2022 breakout freshman Damien Martinez returns after leading the team with 982 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 161 attempts. He also caught four passes for 61 yards, but Oregon State didn’t really use its backs in the pass game. Martinez is 6-foot-1, 216 pounds, and registered strong efficiency metrics with 3.48 yards after contact per attempt and a 24.8% forced missed tackle rate. Behind him, Deshaun Fenwick and Jam Griffin both return as well. Fenwick is 6-foot-2, 226 pounds, and rushed 113 times for 553 yards and seven touchdowns and caught four passes for 15 yards. His 3.07 yards after contact per attempt and 15% forced missed tackle rate are around the league average. Finally, Griffin is 5-foot-9, 210 pounds, and rushed 85 times for 486 yards and four touchdowns, caught three passes, logged 3.80 yards after contact per attempt and forced a missed tackle on 35.3% of his attempts. Oregon State is loaded at the running back position.
Wide Receiver
While the Beavers implement a run-heavy offense that often uses two tight ends, they have some decent receiving options. They do lose Tre’Shaun Harrison and Tyjon Lindsey, but second-leading receiver Anthony Gould returns. At 5-foot-8, 164 pounds, Gould logged 27 catches for 457 yards and three touchdowns last year. He played out wide 62.7% of the time and his 2.5 yards per route ranked fifth in the Pac-12. Fourth leading receiver Silas Bolden also returns after 23 catches for 307 yards and four touchdowns last year. At 5-foot-8, 152 pounds, Bolden played out wide 86.3% of the time and his 1.88 yards per route ranked 21st. John Dunmore also returns after nine catches for 95 yards. He is 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, and played out wide 89.3% of the time and registered 1.36 yards per route. Oregon State will rely on some familiar faces for depth like Jesiah Irish. However, the rest of the receiver room is relatively inexperienced. With this group coming in top-heavy, Oregon State will hope for health from this group.
Tight End
The Beavers lost Luke Musgrave to the NFL Draft. However, Jake Overman actually led the position with 587 snaps after Musgrave went down with an injury. Overman is 6-foot-4, 241 pounds, and blocked on 77.7% of his snaps. As a receiver, he caught seven passes for 51 yards. They also return Jack Velling, who caught 16 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns last year. He blocked on 55.5% of his snaps, but at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, he should function more as the receiving tight end here. From there, Oregon State added Cal transfer Jermaine Terry II, who is 6-foot-4, 255 pounds. He blocked on 55% of his snaps, but also caught seven passes for 41 yards. Lastly, Bryce Caufield has received some hype this spring at the tight end position. He only played 31 snaps last year, but he is 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, and actually came to Oregon State as a receiver. He could be another player who helps fill the Musgrave void. Oregon State has solid tight end depth, which should help its lack of depth at receiver.
Offensive Line
Oregon State lost just right guard Brandon Kipper from last year’s unit. From left to right, Oregon State returns left tackle Joshua Gray, who played 847 snaps last year. Gray already has three years of starting experience, developing into an elite run blocker from his left side. At left guard, Heneli Bloomfield returns after 505 snaps last year. He has two years of starting experience, excelling in all facets of offensive line play. At center, Jake Levengood returns after 807 snaps last year. A three-year starter, he allowed just 13 pressures and no sacks last year. The right guard position should be filled by Marco Brewer, who played 245 snaps in just six games last year. Brewer began the year as the starter before going down with an injury. He also played 560 snaps in 2021, giving him plenty of elite experience. Finally, Oregon State returns right tackle Taliese Fuaga after 810 snaps last year. Fuaga only has one year of starting experience, but he also allowed zero sacks and just 11 quarterback pressures in his first year as a starter. If that wasn’t enough Grant Starck transfers in from after starting at left tackle for Nevada last year. He played 859 snaps and allowed just 20 pressures. He could function as a swing tackle or take over a guard spot with a strong summer. This offensive line should be among the best in the country again in 2023.
Oregon State Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense
Oregon State ranked 29th on defense in 2022. This included the 27th-ranked run defense, 110th-ranked pass rush and 19th-ranked secondary. The defense now loses three starters in the secondary and two linebackers. However, it added three transfers, with a number of depth pieces ready to make the jump to starting snaps.
Defensive Line
On the edge, Oregon State doesn’t lose anyone of consequence. John McCartan led the group with 468 snaps last year. He logged 34 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack last year. McCartan performed a little better as a run defender, but he figures to play a role in this rotation. Coming out of spring, Oregon State listed him as a co-starter with Andrew Chatfield Jr. Chatfield played 333 snaps last year, logging 20 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. He had superior pass rush numbers to McCartan and could play a larger role in 2023. The team also returns Sione Lolohea after 356 snaps last year. Another solid run defender, Lolohea recorded 33 tackles, six tackles for loss and two sacks last year. Oregon State listed him as a solo starter after spring. The Beavers also use a rush backer, where they listed Corey Stover as a starter. Stover only played 276 snaps last year, but he graded out well from this position. He finished with 16 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. Houston transfer Mason Tufaga also projects to see some snaps from this position. Oregon State will hope that another year in the program will help the pass-rushing numbers for most of these players.
On the interior, Oregon State returns James Rawls and Joe Golden. Last year, Rawls played 589 snaps and led the team with ten tackles for loss. He only had 1.5 sacks, but he provided a pass-rushing presence from the interior of the defense. Golden played 128 snaps and functioned more as a run stuffer. He somehow only recorded four tackles but opened the field for others to make plays. Isaac Hodgins also returns after 366 snaps last year. He logged 18 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, but left spring listed behind Golden on the depth chart. Regardless, these three should comprise the main defensive tackle rotation.
Linebacker
Oregon State lost Omar Speights and Kyrei Fisher-Morris this offseason. Speights will be a major loss for this defense after leading the team in tackles and starting for four seasons. Fisher-Morris also ranked third in tackles, leaving a void here. The listed starters coming out of spring were Easton Mascarenas-Arnold and John Miller. Mascarenas-Arnold played 300 snaps last year and recorded 37 tackles. Miller only played 19 snaps last year and could be a candidate to lose snaps. In the transfer portal, the Beavers added Illinois transfer Calvin Hart, who played 383 snaps last year. They also landed Wyoming transfer Oluwaseyi Omotosho, who played 519 snaps last year. Honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see both transfers start this season.
Defensive Back
At corner, the Beavers lost Alex Austin and Rejzohn Wright. This leaves just Ryan Cooper Jr. as returning starters. Cooper played 658 snaps last year and led the team with 11 pass breakups and three interceptions. His talents will be needed this year with two new starters in Jaden Robinson and Tyrice Ivy Jr. likely to take over the other corner positions. Robinson played 129 snaps in four games last year, recording 13 tackles in the process. Ivy is a junior college prospect. He broke up three passes with the College of San Mateo last year. Other players on the depth chart include Noble Thomas, Joe Swen and Jack Kane. However, none of them have much experience.
At safety, the Beavers lost Jaydon Grant, but they return Kitan Oladapo. Oladapo played 778 snaps last year and broke up six passes. He also ranked second on the team with 80 tackles. Oregon State listed Akili Arnold as his counterpart, but he only played 155 snaps last year. Arnold did have 12 tackles, but he still lacks experience. There’s also Skyler Thomas on the roster, who played 183 snaps and logged 29 tackles last year. This position isn’t quite as weak as corner, but the secondary as a whole looks like Oregon State’s biggest weakness.
2023 Oregon State Football Schedule & Predictions
Oregon State Football 2023 Schedule
The Beavers play a difficult non-conference schedule consisting of San Jose State, UC-Davis and San Diego State. This should lock them into a 3-0 start. In conference play, they draw Utah, UCLA, Washington and Oregon from the teams with the best odds to win the title. They dodge USC and only the Oregon game will be played on the road. This gives Oregon State a pretty solid schedule heading into 2023.
Oregon State Football Futures Bet & Prediction
The Beavers over/under 8.5 wins is juiced to the over at -120. Ultimately, an easy non-conference should benefit the Beavers as they break in a new quarterback and multiple starters in the secondary. Oregon State doesn’t have the name recognition of some other Pac-12 schools, but this team is built to compete. While a Pac-12 title might be rich, over 8.5 wins is not. For that reason, laying the -120 here with the Beavers makes sense.
Best Oregon State Football Futures Bet: Over 8.5 Wins (+120 at DraftKings)
You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!
- Alabama Season Preview & Predictions
- Arkansas Season Preview & Predictions
- Auburn Season Preview & Predictions
- Baylor Season Preview & Predictions
- Florida Season Preview & Predictions
- Georgia Season Preview & Predictions
- Iowa Season Preview & Predictions
- Iowa State Season Preview & Predictions
- Kansas Season Preview & Predictions
- Kansas State Season Preview & Predictions
- Kentucky Season Preview & Predictions
- LSU Season Preview & Predictions
- Michigan Season Preview & Predictions
- Mississippi State Season Preview & Predictions
- Missouri Season Preview & Predictions
- Oklahoma Season Preview & Predictions
- Oklahoma State Season Preview & Predictions
- Ole Miss Season Preview & Predictions
- South Carolina Season Preview & Predictions
- TCU Season Preview & Predictions
- Tennessee Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas A&M Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas Tech Season Preview & Predictions
- Vanderbilt Season Preview & Predictions
- West Virginia Season Preview & Predictions
