Friday Fast Facts – Oregon State

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Friday Fast Facts – Oregon State Week

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… Your weekly “T.I.P.S”, previews for this weekend’s games, discussing Talent, Intangibles, Preparation and Statistics, have been posted. The written preview and predictions for the CU/Oregon State game can be found here, while the CU at the Game Podcast preview for the game (which includes a lively discussion of CU’s big win over Cal) can be found here …

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Big Picture … 

— Closer to Equal Than I Thought … CU has been a laughing stock as the Karl Dorrell era limped to a conclusion. Meanwhile, Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith has the toast of the Pac-12 for the improvement the Beavers have shown. And yet … in the last 30 games, Colorado is 19-31, while Oregon State is … 20-30;

— Thirty-point Turnaround … The Buff defense surrendered 43 points in a 43-20 loss to Arizona two weekends ago. Last weekend, in the debut of interim head coach Mike Sanford, the Buffs surrendered 13 points in a 20-13 win. The 30-point turnaround is the sixth-best effort by the defense since CU joined the Pac-12 (the biggest turnaround? 37 points last season, when the Buffs went from a 37-14 loss to USC to a 34-0 win over Arizona);

— Tough Schedule … At the midway point of the season, cumulative stats take on more meaning. To date, the opponents CU has played have a combined record of 27-11. Sagarin ratings has CU’s schedule as the fifth-most difficult (behind Stanford, Arkansas, Auburn, and Texas Tech);

— Get Thee to Overtime … CU has out-scored its opponents 7-0 in overtime this fall, the only period in which the Buffs have such an advantage. The Buffs have scored almost as many points in overtime as they have in six first quarters (outscored 54-10) and in six third quarters (outscored 58-7);

— The ESPN Power Index gives Oregon State an 94.0% chance of winning, leaving CU with a mere 6.0% chance at an upset. In CU’s last game, Cal was given an 82.1% chance of winning;

— The game will be telecast nationally on the Pac-12 Networks (Saturday, 6:00 p.m., MT), with Roxie Bernstein on the play-by-play, and Lincoln Kennedy with the commentary (No sideline reporter).  KOA radio will have Mark Johnson, in his 19th year, with the play-by-play, and former CU head coach Gary Barnett in his seventh year as the full-time analyst.

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Statistically speaking … 

— Chatman’s defense makes its mark … Gerald Chatman coached his first game as CU’s defensive coordinator against Cal, with the Buffs giving up 297 total yards. That figure was over 200 yards below CU’s average in the first five games (508.8 yards per game). The 297 total was the fourth lowest by a CU defensive coordinator in their debut at CU, with the 13 points being the seventh-lowest;

— Fewer Hankies than You’d Think … Colorado has averaged only 4.7 penalties per game (12th nationally), with 41.7 yards in penalized yards per game (20th in the nation);

— Any Good News for Buff fans? … Stats in which Oregon State is ranked 100th or worse nationally … Only punt return yardage defense (115th) and kickoff return yardage defense (120th) … but that’s it. A few stats of note in which the Beavers are not above average … Passing offense (75th) … Passing defense (73rd) … Third down conversion defense (76th) …  and Turnovers lost (97th);

—  How bad is the CU offense? … Colorado is ranked 106th or worse in every major category on offense (out of 131 teams nationally). The Buffs are 106th in rushing offense; 116th in passing offense; 124th in total offense; and 129th in scoring offense. For the Buff offense to climb even as high as 100th nationally in scoring next week, the Buffs would have to score 79 points against Oregon State;

— How bad is the CU defense? … Even with the good effort against Cal, the Buff defense has a long road back to respectability. The Buffs are no longer last in the nation in rushing defense (up to 129th this week), and still remain in the bottom ten in total defense (124th) and scoring defense (127th);

— Bar bet winner … Buff fans heard a great deal during the bye week about how interim head coach Mike Sanford was mixing and matching lineups, and the energy which was brought about by the changes. That was saying something, considering 19 players had already made their first career starts in the first five games of the 2022 season. Want to guess how many Buffs had their first career starts in Game Six? Um … none. The Cal game was actually the first game in 2022 in which there were no new first-time starters in the lineup.

— Bar bet winner No. 2 … Following up on the above … Not only did the Buffs not have any new first-time starters on offense last weekend, the Cal game marked the first time this season in which the offense started the same 11 players two weeks in a row.

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CU Player Notes … 

— Second Transfer Portal casualty … For the second week of the Mike Sanford era, CU has lost a player to the Transfer Portal – and neither were a surprise. Last week, punter Ashton Logan, who was dismissed from the team three weeks ago, entered the Transfer Portal. This week it was quarterback Brendon Lewis, last year’s starter who had fallen to third string in the depth chart. He exits CU with the second-longest streak without an interception in CU history with 156 attempts and he set the school record by a freshman with 132 by a freshman in 2021). It was the 11th such streak of 100 or more in school history;

— Montana has a breakthrough game … Sophomore wide receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig had eight receptions (in eight targets) for 119 yards and the game-winning touchdown against Cal last week. Lemonious-Craig had CU’s first 100-yard receiving game since Dimitri Stanley had 126 at Stanford on November 14, 2020;

— Gaining Experience … During the first half of the season, CU has had 39 different players start at least one game (22 on offense; 17 on defense). That number ranks fourth in the nation, behind only New Mexico, Kentucky, and Northern Illinois;

— Becker has been Perfect … Colorado is leading the nation in one category … Kickoff Return Yardage Defense. Sophomore kicker Cole Becker has had 20 kickoffs, and none of them have been returned. CU is the only team in the nation with a 0.00 kickoff return yardage allowed;

— Spreading it Around … A total of 19 CU players have caught a pass this fall, tying a school record. Fourteen of the players have caught at least two passes, but only three have more than ten: Daniel Arias, with 18, Montana Lemonious-Craig, with 13, and Maurice Bell, with 10.

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Colorado and Oregon State – head-to-head

— Colorado and Oregon State are tied in the all-time series, 6-6, with CU holding a 4-3 edge in games played as members of the Pac-12. The 12 games in the series marks the second lowest total for CU against any Pac-12 opponent (The Buffs have played Stanford only ten times);

— The series dates back to 1931, when Oregon State handled Colorado, 16-0, in a game played in Portland. The second match between the two schools was also played in Portland, with the Beavers coming away with a 41-6 victory in 1963. When the Buffs got a rematch the following year in Boulder, Oregon State made it 3-0 in the series, with a 14-7 victory.

— Colorado got Oregon State at home twice in the 1980’s, posting a 38-14 victory in 1983 (“Here we go, CU! Here we go!“) and a 28-21 win in 1988 (“Eric Bieniemy goes for 211 yards and three scores“).

— Since the Buffs joined the Pac-12, the teams have played seven times, with Oregon State winning the first two (44-17 in 2013; 36-31 in 2014). The Buffs finally broke through with a 17-13 win in Corvallis in 2015 (“We’re No. 1(1)!“) before posting a lopsided 47-6 win in Boulder in 2016 (“A let down? Not so much“).

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The Last Time … 

November 6, 2021 … Colorado 37, Oregon State 34 OT

Game Story … CU kicker Cole Becker calmly hit a 43-yarder in the second overtime, giving Colorado a 37-34 win over Oregon State. The Buffs seemingly had the game won when OSU kicker Everett Hayes missed a potential tying field goal with 32 seconds remaining in regulation. Becker was given a second chance, however, hitting a 60-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into extra time. After both schools scored touchdowns in the first overtime, Hayes missed a 38-yard attempt, giving CU’s Cole Becker a chance to win the game moments later.

“What a ball game that was”, said Karl Dorrell. “You know, there’s some really good things that happened in that game. We felt that our team grew up from a week prior. I felt like the offense a couple weeks ago was starting to find themselves and that was up there in Eugene”.

Buff quarterback Brendon Lewis went 15-for-24 passing, going for 170 yards and three touchdowns, also contributing a nine-yard touchdown run in the first overtime. Running back Jarek Broussard had his first 100-yard game of the season, with 151 yards on 24 carries. Overall, the Buffs had 392 yards of total offense, while giving up 475 yards of total offense to the Beavers.

Colorado came into the game with a 2-6 record, and were double digit underdogs to 5-3 Oregon State. Still, 47,984 (96% of capacity) were on hand for Homecoming. “We have one of the best fan groups in the nation”, said cornerback Christian Gonzalez. “They’re always out no matter what. It’s just great playing at home with them and them giving us energy and all that.”

… Continue reading story here …

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Essay for the Game … “Three for the Win” … Can be found here …

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The Last Time in Corvallis …

October 14, 2017 … Colorado 36, Oregon State 33 … 

— Game Story … Steven Montez threw a 13-yard touchdown to Bryce Bobo with 1:34 left and Colorado hung on for a 36-33 victory Saturday over Oregon State, which was playing its first game since the sudden departure of head coach Gary Andersen.

Montez threw for 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns and also caught a scoring pass from Bobo, who finished with nine catches for 126 yards. Phillip Lindsay ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns, falling just 5 yards short of reaching 1,000 yards rushing for the second-straight season.

Jordan Choukair’s 52-yard field goal attempt for the Beavers with 10 seconds left was short, denying Oregon State of the upset. Ryan Nall finished with 172 yards rushing and three touchdowns, but the Beavers, who punted only once all game, could not finish off its final drive of the game.

… Continue reading game story here …

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Essay for the Game … “Less Worse” … can be found here …

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Colorado and Oregon State … historical

— Of the 12 categories tracked by Winsipedia, the Beavers lead the Buffs in exactly one … bowl record. Oregon State has a winning record all-time in bowl games (9-7), while Colorado has a losing record (12-18).

Some other categories:

— All-time wins … Colorado – 719, 28th all-time … Oregon State – 556, 86th

— Conference championships … Colorado – 26, 11th all-time … Oregon State – 5, 92nd

— Weeks in the Associated Press poll … Colorado – 305, 31st all-time … Oregon State – 95, 66th

— First round NFL draft picks … Colorado – 24, 28th all-time … Oregon State – 6, 66th

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Pac-12 Notes … 

— The Pac-12 has had four teams ranked in the AP Top 25 for five straight weeks … UCLA is now the only undefeated Pac-12 school and are the highest ranked team at No. 9.  It’s the Bruins first appearance in the Top 10 since September, 2015.  Oregon moved up two spots to No. 10, their highest ranking of the season.  And after their tough match-up in Salt Lake City last week, USC moved down give spots to No. 12 while Utah move up five spots to No. 15;

— No. 9 UCLA at No. 10 Oregon is the first AP Top 10 match-up between two Pac-12 teams since the 2016 Pac-12 Championship Game (and that was, um, No. 4 Washington v. … No. 8 Colorado);

Pac-12 lines: CU a three-touchdown underdog

From VegasInsider.com …

• No. 9 UCLA at No. 10 Oregon … 1:30 p.m., MT … Fox … Oregon is a 6.5-point home favorite (up from 4.0 points)
• Arizona State at Stanford … 2:00 p.m., MT … Pac-12 Networks … Stanford is a 2.5-point home favorite (down from 3.0 points)
• Colorado at Oregon State … 6:00 p.m., MT … Oregon State is a 23.5-point home favorite (up from 23.0 points)
• Washington at California … 8:30 p.m., MT … Cal is a 7.5-point home underdog (down from 9.5 points)
• Idle … Washington State … USC … Arizona … Utah …

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This post, about the Oregon State game, from the 2022 Season, is filed under Article.
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