2011 Oregon State Football Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

The Oregon State Beavers head into the 2011 season off a disappointing 5-7 season in 2010. It was the Beavers first losing season since going 5-6 in 2005. In 2006 the Beavers responded with an impressive 10-4 season, but it another big turnaround doesn’t seem likely in 2011 with just 12 starters back from last year. Only four of those starters are back on the defensive side of the ball, and that is the one unit you need to be strong at if you want to have a lot of success in the PAC-12.

To get a better feel for how the upcoming season will go for Oregon State, let’s take a look at who they will be sending to the field on both sides of the ball, plus I will give my prediction on where I see them finishing in the PAC-12.

Offense:

The Beavers return junior starting quarterback Ryan Katz, and are really excited about his potential going forward. Katz started all 12 games in 2010, completing 60% of his passes for 2,401 yards and 18 touchdowns. With big concerns on the defensive side of the ball, Katz has to really make some significant progress for the Beavers to remain competitive with the top teams i this conference.

Making things even harder on Katz will be the loss of running back Jacquizz Rodgers, who rushed for 1,184 yards and 14 touchdowns. The next best rusher was wide out Markus Wheaton with 220 yards. The expectation is that sophomore Jovan Stevenson will step in and take over the lead role here, and if history tells us anything Stevenson has a great shot at putting up some big numbers. Since 1998 the Beavers have had a running back rush for at least 1,000 yards 11 times.

Luckily for Oregon State they might not have to rely as much on the ground game this season with their top three receiving threats back. Wheaton led the team 55 catches for 675 yards as a sophomore in 2010, and should put up even better numbers in his junior season. The Beavers also bring back junior Jordan Bishop and senior James Rodgers, along with senior starting tight end Joe Halahuni.

Up front Oregon State should see some improvements on the offensive line with four of five starters returning. This unit was a bit of a disappointment last year, and lacks big time talent. If it struggles again in 2011, the Beavers offense could take a big hit, especially with a new starting running back.

Defense:

With the loss of defensive tackle Stephen Paea the Beavers could be in for a big drop off up front on the defensive line. The only starter back is senior defensive tackle Dominic Glover, who had 43 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss last season. The concern is how much of that was a result of talent and how much was because he was playing alongside one of the best defensive linemen in the country. Senior Kevin Frahm is expected to take over for Paea, while juniors Rusty Fernando and Taylor Henry look to take over at the two defensive end spots.

Things look a little better at linebacker for the Beavers. Junior middle linebacker Rueben Robinson is the only starter back, and will need to have a much bigger season in 2011. Senior Cameron Collins and started two games last year, and should step in as the new strong-side linebacker. The guy to watch out for is sophomore outside linebacker Michael Doctor, who should step in and be a force right away. With the lack of talent up front, this unit has to play well or the defense is going to struggle to stop anyone.

In the secondary Oregon State brings back two quality starters in senior corner Brandon Harris and senior free safety Lance Mitchell, but the other two starting spots are up for grabs. Junior Jordan Poyer figures to take over at corner, while junior Anthony Watkins makes his way into the starting lineup at strong safety. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this unit improve on the 228 yards they allowed through the air in 2010, but a lot of that will be a result of their inability to stop the run.

PAC-12 Prediction: 3rd PAC-12 North – While I don’t think the Beavers have any shot of knocking off either Oregon or Stanford for the top two spots in the North, I think they are talented enough offensively to take advantage of the bottom feeders in this division. With the lack of talent they have on defense, if the offense struggles at all, they will likely finish much lower in the standings.

PAC-12 Football Predictions by Team
Oregon Football Predictions	Utah Football Predictions
Oregon State Football Predictions	USC Football Predictions
California Football Predictions	UCLA Football Predictions
Stanford Football Predictions	Colorado Football Predictions
Washington Football Predictions	Arizona Football Predictions
Washington State Football Predictions	Arizona State Football Predictions

College Football Predictions
ACC Football Predictions	Big 12 Football Predictions
Conference USA Football Predictions	Independents Football Predictions
PAC 12 Football Predictions	SEC Football Predictions
Big East Football Predictions	Big Ten Football Predictions
MAC Football Predictions	Mountain West Football Predictions
Sun Belt Football Predictions	WAC Football Predictions

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