Hawaii vs. Oregon State: Game Preview, Odds, How To Watch
Warriors are looking for a Pac-12 win
Contact/Follow @MWCwire
Hawaii is back on the mainland this week.
This week the Hawaii Warriors travel to Corvallis to take on the Oregon State Beavers. The game will be broadcasted on FS1 starting at 5 p.m. Hawaii time. The Beavers lost their season opener at Purdue this past weekend 31-20. I was able to find a game cut up on Youtube and this is what stuck out:
OREGON STATE OFFENSE
The Oregon State Offensive line is big and athletic. Their zone scheme looks like it could be problematic for the Bows. Last season the offensive line led the way for Jemar Jefferson to run for nearly 900 yards in just seven games. All five starters from that unit return. The unit is anchored by 2020 first team all PAC12 center Nathan Eldridge.
At Quarterback they started Sam Noyer, a transfer from Colorado(10-21,94yds,INT). He struggled and the offense stalled and he was eventually replaced by Chance Nolan(10-16, 157yds). Although Nolan didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard off the bench, the offense did look a little more efficient with him at the helm. Don’t be surprised if we see both play on Saturday.
WEEK 2: Hawaii Warriors (1-1) at Oregon State Beavers (0-1)
WHEN: Saturday, September 11 — 11 PM ET/8 PM PT
WHERE: Reser Stadium; Corvallis, Oregon
TV: FS1
STREAMING: FuboTV and get a free seven-day free trial.
RADIO: Catch Hawaii on ESPN Honolulu
LAST WEEK: Hawaii beat Portland State 49-35; Oregon State lost to Purdue, 30-21
ODDS (as of 9/8, via Vegas Insider): Oregon State -11
Tyjon Lindsay, a former four-star recruit, is their playmaker outside. They try to get him the ball through the air, on screens, jet sweeps, and he even threw a 34-yard pass on a trick play.
Trey Lowe and BJ Baylor lead the running back rotation. As a team, the Beavers only ran for 78 yards last week but I expect them to test the Warriors run defense early and often.
Oregon State Defense
The first thing that stuck out to me is that Purdue coach Jeff Brohm is a really good play designer/caller and he is the reason Purdue won this game. Hawaii will need a solid game plan from OC Bo Graham to move the ball against a PAC12 opponent.
The Beavers secondary had trouble with star receiver David Bell. Bell is an elite receiver and a 2021 NFL draft prospect. UH does not have someone of his caliber on the roster but it will be interesting to see if they can test the secondary on Saturday.
-The Oregon State defense played tough in the red zone and forced 3 FGs that could have easily been touchdowns. They say the strength of their defense is their Linebacking core and they showed it in the red zone.
Can Hawaii stop the run?
This is the key to the game. If Hawaii cannot stop the Beavers ground attack, we really don’t need to talk about anything else. The Beavers QB’s struggled last week so it becomes even more important. OSU has seen the UCLA tape and believes that they are going to be physically dominant up front this week. If they are able to establish the ground game it will also make life easier for either Noyer or Nolan by opening up the play-action passing game. Hawaii will need a big game from their front seven. Last week the defensive line played well against Portland State. This week they will need an even better effort out of that group.
Can the Hawaii offense get off to a fast start?
Last week we saw the Warrior offense put up 28 first-quarter points. At the least, they need to sustain drives and pick up first downs early in the game to keep their defense off the field and fresh. I hope after playing UCLA they are ready for the game speed that they will be seeing from the Beavers on Saturday. If they get off to a slow start as they did against UCLA, this could be a long night for Warrior fans.
I know that it seems like every week I have the same keys to the game, but as the pride of Hawaii Max Holloway says, “it is what it is”. When the Warriors stop the run on defense and get off to a good start on offense, they are usually quite successful. When they don’t do those things it usually gets ugly. If UH can stuff the run and get out to a lead, they could disrupt the Beaver’s game plan and force them to throw the ball more often than they’d like to. A win in Corvallis would do so much for team confidence and morale heading into conference play.
As always, let’s go Bows!
