Coming off their first win of the season in the inaugural game of interim head coach Mike Sanford’s tenure, Colorado (1-5) will head northwest to Corvallis to play a formidable Oregon State (5-2) squad.
The Beavers’ offense will again be without quarterback Chance Nolan this week as he works his way back from a neck injury he suffered against Utah in early October. In his place will be Ben Gulbranson.
The redshirt freshman has improved since taking over for Nolan, but the bulk of the Oregon State offensive game plan should center around a solid running attack. Damien Martinez received most of the work for OSU last week, going for 111 yards on 16 carries in Oregon State’s 24-10 win over Washington State last week, a performance that earned him a nomination for Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week.
Given that Colorado is last in the Pac-12 in rushing yards allowed per game (251), Oregon State’s ground game will serve as a significant test for the Buffs, especially with Gulbranson behind center in Nolan’s absence. Oregon State’s run blocking is also in the upper tier in the conference with the program continuing to improve under head coach Jonathan Smith.
Additionally, OSU looks to clinch bowl eligibility for a second consecutive season, an impressive feat for the Beavers’ program, especially taking Nolan’s midseason injury into account.
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Overall, the Beavers are a run-heavy, ball-control offense that might prove difficult to contain given Colorado’s track record this season.
That said, Oregon State’s run defense stands to improve, ranking sixth in the conference in yards allowed at roughly 125 per game. Although Colorado doesn’t boast a formidable ground game, that could be one area that could be exploited.
This should be an intriguing contest on Saturday between an Oregon State team looking to solidify a postseason spot and a Colorado team looking to establish firm footing under Mike Sanford.
You can watch the game on the Pac-12 Network at 6 p.m. MT.
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