Reser Stadium – Syndication Server

Pac-12 Preview: Oregon State Beavers try to sustain new-found success

Oregon State football has had a rollercoaster history, but coach Jonathan Smith is on the verge of sustaining success for years to come.

As June starts to roll into July, and July eventually leads us to the start of fall camps at the beginning of August, the 2023 college football season will be here before we know it. What a season it projects to be in the Pac-12 Conference, as well. With a handful of College Football Playoff contenders, and a group of Heisman Trophy candidates leading their prospective teams, we could be set up for one of the best football seasons out west that we’ve seen in decades. To help get us prepared, we at Ducks Wire wanted to go through each team in the conference and give a comprehensive breakdown of each school, breaking down their 2023 outlook. Welcome to our Pac-12 Previews. New editions will be published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday leading up to the start of fall camp.

Check out our previously published previews: Arizona Wildcats — Arizona State Sun Devils — California Golden Bears — Colorado Buffaloes

Oregon State had one of those years last season that Beaver fans will be talking about for quite some time to come. They finished 10-3, including a huge win over the Ducks and blowing out Florida 30-3 in the Las Vegas Bowl.

The Beavers have had seasons like this here and there before, but it’s sustaining success that has always been the problem. OSU has never been able to capitalize on success.

Until now?

That’s what the administration hopes for head coach Jonathan Smith as they will play in the new and improved Reser Stadium for the first time in 2023. And with a Pac-12 Conference that has a lot of mediocrity in it outside of the top four teams, Oregon State is primed to continue such success.

But going 10-3 again won’t be easy, especially with two very difficult road games to end the regular season. The Beavers don’t have to go 10-3 again to consider the season a success, however. The test will be whether can they beat the teams they should beat and manage to get an upset or two. If they do, Smith might be able to run for mayor in Corvallis and win by a landslide.

Here is our full breakdown of OSU heading into the season.

Photo Gallery: Oregon limps home to Eugene after brutal loss to OSU

Photo Gallery: Oregon limps home to Eugene after brutal 38-34 loss to OSU in front of about 26,000 fans.

It’s all fun and games until someone gets an eye poked out, or until Oregon decides to give a game to its chief rival.

Oregon let a 31-10 lead slip away and lost 38-34 to Oregon State in Corvallis. Even Santa Claus was seen tailgating at Reser Stadium and hopefully for the Ducks’ sake, good ol’ Saint Nick didn’t stay for the game or a lot of Ducks will be on his naughty list.

There was plenty to cheer at for the few Oregon fans that were able to get tickets into the venue that is in the middle of a major renovation. Only about 26,000 were able to see the game live and the vast majority were happy in the end, but none were wearing green and yellow.

Here’s the 126th edition of the Oregon-OSU football rivalry game in photos.

Oregon State implodes west side of Reser Stadium for renovation project

The west side of Oregon State’s Reser Stadium was imploded to make way for renovation

The home-field advantage will be lessened by about 25% for Oregon State in 2022 after the school imploded the west side of Reser Stadium Friday to begin a reconstruction project.

The Beaves have seven home games scheduled in 2022 and will have a capacity of about 26,000 while the renovation takes place.

The imploding took place after explosives were set and nearby homes were temporarily evacuated.

out with the old… pic.twitter.com/b3OtuRJzH6

— Oregon State Football (@BeaverFootball) January 7, 2022

Per the Gazette-Times:

Structures within 500 feet of the stadium’s west side were unoccupied, while occupants of buildings within 1,000 feet of the stadium were asked to remain indoors and away from windows and patios.

“Great day to be a Beaver for sure,” said Scott Barnes, OSU vice president and director of athletics, who pressed one of the two detonation buttons. “And a seminal moment for our university and for our athletics.”