Previewing this week’s opponents for Huskies and Cougars
HUSKIES OPPONENT THIS WEEK
OREGON STATE BEAVERS (2-4 overall, 1-2 in Pac-12)
3:30 P.M. SATURDAY, HUSKY STADIUM, PAC-12 NETWORKS, 1000 AM/97.7 FM
COACH: Gary Andersen (4-14 in 2nd year at OSU; 53-52 in 9th year overall)
AGAINST THE HUSKIES: Washington leads the series 62-34-4.
SCOUTING REPORT: One year removed from an 0-9 record in Pac-12 play, the Beavers are better, but not by a whole lot. They did beat California in overtime on Oct. 8, but followed that performance with an ugly loss to Utah in which OSU completed just 9 of its 30 pass attempts for 100 yards in wet, windy conditions. … The Beavers enter Saturday’s game without their first and second-string quarterbacks, as starter Darell Garretson broke his ankle against Utah and backup Conor Blount, a true freshman walk-on, is still on crutches. So third-stringer Marcus McMaryion, a third-year sophomore, will make his second career start against the Huskies. He finished last week’s game, completing 5 of 9 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. … OSU’s leading rusher, Ryan Nall, is also injured, and was wearing a walking boot at the Beavers’ Monday practice, according to the Oregonian. OSU’s second-leading rusher is Artavis Pierce, who has 262 yards and a touchdown on 48 carries. … Senior receiver Victor Bolden Jr. is OSU’s best player. He is second on the team in receiving with 22 catches for 197 yards and a touchdown, and is third in rushing with 222 yards and a touchdown on just 17 carries. The Beavers’ top receiver is Seth Collins, who spent much of last season as the team’s starting quarterback. He has 26 receptions for 286 yards this year. ... Overall, the Beavers average only 5.02 yards per offensive play, which ranks 111th in the country. … OSU’s defense hasn’t been very good, either. The Beavers rank 112th nationally in yards per rush allowed at 5.18, and they rank 88th in scoring defense even after holding Utah to just 19 points. … They’re much better against the pass, ranking ninth nationally in passing efficiency defense and seventh in yards per attempt allowed (5.4). They have allowed only four passing touchdowns and have five interceptions, and opponents complete only 55 percent of their passes against the Beavers.
DID YOU KNOW: Washington has won its last four games against Oregon State by a combined score of 178-64.
2016 schedule
Sept. 1 L, 30-23, at Minnesota
Sept. 17 W, 37-7, vs. Idaho State
Sept. 24 L, 38-24, vs. Boise State
Oct. 1 L, 47-6, at Colorado
Oct. 8 W, 47-44 (OT), vs. California
Oct. 15 L, 19-14, vs. Utah
Oct. 22 at Washington
Oct. 29 vs. Washington State
Nov. 5 at Stanford
Nov. 12 at UCLA
Nov. 19 vs. Arizona
Nov. 26 vs. Oregon
…
COUGARS OPPONENT THIS WEEK
ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (5-2 overall, 2-2 in Pac-12)
7 P.M. SATURDAY, SUN DEVIL STADIUM, PAC-12 NETWORKS, 710 AM
COACH: Todd Graham (39-21 in 5th year at ASU; 88-50 in 11th year overall)
AGAINST THE COUGARS: Arizona State leads the series 27-14-2.
SCOUTING REPORT: The Sun Devils score a fair amount of points — at 36.3 per game, they rank 32nd nationally in scoring offense — but don’t move the ball all that efficiently, ranking only 95th in yards per play at 5.32. And they scored 21 and 16 points, respectively, in their two losses, neither of which were close. … Starting quarterback Manny Wilkins sat out ASU’s victory over UCLA, then returned last week and played in the Sun Devils’ 40-16 loss at Colorado. In six games this season, Wilkins has completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 1,382 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions. He has also rushed 72 times for 223 yards and four touchdowns. … ASU’s running game has been uncharacteristically inefficient, averaging only 3.94 yards per attempt — they’ve allowed 17 sacks, which doesn’t help – though the Sun Devils are tied for 13th nationally with 18 rushing touchdowns. Demario Richard leads the team with 495 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Kalen Ballage, who scored eight touchdowns in ASU’s 68-55 victory over Texas Tech, has 324 yards on 68 carries. … ASU has five players with 150 or more receiving yards, a group led by Tim White’s 44 catches and 525 yards, though he does not have a touchdown. In fact, the Sun Devils have thrown only eight touchdown passes in seven games, and they rank 94th nationally in passing efficiency. … ASU is one of the worst defensive teams in the country, allowing 6.66 yards per play – a figure that ranks 124th nationally out of 128 teams — and 34 points per game, which ranks 106th.
DID YOU KNOW: WSU hasn’t won in Tempe since 2001. The Cougars have lost six games at ASU since.
2016 schedule
Sept. 3 W, 44-13, vs. Northern Arizona
Sept. 10 W, 68-55, vs. Texas Tech
Sept. 16 W, 32-28, at Texas-San Antonio
Sept. 24 W, 51-41, vs. California
Oct. 1 L, 40-21, at USC
Oct. 8 W, 23-20, vs. UCLA
Oct. 15 L, 40-16, at Colorado
Oct. 22 vs. Washington State
Oct. 29 at Oregon
Nov. 10 vs. Utah
Nov. 19 at Washington
Nov. 25 at Arizona
This story was originally published October 17, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Previewing this week’s opponents for Huskies and Cougars."