CORVALLIS — As Oregon State prepares to fly east for Saturday’s game against Appalachian State, the Beavers are hoping to find a way to ground the Mountaineers aerial attack.
Keeping Appalachian State’s passing game in check starts with OSU’s ability to rush quarterback AJ Swann, who has thrown for 948 yards and six touchdowns through four games.
“Rush and coverage works together,” OSU co-defensive coordinator Rod Chance said Wednesday after practice. “You rush the quarterback, you put pressure, and you force him to throw the ball when he’s not ready, or you force him into a bad decision.”
The Beavers had success pressuring Houston quarterback Connor Weigman in Friday night’s overtime loss. Defensive tackle Jacob Schuster had two sacks, including a tone-setter on the Cougars’ first drive of the game. All totaled, Oregon State had three sacks, its most since Stanford in November 2023. The Beavers (0-5) have six sacks this season, one short of its total for the entire 2024 campaign.
“It feels good, but I give credit to the guys on the rest of the line,” Schuster said. “It takes more than just me. It takes the whole line to work that rush.”
Oregon State’s pressure came from the defensive tackle position, as they worked into the backside B gap instead of staying along the line. Schuster said he enjoys the freedom to move aggressively.
“We move a lot up front,” Schuster said. “I’m used to staying in the run, staying two gaps. But it’s been a good transition working on that, getting into the backfield, doing our job.”
Appalachian State’s passing game, prolific at times this season, can be had. The Mountaineers entered last week’s game against Boise State as No. 3 in passing yards per game. But the Broncos were unyielding against Swann and ASU’s passing game. Swann threw two interceptions and passed for only 65 yards.
“(Boise State’s) rush got hot, the defensive line did a good job of putting pressure on their offensive line, and forced the quarterback to throw the ball quicker than he wanted,” Chance said when asked what he saw during film study. “Obviously defensive backs were opportunistic making those plays and putting points on the board.”
While Appalachian State failed to protect Swann last week, the Mountaineers’ offensive line has the ability to frustrate the Beavers. But OSU heads into Saturday focusing more on what it can do, than what the Mountaineers present.
“It’s all of us coming together as a line, a unit. I know if I get pressure, then the back end can cover and get interceptions just like we did last week,” outside linebacker Shamar Meikle said.
Next game: Oregon State (0-5) at Appalachian State (2-2)
When: Saturday, Oct. 4
Time: 12:30 p.m. PT
Where: Kidd Brewer Stadium — Boone, North Carolina
TV Channel: ESPN+ (Not available on traditional broadcast TV, only streaming on ESPN’s live sports streaming platform. Here’s a look at how you can watch ESPN+ live on your TV.)
How to watch streaming live: You can watch a live stream of this game for less than $12 on ESPN+ (It’s just $11.99/month or $119.99/full year subscription, and you can cancel anytime.)
Odds (9/29): Oregon State by 1.5; over/under 54.5 (Action Network)
Oregon State has four interceptions so far this year, including one against Houston from true freshman Trey Glasper. The Beavers are hoping their defense performs like Boise State’s did against the Mountaineers.
“You score twice on defense, it’s hard to lose a game that way,” Chance said. “So hopefully some of that good mojo will rub off on us, and some of the juju on them will still be sticking around.”
While the pass rush help put the Beavers up 14 points in the fourth quarter against Houston, OSU failed to close. Weigman led back-to-back scoring drives in the fourth quarter — with TD passes of 27 and 50 yards — to tie the game and force overtime.
The Cougars didn’t make significant adjustments at the end of the game to confuse Oregon State’s defense. But Houston’s O-line was able to give Weigman more time, which allowed receivers to find openings.
“They were running their offense,” Chance said. “There was more emphasis on the pass, since we were shutting down their run game. So it was more obvious passing situations. But in terms of the route combinations that we see on tape, it was the same stuff that we repped in practice. That was the disappointing part.”
Chance said his defense lacked focus in key moments, but he also saw positives when he rewatched the game. To pick up its first win of the season, Oregon State’s defense will need to build on those positives.
“We need more from the players, more from the coaches, more from the trainers, more from the equipment staff,” Chance said. “We’re seeing improvements, but those improvements aren’t necessarily getting the results that we want. So we need more. More eye discipline, more of the physicality, more of the effort. If we do those things, we feel like we’ll be in good shape in the fourth quarter.”