CORVALLIS — At the root of Oregon State’s offensive struggles is a run game that can’t quite get off the ground.
The Beavers (0-4) rank 131st out of 134 teams in the country in rushing yards at just 70 per game. Lead back Anthony Hankerson has 65 carries for 228 yards and two touchdowns — on pace to come up woefully short of last season’s output (232 carries, 1,082 yards, 15 TD).
And this is a player in Hankerson who felt like he “left meat on the bone” in 2024 and said he could have gone for more. The Beavers were 29th in the country last season at 189.2 rushing yards per game.
While OSU’s two most recent opponents boast Top 15 defenses with formidable defensive lines, including the No. 4 rushing defense in the country in Texas Tech, its issues running the ball have been there from the beginning.
This stretch is a far cry from the OSU teams of old, which built the program’s identity around a gritty, run-first mindset. Yet when asked about the Beavers’ inability to run the ball Tuesday, running backs coach Ray Pickering avoided specifics and focused instead on the positives he’s seen from his group.
“You look at last week, we had some explosives,” Pickering said, noting those on the outside aren’t focusing on his group’s success in pass protection, either. “We feel good about it. Just going back to the drawing board, me and Coach (Mike Cavanaugh). Even Coach (Will) Heck. Just trying to get the target and hand placement correct and stuff like that.”
Pass protection might be solid, and the Beavers did have one successful offensive drive against Oregon which resulted in a touchdown. But the primary reason OSU didn’t cross midfield after that point was a lack of productivity on the ground. Maalik Murphy was once again forced to play the hero through the air on third and long, and the Beavers punted for a record number of yards as they kept coming up short.
“I feel like pass game we’re good but run game we’ve just got to finish our blocks a little bit longer,” offensive lineman Jacob Strand said. “We’ve been working on it in practice, playing through and after the whistle. In the game, we’ll get shed a bit too early. Coach Cav always talks about get the ball past the guy, and that’s our goal every single rep.”
Cavanaugh can only do so much yelling at a young group still working its way back to full health. Somehow, the Beavers need to take whatever got into them during that first quarter drive against the Ducks and bottle it up.
Hankerson and company also need to be sharper and more creative in finding holes. A botched exchange between Hankerson and Gabarri Johnson resulted in a fumble Saturday, and it seemed like Hankerson was constantly running into a wall at the line of scrimmage.
Salahadin Allah left the game against Oregon after he “stubbed his toe,” Pickering said, leaving Cornell Hatcher Jr. to take over backup duties. The idea of involving more backs going forward — including Louisiana Tech transfer Marquis Crosby, who we’ve yet to see play for the Beavers — is something OSU is considering to try and alleviate its shortcomings.
“We are going to have some intense ball security,” Pickering said. “And we just have to be enamored with our gameplan of going forward, and how we want to attack this bunch (Houston). Being physical in the run game. I think we want to get creative in the run game. Just having an ability to make people miss in space, structuring and formatting to know where defenders will line up.”
Oregon State (0-4) vs Houston (3-0)
When: Friday, Sept. 26
Time: 7:30 p.m. PT
Where: Reser Stadium, Corvallis
TV channel: ESPN
Watch: You can watch this game live for free with Fubo (free trial), or with DirecTV (free trial).
Stream: DirecTV (free trial) or Fubo (promotional offers) or Sling (college football season pass is just $199). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.