On Saturday, No. 22 UCLA (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12) will face the Pac-12’s last-place team, Oregon State (4-4, 1-3). The Beavers, who have been outscored by 90 points in their 8 games, have lost five straight.
Here’s a scouting report for Oregon State, which will likely be hard-pressed to pull out the win.
Offense
Base formation: Spread offense
Run/pass ratio: 78 percent rush and 21 percent pass
Blocking style: Zone blocking
Strength: Offensive line
Weakness: Red zone execution
X- factor: QB Nick Mitchell
UCLA will be facing a different Oregon State offense Saturday than the one the Beavers have trotted out all season. Freshman starting quarterback Seth Collins is out with a knee injury, and his redshirt freshman backup Nick Mitchell will be making his second career start in Collins’ place. Despite this change, the war-weary Bruin defense should be afforded respite by the insipid Beaver offense, which ranks last in the Pac-12 in total offense.
Until Collins’ injury, the Beaver offense was largely predicated on the freshman’s legs. Under Collins, the Beavers’ offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin molded the spread formation into a ground-attack machine, running nearly eight times out of 10 snaps. His athletic quarterback was the biggest gainer on the team, with three 100-yard games and six touchdowns. This has changed with Mitchell, who is not nearly as mobile as the quarterback he has replaced. Baldwin has been forced to rework his scheme to be more pass-heavy, taking advantage of his new quarterback’s strengths. Mitchell is actually a better pocket passer than Collins, who has struggled with mid- and long-range passes this season.
A hint of the Beavers’ offensive shift came last week against the Utes, when Mitchell threw 35 times, compared to 30 total rushes for the team. The team struggled as a whole against the Utah defense, gaining only 312 offensive yards, down from its season average of 342. Mitchell only produced 5.8 yards per attempt, though according to Oregon coach Gary Andersen, much of that was due to poor play from his wide receivers.
That wide receiver corps, though it hasn’t impressed on the stat sheet, is a very athletic one. Sophomore Jordan Villamin will likely be Mitchell’s favorite target – the 6-foot-5, 231-pound wide receiver leads the team with 474 yards and four touchdowns. Complementing Villamin will be junior Victor Bolden, a speedy wide receiver who can also carry the ball and return kicks. Running back Storm Woods is a dangerous option out of the backfield, averaging 13.4 yards per reception on top of his 5 yards per carry.
The team’s offensive line has been the best unit this season, tied for third in the Pac-12 with 14 sacks against. Even when adjusting for OSU’s rush-heavy offense, it ranks well within the Pac-12, giving up a sack on only 6 percent of drop-backs this season. Despite injuries to its two left-side players, the line nonetheless played well last week against Utah; expect it to be the Beavers’ strong suit against the Bruins.
Defense
Base formation: 3-4
Blitz tendency: High
Strength: Pass coverage
Weakness: Positioning
The story this week is much the same as last week: strong pass defense, poor rush defense. However, the Oregon State unit UCLA will face this weekend is quite a bit stronger than the Colorado defense it defeated last week. This is a young, fast team, one that has overcome several injuries and has significantly improved as of late.
The Beavers are currently the top-ranked Pac-12 pass defense by yards per game, allowing just 206.5. Although the statistic is heavily deflated by opponents taking large leads and turning to the ground, Oregon State’s secondary has actually performed well. For most of the season, the cornerback corps was led by redshirt junior cornerback Treston Decoud, who leads the team with four passes defended. With both Decoud and fellow starter Larry Scott recently injured, the unit has been bolstered by the rise of junior Kendall Hill, who has performed strongly in their place. Despite the defense’s strength on the back end, it has struggled to force turnovers, something defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake has prioritized as an area of improvement going forward.
On the ground, the story is markedly different. The Oregon State defense has struggled to stop the run all year; the unit is ranked sixth in the Pac-12 in rushing yardage. That said, the rise of redshirt freshman linebacker Jonathan Willis and sophomore defensive end Baker Pritchard has helped abet the damage. They have paired well with junior linebacker Rommel Mageo, who leads the team with 61 tackles and two sacks.
The Beavers’ performances of late have seen them settle into their defensive scheme and improve significantly. They curbed the Colorado attack two weeks ago, holding the Buffaloes to only 13 points.
Against Utah last week, Oregon State conceded points early on, but tightened up afterwards, allowing just 196 yards through the game’s final three quarters. It has been a notable step up from the team’s weak displays against Washington State, Arizona and Stanford, blowouts which saw the team give up 40-plus points each.
Though the stats show OSU as a middling defense, the film shows the team as a unit on the up, one that will provide a stern test for the UCLA offense.
Compiled by Anay Dattawadkar, Bruin Sports staff.