5 Beavers to watch for if Oregon wants to leave Corvallis victorious
Oregon State is 8-3 and ranked No. 22 in the country.
This was a bit unexpected, but when both teams are good, it makes for an even better rivalry. Oregon goes up to Corvallis this Saturday to finish out the regular season and there’s plenty on the line other than state pride.
With a win, the Ducks will reach the 10-win mark in Dan Lanning’s first season as head coach and earn a trip to Las Vegas to play No. 5 USC for the Pac-12 championship.
But in order to secure a matchup with the Trojans, the Ducks will have to pay close attention to these five Beavers. There’s nothing Oregon State would love more than to spoil the Ducks’ conference title hopes and they won’t go down without a fight. It’ll be a war on the gridiron. It’ll be a civil war of sorts.
QB Ben Gulbranson
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Oregon State might have thought its season would be derailed when starting quarterback Chance Nolan went down with an injury at Utah Oct. 1. That was a good assumption, but Ben Gulbranson has stepped in and the Beavers have taken off.
The Beavers are 5-1 with Gulbranson as the full-time starter with their only loss coming in a windy Husky Stadium. The freshman isn’t going to light up the stat sheet, but he doesn’t make many mistakes. Gulbranson averages just over 150 yards per game and has eight touchdowns to just three interceptions. But the most important stat Oregon State cares about is winning and so far, the Beavers are doing just that with Gulbranson under center.
RB Damien Martinez
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Martinez is more proof that recruiting stars might be misleading because this three-star running back is playing more like a five-star coveted recruit. He is on a streak of five straight games with over 100 rushing yards. The 6-foot tailback has also received more carries with the injury to fellow tailback Jam Griffin.
Overall, Martinez has seven touchdowns, including two last week against Arizona State.
LB Omar Speights
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Speights is one of the top linebackers in the conference and as a junior, he leads the Beavers with 64 tackles. The Pac-12 Honorable Mention from 2021 is a very consistent player where three tackles is considered an “off day.”
His numbers are down from last season for whatever reason. The Oregon State defense has more talent around Speights this year, so maybe he doesn’t have to do as much in order to be successful. Despite what the stat sheets says, Speights will be playing on Sunday next year.
DB Kitan Oladapo
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Defensive back Kitan Oladapo is second on the Beavers with 58 tackles and with fellow corner Jaydon Grant questionable for the Oregon game, Oladapo’s responsibilities will become more serious. The junior from Happy Valley, Ore. should be matched up with Troy Franklin, but the Ducks need to watch for a corner blitz every so often. Oladapo has 2.5 sacks this season and with a less-than-mobile Bo Nix back there, the Beavers might take a few more chances than they would have otherwise.
LB/FB Jack Colletto
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The entire Pac-12 knows about Jack Colletto’s versatility and somehow he still is able to get the job done in short situations. He has been banged up, but of all the injured Beavers, coach Jonathan Smith was more hopeful about Colletto’s availability. He sustained a hamstring injury against California.
He didn’t play last week at ASU, but the Beavers could certainly use him and his six touchdowns as a fullback and 19 tackles as a linebacker.
