Jamarcus Shephard knows Oregon State has work to do, and he isn’t pretending otherwise.
Coming off a rough loss to Texas State, the Beavers’ head coach used his weekly media availability to own the disappointment and make clear that changes are coming before Saturday’s Pac-12 matchup with Boise State.
“Saturday was a very difficult game, difficult for the fans, for the team, for me as a head coach. It’s really difficult for me because of how much I care.
And I just believe that when you care deeply about people, you don’t want them to experience disappointment. But as a coach and primarily as a parent- you understand that those things are important for continuing growth.
Failures to me really are a signal that...you need to be stronger. It’s important to me that I am accountable for every play and every snap of this program.
But also I provide assurances that we have the plan, we’ll have the ability to do things differently.
That loss exposed a run defense that has been leaking yards for three straight games. Oregon State has allowed more than 4.9 yards per carry in each of those contests, and Texas State hit the Beavers for 6.2 yards per rush while piling up 386 yards and five touchdowns on 62 attempts.
Shephard said the fix is part scheme, part personnel.
“I would say that it’s probably a combination of both things,” Shephard said of fixing his run defense. “One, it’s fits, but then asking some of our players to do things that maybe they aren’t as good at doing.
Just before I got down here we were workin’ through some of that to make sure that we not only have the right fits, but also that we have the right guy to make the play. We’re making some adjustments for this upcoming week, we have a lot of smart defensive coaches who have been around a lot of different places.”
The challenge only gets steeper with Boise State’s ground game waiting on the other side. Dylan Riley has already piled up 1241 yards this season and is averaging 6.7 yards per carry. Sire Gaines has given the Broncos quality production behind him, though his availability for Saturday is uncertain because of a foot injury.
“Really good football team. They’ve got some really dynamic running backs, they play really good defense. So it’ll be a challenge.”
Oregon State will also have to navigate the possible continued absence of safety Sai Vadrawale, who missed the Texas State game after a collision in practice last week and is expected to remain out through Saturday. Shephard said that loss has forced the staff to simplify things on defense so the players can line up cleanly and execute with less confusion.
“Yeah that was a big part of the conversation [this week]. Trying to make sure that we simplified some things to give them the best chance to be successful on Saturday, get lined up appropriately, to execute the defense at a high level, just based on alignment,” Shephard noted.
“I want the guys to be able to get the call, get lined up. It all starts with that.
Now it’s on them to go out there and play the game that they say they love.”
ESPN’s College Gameday will be on hand for the pregame buildup, but Shephard said the Beavers can’t let the spotlight pull them off task.
“We’re gonna be focused on things that we can excel at in this game... I’ve had the fortune to be a part of College Gameday on multiple occasions.
And typically, the home team is the one that’s being showcased, and I fully expect that will be the case this week as well. Our job is to go in and play the football game and not worry about that whatsoever.
If we play the game like we should, then you know what, we’ll be excited about the end of the game.”
Oregon State and Boise State kick off Saturday from Albertsons Stadium at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
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