Oregon State is waiting on its star quarterback, and the Beavers may not know Braden Atkinson’s status until closer to kickoff.
Head coach JaMarcus Shephard said Monday that he is “hopeful” Atkinson will be available for Saturday’s game at No. 25 Boise State.
The matchup is set for 4 p.m. Mountain time, with Boise State coming in at 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the Pac-12, while Oregon State sits at 5-4 and 3-2.
Atkinson exited last week’s 42-21 loss to Texas State after taking an apparent throwing hand injury in the third quarter. On a pass attempt, his right hand struck a helmet.
He stayed in long enough to finish 20 of 36 for 192 yards, but he did not throw a touchdown and was picked off once. That interception was his first in Pac-12 play.
“Hopefully he’ll be ready to go this weekend,” Shephard said during Monday’s press conference.
Shephard also downplayed the idea that this kind of issue is unusual over the course of a season.
“Most of these guys get banged up a little bit throughout the games,” Shephard said. “We go through each week after each game and try to get them back to normal.”
Atkinson has been the engine of Oregon State’s offense all year. The second-year sophomore leads the nation in passing yards with 3,169 and is tied for fourth in touchdown passes with 25. He has completed 242 of 368 throws, good for 66 percent, and has only three interceptions on the season.
If he can’t go, Maalik Murphy is next up.
Murphy stepped in against Texas State and completed 5 of 7 passes for 75 yards with an interception. If called upon Saturday, he would get the start for Oregon State.
Murphy originally signed with Texas as a four-star recruit out of Southern California’s Gardena Junipero Serra High School, spent two seasons with the Longhorns, then transferred to Duke. There, he threw for 2,933 yards with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
After that season, Murphy entered the portal again and reportedly agreed to a $1.5 million contract with Oregon State. He made eight starts for the Beavers last year, finishing 161 of 277 passing for 1,805 yards, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions.
The quarterback room was a real competition heading into the fall. Murphy, Atkinson and Western Michigan transfer Brady Jones all entered camp battling for the job, and Atkinson was named the Week 1 starter on Aug. 24.
Atkinson’s rise has been quick. He arrived as an unrated high school prospect, then threw for 3,611 yards and 34 touchdowns with 11 interceptions in his lone season at Mercer.
That performance earned him the 2025 Jerry Rice Award, given annually to the best freshman in FCS. He was also rated a three-star transfer portal prospect by 247Sports and ranked No. 34 among quarterbacks in the portal.
The Beavers’ passing game has also leaned heavily on true freshman Jesse Legree, who has become Atkinson’s favorite target. Legree has 61 catches for 1,209 yards and 14 touchdowns, numbers that put him first in FBS in receiving yards and tied with Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith for receiving touchdowns.
Boise State has its own quarterback question. Starter Maddux Madsen missed last week’s game against Colorado State because of a lower-body injury, though he could be back on Saturday.
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The postgame critique was just as blunt as the box score, with Texas State coach GJ Kinne labeling Oregon State a finesse team. Oregon States coaches did not push back on the broader point, instead treating it as a message they can use to sharpen the teams edge, especially when it comes to playing with more physicality and cleaning up the sort of mistakes that can turn a game into a runaway. [Read more 🡒]