Ryan Leaf isn’t expecting much drama when Oregon State meets Washington State.
After seeing the Beavers up close in last week’s win over San Diego State, the former quarterback and current analyst came away convinced that JaMarcus Shephard’s team looks nothing like the group that faded badly last season. Oregon State now has Braden Atkinson and Jesse Legree drawing national attention while powering the top passing offense in the country, and Leaf says the turnaround is real.
“This team is remarkably different than they were the last two years,” Leaf said after calling OSU’s win for USA Network. “It’s exceptional and it should showcase to everybody out there that you can do this if you find the right fit at head coach and then find a diamond in the rough in Jesse.”
Leaf will be on the call again with Nate Gatter for Saturday’s matchup, but he doesn’t see Washington State keeping pace. In his view, this isn’t the kind of game that can be fixed with one quarterback change or a simple defensive tweak.
“There’s a significant gap here,” Leaf said. “This is not something that can be remedied by a quarterback fix and a good defensive game plan.
They may limit them and not allow them to score 60, but I don’t know how you stop this offense with how multiple they are, how they spread you out, how they simply go by the box count on whether they run or pass the football. You’re in a no-win situation.”
Leaf also liked what he saw from both play-callers in this one. He described Oregon State offensive coordinator Mitch Dahlen’s work against San Diego State as “a symphony,” and he said Washington State defensive coordinator Trent Bray has done well to produce the No. 2 defense in the conference even while being “asked to do way too much” because of the Cougars’ offensive problems.
Even so, Leaf thinks Dahlen and the Beavers hold the edge, especially after watching what Fresno State did against Wazzu.
“I thought Fresno came out and made adjustments at halftime that spread the defense out,” Leaf said. “What they looked like on that night is exactly what Oregon State does.”
Washington State is expected to turn to Owen Eshelman at quarterback, but Leaf doesn’t believe that kind of response to Caden Pinnick’s struggles changes the equation much. Against Oregon State’s Pac-12-leading defense, he sees the same basic problem.
“I know that he works his tail off, that he is incredibly focused, intense and optimistic about what he can do,” Leaf said.
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Through six games, Legree has been impossible to ignore, delivering big-play after big-play at a pace few receivers anywhere can match. He has topped 100 yards and scored at least once in every game, while his 24.5 yards per catch has made him one of the most explosive pass-catchers in the country and given the Beavers a new offensive threat to build around. [Read more 🡒]
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Owen Eshelman is the name to watch on that front, even if he has only a sliver of college game experience. Woods said the backup quarterback could be the player who changes the feel of the offense, based on what he has shown in practice and in his limited snaps. The defense, meanwhile, has held up better than the offense, with pressure and coverage giving opponents problems, but it has also been vulnerable to explosive plays and is living with rough field position far too often because the unit on the other side has struggled to sustain drives. [Read more 🡒]