Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PROVO -- BYU did what needed to be done against San Jose State. They ran the ball, eased Riley Nelson into the starting job and got a victory over Spartans. They had their first big offensive game of the season, they didn't punt at all. The defense was stifling. Now they move from playing a WAC team to the Pac-12.
The Cougars will travel to Corvallis, Ore. to take on an Oregon State this Saturday at 2 p.m. The Beavers got their first win of the season last week against Arizona. This will be a rematch of the 2009 Lav Vegas Bowl where BYU won 44-20. Injuries have hurt the Beavers and BYU has yet to play well through a full game.
Here is a look at some storylines to look for during the game.
1. BYU and the missing half: The Cougars have played really well in half of every game they have played in. The problem is that it has been literally split by halves. In their good halves they are winning, 95-43, in the bad halves they are down, 25-98. They will need to play a full game to win consistently. Can Nelson keep up the spark that was there in the second half of the Utah State game and the first half of the San Jose State game? If they can this could be a big game for the offense.
2. Oregon State battles the injury bug: This could be the second week in a row that the opposing team's leading rusher is out with an injury. Malcolm Agnew has been out with a hamstring injury since week one when he ran for 223 yards. James Rodgers is finally starting to get healthy after missing last year. If these players are healthy the Beavers will have a big advantage. If not their offense will struggle.
3. The running back situation: Who will step up this week? It was Alisa last week, Di Luigi earlier, Nelson has led the team and Kariya carried the load once also. Quezada is the lone feature back that hasn't been able to lead the team in rushing. It is very rare to have a more than two different backs lead the team in rushing, let alone four, especially not in an option offense. All the backs are fresh, but will one be able to get into rhythm will all the switching around.
4. The special teams battle: Oregon State has a dynamic punt returner in Jordan Poyer. They also have a freshman kicker who has played solid. BYU has had good play from all the special teams units, but been a little spotty on kick coverage. This could be a big part of the game if anything goes wrong for either team. If there is a big mistake or big play it could change the outcome.
5. BYU's secondary vs. Oregon State's receivers: BYU gave up 20 receptions between two players last week. Oregon State has two dynamic receivers in Markus Wheaton and Jordan Bishop who have 38 and 21 catches on the season respectively. If Rodgers is healthy he will add another slot receiver that will cause matchup problems. He has 14 catches despite only being partially healthy in a few games. This is the game within the game. If the secondary can get a turnover or make a big play the Cougars could have an easy game.
Email: onlinesports@ksl.com
