Beavers Host Bruins For "Dad's Day"

#23 UCLA (6-2, 3-2) at Oregon St. (2-6, 0-5) / Reser Stadium, Corvallis / 1:30 PM PDT / Pac-12 / KEJO 1240 AM / KEX 1190 AM / Pac-12 Stream

Game Notes / UCLA Game Notes

Oregon State returns home today to face UCLA for the first time in over 3 years. It's an old-fashioned, 1:30+ PM kickoff for Dad's Day, thanks to the game being relegated to the Pac-12 channel, and its always un-synced day time start times.

The Beavers lost their 5th game in a row last Saturday evening in Salt Lake City, all in conference, falling to then 13th (now #12) ranked Utah 27-12. But it was the best game Oregon State has played in conference, and defensively, probably their best effort of the season. After the Utes marched for touchdowns on their first 2 possessions, the Beavers played the Pac-12 South leaders about even the rest of the way.

The Bruins extended their winning streak to 2 games, with a come from behind 35-31 home win over Colorado, after the Buffs had overcome an early 18 point UCLA lead.

Josh Rosen completed 19 of 33 passes, for 262 yards and a touchdown, and Paul Perkins ran for 118 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries, and added 4 catches for 41 yards and another score for the Bruins.

Nick Mitchell will get the start at quarterback again this week, as Seth Collins will miss his second game in a row, after suffering a knee injury in the last practice before the Utah trip.

The Beavers get one of their starting cornerbacks back, with Larry Scott back in action, but Treston Decoud is still out.

Three years ago, in the teams' last meeting, the Beavers took a 27-20 win over the Bruins in the Rose Bowl, as the Oregon State defense held UCLA to barely 50 yards on the ground, and rolled up over 500 yards of offense.

UCLA dominates the overall series, holding a 41-16-4 advantage, but the teams have split the last 6 games 3 apiece,and the last 4 games have all been decided by a single score, with UCLA's 27-19 win the last time the Bruins were at Reser, in 2011, the largest margin of victory in those games.

UCLA opened as a 17 1/2 point favorite, and the spread has subsequently shrunk, but only that half point, which makes a "push" possible. It will be interesting to see if the forecasted rainy weather proves a wet blanket for the offenses overall, which could benefit Oregon State.

BuildingTheDam will be at the game, and back afterwards, with complete coverage and analysis.

Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com