Oregon State Football: Opponent Preview - Stanford Cardinal

Stanford Cardinal (3-6, 2-5)

Stanford is reeling a little bit at the moment. The Cardinal haven’t won since its big double overtime upset of Oregon back on Oct. 2. Last weeks contest vs Utah was a bloodbath as the Utes won 52-7. The loss to the Utes was Stanford’s worst since a 57-7 loss to Notre Dame in 2003.

Oregon State is more than double-digit favorites (-12.5) at home versus Stanford and a large reason for that is the potential absence of starting quarterback Tanner Mckee. He was injured against Washington and missed the loss against Utah. The Cardinal tried to replace Mckee with senior Jack West, but he was pulled after an unsuccessful stint. It looks like David Shaw has settled on freshman Ari Patu, if Tanner Mckee is not ready to go.

The Beavers will try to employ a similar strategy as the Utes did last week to get their sixth win of the season. Utah was able to rush for 441 yards and the Beavers like to lean on B.J. Baylor and the rushing attack.

Three Things To Know

• Stanford has the worst defense in the Pac-12: Not to kick Stanford fans while they are down, but objectively the Cardinal have the worst defense in the Pac-12 (specially rush defense). They’ve given up 232 yards per game on the ground (421.6 total yards per game). They’ve also allowed nearly 30 points per contest (29.8 ppg). If the Beavers can’t score 35+ points at home tomorrow, there could be some offensive tinkering done in the final weeks of the season.
• Casey Filkins is a familiar face/name: The talented 2020 recruit from Lake Oswego, originally committed to Cal and then flipped to Stanford before signing day. Filkins was a talented running back that dominated high school football. Look for him returning punts on Saturday and potentially get some touches as a third down back.
• The Beavers are BIG favorites currently (-12.5): For the second straight week Oregon State is a double-digit favorites, with bowl-eligibility on the line. It didn’t work out so well for the Beavs in Boulder, but if Stanford is starting a true freshman for the first time and they sport the leagues worst run defense this should be an Oregon State victory.

Game Information

• Date: Saturday, November 13th
• Time: 2:30 PM PT
• Location: Reser Stadium (Corvallis, Oregon)
• Coverage: Pac-12 Network