Week 10 Snap Counts: You Get a Snap! And You Get a Snap!

It is an ideal way to head into a two week stretch against teams in the top 6 of the college football playoff rankings. Most Oregon State starters played around 60% of total snaps, which should mean the team is fresh heading into a showdown against Washington this upcoming weekend.

Six players made their first appearances of the year for the Beavers in this game: QB Ben Gulbranson, WR David Wells Jr., OL Nthan Elu, EDGE Oluwaseyi Omotosho, MLB Isaiah Chisom, CB Jaydin Young,

Offense

With the game well in hand early, the Beavers reached the 40-rushing attempt threshold for the second game in a row, and the 3rd time in the last 5 games.

Quarterback: DJ Uiagalelei (40), Adian Chiles (25), Ben Gulbranson (4)

One of the more recognizable mantras for quarterbacks is to never throw across your body back over the middle of the field. Uiagalelei seems to have not heard this bit of conventional wisdom since he has done exactly that three times in recent weeks. It’s been working out just fine for him since he is 3-for-3 on those passes, including a touchdown.

Running Back: Damien Martinez (32), Isaiah Newell (21), Deshaun Fenwick (14), Isaac Hodgins (6), Jake Richle (4)

There are paragraphs that could be written about Martinez’ highest rushing total of the year, his 4 touchdowns more than doubling his season total, the Beavers 127 yards after contact, or Redshirt Freshman Jake Richle racking up 31 yards on 3 carries in mop up duty. But the best use of this space is to rewatch Fenwick hurdle a defender, then break two more tackles after that on his 37-yard touchdown run.

Wide Receiver: Silas Bolden (35), Anthony Gould (31), Jimmy Vaslin III (27), Trent Walker (19), Jesiah Irish (18), Rweha Munyagi Jr. (13), Jeremiah Noga (13), David Wells Jr. (8)

As tends to happen in a game where starters only play half the game, receiving targets were spread out far and wide on Saturday. Bolden, Gould, and Valsin III each shared the team lead with 3 targets, although Bolden & Valsin III each had a drop.

I do want to highlight the below pass to Gould since it’s an example of the deep crossing routes that seem like they would be a staple of an offense that gives the QB time to let routes develop and smaller but faster wide receivers a chance to separate (or get in between zone defenders) and run after the catch. We have not seen as many of these completions this year as one might have expected, but it would be the perfect time for those sorts of connections to click.

Tight End: Jack Velling (38), Jermaine Terry II (28), Riley Sharp (17), Bryce Caufield (12), Gabe Milbourn (5), Carter Neuman (4)

It was a Jermaine Terry II breakout game. The junior transfer from Cal has been a regular contributor to the offense this year, racking up over 300 snaps through the first 10 games, but has primarily been the blocking tight end while Velling takes the role of receiving threat. Terry II’s 2 catches for 35 yards and a TD on two targets doubled his season reception total. Riley Sharp added another TD on his only target from Adien Chiles, it was his first target in the passing game since week 5 against Utah.

Offensive Line: Tanner Miller (48), Joshua Gray (48), Heneli Bloomfield (48), Taliese Fuaga (48), Grant Starck (43), Tyler Voltin (22), Jacob Strand (21), Tyler Morano (21), Flavio Gonzalez (21), Dylan Lopez (13), Luka Vincic (8), Nathan Elu (4)

At this point of the season, these recaps are full of complements about the Oregon State offensive line, and this week was their most dominant performance yet. Joshua Gray and Taliese Fuaga were the highest graded offensive lineman by PFF this past week (91.6 and 91.4 respectively), and nearly every lineman that got in the game won their matchups. In the below clip, keep an eye on RT Fuaga RG Grant Starck, and LG Heneli Bloomfield. All three are multiple yards downfield by the time Martinez gets to the line of scrimmage, which lets him build up a full head of steam to outrun the rest of the secondary to the goal line.

Defense

The time of possession in this game was far closer than you might have expected based on the Beaver rushing attack, mostly due to a 14-play drive by Stanford that took up 7:13 and ended with a 28-yard field goal.

Defensive Line: Joe Golden (32), James Rawls (32), Isaac Hodgins (24), Semisi Saluni (19), Takari Hickle (19), Quincy Wright (11), Thomas Collins (6), Travis Shippen (4)

Stanford averaged 2.6 yards per carry, which drops to 2.1 if you take out Tiger Bachmeier’s 15-yard run in the 1st quarter. 100 of Stanford’s 120 rushing yards came after contact, which is a testament to a defensive line winning the battle in the trenches.

Edge Rusher: Sione Lolohea (31), Andrew Chatfield Jr. (29), John McCartan (21), Cory Stover (20), Nikko Taylor (19), Oluwaseyi Omotosho (5)

After picking up two more against Stanford, Chatfield is now tied for 8th in the country with 9 sacks. He also did his best John McCartan impression and jumped a route this week for his second interception of the year. It’s the second straight standout performance for the Florida transfer and expect to see his snaps increase against a pass-happy Washington team this coming weekend.

Linebacker: Easton Mascarenas-Arnold (43), Calvin Hart Jr. (40), Melvin Jordan IV (37), Isaiah Chisom (24)

The Beavers made strides in the tackling department this week. The total missed tackle count was down to 9, the lowest since UC Davis. None of the 4 middle linebackers were credited for a missed tackle. Chisom’s snaps in this game are a welcome sight for a linebacking corps that has been exclusively three-deep since Makiya Tounge went out for the year against San Diego State.

Cornerback: Jaden Robinson (60), Jermod McCoy (46), Ryan Cooper Jr. (43), Jaydin Young (22), Andre Jordan Jr. (16)

Robinson was targeted 5 times, gave up 1 catch for 36 yards (Robinson had good coverage on the play, Elic Ayomanor made a great catch on a well thrown ball). McCoy picked up his 2nd interception of the year in the 3rd quarter, although he and Jack Kane combined on a miscommunication the very next defensive play that resulted in a wide-open 75-yard touchdown reception by Ayomanor, one of the few mistakes the Beaver defense made all night.

Safety: Akili Arnold (48), Kitan Oladapo (43), Jack Kane (24), Wynston Rusell (19)

Oladapo was the 3rd highest graded defender of the week by PFF (92.9). He more than doubled his previous career interception total in this game, bringing it from 1 to 3. He (#6) and Arnold (#28) both rank in the top 30 safeties in the nation in season-long grades among players with more than 380 total snaps.