Oregon State Bulldogs Preview 2025: Offense
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2025 Oregon State Football Preview
Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season
– The Beavers were wildly inconsistent. They had an offensive power outage in the second half of the year, scoring fewer than 20 points in four of the last five games. The ground game was good – Anthony Hankerson is back after running for close to 1,000 yards and 15 scores – but the passing attack couldn’t push the ball down the field, so …
– Oregon State went and got itself a quarterback. Gabarri Johnson got in a little work as a freshman, but Maalik Murphy (Duke) was the huge signing to grow into the gig. A former star recruit for Texas, this is his offense to take over.
– The receiving corps should be a strength. Trent Walker is back on the outside after cranking out 81 catches with two scores, but he wasn’t much of a big play target. Darrius Clemons is a 6-3 inside option who finishes second on the team with 25 grabs.
There’s enough depth to fill in the gaps and come up with a few options for each spot. Riley Williams made just 15 catches with a score in two years at Miami, but he was a big signing from the transfer portal to take over at tight end.
– The offensive line lost a star in guard Joshua Gray and has to come up with a slew of new starters, but getting Josaiah Timoteo from Nevada should help at either tackle or guard, and Van Wells is a veteran returning center to build around.
Oregon State Beavers Preview 2025: Defense
– There wasn’t any pass rush whatsoever. That’s not hyperbole – the Beavers were dead last in all of college football with a grand total of seven, and three were in the first two games.
Nikko Taylor is back at one of the outside spots after leading the team with 2.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss, but the production has to come from the Takari Hickle at the Edge after missing all of last year injured.
– Along with Taylor, the Beavers have an interesting situation at linebacker with Raesjon Davis coming in from USC, and Makiya Tongue trying to come back after missing most of the last two years with a knee injury. Fifth-leading tackler Dexter Foster will see time again on the inside.
– The 310-pound Tevita Pome’e has a world of upside, and now he has to be more of an anchor for a front four that needs to hold up better. Thomas Collins is a good young tackle who has to be healthy after missing time last year hurt. He’s not huge, but he can move.
– The Beavers have a terrific veteran safety in Skyler Thomas, who led the team with 81 tackles and nine broken up passes with a pick. The rest of the safeties are experienced enough to be okay – there are more than enough veterans to fill in the blanks, depending on who’s healthy.
The cornerback situation isn’t quite as strong. Exodus Ayers should be the best of the lot going into his sophomore season, and then comes the fight this offseason for the rest of the rotation.
2025 Oregon State Football Preview
Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season
