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College Football
Preview
Washington State at Oregon State
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 23, 2024
Where: Reser Stadium, Corvallis, Oregon

The Pacific-12 Conference championship will be on the line when Washington State plays Oregon State on Saturday in Corvallis, Ore. Or perhaps that should be the Pac-2 championship.

With 10 teams bolting for other conferences this fall, the Cougars (8-2) and Beavers (4-6) are all that's left of the Pac-12.

That makes Saturday's showdown the lone conference game of the season.

There seemingly was a camaraderie that developed between the two schools as they've tried to keep the brand alive. But WSU coach Jake Dickert isn't buying the friendly territory chatter as the Cougars hit the road.

"First thing, I've never gotten into, like, they're our buddy. Oregon State's not our buddy. They would have left us as fast as we would have left them. This is what it is. It's one of our biggest rivals now," Dickert said. "That's the way I looked at it. That's not bulletin board material. I hope they would say it the same way, let's go compete. We've been waiting to compete with these guys.

"They've dealt with a lot of adversity. We've dealt with a lot of adversity. I think it's going be an energized (game). Their stadium is going to be packed, and there's going to be a lot of Cougs there. To know that this is going to be opponent that we're going to play for a long time, let's go do it."

The Cougars dropped out of the College Football Playoff race with a stunning 38-35 loss at New Mexico on Saturday. The loss wasted a peak performance from quarterback John Mateer completing 25 of 36 passes for 375 yards and four touchdowns.

The Beavers have lost five consecutive games, including a 28-0 defeat Saturday at Air Force.

"When you lose like we've lost the last five weeks, it's never just one thing, and it's certainly not just the players," Beavers coach Trent Bray said. "Absolutely, I challenge myself and the coaches to come up with a better way to get these guys to perform at the level we know."

The Beavers' biggest problem is at quarterback. Transfer Gevani McCoy has started eight of nine games, but has twice as many interceptions (six) as touchdown passes (three) and was benched at halftime last week for freshman Gabarri Johnson. Junior Ben Gulbranson has starting experience but missed last week's game with an injury.

"It's hard to get a beat and a pulse on them," Dickert said. "I'm sure that's what they're feeling a little bit offensively too, as well, and who gives them the best chance of winning. We'll prepare for all three (QBs)."

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W‑L Strk PF PA Home Away Grass Turf Conf
Washington State 8-2 L1 38.9 28.1 5-0 3-2 0-1 0-0 0-0
Oregon State 4-6 L5 23.2 28.7 3-3 1-3 0-1 0-0 0-0
Last Meeting
Washington State Oregon State
Date Away Home Tot Rus Pas Tot Rus Pas
9/23/23 ORST 35 WSU 38 528 106 422 440 242 198
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Washington State C. Ward 82.4 404 4 0
Oregon State D. Uiagalelei 50.0 198 1 1
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Washington State N. Watson 8 46 5.8 0
Oregon State D. Fenwick 11 101 9.2 3
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Washington State K. Williams 7 174 24.9 1
Oregon State S. Bolden 5 76 15.2 0
Touchdowns Player TD
Washington State J. Kelly 3
Oregon State D. Fenwick 3
Season
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Washington State J. Mateer 63.2 2707 26 6
Oregon State G. McCoy 60.7 1279 3 6
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Washington State J. Mateer 146 695 4.8 12
Oregon State A. Hankerson 198 889 4.5 14
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Washington State K. Williams 51 867 17.0 11
Oregon State T. Walker 65 713 11.0 2
Touchdowns Player TD
Washington State J. Mateer 12
Oregon State A. Hankerson 14
Quickchart Matchup
Washington State Washington State Off vs  Oregon State Oregon State Def
Washington State 461.6 yards
Oregon State 395 yards
Washington State 4.8 yards/rush
Oregon State 5.3 yards/rush
Washington State 9 yards/attempt
Oregon State 8.1 yards/attempt
Oregon State Oregon State Off vs  Washington State Washington State Def
Oregon State 386.1 yards
Washington State 432.4 yards
Oregon State 4.7 yards/rush
Washington State 5.6 yards/rush
Oregon State 6.5 yards/attempt
Washington State 6.7 yards/attempt