Purdue makes a trip to the west coast for another tough non-conference game.
Oregon State Beavers (2-1)
Series Record: 1-1
Last Purdue Win: September 4th, 2021, 30-21
Last Oregon State Win: October 21st, 1967, 22-14
Oregon State Head Coach: Trent Bray
Offensive Player to Watch: There are two running backs that Purdue will have to stop to have success this weekend in Beaver Country. Anthony Hankerson (#0) has 55 carries for 283 yards and five touchdowns in three games so far, good for 5.1 YPC and 94.3 Yards Per game. He and Jam Griffin are of similar builds, around 5-8, 205 pounds, and can around defenses or use their low center of gravity to run through arm tackles. Jam Griffin (#8), has toted the ball 45 times for 276 yards, 6.1 yards per carry, 92 yards per game, and 3 rushing touchdowns.
Hankerson made his way to Oregon after spending time in Deion’s World at Boulder, while Jam, what a great football name, was at Oregon State before going to Ole Miss and then back to Oregon State.
Defensive Player to Watch:
The man to know in the secondary is Skylar Thomas. At 6-2, 200 pounds, he is a rangy defensive back who loves to help as run support. In 3 games, he has 18 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble.
Nikko Taylor is the best pass rusher for the Beavers. He has two sacks in three games and has also totaled 7 tackles from his OLB/Rush End position. The new head coach, Trent Bray, is a defensive-minded leader,
Game Outlook:
Purdue is coming off one of the worst losses in football history and should not need much motivation to make this a competitive game, Oregon State is coming off of a bad loss against their in-state rival as well, losing to Oregon 49-14.
Purdue struggled against the run against Notre Dame, Oregon State has two dynamic backs that will make life difficult for the Boilers.
Way Too Early Prediction:
Oregon State 27 Purdue 17