Oregon State football: Stern lectures over penalties, turnovers; Beavers running game not good enough at all

Oregon States win over Boise State felt nice for about 18 hours. Then attention turned not so much to this weeks opponent, Fresno State, but the Horror show that took place, at times, against the Broncos.

The foundation of Oregon States offense is taking care of the ball. Offensive Coordinator Brian Lindgren said its the first thing he addresses with his players at the outset of spring practice and preseason camp.

It was no different Sunday afternoon when the team met at Valley Football Center. The Beavers had three turnovers against Boise State, and it could have been five without help from the replay booth.

We got to get that stuff figured out because we weren’t going to win many games the rest of the year when you turn the ball over three times, Lindgren said. Luckily our defense was able to create a number more, but we got to do a better job.

It wasn’t just the turnovers. Penalties were a huge setback for the offense. There were seven Offensive penalties, most holding or false starts.

How does it get fixed? There is no magic solution other than getting back to basics, reinforcement of principles and some post-practice punishment. Five or 10 minutes of up-downs for penalties after a long, hot practice often emphasizes the point.

It comes down to focus. Its not like we do those hard counts some of the time. Thats part of our offense, Lindgren said. They know it killed us in multiple drives.

On Nolan: Lindgren’s take on what he saw Saturday night from quarterback Chance Nolan that he didn’t see a year ago wasn’t much different than what fans thought. The long passing game is now a big part of Nolan’s game.

It was a difference maker against Boise State, particularly early in the game. Four of Nolan’s first eight completions went for more than 25 yards.

Two of Nolan’s best long throws came in stressful situations, although one was a drop. On third and two from the Boise 47, Nolan hit TreShaun Harrison in stride a few yards from the end zone, but his receiver couldn’t hold the pass.

He had some pressure, and its early in the game and he kind of got some adrenaline going. It was great to see him drop that thing in there, Lindgren said.

The other, a 74-yard pass play to Anthony Gould during the third quarter, Nolan had to launch the ball while standing in OSU’s end zone.

Any time youre in the end zone, thats tough sometimes. He stood in there, knew he was going to take a little bit of a shot and he was able to put it on the money to Ant, Lindgren said. It gives you confidence to call more of those.

Running game blues: Junior running back Deshaun Fenwick was blunt in his assessment of the Beavers rushing attack against Boise State.

Not good enough at all, they said. All the backs believe we ran pretty average. Not by our standard by any means.

It wasn’t Purdue-level terrible, when OSU managed only 78 yards on 25 carries in the 2021 season opener against the Boilermakers. The Beavers had 178 rushing yards, although no one with more than 44.

It wasn’t all bad, Fenwick said.

I think they had an emphasis on stopping the run game, so that opened up a lot for our receivers. It worked in our favor, Fenwick said.

Sizzling Fresno: Oregon State might avoid the worst of the heat wave going through central California, as the latest weather forecast shows a Saturday high temperature of 98. Which is hot, but not Mondays 113 thermometer reading.

But stay tuned, because the weather calls for 106 degrees on Friday. Which means 98 for Saturday isn’t set in cement. Regardless, its going to be hot, and Oregon State is preparing for a Sizzler at Valley Childrens Stadium.

While the Beavers Aren’t practicing in the heat of the day this week it was 91 Monday in Corvallis they are paying close attention to the advice of staff nutritionists. Among the recommendations are putting more salt in the players’ diet.

Everybody is preaching hydration early in the week, Lindgren said. That doesn’t just start Friday when we get down there. Its preparing yourself all week and getting yourself ready to roll.

Fenwick says bring on the heat.

I’m from Florida, so its really not anything for me, Fenwick said. Im ready for the challenge.

— Nick Daschel reported from Corvallis

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