Oregon State football a surprise Pac-12 contender in 2020

Oregon State football is slowly rising in the Pac-12 as they look to get themselves to a bowl game for the first time since 2013.

There was much promise with Oregon State for several seasons from Dennis Erickson’s entire coaching career to Mike Riley’s first couple of seasons. For six years, the Beavers have suffered a significant loss of wins and production.

The Beavers have a chance to get back to their first winning season since 2013 this upcoming season.

Oregon State has been at the bottom of the Pac-12 multiple times in the past six seasons as they’ve been looking to rebuild. In the past six seasons, the Beavers have accounted for a 19-53 record with a 10-44 record in Pac-12 play. Before 2013, the Beavers were on a consistent track that included 11 winning seasons and bowl games for 15 years dating back to 1999.

Head coach Jonathan Smith was hired to bring the Beavers back into their winning ways. He looks to do so in 2020 as they had a 5-7 record (4-5 in Pac-12) this past season. This was the closest to a .500 win rate since 2014.

Last season, the Beavers had some memorable wins that include a 48-31 win at the UCLA Bruins, a 21-17 win at California and a 35-34 win against Arizona State. They also suffered some significant losses that cost them a chance to go to a bowl. Their 31-28 loss at Hawaii was a tough loss early in the season.

Oregon State has made progress of winning some tough games on the road, but they have not made progress on avoiding tough losses to teams they should have beaten. They have a chance to compete for a North division title for the first time in years. To compete for that title, they will need to continue to win conferences games and avoid losses to lower-tier teams.