Before Purdue and Oregon State do battle on Saturday night in Corvallis, Boiler Upload caught up with BeaversEdge publisher Brenden Slaughter to talk about the Beavers, their season thus far, who Purdue will have to game plan for and more in this week's behind enemy lines.

It was certainly a game that got out of hand quickly... It was an eight-point game at the halftime break and there was a general thought that if the Beavers could get a pulse on defense, they could make this a game. Unfortunately, Oregon showed why they're a top-10 team in the second half, shutting out the Beavs and rolling up the points to a 49-14 victory. It was a very weird time for the Civil War as it has always been the last game of the season for as long as anyone could remember, so having that be a September game in T-Shirts was certainly a different experience. The body language wasn't great following the loss, but the Beavers' response in practice this week and with interviews has been positive. I think entering the season the Beavers knew this would be a tough matchup and that most everything would still be ahead of them if they lost, and I think that's where they're at. I expect the Beavs to be able to shake off the poor play and play far better against Purdue.

It's definitely been a tough year for the fanbase... There's a ton more optimism now as the Pac has added Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, and San Diego State to the conference, and there's a good chance that we could see teams like Memphis, Tulane, UTSA, UTEP, USF, and Texas State get into the mix as well in the weeks to come. Bottom line, it was a really rough 2023... The Pac news broke before the 2023 campaign and it really felt like there was a dark cloud hanging over the program all season long and it's my opinion that's why Jonathan Smith hit the ejector seat ASAP and went to Michigan State. Enter Trent Bray, Smith's defensive coordinator as the new hire and he immediately won the fanbase over by being loyal to the program when many others weren't. I think Bray brought some solid momentum to the program in the offseason, and then once the new conference news came in just the last week was perfectly timed. There was a period of wandering through the wastelands for the fanbase, but there's a clear future now and I think that's important for the Beavs.

The expectations monster is 100% and you've got to feed it... All jokes aside it's a great question because there was a ton of turnover in the offseason, but because of the quasi-Mountain West schedule and some returning pieces, and some solid hires from Bray, there was definitely optimism for a really good 2024 campaign. Bray openly said when he got the job that he hoped that the Beavers would compete for the College Football Playoff, and while those expectations are a bit of reach now, the fact that they were even mentioned meant the fanbase and the very least expects a bowl game this season. It wasn't all that long ago that Beaver fans would have cut off an arm to reach six wins, but now after three straight bowl games and 26 wins over the past three seasons, expectations are higher and despite being left out of the initial round of realignment mix, fans still expected a winner.

It's definitely the bread and butter of the Oregon State offense and Jam Griffin and Anthony Hankerson are the engine that drives the bus. The Beavers would absolutely like to be more active and efficient in throwing the ball, but that part of the game just hasn't quite caught up to where the ground game is. The offensive line has dealt with a few injuries the past couple of weeks, but that unit is one of the better groups on the West Coast and they're great at opening up holes for the ground game, and haven't been too bad at pass protection either despite the mixed results. The Beavers will 100% look to ground and pound and let that open everything else up, including the short-to-intermediate passing attack. The Beavers haven't proven capable of winning a game with a huge downfield passing attack, so I'd expect the Beavers to be heavy-run this weekend, with mixing in some select passing plays that could open up the passing attack.

A couple of names for the Boilermakers to consider: Starting on the defensive line, Thomas Collins is looking like a force early on and is a quick and strong rusher in the middle of the DL - At linebacker Isaiah Chisom on the inside and Olu Omotosho on the outside are a couple to keep in mind. Chisom has been very solid as a redshirt freshman, while Olu is set to make his return after missing the past couple games and might be the Beavers' best edge rusher. In the secondary, there are a couple of veteran options for Hudson Card to look out for with Jaden Robinson, Kobe Singleton, and Skyler Thomas in the back end as all three have very solid experience and talent... Oregon State's defense got shredded last week, so I think there will be a big priority for this group to play far better against the Boilermakers.

Both teams are coming off of blowout losses, but I think Oregon State is in a better position as the two teams stand. Purdue had many issues stopping the run a week ago, and that's Oregon State's bread and butter. I expect a thoroughly competitive game, but I think the Beavers will be just a bit better when it comes down to it.