Once Upon A Time...
Turning the page to the first chapter of Oregon State's hopeful storybook season
As it so often does, College Football’s Week Zero slate blessed us with numerous gifts. Not everyone loves Week Zero, but for me, it’s a perfect microcosm of the goofy charm that makes this severely flawed sport so wonderful. This year gave us Vanderbilt hosting Hawaii in the middle of a construction site, Notre Dame fans all but claiming a national title after the Fighting Irish blew out the Naval Academy in Ireland.
From a practical sense, Week Zero gave Oregon State fans plenty of tape on three different opponents they’ll face this year: their Week One opponent in the San Jose State Spartans, their Week Three opponent in the San Diego State Aztecs, and their Pac 12 Title Game opponents in the USC Trojans (if the Trojans can make it that far, obvi).
The Beavs have already been dubbed by many media members and college football neutrals as ‘America’s Darling,’ due to where they currently stand amidst all the realignment fuckery. It’s a perfect storm for Oregon State to have a special season and to win over a lot of hearts doing it, but in order to win over a lot of hearts they’re also going to have to win a lot of games. Whether Beavers fans are billing this as a ‘Revenge Tour’ or a storybook season, this story’s first chapter against the Spartans is going to have to go well and it is not going to be easy.
SJSU lost to USC by a final score of 56-28 at the Coliseum. While that may not be the most inspiring scoreline on paper, the Spartan’s offense got after USC’s defense early and had Trojan fans sweating through the first half. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and the Trojan offense might be the country’s most explosive and were eventually able to pull away and put the game to bed, but the Beavs should be wary of this game turning into a track meet.
The key here, as it so often is, will be the quarterback position. Not just the quarterbacks on the field, but on the sidelines. As soon as DJ Uiagalelei attempts his much-anticipated first pass, he’ll join the long list of quarterbacks who have had the great privilege of throwing the football for Oregon State University. A list that of course includes Beaver head coach, Jonathan Smith, and also San Jose State offensive analyst Lyle Moevao.
Moevao, a beloved Beaver quarterback who went 14-4 as a starter at OSU, and Uiagalelei go back. DJ’s father Big Dave Uiagalelei discussed the first time the two met at a football camp in California on a recent episode of the Belligerent Beavs podcast. The quarterback Moeavao will be advising this Saturday is Chevan Cordeiro, a kid who has played a ton of college football in his career and got his sixth season as an FBS quarterback off to a good start in Week Zero.
The Beavs have seen Cordeiro before. His four years at Hawaii included a start at Reser Stadium in Week Two of the 2021 season. Cordeiro threw for 366 yards and two touchdowns that day, but also completed less than 50% of his passes and got picked off twice by the Beaver defense in a game that was never within two possessions after the midway point of the first quarter.
Cordeiro guided the Spartans to a 7-5 record in 2022, which included a loss to Eastern Michigan in The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, during his first season in San Jose. He’s just one of nine returning starters on offense for coach Brent Brennan who is in his seventh season at the helm for San Jose State. There is a ton of continuity on this team and they will be excited and ready to play at home.
Cordeiro’s most dangerous weapon looks to be new wide receiver Nick Nash, who Cordeiro beat out for the starting quarterback job before 2022. It didn’t look like there were any hard feelings held between either of them in Week Zero as Nash was the recipient of all three Cordeiro touchdown passes against the Trojans.
It should be a good first test for Smith and the Beavs. As I mentioned on the Belligerent Beavs ‘Predictions Episode,’ I’ve got OSU winning 37-17 in this one, but won’t be surprised at all if it’s closer than that.
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Welcome back, college football, and welcome to you, dear reader, to Cream: A College Football Substack!
I’ll be in the house in Minneapolis tonight for Minnesota vs. Nebraska, (appropriate wearing my Oregon State Rose Bowl shirt from Homefield), and can’t wait to see what happens in the Utah vs. Florida game tonight as well.