Oregon State tries to clinch bowl eligibility vs. Colorado

[November 03, 2021] The Colorado Buffaloes have had many forgettable games this season, so they would love nothing more than to celebrate homecoming with an unforgettable win against the Oregon State Beavers.

Colorado (2-6, 1-4 Pac-12) would need to win out to become bowl-eligible, a tough task considering the conference competition.

Oregon State (5-3, 3-2) is coming off a loss at Cal but boasts home wins against Washington and Utah as well as a road victory against Southern California.

A win Saturday in Boulder, Colo., and the Beavers would be bowl-eligible with three games remaining on the schedule and a real chance to win the Pac-12 North if they sweep the rest of their schedule.

Losing to the Bears hurt, however.

"There's nobody feeling sorry for themselves because we put ourselves in this position," Beavers defensive back Jaydon Grant said after the Cal game. "We're the ones who came out and didn't execute. We're the ones who came out and got out-physicaled from top to bottom. We're the ones who are accountable for losing this game -- not the coaches, not the game plan. It's us."

Oregon State faces a Buffaloes team that has lost six of their past seven since a win in the first week of the season. Freshman quarterback Brendon Lewis has struggled, but the ouster of offensive line coach Mitch Rodrigue last week seemed to spark that unit some against the Ducks.

Lewis will get another weapon back when wide receiver La'Vontae Shenault returns from suspension this week, but the defense will be without linebacker Guy Thomas (lower-body injury) and fifth-year linebacker Nate Landman (shoulder injury).

Buffaloes coach Karl Dorrell said earlier this week that Landman is doubtful and could miss the rest of the season. Landman has aspirations to play in the NFL, and Dorrell doesn't want to jeopardize his chances.

"We want to do what's best for Nate," Dorrell said. "He has a potential career beyond here, so I want to make sure that when he's ready to play, he's ready to play."

Saturday will be the teams' first meeting since 2018, when the Beavers rallied from 28 down to win 41-34 in overtime at Boulder.

--Field Level Media

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.