College Football Week 7: #10 Oregon State At BYU

#10 Oregon State

BYU

Another week, another win for Mike Riley’s squad, which is now 4-0 after a quiet 19-6 victory over Washington State. He will have to find a way to keep winning without his starting quarterback.	Coaching	In five of his seven seasons in Provo, Bronco Mendenhall has won at least 10 games. The Cougars are 4-2 with their losses by a combined four points.
Quarterback Sean Mannion is out indefinitely after injuring his knee against WSU. Cody Vaz saw limited action in 2010 but hasn’t played since. The Beavers may have to lean on a rushing attack that has been nonexistent so far this season.	Offense	The BYU offense has been hit or miss: the Cougars have scored in the 40s twice but also have two 6-point performances, including last week against Utah State. Senior Riley Nelson reclaims the quarterback job after his replacement got hurt last week.
The Beavers gave up six points and forced five turnovers; not a bad ratio. Senior Jordan Poyer had three interceptions. With their offense a question mark, this unit may need another big performance on Saturday.	Defense	The Cougars are in the top 5 in scoring and total defense, but that is partly due to weak competition. They are getting after the quarterback though, something that should continue on Saturday against an inexperienced signal-caller.
Oregon State’s sample sizes are smaller than most since it has only played four games and many of those have been low-possession games. The numbers look decent though, aside from getting nothing on kickoff returns.	Special Teams	BYU got a field goal attempt blocked last week. The Cougars special teams play has been underwhelming.

We'll just call it a tie

These two teams are incredibly similar; the “edge” could have gone either way on most categories. But with Mannion out, BYU gets the edge at home in what figures to be a low-scoring game.

-Andrew Kahn, College Football Contributor

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