Oregon

Beaver believers think No. 18 Oregon State is ready to compete for the Pac-12 title

Published

2 years ago

August 17, 2023

Beaver believers think No. 18 Oregon State is ready to compete for the Pac-12 title

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — When Jonathan Smith returned to his alma mater, the goal was to rebuild Oregon State to where the Beavers are now.

Competitive? Smith and the Beavers have already proven that. Contenders? That’s the expectation No. 18 Oregon State will carry into this season – the last one with the Pac-12 in its current state.

“You want to embrace the expectations. It can be a distraction either way — people telling you you’re no good or telling you that you’re really good,” Smith said. “But you’d rather be on the side where you’ve built something to where people are telling you that you’ve got a chance to be good, understanding how hard it is to win.”

Oregon State went 10-3 last season and returns its most talented team since Smith arrived in 2018 to take over a program that had been 1-11 the previous season amid coaching turmoil.

Additionally, the Beavers will be playing their home games inside renovated Reser Stadium after their home field spent most of last year as a construction zone.

“It was rocking in there with only half a stadium,” wide receiver Anthony Gould said. “It’s going to be fun when that new stadium is opened up.”

The Beavers are hoping the product on the field can keep the remodeled stadium rocking like it did a season ago when Oregon State won seven of its final eight games, including a rivalry win over Oregon and a 30-3 thumping of Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Most of the attention will be at quarterback, where Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei seems likely to win the starting job. The Beavers also bring back Ben Gulbranson, who went 7-1 as the starter last season and was MVP of the bowl game. Thrown into the mix is freshman Aidan Chiles, who enrolled last winter and was impressive during spring practices.

While it seems Uiagalelei will get the majority of snaps, the Beavers offense will be driven by the deepest crew of running backs in the conference, highlighted by Damien Martinez.

Defensively, Oregon State led the Pac-12 in scoring and total defense last season, but will need to fill some key vacancies to match the numbers from 2022.

QB QUESTION

Uiagalelei was one of the biggest names in the transfer portal during the offseason and his arrival in Corvallis was seen as a coup for the Beavers. Uiagalelei started 28 games in his three seasons at Clemson and threw for 2,521 yards and 22 touchdowns last season. But shaky play late in the season led to Uiagalelei being benched.

“Some of his physicality, I mean just his strength, the size of him, he can move his feet, that is a little bit different than we’ve had around here in a long time,” Smith said.

If Uiagalelei falters, the Beavers saw what Gulbranson could do in the offense last season, including the bowl game win over Florida when he threw for one TD and ran for another. Chiles is the wild card but seems unlikely to play immediately.

CHAPTER TWO

Martinez was the Pac-12 offensive freshman of the year after rushing for 982 yards and seven touchdowns, but most of those yards came starting with Oregon State’s seventh game. Martinez had six straight games where he ran for at least 100 yards, including a career-best 178 yards and three touchdowns against Colorado.

Martinez enters this season as the clear leader. Oregon State also has Deshaun Fenwick, who rushed for 553 yards and seven TDs, and Jamious Griffin, who added 488 yards and four TDs. All told, it creates the deepest running back unit in the conference.

STAYING ON TOP

A year ago, the best defense in the Pac-12 belonged to the Beavers. Oregon State allowed barely 100 yards per game rushing, and a conference-best 20 points and 332 yards per game in total offense. The Beavers return safety Kitan Oladapo and interior linemen Isaac Hodgins and James Rawls. The question is at linebacker where star Omar Speights transferred to LSU.

ROAD AHEAD

The schedule sets up for Oregon State to have a big season. The Beavers’ nonconference schedule doesn’t feature a Power Five opponent before opening conference play with a showdown at Washington State. From there, the Beavers’ biggest Pac-12 matchups take place at home with Oregon State hosting No. 14 Utah, UCLA and No. 10 Washington before closing the regular season in Eugene against rival Oregon. It will be the final time the Ducks and Beavers meet as conference foes.

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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Oregon

Oregon edges Liberty in softball super regionals with walk-off finish

Published

16 hours ago

May 24, 2025

Press Room

Softball

May 24, 2025

Oregon edges Liberty in softball super regionals with walk-off finish

May 24, 2025

Oregon took game one over Liberty with a walk-off single in the 8th inning. Watch the end of the NCAA softball super regional matchup of Oregon vs. Liberty.

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Oregon

ESPN projects breakout 2025 NFL seasons for several former Oregon Ducks

Published

1 day ago

May 23, 2025

Press Room

ESPN projects breakout 2025 NFL seasons for several former Oregon Ducks

While we continue on through the college football offseason and prepare for what’s to come this fall, the NFL ranks have been providing quite a bit of content. From the 2025 NFL draft and free agency to rookie minicamps earlier this month, content has been churning out from the professional ranks.

Now, with OTAs coming up in the next few weeks, we will be hearing more from our favorite pro-Oregon Ducks as they prepare for the 2025 season. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Mike Clay put out his projections for every offense and defense in the NFL, putting numbers to names and forecasting what’s to come.

According to Clay, it could be a fun season ahead for the dozens of Ducks in the league, with breakouts and career years projected. Whether it’s as a rookie or as an experienced veteran, Oregon fans should enjoy what’s to come. Here’s how he sees the most notable Ducks performing in the upcoming season.

QB Bo Nix

Projected 2025 Stats: 3,510 yards, 24 TD, 11 INT, 3 rush TD

Stats in 2024: 3,775 yards, 29 TD, 12 INT, 4 rush TD

QB Justin Herbert

Projected 2025 Stats: 3,741 yards, 22 TD, 9 INT

Stats in 2024: 3,870 yards, 23 TD, 3 INT, 2 rush TD

QB Marcus Mariota

Projected 2025 Stats: 512 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT, 1 rush TD

Stats in 2024: 364 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT, 1 rush TD

QB Dillon Gabriel

Projected 2025 Stats: 1,205 yards, 5 TD, 4 INT, 1 rush TD

Stats in 2024: None

RB Bucky Irving

Projected 2025 Stats: 224 rushes, 1,049 yards, 7 TD, 49 catches, 379 yards, 3 TD

Stats in 2024: 207 rushes, 1,122 yards, 8 TD, 47 catches, 392 yards

RB Jordan James

Projected 2025 Stats: 12 rushes, 51 yards, 2 catches, 15 yards

Stats in 2024: None

WR Troy Franklin

Projected 2025 Stats: 16 catches, 222 yards, 2 TD

Stats in 2024: 28 catches, 263 yards, 2 TD

TE Terrance Ferguson

Projected 2025 Stats: 16 catches, 161 yards, 1 TD

Stats in 2024: None

DL Arik Armstead

Projected 2025 Stats: 30 tackles, 2.9 sacks

Stats in 2024: 29 tackles, 2 sacks

DL DeForest Buckner

Projected 2025 Stats: 79 tackles, 7 sacks

Stats in 2024: 61 tackles, 6.5 sacks

EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux

Projected 2025 Stats: 39 tackles, 6.6 sacks

Stats in 2024: 28 tackles, 5.5 sacks

DL Derrick Harmon

Projected 2025 Stats: 33 tackles, 2.3 sacks

Stats in 2024: None

DL Jamaree Caldwell

Projected 2025 Stats: 20 tackles, 1.3 sacks

Stats in 2024: None

LB Jeffrey Bassa

Projected 2025 Stats: 6 tackles

Stats in 2024: None

LB Troy Dye

Projected 2025 Stats: 24 tackles, 0.9 sacks

Stats in 2024: 57 tackles, 1.5 sacks

CB Christian Gonzalez

Projected 2025 Stats: 68 tackles, 1.8 INT

Stats in 2024: 59 tackles, 2 INT

CB Deommodore Lenoir

Projected 2025 Stats: 94 tackles, 1.7 INT

Stats in 2024: 85 tackles, 2 INT

S Evan Williams

Projected 2025 Stats: 40 tackles

Stats in 2024: 49 tackles, 1 INT

S Jevon Holland

Projected 2025 Stats: 83 tackles, 1.7 INT

Stats in 2024: 62 tackles, 1 sack, 0 INT

Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.

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Oregon

Longtime Travel Oregon CEO Steps Down Amid Oregon Journalism Project Investigation

Published

2 days ago

May 22, 2025

Press Room

Longtime Travel Oregon CEO Steps Down Amid Oregon Journalism Project Investigation

The longtime executive director of Travel Oregon, Todd Davidson, announced he is retiring today after three decades as a public employee.

While the timing appeared sudden, it came five weeks after the Oregon Journalism Project first contacted Travel Oregon about an investigation into complaints regarding Davidson’s outsized compensation and allegations of a toxic workplace. He earned $477,000 in take-home pay for fiscal 2024, far higher compensation than that of any other state agency director.

The news of Davidson’s retirement came one day before the CEO was scheduled to sit down for a long-delayed interview with OJP.

Travel Oregon, a semi-independent state agency with 73 staffers, is funded by the statewide lodging tax of 1.5% on hotel bills that brings in more than $40 million a year.

Travel Oregon maintains its chief executive’s departure was unrelated to OJP’s questions and public records requests.

Travel Oregon, also known as the Oregon Tourism Commission, exists to promote tourism, which generates $14 billion of annual economic activity and 120,000 jobs in Oregon.

An agency that once had scraped by on $3 million a year in state lottery funds grew into a powerhouse after lawmakers approved a lodging tax in 2003.

“Travel Oregon is one of the premier state travel organizations,” David Blandford, executive director of State of Washington Tourism, said in a recent interview.

As a semi-independent agency, Travel Oregon is exempt from state budget laws; personnel, salary and expense laws; and purchasing and procurement laws. Its budget is not subject to executive branch review, nor subject to approval or modification by the Legislature.

Davidson, a native of Iowa, has been Travel Oregon’s chief executive since 1996.

Davidson’s compensation and some deficient practices at the agency were widely publicized after the 2020 release of a critical audit by the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office.

Travel Oregon is overseen by a nine-member board of commissioners who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. Eight of the nine represent lodging and tourism sectors, and one is a public-at-large member.

Calls seeking comment from commissioners were not immediately returned Thursday.

The governor’s office confirmed Davidson’s departure but declined to comment.

OJP plans to publish its full investigation in the coming days.

This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering the state.

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