The Athletic Ranks Oregon State Football At #71 Ahead of 2024 Season

Chris Vannini of The Athletic released his comprehensive preseason rankings of each team in FBS college football on Monday.

The Oregon State Beavers land at #71 in the nation, just outside the top half of the FBS.

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At the end of the 2023 season, the Beavers were ranked by The Athletic as the #27 team in the country. The 44-spot drop is likely due to returning production, or a lack thereof. Per ESPN, the Beavers only return 34% of 2023’s production that helped Jonathan Smith reach an 8-5 record before he left for Michigan State. That 34% is the third-lowest percentage in FBS.

Still, Oregon State made a few decent pickups in the transfer portal, have a room full of talented running backs, and a small bit of continuity with Trent Bray being promoted to head coach after spending the last two seasons as the Beavs’ defensive coordinator.

Oregon State will play a full schedule this season despite the Pac-12 dwindling to just two members over the course of the last year, thanks to a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West. That schedule begins on August 31 when Bray’s Beavers host Idaho State.