In their fifth season with Jonathan Smith at the helm, the Oregon State Beavers find themselves in the best position they’ve been in for a long, long time.

Coming off a 7-6 finish last year that marked the program's first winning season and bowl appearance since 2013, the Beavers currently sit at 3-0.

The powerful running game that led the team to so much success last season seems to be just as effective as before, while apparent gains in the passing offense have this team primed to be a legitimate offensive force in the Pac-12.

That's enough to pose a serious challenge to a Trojans defense that’s still finding its way.

Despite getting a 6:30 p.m. PT kickoff (9:30 on the east coast), this is one of the more intriguing games on the Pac-12 slate this weekend as the 3-0 Trojans and 3-0 Beavers duel in Corvallis, Oreg.

Let's take a closer look at the matchup for USC.

Here are some of the comments USC head coach Lincoln Riley and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch made about the matchup this week.

Coach: Jonathan Smith (5th season, 19-28)

Last meeting: Oregon State 45, USC 27 in Los Angeles last season

National statistical rankings

Scoring offense: 45.7 PPG (13th)

Total offense: 468.3 YPG (43rd)

Scoring defense: 25.7 PPG (70th)

Total defense: 357.3 YPG (65th)

What the Beavers do well:

The heart of this Beavers team is their strong offensive line and dynamic rushing attack. Oregon State isn’t known for fielding imposing units on the O-line, but that’s exactly what they’ve got at present. The group was stellar last year as a run-blocking crew, helping pave the way for a ground game that averaged 212.4 yards per game at a clip of 5.3 yards per carry. The Beavers’ line was also arguably among the best in the nation in pass protection, giving up just 14 sacks. This season the Beavers returned three of their starters on the line while promoting some promising depth, and little seems to have changed as a result. Oregon State is still gashing teams on the ground, averaging a healthy 190 rushing yards a game on an average of 4.9 yards per carry. Even with the loss of its leading rusher B.J. Baylor, the team retains a talented duo of backs in Deshaun Fenwick and freshman Damien Martinez, who’ve helped to continue the collective success in the run game. Meanwhile, the Beavers’ pass protection remains steady, having given up just 2 sacks to this point. Their protection paired with a step forward from QB Chance Nolan seems to have elevated the Oregon State passing attack, which is now averaging 278.3 yards and 2 touchdowns per game.

What the Beavers don't do well:

Despite the clear leaps taken by the offense over the past season and a half, Oregon State’s defense remains largely unimposing. Though they’ve allowed a reasonable 357 yards per game to this point, their first contest against a tough offense resulted in 492 yards allowed to Fresno State. The Beavers’ secondary certainly includes a number of playmakers, but they’ve got real questions on the front seven. The lack of a pass rush was a serious problem last year, as the team managed only 9 sacks on the entire season and gave up conversions on more than 50% of the opposition’s third downs. Though Oregon State has been better on third downs so far this year, the overall productivity of the pass rush remains a real concern with just 3 sacks so far. The defensive front hasn’t been very stout against the run either, allowing 142 rushing yards a game on an average of 4.6 yards per carry against mostly weaker competition (Boise State, Fresno State, Montana State). The Beavers are relatively weak as a whole on that side of the ball and don’t figure to put up much of a fight against the volume-scoring of the USC offense.