Statistically speaking, Oregon State comes into the Coliseum on Saturday with the Pac-12's most productive offense through the first three weeks.
The Beavers (2-1) are averaging 452.7 yards and 36 points per game.
Granted, many of those stats were piled up in lopsided routs against Hawaii and FCS-level Idaho.
Nonetheless, this is a talented enough Oregon State team to potentially give USC a challenge on Saturday night in a game in which the Trojans are favored by 11 points.
Redshirt sophomore Chance Nolan has taken over at quarterback after splitting reps in the first game and in total has passed for 634 yards, 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions while also rushing for 72 yards.
Meanwhile, redshirt junior running back B.J. Baylor has been the motor of the offense, rushing for 264 yards and 7 touchdowns on 6.9 yards per carry.
Redshirt senior Trevon Bradford (12 catches for 171 yards) and redshirt freshman Anthony Gould (8-127, 1 TD) are the leading receivers.
Defensively, Oregon State gave up 30 points to Purdue, 27 to Hawaii and then shutout Idaho, skewing the overall numbers.
For better insight, we turned to Brenden Slaughter, the publisher of Beavers Edge.
1. What has made Chance Nolan so effective so far this season and what were the expectations for him coming into the year?
Slaughter: "Chance Nolan's play has certainly been a pleasant surprise this season because very few, including myself, saw it coming. Exiting fall camp, Sam Noyer was named the starting quarterback and he was who I expected to be OSU's guy all season long. However, he was relieved by Nolan midway through the third quarter against Purdue and Nolan has never looked back. I'll give a ton of credit to Nolan for staying ready throughout fall camp and leading up to the Purdue game as there were times in camp where he didn't necessarily look like the best or most efficient quarterback. With all that being said, Nolan as QB1 was definitely the correct move to make as the offense with him at the helm has been very, very efficient. He's in complete control of the offense and is playing with a high level of confidence right now. I doubt many expected him to be Oregon State's guy entering Pac-12 play, but he's been stellar so far this season and that's been a big reason why the Beavers sit 2-1."
2. Between RB B.J. Baylor and WRs Trevon Bradford and Anthony Gould, it looks like Oregon State has several players in the midst of breakout seasons.
Slaughter: "So far, it's certainly been a nice development to have the Oregon State offense operating at such a high efficiency level this season sans for the first half against Purdue. Nolan has been able to really spread the ball around to a lot of different receivers, and the commitment to balance and the running game with B.J. Baylor has been important too. Bradford and Gould have been the leaders so far this season and each have made several big-time catches at key moments thus far, but the Beavers have a ton of depth in that room and could have any guy be the guy on a given Saturday. All in all, the versatility and depth of the offense is what makes the Beavers so dangerous on offense."
