The new era of West Coast college football opened in earnest Saturday, and the two remaining members of the Pac-12 looked like a couple of teams with something to prove. Granted, Oregon State and Washington State were heavy favorites against overmatched FCS opponents, but both squads took care of business in their openers and made the Pac-12 the only FBS conference to start the season with a perfect record (we know, we know, there’s only two of them).
The Beavers cruised past Idaho State, 38-15, while the Cougars demolished Portland State in a 70-30 rout.
Oregon State and Washington State are on a mission to stay relevant in a college football landscape that left them in the dust during the latest wave of conference realignment. The Pac-12 even branded their 2024 season as “The Fight.” This weekend’s victories were a solid first step for the Pacific Northwest programs, but their real opportunities to put the nation on notice lie in the coming weeks.
The Beavers looked like their usual grind-it-out selves in the win over the Bengals, relying on the ground game in traditional Oregon State fashion. Colorado transfer Anthony Hankerson and fellow newcomer Jam Griffin, who is in his second stint with the program after a brief stop at Ole Miss, became the first Beaver running back tandem to tally 150 rushing yards apiece in 30 years. Griffin paced the team with 160 yards and two touchdowns while Hankerson added 155 yards and a pair of scores of his own.
“It was just normal,” said first-year Beavers coach Trent Bray, via BeaverBlitz. “We’re out to play a game. We don’t care who we play against, and we’re ready to go win.”
The Cougars, meanwhile, leaned into their aerial identity en route to a drubbing of the Vikings. Quarterback John Mateer…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/oregon-state-washington-state-dominant-in-season-openers-as-pac-12-eyes-opportunities-ahead/
Author : Carter Bahns
Publish date : 2024-09-01 19:49:08
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