The 2019 Oregon State Defense will be better than last year's squad. Of course that isn't saying much. The Beavers rank right near the bottom in the 2018 stats when you look at defense. The most important stat is points given up.
The bottom five (and remember some of the points given up can be contributed to offensive turnovers)
Connecticut 50.42 points given up per game
Oregon State 45.67
Louisville 44.08
Massachusetts 42.92
New Mexico St 41.33
Just for comparison the offense averaged 26.7 points per game which is 92nd out of the 130 FBS teams.
So what can we expect in 2019? There is no argument that the new coaching staff at Oregon State including Defensive Coordinator Tim Tibesar had an empty cupboard in Corvallis.
Two of the leading players on the defense will be back in 2019:
Defensive Back Jalen Moore had 69 tackles and 32 assists last season to lead the defense. Linebacker Shemar Smith was number two on that list with 49 tackles and 36 assists.
What are people saying about the 2019 defense? Beaverblitz.com is making this prediction about the 2019 Beav D!!
"Forcing just 15 sacks (1.25 per game), Oregon State finished the 2018 season ranked 118th in the country. The lack of pocket pressure gave opposing quarterbacks all day to throw, leading to huge plays and easy touchdowns. However, with a retooled defensive line and a more experienced linebacker group, the Beavers should see a serious uptick in sacks forced this season. The team picked up key additions in linemanJordan Whittleyand linebackerAvery Roberts, both of whom will likely step in as immediate starters. Also, assumingAddison Gumbsis ready for the beginning of the season, the Beavers will have a very athletic and physical line, which should be able to collapse the pocket and either hurry or hit the quarterback. In spring camp, the defense appeared to be miles ahead of where it was in 2018, with people flying around and wreaking havoc in the backfield. If that translates to the regular season, Oregon State’s defense will surprise a lot of people."
Yes it is a Beaver centric website but there is a big chance for the defense to improve and become credible in 2019. Up next we will go position by position to see who could be the impact players on defense for Oregon State in 2019