The good, the bad, and the unknown: Oregon State

The Good

Jake Browning - Another game, another Heisman-worthy performance from Browning. He had nearly 300 yards passing with three scores, no picks, and a rushing touchdown. He couldn’t look much better so far this season.

Ross and Pettis - I honestly can’t remember the last tandem Husky receiver performance as good as the one Ross and Pettis just had. They both had more than 100 yards in their own perfectly balanced way, and two scores.

Myles Gaskin - Gaskin looked like himself again with Oregon State gunning for him. He racked up 128 on less than 20 carries with a score while breaking tackles, faking defenders, and carrying defenders for extra yardage.

Pass defense - The overall defense was good, but the pass defense stood out. They limited Oregon State’s passing game when the game was still at stake and got two picks.

Focus - This was exactly the kind of game where teams come out sluggish and distracted and let a team stay in the game. They did anything but that though, and put the game away in just a few minutes so they could coast in the second half.

The Bad

Browning hits - Browning never should have taken that hit he took at the goal line in the first quarter. Maybe if it were the fourth quarter of the Apple Cup and the game were tied, Browning should have taken on those defenders and tried to score, but not against Oregon State in the first quarter of a game they were clearly going to win.

He also took a couple other bad shots later in the game that he could have avoided as well. It all worked out fine, but Browning needs to pick and choose when he decides to risk the season for a couple of yards.

Joe Mathis - Having Mathis go down is the first injury strike of the year. Mathis was looking like a first-team All-Pac-12 player at a huge position. Not having him against Utah and any game after would be a major loss.

The Unknown

Utah? The Utes are a tough read. They are 7-1 and ranked, but have won almost every game by a thin margin against bad to above average teams. They have caught a lot of teams while injured; they lost to a bad Cal team. They also were an all-defensive team until last week when they suddenly exploded for 52 points, so they may no longer be a one-trick pony. I don’t really know what to make of this team.

Ready for South Road Trip? The last time they went on the road in the Pac-12 South, the Huskies had to go to overtime against an Arizona team that has yet to win a game against a Power Five conference team this year. Are they ready to step up this time against a better team, take down the Utes, and keep the dream alive?