Sep. 19—There are issues to fix, but offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson isn’t panicking about the Oregon State offense going into Saturday’s football game against Purdue.

It’s a message he emphasized to players this week coming off a 49-14 loss to No. 9 Oregon.

“I reaffirmed to them, in the first half, against a Top-10 team in the country, we belonged and we were right there. We probably could’ve scored three touchdowns. So we’re good. We just need to clean it up,” Gunderson said during a press conference Tuesday at the Valley Football Center.

The first of those issues is penalties, especially the pre-snap variety. A false start call on the very first play from scrimmage set the tone. That was the first of three Oregon State penalties on the opening drive and those mistakes helped stop the drive short, ultimately resulting in a missed field-goal attempt.

“The operational mistakes killed us,” Gunderson said.

There were also issues on the center-quarterback exchange. Luka Vincic started at center in place of the injured Van Wells, but Gunderson said Vincic wasn’t responsible for all of the mistakes. He said there was one low snap, but on two other occasions quarterbacks Gevani McCoy and Gabarri Johnson didn’t take care of the ball properly.

Wells is expected to be available this week, but Gunderson has full confidence in Vincic if he is needed.

“He went in when Bam (Wells) got hurt against San Diego State and we didn’t have any issues with the snap,” Gunderson said. “I think Luka is … mentally tough and dialed and focused.”

McCoy played a good first half against Oregon, using his mobility to extend plays while also throwing for almost 100 yards. Over his first three games at OSU, the offense started out extremely run heavy and has become more balanced. McCoy attempted just 10 passes against Idaho State, had 26 against San Diego State and threw the ball 34 times against Oregon.

Throwing the ball more than 30 times might not be ideal for this offense, but a second half-deficit and a stalled run game left the team with no other choice.

McCoy feels he has done a good job of improving week to week, but he knows there is more work to be done. In particular, he wants to continue to improve his footwork and communication skills.

“There was a time or two where I was late to my first read because I didn’t have the correct footwork,” McCoy said.

He also took ownership of the false starts, saying he needs to do a better job with his cadence at the line of scrimmage. It seems simple, but he knows he needs to be louder for his teammates, which is something that doesn’t come naturally to the soft-spoken McCoy.

It’s hard to know what to make of a Purdue squad which opened the year with a 49-0 win over Indiana State and then took a 66-7 loss to Notre Dame last week. That result might lead one to think the Beavers will be able to do whatever they want on offense this week, but Gunderson thinks that would be a mistake.

“I think the first game … they had their way. And then the second one, I thought it just got away from them, which, you know, those games can be like that sometimes,” Gunderson said. “That thing cascaded quickly. But they’re a way better team than what that score reflected, in my opinion.”

Purdue has talent on defense. The leader of the unit is sophomore safety Dillon Thieneman, who was the Big Ten freshman of the year last season. There is also a familiar name on the Boilermakers in junior linebacker Yanni Karlaftis. His older brother, defensive end George Karlaftis, played a big role in Purdue’s 30-21 victory when these teams met in 2021 in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Gunderson said Purdue’s defense is unique in its almost complete commitment to playing man-to-man. That doesn’t mean the Boilermakers never use any different looks in their secondary, but they don’t deviate much from their basic approach.

“They run a system where they’re gonna play man and you know they play man and they know they play man and it’s like, ‘Alright, this is what we do and we’re good at it and we’re gonna stop you,'” Gunderson said.

Help is on the way

In addition to Wells, the offensive line was without tackle Jacob Strand for part of the game against Oregon. Coach Trent Bray said Monday that Strand’s status for this week was uncertain.

But Bray confirmed that Wells, defensive back Skyler Thomas and wide receiver Darrius Clemons would all be available against Purdue. Thomas went out with an injury during the Oregon game and Clemons has yet to make his Oregon State debut.

Bray said all three players have practiced this week and will be back in the lineup.

McCoy is looking forward to having Clemons, a transfer from Michigan, on the field.

“I’m excited to have DC out there and just to see what he can do and how he can help us out, which I think he will, tremendously,” McCoy said. “I just think that gives the defense something else to key in and worry about, too.”

Schedule news

The scheduling alliance between the Pac-12 and the Mountain West conferences will not be extended next season, leaving Oregon State with games to fill on its schedule. Before Wednesday, the Beavers had announced six games for next year, with matchups against California, Fresno State, Texas Tech, Oregon, Houston and Washington State.

One of the remaining spots will likely be filled by a Big Sky opponent, as has been the practice in recent years. That still leaves five opponents to find at this late date.

Last weekend, Ole Miss routed Wake Forest 40-6. The Demon Deacons have since bought out next year’s game, and Wednesday morning we learned why.

Oregon State announced a home-and-home series with Wake Forest starting with a game at Reser Stadium in 2025. Oregon State will then make a return trip to play the Demon Deacons in 2029. No dates have been set for either game.

The 2025 game will be the first meeting between the two programs and it will also be the first time a current member of the Atlantic Coast Conference has played in Corvallis.

Les Gehrett is the sports editor and covers Oregon State football, women’s basketball and gymnastics. Follow him on X at @lgehrtet.