CORVALLIS — Too many injuries. Too much youth. Too many rushing juggernauts on the upcoming schedule.

And, after last week’s defensive debacle at Nevada, too little hope.

The Oregon State football team knows what you’re thinking, knows the doubts you will carry when you plop down on your couch Saturday night to watch it play UNLV at Reser Stadium (7 p.m., CW).

But the Beavers have a message for the doubters:

“Stay tuned for what’s about to happen,” linebacker Nikko Taylor said. “People can doubt us all they want. We go back to what coach (Trent) Bray tells us: It’s about us in the room. We’re not too worried about what other people are saying. We know how we’re capable of playing defense. And so it excites me the most that we can face these challenges.

“So just stay tuned.”

But make no mistake, it has been a challenging week for the Oregon State defense.

The shorthanded unit was embarrassed Saturday in a 42-37 loss at Nevada, allowing 353 rushing yards — a stunning average of 8.2 yards per rush — as the Wolf Pack ran over, around and through the Beavers’ beleaguered defense. Quarterback Brendon Lewis scooted for 151 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Running back Savion Red bludgeoned the Beavers for 137 yards and four touchdowns. Five different Nevada ball carriers averaged 6.0 yards or more.

After six games, the Oregon State (4-2) defense ranks last in college football in yards per rush (6.5) and 18th-worst in rushing yards per game (199.6).

A large chunk of the problem surrounds personnel. Or, rather, a lack of personnel. The Beavers played Nevada without at least five defensive regulars, who missed the game with injuries. The list included a pair of veteran cornerbacks (Jaden Robinson and Kobe Singleton) and two defensive tackles (Thomas Collins and Tevita Pome’e). OSU is woefully thin up front — the defensive line is down seven players from the start of preseason camp and at least four are expected to miss the rest of the season. The situation is so dire, the Beavers moved tight end Andy Alfieri to defense.

Oluwaseyi Omotosho, who torn the labrum in his shoulder on the third play of the season, and Taylor said they’ve never seen so many injuries. Even so, they refuse to use the injuries as an excuse.

“The next man has to step up and play to the standard that we have,” Taylor said. “So it doesn’t matter if you’re a walk-on third string, you have to come ready to play. That’s the mentality that we have to have.”

Added Omotosho: “Just trying to play for our brothers that are down, trying to use that as fuel. We appreciate everybody stepping up. We’ve got Andy coming to the OLB room helping us out … everybody’s just been trying to bunch together and do what we can, because this is football. So it’s like (Taylor) said, next man up. We’re trying to just deal with what we have, trying to play hard for our brothers.”

But playing hard only goes so far. If the Beavers are to turn things around, they’ll need to play smarter and better, too. That, essentially, was the message that defensive coordinator Keith Heyward and OSU coaches relayed to players this week at the Valley Football Center in Corvallis.

“OK, fellas,” Heyward told his team, “we’ve got to dial into the details.”

The week has been centered on fine-tuning fundamentals — pre-snap alignment, eye discipline, reading keys and formations, footwork — and playing with poise and purpose. There were times on Saturday when the Beavers played cautiously, almost trying to avoid mistakes, rather than with instinct and confidence. The hope, Heyward said, is that sharpening “details” will fuel a return to a faster, attacking style.

“Everything matters,” Heyward said. “Just a lot of details we’re going through and making sure everyone is doing their job and then doing it in a matter where we’re attacking and getting after the ball.

“Who we have is who we have. It’s our job as coaches to coach the players … so they understand what they have to do. And then the urgency of how we do it, because every team is going to have injuries. We’re not going to let that be a crutch or an excuse. There’s a job to get done, and we have to get that done.”

Bray and his staff have not been forthcoming about the status of OSU’s injured players but, Heyward said, “we’ll get some guys back.”

The sooner the better. UNLV (5-1) is averaging 262.0 rushing yards per game, fifth-most in the nation, and the Beavers’ upcoming schedule features talented running backs like Jaydn Ott (Cal) and Ashton Jeanty (Boise State), and Air Force’s triple-option rushing attack.

The good news, Heyward said, is that while there are plenty of bodies missing on the OSU defense, “the fight” remains.

“These guys, they work hard,” he said. “Our players work extremely hard. They do what we ask. So I have tremendous faith in all these guys, in this program. This program has always been built off of just grinders, hard hat, the grit. And then guys just keep playing. So I don’t expect anything less.”

Will the fight be enough to turn things around?

Stay tuned.

“Even after a loss, we’re always a bend-don’t-break-team,” Taylor said. “So whether we lose or win, we’re always going to bounce back the next week to improve. It’s all about us in this room, within the team, and we’re going to keep fighting no matter what.”