CORVALLIS, Ore. — Pac-12 After Dark is coming to Corvallis on Saturday but Oregon State no doubt hopes to avoid any drama.
The Beavers (0-1) host Hawaii (1-1) at 5 p.m. HST and there’s certainly cause for Oregon State’s vigilance heading into the game. Last Saturday night, a pair of Mountain West teams defeated Pac-12 teams: Utah State downed Washington State and Nevada beat California.
And then there’s last time against Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors defeated Oregon State 31-28 in Honolulu on a late field goal two years ago.
Beavers coach Jonathan Smith was in his second season then. He doesn’t think there’s too much to take from that 2019 game because so much has changed.
“I guess you can take from it that knowing this is a quality opponent, this is going to be a challenge, but ultimately the personnel is quite a bit different, staff’s different,” Smith said. “So not much there.”
But they are fairly common nonconference opponents. Overall, the two teams have played 11 times, with Oregon State winning seven times — including the two games played in Corvallis.
There’s also familiarity in terms of staff: Smith, former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Washington, has often faced current Hawaii coach Todd Graham, who was coach at Arizona State from 2012 to 2017.
But the Beavers have the advantage of being home at Reser Stadium, which will welcome fans for the first time since 2019. Under state regulations, fans older than 5 years old must wear masks regardless of vaccination status.
Oregon State is still also requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test. The Beavers, along with the Oregon Ducks to the south, were among the first FBS-level programs to impose the requirement on fans attending games.
The Rainbow Warriors opened the season against another Pac-12 opponent, falling 44-10 to UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
Hawaii rebounded with a 49-35 victory over Portland State in Honolulu last Saturday. Chevan Cordeiro threw for three touchdowns and Dedrick Parson ran for two more.
Hawaii has won four of its 17 games against Pac-12 opponents since 2010, twice against Colorado, once against Arizona and the aforementioned game against the Beavers.
The Rainbow Warriors have lost 10 straight games on the road against Pac-12 opponents. The last win was at Cal in 1994.