With the Spring Game less than a month away, Ohio State is already in the midst of preparing for the 2018 season. With position battles and starting spots to worry about, the Buckeyes are probably not looking ahead to their schedule for the upcoming season.

However, September 1st and a date with Oregon State is coming up quickly for the Buckeyes. With the Buckeyes beating the Beavers in both meetings, in 1974 and 1984 respectively, here is a look at what Oregon State will be bringing to Ohio Stadium to start the 2018 season.

After winning three of nine conference games in 2017, Oregon State went in the wrong direction as a team in 2017. Hailing from Corvallis, Oregon, the Beavers lost 11 of 12 games in 2017, losing all nine games to opponents in the Pac-12.

After beginning the season with a 31-point loss to Colorado State, Oregon State would do something in Week 2 of the season that it would not do for the rest of the season: win a game. In this back-and-forth game, in which no team could get out to more than an eight-point lead, the Beavers trailed Portland State 32-28 with 2:43 left in the game. Then, quarterback Jake Luton led Oregon State on a seven-play, 77-yard touchdown drive, ending in a 17-yard touchdown pass to secure the victory.

After the win over the Vikings, the majority of games for Oregon State were not even close. After losing to Minnesota in the final non-conference game of the season, the Beavers, playing four ranked conference opponents, lost by an average of 22.89 points in Pac-12 play.

Despite a two-game stretch in October with losses to Colorado and No. 20 Stanford by a combined four points, Oregon State fell in its final 10 games of the season, finishing in last place in the Pac-12 North.

For a team that lost 11 of 12 games during the 2017 season, Oregon State really did not lose much on either offense or defense going into the 2018 season.

First, let’s look at how the offense did last season. The Beavers finished last in the conference in scoring offense, averaging 20.7 points per game. Finishing No. 9 in the Pac-12 in both rush and pass offense, they were last again in total offense, averaging 338.8 yards per game and scoring only 29 total touchdowns, seven touchdowns less than the second-to-last team.

On top of those numbers, the Beavers will be losing both their leading passer and leading rusher from the 2017 season. Starting eight games for Oregon State last year, quarterback Darell Garretson led the team with 1465 passing yards in 2017, completing 57.9 percent of his passes. Compared to his six touchdown passes, the senior threw eight interceptions. In the ground game, the Beavers may be losing their most dynamic offensive option in Ryan Nall. The running back led the team with 10 totals touchdowns, recording eight of them on the ground. Averaging 4.9 yards per rush, Nall rushed for an average of 73.6 yards per game.

For a defense that gave up an average of 43 points and 473.1 yards of offense per game, Oregon State will be losing its leading tackler going into the 2018 season. Linebacker Manase Hungalu led the Beavers with 97 tackles, tying the team lead with six tackles for loss with 2.5 sacks. He also led Oregon State with two interceptions.

On offense, The Beavers will have some familiar faces from the 2017 season. At quarterback, Luton, a former Idaho transfer who started four games for Oregon State last season, had a higher completion percentage and averaged more yards per game than Garretson. However, his season was cut short after suffering a thoracic spine fracture against Washington State.

In the running game, Artavis Pierce will likely replace Nall as the primary back after averaging 4.8 yards per carry and recording one touchdown rush last season.

Most importantly for Luton, much of the receiving corps from last season is returning for 2018. All three of the top receivers, tight end Noah Togiai, who led the team with 461 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions, and wide receivers Isaiah Hodgins and Timmy Hernandez, who combined for five of the team’s 11 total passing touchdowns, will return for 2018.

Outside of Hungalu, the Beavers will have many players return from the 2017 season. This includes inside linebacker Jonathan Willis, who tied for the team lead in tackles for loss with six and led the team in sacks with three. Also, safety David Morris, who finished with 75 tackles, four tackles for loss and an interception last season, will return to Oregon State in 2018.

Will Jonathan Smith change the pass offense in 2018?

Oregon State’s first game of the 2018 season against Ohio State will be a game of firsts. It will be the first game in the head-coaching career for former Beavers quarterback Jonathan Smith. After spending four seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Washington, Smith replaced former Oregon State head coach Gary Anderson, who mutually parted ways with the Beavers in October.

As a former offensive coordinator, it seems like Smith will look to change the offensive performance of the Beavers starting in the 2018 season. In the passing game specifically, the former quarterbacks coach for Jake Browning will inherit quarterbacks that completed 59.1 percent of passes for an average of 196.2 passing yards per game, throwing 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

With a senior quarterback in Luton who had playing time last season with a veteran group of receivers, it could be possible that the Oregon State passing game improves in the 2018 season. However, do not expect that improvement to be too drastic.

What about the running game?

As it was pointed out earlier, Nall was the offense for Oregon State last season. Recording over 100 yards rushing in three games last season, including a 172-yard performance against Colorado, Nall scored in five games for the Beavers last season. He was also a factor in the passing game, recording at least two receptions in eight games last season.

So the real question is this: now what? With four running backs on the current roster for the 2018 season, much of the workload will likely fall to Pierce, who is one of only two running backs currently on the roster to have earned playing time last season. The junior running back has experience being a featured back in the Oregon State offense, with five career double-digit-carry games in his career, including two last season. However, there were clearly games in which he struggled against average rush defenses, combining for nine yards on nine carries in back-to-back games against Stanford and Cal.

With the offensive playmaker of Nall last season, the Beavers still only averaged 137.5 rushing yards per game, with backs recording four yards per rush. Oregon State will have to see early on if Pierce, or any of the other three backs on the roster, can be that guy in 2018.

Will Oregon State be able to defend the pass?

When you look at the stats for Oregon State’s pass defense, it does not seem to be horrible. The Beavers finished in the middle of the pack in the conference, giving up 237.3 passing yards per game. However, if you look closer, you see a lack of playmaking ability in the secondary.

Allowing quarterbacks to complete a Pac-12-high 66.6 percent of passes, the Beavers gave up 8.3 yards per pass attempts, which was the highest in the conference. Oregon State also gave up the most touchdowns (29) and recorded the least interceptions (7) in the Pac-12.

So, what is next? With the return of Morris and Omar Hicks-Onu at safety and Shawn Wilson at cornerback, the Beavers will have a veteran presence in the secondary. However, for a team that struggled against the pass, these three players may need to step up most.

Long story short, this opening game should not be a problem for Ohio State. Facing a team that gives up an average of 43 points per game, the Buckeye offense, no matter who is at quarterback, should have no trouble moving the ball down the field against the Oregon State defense. Also with their instability on the offensive side of the ball, Ohio State should be able to disrupt both the passing game and the running game of the Beavers.

Yes, this may be a better team than the 2017 squad that lost to Minnesota 48-14 in the third week of the season. However, with the growing pains of a new head coach and the need to develop talent on both sides of the ball, this game will not be pretty for Oregon State fans.

Way too early score prediction: Ohio State 58 Oregon State 7