No.18 Oregon State faces San Jose State on Sunday, September 3, 2023 (9/3/2023) at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, California.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Oregon State had a breakthrough season in 2022, earning double-digit wins for the third time in school history in an impressive turnaround under coach Jonathan Smith.
“His body of work throughout, he just continued to get better and better,” Smith said. “I do think there was a separation: We had two big scrimmages and he played the best in those two. I do think we’ve got other guys in that room that can compete and help us win games. But I think the separator in our minds was really those two scrimmages.”
“There’s some advantages of being able to see their first game on tape,” he said. “I think there’s disadvantages, of them getting their first game and the kinks and the mechanics that come with that, working through that. Usually, you make a huge jump and improvement from week one to week two. ... They went toe to toe with those guys for a long time, a couple plays separated the game. They had our attention but it raised our urgency recognizing how good a football team this is.