Oregon State coaches confident running game will emerge

Despite having a quarterback in Sean Mannion who is absolutely lighting up the scoreboard this year, the Oregon State offense is not running smoothly. In fact, it isn’t running at all. The Beavers have only gained 220 yards on the ground through four games in 2013, good for an average of 55.0 yards per game (which is good for third-from-last place in the nation). While some of the rushing issues are due to the absence of Storm Woods, the Beavers weren’t exactly dominating teams on the ground before his injury. Still, the OSU coaches are confident that the OSU running game will emerge soon, just in time for Pac-12 play.

Offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf had this to say about the 10-yard rushing performance — yes, 10 yards as a team — the Beavers managed against San Diego State:

"I told the guys this morning, the running game is a little glaring and it’s not where we want to be, but part of it is on us (the coaches), because we’re not getting to it. It’s not like we tried a bunch of times and were terrible; we just didn’t try that much. We ran the ball well to start the second half, but then we fell behind, gave the ball up on a couple of drives and had to throw (Oregon Live)."

Langsdorf hopes the Beavers will be able to establish the run this upcoming Saturday against Colorado, but the task won’t be as easy as it was last year. Having been a cellar-dweller in the Pac-12 for the past few season, Colorado is now 2-0 on the year and looking to turn things around. It’s clear that the Beavers won’t be able to rely on only the arm of Sean Mannion throughout the season, so let’s hope a decent running threat emerges before OSU takes on some of the stingier Pac-12 defense. (Yes, defense is played in the Pac-12. I swear it is! Why are you laughing?)

[Source: Oregon Live]