The Oregon State Beavers narrowly missed out on a bowl game in 2014, something that they're hoping to avoid happening again this season. Here are three burning questions facing the program if they want to make this postseason:
1) What will Gary Andersen bring to the table?
Andersen surprisingly left Wisconsin after two supremely successful seasons at Wisconsin, posting a 19-7 combined record. He'll replace Mike Riley, who was a good coach for Oregon State, but was never really able to get the Beavers to the next level.
He'll bring a powerful run-focused offense that brought him so much success at Wisconsin and with Utah State, but it remains to be seen how that will translate to the more wide-open, fast paced Pac-12 style of play.
2) Who will replace Sean Mannion?
Mannion was one of the top quarterbacks in the country last season, completing 62.3 percent of his passes for 3,164 yards and 15 touchdowns, and was drafted in the third round by the St. Louis Rams.
Oregon State hasn't nailed down his replacement yet as sophomore Luke Del Rio, redshirt freshman Nick Mitchell and true freshman Seth Collins are all battling for the job. Andersen isn't likely to name a starter until the week leading up to their opener, and could potentially use a multiple QB system through the first few weeks.
3) Who will have a breakout season?
The Beavers have lots of potential contenders to be breakout players this season because of their youth and changes in playing style. Expect to hear a lot about guys like Ryan Nall, Chris Brown, Kyle Peko, Bright Ugwoegbu, Dwayne Williams, Treston Decoud and Jay Irvine. If one or more of them can become stars this year, Oregon State will have a good year in 2015
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