2026 Week Three Preview - Oregon State (2-1) @ Stanford Cardinal (1-1)
Ricky McKinley // Dam Daily • Published: September 25th, 2026
Get ready for a trip down memory lane this weekend when the Oregon State Beavers visit former Pac-12 rival Stanford, now a member of the ACC, looking to extend their three-game winning streak against the Cardinal. Both programs have fallen on hard times since the dissolution of the Pac-12, each holding a 7-17 record over the last two years. Call me a homer, but one of these programs is on the rise, and one is stuck in the mud. Oregon State is clearly on the rise, while the Cardinal are finding that the grass isn't always greener.
Oregon State is looking to eclipse their 2025 win total, seeking their third win of the season, while the Cardinal are hoping to rebound from a tough 48-30 shelling by the LSU Tigers last week. Here is a quick recap of where each program stands before this weekend's showdown followed by our weekly "Leon's Lowdown."
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Oregon State Beavers (2-1) | Description | Stanford Cardinal (1-1) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 77 Overall // 76 Offense // 79 Defense | Team Rating | 71 Overall // 71 Offense // 71 Defense Jonathan Smith (45-51) | Head Coach | Frank Reich (5-9) Pro Style | Offensive Scheme | Power Spread 3-3-5 | Defensive Scheme | Base 3-4
Oregon State Beavers | Description | Stanford Cardinal --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13-18 | Combined Record | 28-10 @ Houston (1-1) W 41-39 | Week One | @ Hawaii (2-2) W 38-37 Texas Tech (4-0) L 47-13 | Week Two | BYE @ San Diego State (1-2) | Week Three | @ LSU (4-0) L 48-30
Oregon State Beavers Stanford Cardinal --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LT Jacob Strand (77) Partial MCL Tear (5 Weeks) | Injuries | N/A LT Melvin Siani (82) Forearm Fracture (3 Weeks) | Injuries | N/A RG Ryan Berger (79) Dislocated Ankle (6 Weeks) | Injuries | N/A
Oregon State Beavers | Pos | Stanford Cardinal --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SO(RS) Kallen Gutridge (72) | QB | SO Elijah Brown (79) JR Salahadin Allah (83) | HB | JR Chris Davis Jr (84) JR(RS) David Wells Jr (80) | WR | SO Jonanthony Hall (79) JR(RS) Zachary Card (76) | WR | SO Marcus Brown (77) SR(RS) CB Noble Thomas Jr (80) | DEF | SR(RS) LB Jahsiah Galvan (85) JR(RS) DE Kelze Howard (80) | DEF | JR CB Brandon Nicholson (84) SR(RS) MLB Jalen Woods (79) | DEF | JR(RS) FS Damon Walters (84) SR SS Kyle Chen (78) | DEF | JR MLB Mikell Perkins (79)
Pac-12 Week Four Schedule
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Leon's Lowdown
RM: "Welcome back to another edition of 'Leon's Lowdown' with the one, the only, Coach Mando. Let me just say before we start—I love the idea of re-igniting some of these former Pac-12 rivalries in non-conference play. Does the program have more of these cooked up in the future?"
AL: "It's definitely something we're going to integrate as much as we can, Ricky. We've already got other commitments locked in, but anytime we can schedule even one former rival, it's a win. The fans on the West Coast loved the old conference, myself included, so getting a chance to re-ignite some of those is definitely on the board. Hopefully we can get a home and home with someone like Washington or USC, sometime in the future."
RM: "Love getting the old gang back together. Focusing on this week, what're you guys seeing on tape? Should fans be expecting a shootout a la Houston, or another knock-em-down slugfest like last week?"
AL: "They've definitely got playmakers. Elijah Brown has a ton of upside and showed out with four touchdowns against Hawaii and three more in the loss to LSU. So our philosophy is the same as always, force them into mistakes. The benefit we have is athletically, they don't have a true burner, so we don't need to worry about getting beat over the top, so long as we play sound coverage. Blanket receivers, hit the QB. That's always on the agenda."
RM: "They can't complete passes if they're on their backs...pause. Last question before we let you off the hook, Coach. Coach Sean Lewis called out your defense after the win last week, saying they benefited from Denegal being knocked out of the game. Is it safe to say that the team is coming out with a chip on it's shoulder in Palo Alto, despite coming off a win?"
AL: "Coach Lewis motivates his guys his own way, we do it differently over here. I could lose my entire starting lineup to injury, but you would never hear me make that excuse post-game. That being said, we shut out the noise. Chopping wood and carrying water is our mentality, the hard work that no one talks about. If you need some bulletin board material to get you fired up, you're just setting yourself up to lose. The only motivation we need is our drive to make our next game, the best game. Call it cliche, rah-rah, whatever you want. We really don't care what anyone outside of Corvallis thinks."
RM: whistle "Alright, reading between the lines. Bring some backup QBs, Stanford, because Coach Mando has these men on a warpath. Best of luck out there, Coach. Here's to hoping we get to win number three early."
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If this game had fallen right after Texas Tech, I'd be on the fence with how the Beavs would do. But after that confidence boost against the Aztecs? I'm fully on board that the Beavs are going to keep the winning streak going.
But before I get to my prediction - I saw all of the re-tweets about last week's prediction. I WAS BEING OPTIMISTIC, SHOOT ME!
That being said, I won't be as bullish this week. Still sticking with the boys in orange and black, but a more conservative line, say 24-17. The Cardinal has some talent on offense, but that young offensive line is going to keep their offense from being able to generate consistent momentum. However, our offense has had trouble being consistent itself, so until they start finding a rhythm, we're rolling with defensive battles that we squeak out.
If I'm wrong, you know the handle — @McRick on X and now IG.
for the headline, well done.
