This one is tougher for me to answer because I did not cover the team until this year. There are obvious schematic differences, such as the change from the pro style to a spread offense and going from a base 4-3 defense to a 3-4. Other than that I could only extrapolate from what I have read, not my own reporting.  2. How would you assess the progress that Seth Collins has made through three games?  He clearly established himself as the starter, which was not a given coming into the year. He shared reps with Marcus McMaryion in the first game and won the starting job. McMaryion played a little bit against Michigan but was less effective, and last week was all Collins. He’s obviously a gifted runner (third among QBs in the nation). The team has designed runs for him and he can break out on his own as well. His passing, which was a concern coming out of camp, has been okay. He’s not completing a high percentage of his passes but has only made one critical mistake, an interception deep in his own territory. He still misses on some short and long throws but has also hit on two deep touchdowns and a third that was dropped. Given that, I’d say his arm has been a bit better than expected.  3. Michigan ran well against the Beavers, and Stanford loves to run. Is that an area of vulnerability for OSU?  The Michigan game was by far the worst Oregon State looked defending the run and a number of factors could have played into that. One, the Beavers’ offense could not get anything going in the second half. They ran 16 plays for nine yards so the Oregon State defense had little time to rest and clearly wore down. Defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake also said too many defenders were looking for strips instead of wrapping up, which contributed to allowing 225 rushing yards. The staff counted 22 missed tackles. Stanford can run a similar power game so the conventional wisdom seems to be that they can have the same success as Michigan.  4. Rahmel Dockery looks like a very dangerous weapon on returns. How has OSU been in that area so far?  Dockery has actually struggled a bit this season, most notably when he muffed a punt return at his own 6-yard line against San Jose State last week. The coaching staff clearly has confidence in him because they put Dockery back out there after the mistake. Field position is at a premium given Oregon State’s offensive efficiency thus far, so the Beavers are going to need more from him to help with that battle.  5. How would you describe the pluses and minuses of Kalani Sitake’s defense so far?  The pluses have been its creativity and success on third down. The Beavers switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 under the new staff, but the staff has mixed in a number of defensive fronts to keep offenses guessing, including the four-man. Sitake has also gotten creative with secondary coverages and blitzing. The Michigan game was an exception, but in games against Weber State and San Jose State, OSU allowed one conversion in 26 third-down attempts.  The minuses are pretty much all from the Michigan game when the defense couldn’t stay off the field and the Wolverines ran all over them in the second half. Other than that, the defense has been pretty stellar. Stanford will be a huge test to see how legitimate that success has been.
Danny Moran, Oregon State beat writer for The Oregonian, answered our questions about the Beavers, who host Stanford Friday night 1. What are the biggest differences between the coaching styles of ...