23. OREGON STATE

OPPOSING COACH'S TAKE

You have to limit their big plays. You don't want to let [senior quarterback Sean] Mannion get settled in the pocket; moving around is not his strength, so you want to force him into that, and hopefully he'll be inaccurate and turn the ball over. There's no question that with [receiver Brandin] Cooks gone, they have a lot more to prove. I think people will play more press-man coverage and go after Mannion, at least until one of their receivers demands a little more attention.

If you can make them one-dimensional, like they were last year, it's really hard for them. I don't know that they have the type of running backs that they used to. From an offensive standpoint, attack their run defense and see if the front holds up. Their safeties are pretty aggressive, but you can attack their corners a little bit, and if you make them stop the run first, then you can hit them over the top with play-action.

SI POWER RANKINGS

By Rotowire.com

[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]

OFFENSE 85%

DEFENSE 75%

SPECIAL TEAMS 87%

PHOTO

JONATHAN FERREY/GETTY IMAGES (MANNION)

SEAN MANNION

CHART