JD PicKell tabs Oregon State as the Pac-12's biggest sleeper in 2023

On3’s JD PicKell recently answered fan questions on the upcoming college football season. This time the college football expert went through the Power-Five conferences and revealed his list of dark horses to win each conference entering the summer months.

And for the Pac-12 PicKell pinned none other than the Oregon State Beavers as his biggest sleeper to capture the Pac-12 championship.

“In the Pac-12, I like Oregon State. I like Oregon State a whole heck of a lot. They’re at plus-900 odds, fifth best to win the Pac-12. And they’re a team that just knows who they are. They got an identity about themselves,” said PicKell.

Oregon State was one of the Pac-12’s better teams in 2022, thanks to their defense and dominant rushing attack. The Beavers finished last season with a 10-3 record and a four-game winning streak to cap off the season that included victories over the Florida Gators, 30-3, in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas bowl and a 38-34 victory over in-state rival Oregon in their annual Civil War matchup.

If there was one knock on Oregon State last year, it was a lack of consistent and effective play at quarterback. Last season Oregon State quarterbacks Ben Glubranson, Chance Nolan, and Tristan Gebbia combined for 197 completions on 319 attempts for 2,478 yards. The trio was also sacked 14 times while throwing for 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

To remedy their inconsistent quarterback play, Oregon State recruited former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei out of the transfer portal. Uiagalelei found himself looking for a new home after being replaced by Cade Klubnik as the Tigers’ starting quarterback toward the end of the season.

All during the spring, Beavers head coach Jonathan Smith has been doing his best to get his new weapon at quarterback ready for the upcoming season.

JD PicKell on Oregon State offense

The talent that Uiagalelei has around him is another reason why PicKell has Oregon State as his dark horse for the Pac-12.

“Breaking in a new quarterback. A lot of talent; I think he’s got something to prove in DJ Uiagalelei. And I like the schedule. Anytime you pick a dark horse, you gotta take a look at the schedule. They got Utah, UCLA, (and) Washington all at home. It’s where you insert the eyes emoji right here. You’re looking around and saying, alright, (are) you see what I’m seeing? Fifth best odds, a team that won 10 games a season ago? Alright. Jonathan Smith has those boys playing. So I like Oregon State to be a dark horse within that conference.”

Oregon State has the coaching, defense, and run game to compete with the top teams of the Pac-12. Adding Uiagalelei to lead the offense should give them some much-needed stability at the position, especially if he resembles how he looked at Clemson when he started in place of Trevor Lawrence a few times during the 2020 season.

Taking all that into consideration, plus a few favorable matchups on their schedule, Oregon State as PicKell’s dark horse does make a lot of sense.