These 2 teams have played 2 of the same opponents, and the comparison isn't close. Oregon State beat San Diego State 66-14 at home. Fresno State lost to the same Aztecs by 3 on the road. The Washington State results point the other way, though. Fresno held the Cougars to 6 points in a road win, while Oregon State gave up 30 to them at home. So the Bulldogs' defense has a real argument. Whether it holds up against this offense is the question for October 31.
Montana52-17
Fresno's 2 straight losses were both one-score games. Boise State won 38-31 in Fresno, and San Diego State won it on a 53-yard field goal from C. DiLeva with 57 seconds left. A missed extra point after J. Gillick's 2-yard touchdown with 5:02 to go meant the Bulldogs could only tie on that last drive, not win it. That's 1-2 in league play for a team that started 3-0 over its 5-game window.
Oregon State isn't perfect either. Washington State started redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman, who threw for 289 yards and ran for 136 more on 15 carries in his first career start. That's a lot of yards to give up to a quarterback with no film. The Beavers won by 18 anyway, because Atkinson and Jake Reichle, who added 2 rushing touchdowns, kept scoring. But a defense that a first-time starter ran around isn't a sure thing in a road environment.
Neither team has a game on its schedule before this one, so both get the extra time to heal and prepare. Oregon State is 5-2 overall and 3-0 in conference, and it can keep pulling away from the league. Fresno State is 4-3 and needs to stop a slide before it turns into a lost season. Luke's status will be the injury story to watch over the next 2 weeks.