Arizona @ Oregon State preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 10, 2015 ) Oregon State 7, Arizona 44

Oregon State hosts Arizona on Saturday in a matchup of teams that have lost a combined 12 consecutive games, but there seems to be a bit of optimism involving Oregon State. Although the Beavers are coming off a 38-24 loss at UCLA last week, two setbacks during their five-game slide were one-score games, while the Wildcats allowed an average of 45 points in losing all seven of their Pac-12 contests.

"We're in this thing to win football games every week, and they walk out there and they give it all they got to get that done,'' Oregon State coach Gary Andersen told reporters about his team. "It hasn't gone our way enough, and Beaver Nation deserves better from me. I get it. I expect it to get better, but I'll work my tail off every single day to help the kids get better. Because they're the ones that win the games, not me. And I say that in a positive way." Oregon State will be without sophomore wide receiver Seth Collins, who was admitted to a Corvallis, Ore., hospital Sunday with what officials suspect is meningococcal disease. Everyone who was on the airplane to UCLA received antibiotics as a preventive measure. "Stuff like that hits home," Beavers co-offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven told reporters about Collins, who averaged 11.6 yards per 36 catches this season. "You hope the guys are able to stay focused. But when friendship and family members are involved, it's a little bit more important than the game we're playing or coaching.''

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network. LINE: Oregon State -6.5

ABOUT ARIZONA (2-8, 0-7 Pac-12): Sophomore quarterback Brandon Dawkins made his third straight start in the Wildcats' 49-24 loss to Colorado last week with junior Anu Solomon also seeing action. Dawkins leads the team in rushing yards with 673 while accounting for 14 touchdowns, including a club-most eight on the ground. Senior Samajie Grant is averaging 84.7 rushing yards per game rushing since being converted from wide receiver to running back.

ABOUT OREGON STATE (2-8, 1-6): Sophomore running back Ryan Nall, the team's leading rusher with 672 yards and eight touchdowns, is questionable with a foot injury that sidelined him last week. Andersen announced Monday that sophomore linebacker Bright Ugwoegbu (ankle), who leads the team with 5.5 sacks, will miss the final two games. Senior linebacker Caleb Saulo is third in the Pac-12 at 8.0 tackles per game and junior linebacker Manase Hungalu is sixth at 7.1 as the Beavers try to have two players finish in the top 10 since 2011, while senior safety Devin Chappell is 11th (6.6).

EXTRA POINTS

1. Oregon State is third in the Pac-12 in red zone offense, scoring on 25-of-28 opportunities (18 touchdowns).

2. The Wildcats are second in the Pac-12 with 214.7 rushing yards per game and face the No. 10 rushing defense in the conference (228.3).

3. Arizona leads the series 22-14-1 after a 44-7 victory last season snapped a three-game slide against Oregon State, which won 12 of the last 15 meetings.

PREDICTION: Arizona 32, Oregon State 31