This year, the Pac-12 has been one of the best conferences in college football. Half of the conference is ranked inside the top 25, and with one regular-season game remaining, a Pac-12 championship appearance is still on the line.

No. 6-ranked Oregon (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12) can clinch its spot with a win, and while No. 21 Oregon State (8-3, 5-3) isn't competing for the chance to play USC next week in Las Vegas, the Beavers will be playing with a lot to gain. They hadn’t been ranked since 2013 prior to this year and have been on an impressive run as of late with five wins in their last six games, losing only to Washington on a last-second field goal in that stretch.

The three-loss Beavs pride themselves on good defense and a pound-the-rock style of offense. Opponents are averaging 12 points against Oregon State over the last five games, and only the Huskies managed more than 10 points against the Beavers in that span.

Even in the losses, coach Jonathan Smith had his team right in stride to win. Only Utah has convincingly beaten the Beavers this season, but the team is much different than it was in early October.

Early on in the season, the quarterback position was the area of concern in Corvallis. Chance Nolan got his chance to lead the team this year but was prone to turnovers, throwing four interceptions in a 17-14 heartbreaking loss to USC. A combination of injury and ineffectiveness opened the door for third-year QB Ben Gulbranson to take the reins of the offense.

While Gulbranson isn’t the elite signal-caller that Oregon State fans hoped for, he has done plenty to keep his starting position. His record as a starter this year is 5-1 with just one interception in those games.

The Ducks match up well for this game. The defense is better at stopping the run than the pass and stepped up mightily in last week's win over Utah.

Oregon State will have the home-field advantage in the half-capacity Reser Stadium. Before the rare ranked rivalry game begins, let's take a closer look at the Beavs.

Coach: Jonathan Smith (5th year, 24-31)

2022 stats/national ranking

Scoring offense: 31.9 PPG (41st)

Scoring defense: 20.27 PPG (T-27th)

Total offense: 406.1 YPG (57th)

Total defense: 330.6 YPG (25th)

Five Players to Know:

1. QB Ben Gulbranson (No. 17): The success in the Pac-12 this year has been heavily influenced by the play of quarterbacks. Washington, USC, UCLA and Oregon all have had high-scoring offenses led by QBs who are in the discussion for Pac-12 Player of the Year. That hasn’t been the case for the Beavs, but their quarterback does what is expected of him. Since officially taking over, Gulbranson has been very accurate with the ball. He’s thrown for 1,230 yards, 8 touchdowns and 3 interceptions overall.

2. RB Damien Martinez (No. 6): Just like the Ducks, the Beavers have an offensive line that isn’t afraid of playing smash-mouth football. Oregon State has run the ball over 100 more times than it has passed the ball this year. Leading the team in the category is the true freshman Martinez. When you watch Martinez play, it’s extremely hard to believe it’s his first year playing collegiate football. The 6-foot, 216-pound back packs a heavy punch with decisive speed. He’s run for 867 yards and 7 touchdowns in his first season and he’ll see another heavy workload on Saturday.

3. WR Tre’Shaun Harrison (No. 0): There’s no hiding who Gulbranson will be targeting when he drops back to pass. The fifth-year Florida State transfer, Harrison, leads the team in receptions this year and it's not even close. His 50 catches are 23 more than the next highest, and he also leads the team in receiving yards with 589. The veteran has over 1,500 yards in his career and will look to have one final send-off in his last game at Reser Stadium.