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Gary Andersen labels it "a long story," how his Oregon State football team has dealt with a 2-10 record in his first season.
The Beavers' response is to "be honest with ourselves," Andersen said last week during the Pac-12 coaches' spring media teleconference. "We have to outwork people."
An offseason that Andersen described as "taxing" included a strong performance by former Utah State quarterback Darell Garretson in spring drills. Andersen had left USU for Wisconsin by the time Garretson played for the Aggies as a true freshman in 2013, but they have teamed up in Corvallis.
Andersen made several adjustments to his coaching staff, partly as a result of losing defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake, now BYU's head coach. He hired Kevin Clune from USU as defensive coordinator and promoted another former Aggie assistant, Kevin McGiven, to offensive coordinator after demoting Dave Baldwin.
The Beavers went 0-9 in Pac-12 play and and have lost 15 of their last 16 conference games, dating to former coach Mike Riley's final season of 2014. OSU opens the 2016 season Sept. 1 at Minnesota. The Beavers will host Utah on Oct. 15.
Even as his team struggled last season, Andersen liked how OSU was portrayed in "The Drive," the Pac-12 Networks' weekly documentary that was split between the Beavers and Utah in 2015. In recruiting, the series was mentioned "probably every single day," Andersen said.
– Kurt Kragthorpe