Oregon State Football

Former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who announced Dec. 5 that he was entering the NCAA transfer portal, is expected to leave the Tigers for Oregon State, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Uiagalelei completed 61.9 percent of his passes for 2,521 yards (6.8 yards per attempt), 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions for the 11-2 Tigers, who have a date with the Tennessee Volunteers in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30. He added 545 rushing yards and seven scores.

It was a marked improvement from the year before, when he completed just 55.6 percent of his passes for 2,246 yards, nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He threw for 6.0 yards per attempt.

However, as Scott Keepfer of the Greenville News noted, "Uiagalelei's performances ran hot and cold this season," and he was temporarily benched multiple times for freshman backup Cade Klubnik.

Head coach Dabo Swinney made a more permanent switch during the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina after Uiagalelei started 2-of-5 for 10 yards.

Klubnik entered the game and caught fire, completing 20 of 24 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown alongside 30 rushing yards and another score in the 30-10 win. After the matchup, Swinney announced that Klubnik would start the Orange Bowl.

There's no doubt that the 6'4", 235-pound Uiagalelei is a tremendous talent. He was the No. 1 pro-style quarterback and the 10th overall prospect in the 2020 class, per the 247Sports composite rankings.

Since Klubnik appears to be favored to start for Clemson in 2023, seeking a fresh start elsewhere appears to be the sharp move for Uiagalelei, who joins an Oregon State program on the rise. The No. 14 Beavers capped a 10-3 season with a 30-3 win over Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl last weekend.

Chance Nolan and Ben Gulbranson were under center for Oregon State this year. Nolan, who played five games before suffering a neck strain and entering concussion protocol, has since entered the transfer portal.

Gulbranson, a third-year freshman, took the bulk of the snaps and completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 1,455 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions.

On Dec. 2, Nick Daschel of The Oregonian gave a rundown of the Beavers' QB room next year.

"Expected to return next season are Gulbranson and freshmen Travis Throckmorton and Dom Montiel," Daschel wrote. "High school senior Aidan Chiles, a 4-star quarterback prospect, made a verbal commitment to OSU and is expected to sign later in December."

Uiagalelei is now in the mix, though, and could have the upper hand on the QB1 role as Oregon State looks to improve upon its excellent 2022 campaign.

Utah State defeated Oregon State 24-13 in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel on Saturday night. The Aggies, who also won their first Mountain West conference title this season, finished with an 11-3 record.

Calvin Tyler Jr., who spent the first three years of his collegiate career at Oregon State, ran the ball 26 times for 120 yards and a score. It was a revenge performance for him, as he had just 30 total carries in his three seasons as a Beaver.

After starting quarterback Logan Bonner exited the game with an apparent knee injury, sophomore signal-caller Cooper Legas stepped in and powered Utah State to victory. Legas, the team's third-string quarterback who had never thrown a pass college prior to Saturday, went 11-of-20 for 171 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

With the Aggies trailing 7-0, Legas made an immediate impact with a 62-yard touchdown to Deven Thompkins on his first-career pass attempt.

On the next possession, Legas helped engineer an 11-play, 85-yard drive that was capped by a 15-yard rushing touchdown by Tyler to give Utah State the lead for good at 14-10.

Legas came up big again near the end of the third quarter with a five-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Bowling.

The Aggies looked to be on the verge of tacking on another score late in the fourth quarter, but Tyler fumbled near the goal line, and the Beavers recovered the ball in the end zone. It didn't make much of a difference, however, as Hunter Reynolds came up with an interception to seal the win.

Thompkins finished with six receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown, while Bowling had four catches for 51 yards and a score. It was Utah State's first win in a bowl game since 2018.

Oregon State finishes the season 7-6. Chance Nolan completed 21-of-30 passes for 263 yards and an interception. Jesiah Irish had 26 rushing yards and scored the team's lone touchdown.

In his best season as a head coach, Jonathan Smith has signed a contract extension with Oregon State.

The school announced Friday that Smith's new deal will keep him with the football program through the 2027 season.

Oregon State hired Smith in 2017. The program went 1-11 that year as Gary Andersen resigned midway through the season and Cory Hall served as interim head coach for six games.

The 42-year-old Smith played for the Beavers from 1998 to 2001 and was a four-year starter at quarterback. The California native led them to a single-season school-record 11 wins in 2000, including a 41-9 victory over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

Smith began his coaching career as an Oregon State graduate assistant in 2002 and 2003 under Dennis Erickson and then Mike Riley. He also worked as an assistant at Idaho (2004-09), Montana (2010-11), Boise State (2012-13) and Washington (2014-17) before returning to his alma mater.

Taking over a rebuilding program led to some struggles for Smith and his staff as Oregon State went 9-22 in his first three seasons.

Heading into Saturday's regular-season finale against Oregon, the Beavers are 7-4 and bowl-eligible for the first time since 2013.   

Oregon State University has placed president F. King Alexander on probation following the discovery of a report outlining how LSU handled allegations of sexual misconduct against then-football coach Les Miles while Alexander was the school president.

ESPN's Heather Dinich reported the Oregon State board of trustees voted 12-2 in favor of placing Alexander on probation through June 1.

Alexander was president of LSU from 2013 to 2019.

In February, USA Today's Kenny Jacoby, Nancy Armour and Jessica Luther reported LSU had looked into allegations of sexual harassment against Miles in 2013, though Alexander was not mentioned in the report. The school prohibited Miles from having contact with student employees after he allegedly texted female students and invited them to his condo.

In November, LSU hired law firm Husch Blackwell to conduct an investigation into those allegations and wider concerns about whether the university adequately managed allegations of sexual misconduct, including multiple allegations made against student-athletes during Alexander's time as school president.

Husch Blackwell's report included an email from then-athletic director Joe Alleva to Alexander in 2013, shortly before he officially became president, in which he advocated for firing Miles for cause.

When Alleva resigned in 2019, the Daily Advertiser's Glenn Guilbeau noted the AD had attempted to fire Miles during the 2015 season as well but was overruled by Alexander.

LSU fired Miles in September 2016.

The Corvallis Gazette-Times' Jarrid Denney reported Alexander's LSU tenure was referenced throughout the board meeting to determine Oregon State's next steps:

"The meeting's public comment section was marked by passionate testimony from members of the OSU community expressing a lack of trust and growing concern over Alexander's track record. Each of the 19 people who spoke was highly critical of Alexander's responses to the Husch Blackwell report and to testimony given to Louisiana lawmakers. Many of those who commented called on Alexander to resign or be removed. ...

"The emotional toll on survivors of sexual misconduct and relationship violence in the OSU community was apparent during public comments, as numerous speakers discussed the retraumatizing nature of recent reports regarding Alexander’s actions at LSU."

As part of his probation, Alexander "must formulate a concrete plan to regain the trust of the OSU community and address community feedback." He must also review the Husch Blackwell report to determine how Oregon State could improve its policies and procedures.

Oregon State tight end Rocco Carley was dismissed from the Beavers football program Wednesday night after an audio clip surfaced on Twitter with him using racist language.

OSU head coach Jonathan Smith said he informed Carley of the team's decision after a conversation with athletic director Scott Barnes:

Carley issued an apology on Twitter shortly before the decision was announced and said the video was from around 2017:

The tight end has already been removed from the Beavers' roster, and his player page was deactivated on the athletic department's website.

Carley is a native of Corvallis, the home city of the school, and was a standout wide receiver at Kennedy High School.

He joined the program as part of its 2019 recruiting class. He didn't play as a redshirt last season.

A female Oregon State University student filed a lawsuit against the school for an alleged violation of her rights related to an ongoing rape case involving former OSU football player Jordan Pace.

On Wednesday, Gabrielle Karol of KOIN reported the woman, listed as Jane Doe in court documents, states in the suit that the university issued a "no-contact directive," which forced her to avoid Pace on campus and prohibited her from "communicating with law enforcement and district attorneys."

Pace faces four felony charges in the separate criminal case, including first-degree rape, per Karol. He has pleaded not guilty, with the trial set to begin Oct. 15.

The woman, who is planning to transfer to another school, said the school denied her request for security and was informed to stay away from the east side of campus since Pace is employed in the dining hall, according to the complaint.

Her attorney, Laura Dunn, told Karol that she believes the case's outcome could have an impact that extends beyond the Corvallis, Oregon, school.

"There's a concerted effort under the Trump administration to strip protections for victims with the intention of favoring rights of the accused," Dunn said. "Looking at what OSU has done in this manner, it speaks to broader efforts to protect men accused of sexual misconduct at the expense of victims, who are most often women."

Brock Hulse of the Daily Barometer reported Pace, who was originally arrested in November following the alleged rape last May, walked on to the Beavers' football team in 2016 but was removed from the roster following spring ball in 2017.

He didn't play last season and isn't listed on the roster for the 2018 campaign.