In his weekly media availability, head coach Jamarcus Shephard addressed his team's struggles last weekend in their loss to Texas State. He also emphasized that changes are being made ahead of a huge Pac-12 clash with Boise State.

"Saturday was a very difficult game, difficult for the fans, for the team, for me as a head coach. It's really difficult for me because of how much I care. And I just believe that when you care deeply about people, you don't want them to experience disappointment. But as a coach and primarily as a parent- you understand that those things are important for continuing growth. Failures to me really are a signal that...you need to be stronger. It's important to me that I am accountable for every play and every snap of this program. But also I provide assurances that we have the plan, we'll have the ability to do things differently.

Shephard also answered questions about ESPN's College Gameday, which will be broadcasting pregame ahead of the contest, and how the team is handling preparation amidst that backdrop.

"We're gonna be focused on things that we can excel at in this game...I've had the fortune to be a part of College Gameday on multiple occasions. And typically, the home team is the one that's being showcased, and I fully expect that will be the case this week as well. Our job is to go in and play the football game and not worry about that whatsoever. If we play the game like we should, then you know what, we'll be excited about the end of the game."

Over the three games, the Beavers have struggled in run defense, allowing an average of more than 4.9 yards per carry in each of those contests. Against Texas State last week, Oregon State allowed 6.2 yards per carry as the Bobcats ran wild with five touchdowns and 386 yards on the ground off of 62 attempts.

"I would say that it's probably a combination of both things," Shephard said of fixing his run defense. "One, it's fits, but then asking some of our players to do things that maybe they aren't as good at doing. Just before I got down here we were workin' through some of that to make sure that we not only have the right fits, but also that we have the right guy to make the play. We're making some adjustments for this upcoming week, we have a lot of smart defensive coaches who have been around a lot of different places."

The Beaver defense will have the tough task of defending against Broncos' running back Dylan Riley, who is already at 1241 yards for the season, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. Sire Gaines has been a solid backup for RIley as well, though his availability is questionable for this week with a foot injury.

"Really good football team. They've got some really dynamic running backs, they play really good defense. So it'll be a challenge."

Making the job of Oregon State's defense harder: an extended absence for safety Sai Vadrawale that would continue through Saturday. Vadrawale has been one of the Beavers' defensive leaders this season, making the defensive calls to set OSU up for success. Vadrawale missed the Texas State game after a collision in practice last week.

"Yeah that was a big part of the conversation [this week]. Trying to make sure that we simplified some things to give them the best chance to be successful on Saturday, get lined up appropriately, to execute the defense at a high level, just based on alignment," Shephard noted. "I want the guys to be able to get the call, get lined up. It all starts with that. Now it's on them to go out there and play the game that they say they love."

Oregon State and Boise State kick off Saturday from Albertsons Stadium at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.