Artavis

Pierce

Whatever minor injury was bugging Pierce (5'11/208) late in Saturday’s game does not seem to be an issue moving forward. Considering he ran for over 100 yards on just 15 carries in that game, the Beavers are fortunate that Pierce’s injury was nothing more than a temporary inconvenience in a game that was already won. Smith and recently-returned RB Jermar Jefferson look to be a nasty two-headed rushing attack that Oregon State can ride into bowl season. Oregon State will face Washington on Friday.

Jermar Jefferson got most of the red zone opportunities, but it was Pierce’s (5'11/208) slicing and dicing between the 20s that set up a flurry of Oregon State touchdowns. Pierce’s 114 yards are the third-most he has put up in a single game this season. If this is what Oregon State’s two-headed backfield can look like for the rest of the season, they may sneak into a bowl game.

Pierce (5'11/208) was neither explosive or efficient, but neither was anyone else in this game. Pierce was a key piece in Oregon State’s grind-it-out offense in this match not necessarily because he was effective, but because they trusted him to do enough, as they often do. That being said, Pierce did score a touchdown, which is a nice rebound off a bad game last week. Pierce will try to turn it up another notch in two weeks against Arizona.

Pierce (5'11/208) has been rolling up some pretty impressive numbers, but the Utes bottled him up early and often, and then the Beavers got away from the ground-based attack with the game out of hand. He was never able to get on track. Despite the poor stat line the senior from Florida still has an impressive 503 rushing yards with five touchdowns on the ground, averaging 6.8 yards per tote. Next up is a trip to California on Saturday.

Pierce (5'11/208) has been impressive all season. While 5.7 yards per gain is pretty solid, it was actually his worst average so far this season. He has registered 482 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 64 attempts, while racking up nine catches for 87 yards. The Lake Alfred, Fla. native will look to keep it rolling in next Saturday’s pivotal conference battle against Utah.

Jermar Jefferson clearly wasn’t 100 percent in this game, so the onus was left on Pierce (5'11/208) to carry the Beavers to a victory. He almost did; with the help of Isaiah Hodgins and Jake Luton, of course. Pierce picked up his first touchdown on a 43-yard scamper at the top of the fourth quarter, and then picked up another long run that was followed by a one-yard plunge to tie the game at 28-28 with just 1:55 left. Stanford and the Cardinal were able to drive for the game-winning score after, but this was a very nice day for a very talented player. If Jefferson isn’t ready for a larger role, Pierce will again get plenty of carries against UCLA next Saturday.

Pierce missed time during offseason practices due to an undisclosed injury, but he certainly made it look like any healthy issues are in the rear-view mirror after this one. The Florida native is behind Jermar Jefferson on the pecking order for backfield touches, but he is more than capable to step in and handle the load if ever needed. Oregon State hosts FCS Cal Poly next week, so he should see a larger than normal workload in what could be a lopsided affair.

Pierce (5'11/208) got off to a hot start last season, but elbow and rib injuries limited him and opened the door for Jermar Jefferson to emerge. The senior won’t lack for opportunities this fall, but they’ll come as Jefferson’s backup. According to Nick Daschel of The Oregonian, Pierce was able to take part in some of the team drills in Wednesday’s practice. Last season he averaged 7.6 yards per carry, rushing for 408 yards and four touchdowns on 54 carries.

Pierce (5'11/201) did not play against Colorado this past weekend. He has been battling injury throughout the campaign, managing to appear in just four games to this juncture. All of the missed time opened the door for Jermar Jefferson, who has run through it and then some. Pierce is a talented back in his own right, and while Jefferson is not going to stop receiving carries with his return, he could have a nice little stretch run for the Beavers upcoming, assuming he can stay on the field.

Artavis also was held out of practice on Sunday because of the ribs injury. It’s been a tough year for the junior tailback after showing promise in 2017, and he’s clearly lost his bell-cow gig to impressive freshman Jermar Jefferson. Consider Pierce questionable for Saturday’s game against USC.