Five Oregon State Beavers who Oregon Duck fans should know before Week 4

Through the first three weeks of the season, the Oregon Ducks have looked like one of the best teams in the nation, putting forth an efficient offense and a dominant defense.

They now go into their final week of the non-conference with a storied matchup against the Oregon State Beavers , the 129th playing of the rivalry game. It's expected to be a lopsided affair, unfortunately, for the sake of the rivalry, largely due to the different trajectories of both programs over the last couple of years, thanks to conference realignment.

While the betting line suggests that this will be another blowout, there are still players on the Oregon State roster whom Oregon needs to be aware of going into the game.

So, who will step up in his place, and what are some other names that Oregon fans should be aware of going into the weekend? Let's take a look:

QB Maalik Murphy

A former top-10-ranked QB in high school, Murphy has all of the talent in the world, but is still searching for the right offense. After sitting behind Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning at Texas, Murphy played at Duke for a season, and now is giving it a go at Oregon State. Through three games, he has put up solid numbers, passing for 896 yards and six touchdowns, but he has five interceptions as well. Still, the arm strength he brings to the table will keep Oregon's secondary busy on Saturday.

RB Anthony Hankerson

The Beavers have not run the ball especially well so far this season, but it's not for a lack of trying. Through three games, Hankerson has 51 attempts for 190 yards and one touchdown, averaging 3.7 yards per carry. He is a talented back who had over 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns a year ago, but the low level of offensive line play has hurt him so far in Corvallis this year.

WR Trent Walker

Walker has led the way for Oregon State in the receiving game so far, hauling in 23 passes for 302 yards. He has yet to get into the endzone, but the 6-foot-2, 195-pound receiver has become one of the top targets for Murphy.

LB Dexter Foster

Foster leads the team with 25 tackles through three games, including 2.5 tackles for loss. He has been a strong player in the box, and one of the Beavers' better run defenders. After turning heads as a freshman with 13 tackles against Air Force last year, Foster has established himself as the best player on Oregon State's defense thus far.

S Skyler Thomas

Thomas has been the leader of the secondary thus far for Oregon State, picking up 23 tackles so far, which is second most on the team, and also coming away with an interception last week against Texas Tech.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Five Oregon State players who Oregon Duck fans should know in Week 4