Oregon State defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake knew he'd have one of the tougher jobs as a coordinator in the Pac-12 this year. A new school, a new scheme and just two returning starters on the defensive side of the ball.

After Arizona put up 44 points and 644 yards of offense on his Beavers defense, he told The Oregonian's Gina Mizell, "It can't get any worse."

Unfortunately for Sitake, it can. And chances are it will.

The Beavers travel to Washington State this weekend to take on an Air Raid offense that's riding high after a 45-38 double-overtime win at Oregon. And Sitake, who literally had to scream commands from the sideline against the Wildcats, is going to face an offense that leads the league in passing yardage, racking up 396.4 yards per game. On top of that, the Cougars have been able to establish enough of a run game this season that defenses have had to stay on their toes a bit.

Both Sitake and coach Gary Andersen have been vocal about their frustrations with this group.

"I think they're playing with effort, but they don't as a whole group completely understand the responsibility factor of playing big-time college football on the defensive side of the ball," Andersen told the Corvallis Gazette-Times.

Scheme-wise, Andersen and Sitake have simplified the defense to try and make it easier to understand and execute. It has gotten to the point that Sitake said Oregon State "can't dummy it down any more; we can't get any more simple" before sacrificing too much of what they believe in defensively.

So, with a week to prepare, the coaches will bring their young group up to Pullman, Washington, to face quarterback Luke Falk (who threw for 505 yards and five touchdowns against Oregon) and an offense that has more confident wide receivers than Oregon State has capable defensive players.

"We won't compromise in what we do, what we believe and what we feel," Andersen said. "We'll put the best kids out there and let them fight and battle for the spots. That's where we are on defense."