CORVALLIS – Whether the first two games were a breeze or Saturday’s 49-14 loss to Oregon is reality, the Oregon State football team will face a lot of self-reflection in the next few days.
How could a team that clearly dominated San Diego State a week ago look so toothless in Saturday’s loss at Reser Stadium?
Sure, the Beavers were in the game score-wise at halftime, trailing 22-14. But OSU quickly lost touch in the second half and lost by the most lopsided home score since 2018.
A team that was on an incredible high just days ago, coming off the program’s first road shutout in 41 years, must now find a way to rebound from a performance that was puzzling on both sides of the ball.
The answers will be found in the coming days at the Valley Football Center.
“This will be our first Sunday practice after a loss. Tomorrow will be a little tougher than before. I expect us to bounce back,” said junior receiver Trent Walker.
Oregon State coach Trent Bray has spoken at length about the program’s resilient culture since taking over, and we’ll soon find out just how tough and resilient the Beavers are from a mental and emotional standpoint.
35-point defeats against rivals are hard to forget.
“I’m very confident. We’ve seen them respond well to adversity. We’ve got to fix what we saw today when we look at the film tomorrow,” Bray said. “I feel good about this group and their character.”
Oregon State probably won’t see another team of Oregon’s caliber this season, talent-wise. While UNLV, California, Washington State and Boise State are a challenge, none of them have as many athletic players as the Ducks. But Saturday’s game was a good reminder that while OSU’s grind-it-out offensive style works against some teams, it’s not a recipe for success against great teams like Oregon.
Or, frankly, UNLV, Cal, WSU or Boise State. At some point, the Beavers are going to need a big-play element on offense. OSU’s longest pass play on Saturday was 22 yards and that was a screen to running back Anthony Hankerson. The Beavers were never able to challenge Oregon down low, aside from a one-two in the backfield that was busted up by the Ducks.
That was fine against Idaho State and San Diego State. But there will be times when Oregon State needs 35 or 40 points to win a game.
Asked why the Beavers haven’t been explosive so far, Bray said, “That’s a good question. I’d have to dig deeper to answer that.” Walker, who caught eight passes for 68 yards, said OSU has found an offensive formula that works. After two weeks, the Beavers rank fourth nationally in rushing yards and first in time of possession.
“Our running game is working, so why would we change it? I trust (offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson) and Coach Bray. We can do it,” Walker said.
It was a winning game plan against San Diego State and Idaho State. It didn’t work against the Ducks.
Maybe it would have worked better if Oregon State had gotten off to its typical start. During the Beavers’ opening drive, they were assessed three penalties, including two for false starts. They were OSU’s first false start penalties of the season. The drive ended with a poorly executed field goal attempt. But had the opening possession been cleaner, it might have ended up in the end zone. It wasn’t as if the Ducks stopped Oregon State’s offense in the first half.
“I don’t think it threw us off our stride, but it definitely hurt us. We have to avoid that, especially when we play against a talented team like Oregon,” Walker said.
In a week, Oregon State could be back in the mix when it plays Purdue, which lost 66-7 to Notre Dame, on Saturday. But if the Beavers want to be better than a team that just qualified for a bowl, the lessons learned from Saturday’s loss will have to pay off. Games like UNLV, Cal, Washington State and Boise State are counting on it.
–Nick Daschel can be reached at 360-607-4824, [email protected] or @nickdaschel.
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