Beavers Pick Off A Win Over The Bruins
Oregon State intercepted freshman UCLA quarterback Dante Moore twice in the first quarter, and converted it to points both times, and again just before halftime, for another touchdown, and it was more than the difference in the 15th ranked Beavers' 36-24 win over the 18th ranked Bruins.
Akili Arnold's interception, above, setup an Atticus Sappington field goal not 5 minutes into the game, and Andrew Chatfield's pickoff led to change of pace Oregon State quarterback Aiden Chiles' 10 yard pass to Jack Velling for the first touchdown of the game 39 seconds before the end of the first quarter, opening a 13-0 Oregon State lead.
Moore settled down and directed UCLA back within 3 points, but after the third of Sappington's field goals, Ryan Cooper Jr., above, undercut a pass on the sideline intended for the Bruins' J. Michael Sturdivant, and sprinted straight down the north side of Reser stadium 67 yards for the touchdown that was the decisive play of the game, and opened a 23-10 Beaver lead less than a minute before halftime.
DJ Uiagalelei twice opened 19 point Beaver leads in the 3rd quarter, with a 43 yard touchdown toss to Silas Bolden, and a 32 yard scoring completion to Velling, below. Both were wide open, capitalizing on coverage busts by the Bruins.
UCLA answered both touchdowns with scores of their own, but never got closer than 12 points, as the Oregon State defense forced turnovers on downs on UCLA's only 2 4th quarter drives.
Uiagalelei, above, completed 14 of 24 passes, for 266 yards, and 2 touchdowns, and with no interceptions.
Bolden, above, and Anthony Gould, below, combined for 12 catches. Both had 87 yards receiving.
Velling had another impactful night, with 64 yards and 2 touchdowns out of his 3 catches.
Moore, in contrast, completed only 14 of 33 passes, for 165 yards.
The running game was another matter, and the one area of concern for the Beavers. And that was despite the 1-2 punch of Damien Martinez, above, and Deshaun Fenwick combining for 24 carries for 142 yards.
But the Bruins piled up 284 rushing yards on the Beaver defense. Carson Steele rolled up 110 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, and running quarterback Colin Schee added 80 yards on 6 carries on select plays in place of Moore. The Bruins actually outgained the Beavers by 35 yards as a result.
Adjusting after 2 consecutive weeks of opponents rolling up impressive rushing totals, though in losing efforts, and getting healthy will be the priorities for the now bowl eligible Beavers in their upcoming bye week before embarking on back to back trips to Tucson and Boulder.
Cooper twice left the game, and didn't return after an apparent leg or ankle injury, and Calvin Hart also left late, after recording a pair of sacks that were central to derailing UCLA's efforts to rally. Cory Stover and Tyrice Ivy weren't in uniform for the game either, and usual starting center Jake Levengood was also sidelined for the game.
Oregon State (6-1, 3-1) moved into a 3rd place in the conference with the win over UCLA (4-2, 1-2) in the Bruins' first visit to Corvallis in 8 years, and probably also their last.
Cue the Fight Song!
Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com
Photos by Andy Wooldridge