Oregon State Comeback Was Something Wasn't It
The Civil Was that once was known of as a War was really something. Actually, as usual, a whole bunch of somethings.
It was a long day that started with a power outage all over Corvallis, and ended with another one, more concentrated on the visitors' sideline, where coaching lessons not learned were repeated. In between, a lot happened that was entirely unexpected, and yet should have been fully expected.
When Oregon answered Oregon State's first score with Chase Cota's circus catch touchdown (not exactly the first circus catch of this season), above, it looked like it might be the beginning of a repeat of so many of the more recent rivalry games, where the Ducks used athleticism to outdistance, and often ovwhelm, the Beavers.
And when Oregon ran off 24 consecutive points across the 2nd and 3rd quarters to take a 3 touchdown 31-10 lead, it did look much more like another day of Duck dominance than the down to the wire thriller that the firat matchup in the rivalry series in a decade where both teams were ranked suggested.
It also made Oregon Coach Dan Lanning's misguided pair of early 4th down gambles that both failed when chip shot field goals were readily available look like inconsequential errors, even though Oregon State's defense was finding some early inspiration.
After Oregon answered Deshaun Fenwick's late 3rd quarter touchdown, above, with a Camden Lewis field goal on the first play of the 4th quarter that made it a 3 score game again, at 34-17, where Oregon had doubled the point production of Oregon State up to that point, some Beavers ceased to believe, and left early to beat traffic.
But it was a surprisingly small number, especially given the one-dimensional Oregon State offense had already abandoned the pass, which had only produced 6 completions, for 60 yards, and also a pair of interceptions, in what was without a doubt Ben Gulbranson's worst outing ever.
Certainly, Reser has emptied out a lot more a lot earlier, in notably less dire circumstances, plenty of times before.
But no one in the orange and green sellout could have known that field goal would be the only interruption in the Oregon State rally that scored 4 touchdowns in less than 10 minutes, and ended with 3 unanswered scores in just over 5 minutes.
Oregon State got closer just over a minute and a half later.
It's unlikely anyone thought the scrum that ended in Isaiah Newell's game winning touchdown, above, his 2nd score of the comeback, with still over 8 minutes left would be the last points of the day.
Almost as unlikely as the inexplicable decision Lanning made to repeat the mistake that lost the game to Washington 2 weeks earlier, and not punt on 4th down deep in Oregon's own territory, with the lead, and hand Oregon State the ball on the Duck 28 4 plays earlier.
And when Oregon State staged a goal line stand to stave off the ensuing 72 yard Oregon drive, stopping the Ducks at their own 3 yard line with less than 3 minutes left, those eschewed field goals, which would have kept Oregon ahead despite the imporbable earlier rally, certainly would have come in handy.
With even one of them, Oregon would have been in position to kick another field goal for the win. Instead, it was a 5th turnonver on downs (counting the mishandled 4th quarter punt that led to the 2 play, 2 yard drive that was a 1-2 punch of Jack Colletto, followed by Gulbranson's 2nd td to get closer) that the Oregon State defense forced.
(I seem to recall conversations and columns in the past that pointed out the importance of kicking field goals and not taking reckless gambles on 4th down; why this concept contiunes to be lost on coaches paid a lot of other people's money to make good decisions is one of the mysteries of life, or at least football.)
But the outcome was not yet settled. It took 3 consecutive runs by Fenwick (with both Damien Martinez and Jam Griffin banged up) to pick up the first down that allowed Oregon State to run out the clock in the shadow of their own goal post on the 38-34 win that unleadshed a sea of orange cowboy hats onto the field.
Martinez status for the still as yet to be determined bowl game date and destination, but the extra time should allow time for the Beaver back that had a historic day, on an historic day.
Maretinez had a game high 103 yards on 16 carries, carrying a lot of the load for much of the day. It was his 6th consecutive 100 yard rushing game, making him just the second Beaver ever to accomplish that, joining Steven Jackson.
Griffin added 75 yards on 8 carries, as Oregon State's cumulative rushing game ground out 268 yards on 43 carries. Fenwick managed only 53 on his 8 runs, but the late 3rd quarter TD and the last minute first down producing runs when Oregon knew he was coming, and stacked the box, were vital to the win that sets Oregon State (9-3) up with a chance for just their 3rd 10 win season. Ever.
And though Gulbranson struggled mightily with his passing, he got in on the ground grind as well, with a pair of 1 yard touchdowns, both with TE Jack Velling literally grabbing Gulbranson from behind and pushing him forward into the middle of the line, and untimately into the endzone. (Forget the "Bush push", Oregon State introduced the "Velling dozer drive".)
Oregon State also got a critical contribution in the comeback from Silas Bolden, who was filling in for Anthony Gould, who dressed despite a knee injury in the California win, but just couldn't go, and dressed back to just a jersey at halftime. Bolden answered Lewis' start of the 4th quarter field goal with a 48 yard kickoff return that set the stage for the 3 touchdown rally.
The win is the 2nd in a row at Reser for Oregon State over Oregon under Coach Jonathan Smith, who continues to check off check boxes on the check list of returning the Beavers to relevance. It's still a work in progress, with plenty of check boxes still to check off. And until the problems with the passing game are addressed, its going to be tough. But the rally, improbable both in its occurrance (the biggest comeback in the 126 game history of the rivavly by either team) and its nature (all on the ground, in a manner not seen since the days of the "Earthquake"), was a reflection of the cultural change Smith has installed in a group of players, including a lot of seniors that carried the load from the days of a 2 win seasons, through Covid, to back to back bowl games.
And yet it really wasn't anything new. It was just the embodiment of a couple of Oregon State's trademarks.
Neither this summary nor any of the other numerous game stories come close to covering every detail of the day. But most of the high points are covered, and most of what you need to know, by the "O-S-U! Oregon State! Fight! Fight! Fight!" chant.
Followed by the cueing of the Fight Song!
Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com
(Photos by Andy Wooldridge)