Oregon State Partys In Providence Park

Oregon State pulled away From Montana State Saturday evening at Providence Park, and the Beavers' game against the FBS Bobcats turned into what it was supposed to be, a party in Providence Park. A lot of players put up numbers, and the game was in hand by the beginning of the 4th quarter, by which time the score was already 54-21, so that the game/event turned into a party, and with only a couple of situational plays, the starters and regular rotation players took the rest of the evening off, and Oregon State cruised to a 40 point, 68-28 win that has gotten them off to their first 3-0 start since 2014.

The Beaver offensive barrage rolled up a balanced 538 yards, with 324 thru the air and 214 rushing, and was supplemented by 201 yards on kick returns. That pretty effectively masked the special teams problems (2 missed extra points, a missed field goal, and a 98 yard Bobcat kickoff return for a touchdown that kept Montana State in the game until late in the 2nd quarter.

But at that point, the Beaver offense that rolled to touchdowns on their first 5 possessions, pulled away. Chance Nolan connected with Silas Bolden for a 24 yard touchdown that overcame a touchdown being called back for a holding penalty, and then with Anthony Gould, for the first of his 3 scores, capitalizing on Rejzohn Wright's interception, below, the 2nd pick off of Bobcat quarterback Tommy Mellott of the 2nd quarter that would lead to an OSU TD.

Gould broke the game open with an 80 yard punt return for a touchdown to start the 3rd quarter, and extend the Beavers' lead to 40-14.

Nolan had a notable night, completing 19 of 25 passes, 76%, for 276 yards, and 4 touchdowns, and added 25 rushing yards, and another touchdown, helped with a firm push from behind by do whatever it takes Jack Colletto, who helped move the pile behind the Oregon State offensive line into the end zone.

Deshaun Fenwick led a balanced Beaver rushing attack, with 63 yards on 9 carries, and the games first score, but Damien Martinez was close behind, with 53 yards and a touchdown on 8 carries. Jam Griffin added 50 more yards, and another touchdown.

Tre'Shaun Harrison, above, had a game high 8 catches, for a game high 133 yards, but only 1 touchdown. in part because Gould was having his best game since high school, with 5 catches for 11 yards and 2 touchdowsn, to go with his punt return.

Bolden supplemented his touchdown catch with an 80 yard 3rd quarter kickoff return after Montana State had climbed back within sight of the game, with an 11 play, 75 yard drive that had pulled the Bobcats within 40-21. Bolden's big return led to Martinez's 7 yard touchdown run 3 plays later.

Once the party started in the 4th quarter, Ben Gulbranson got his first (and only OSU) action since 1 series at the end of the Arizona State game at the bitter end of the 2020 season, and played well, conpleting 3 of 4 passes, for 48 yards, and adding 13 rushing yards, while engineering a pair of touchdown drives, albeit against a gassed Bobcat team that in fact, put up a tough fight, but was just out-manned by the Beavers.

It is a good thing Oregon State probably won't see anything that resembles the quarterback run oriented offense Montana State deployed, as the Bobcats gashed the middle of the Beaver defense all evening. Mellott rolled up 135 yards rushing, and his backup/counterpart Sean Chambers, sometimes playing simultaneously with Mellott, added 37 more, and a couple of touchdowns. It's the next adjustent OSU Defensive Coordinator Trent Bray will be looking to make as his defensive scheme continues to evolve.

In his checklist tour of a season, Head Coach Jonathan Smith achieved his first 3-0 start as a head coach.

The Beavvers now turn their attention to next Saturday night's visit from USC, possibly the last time the B1G 10/16ths bound Trojans ever come to Corvallis. USC pulled away from Fresno St for a 45-17 win, as the Bulldogs lost QB Jake Haener to a serious leg injury early in the 3rd quarter, and the Trojans also improved to 3-0. Next week's last trip to Reser will be an opportunity for Oregon State to do something in their last 2 conference games against the Trojans, beat them twice in a row, that hasn't happened since the teens (the 19 teens, not the 20 teens!), in the first 2 meetings ever between the schools.

In the meantime, it was a great evening to be a Beaver!

Cue the Fight Song!

Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com

(Photos by Andy Wooldridge)