Ups And Downs Of Oregon State Win Over Fresno State
Analysis of Oregon State's dramatic win at Fresno State Saturday night generally started with Jack Colletto's game winning touchdown, which came after the clock had run out, at 11:15 PM, and after over 3 1/2 hours of football in 80+ degree heat, and ended with the Beavers celebrating their first win ever in Fresno.
But in a game like that, everything that happened, or didn't happen, earlier in the evening obviously mattered. That's what tends to happen in a back and forth battle between 2 good and well matched teams. In a game that ends that late at night, and with the trip home that follows (I had honestly forgotten than it's nearly a 2 hour drive from Fresno just to get back to Sacraento!), analysis of that stuff that led up to Colletto time the second time took some time to get to.
The change of plans, followed by another change of plans, leading up to the game winning play was a great case study in how much can unfold very quickly in a game. And it would have all unfolded differently had Fresno St. kicker Abraham Montano not missed the extra point after the Bulldogs' go ahead touchdown with 1:05 left. That left it a 3 point game, and made the field goal to force overtime Oregon State's priority, and best bet. Had that happened, a last second desperation play would have had to have happened. And in all likelihood failed, given the amount of exertion it took to get in position for the final play.
The field goal was absolutely the right choice on the first iteration of the end of game. However, Fresno State taking the timeout that rendered Everett Hayes' successful field goal also bought a minute for the o-line to catch their breath, and actually be ready for a must win play that probably doesn't work if the Beavers had rushed it.
Given time to prepare, Oregon State Coach Jonathan Smith decided that it changed the likelihood for success, and elected to employ the Jackhammer. However, the play call was to again go to the left side, as was the case with Colletto's first quarter touchdown. Worth remembering, that was a sequence that took the Beavers 4 tries to cover 5 yards against a stout Bulldog defense.
It was Colletto that suggested and requested to Coach Smith that he wanted to this time run to the right. and Smith said "Ok". And Ok is was, as only 1 Bulldog got hands on Colletto, and that's not enough to stop Colletto cold.
Much of the conversation about the game revolved around various aspects of the passing game, but any Oregon State retrospective would be incomplete without noting the night Deshaun Fenwick had, especially given Trey Lowe did not make the trip, after experiencing lingering effects from the Boise State game that will keep him out of next week's game against Montana State, and possibly longer.
Fenwick, above, ran for 102 yards on 19 carries, including the late 3rd quarter touchdown, after Fresno State had scored 16 points in a row to open a 23-14 lead, that pulled Oregon State back within 2 points heading into the 4th quarter.
That was more than half of the Beavers net 178 rushing yards, which was 46 more than the Bulldogs amassed, despite Jordan Mims going for a game high 122 yards on a game high 21 carries, and a pair of touchdowns.
The difference was largely the trademark Oregon State WR sweeps, most notably the 2nd quarter 36 yard scoring sweep by Silas Bolden, above, who showed the Bulldog defense he had another gear above overdrive.
Bolden also had the 2 point conversion after Tre'Shaun Harrison's juggling and weaving go-ahead 4th quarter touchdown, above, which insulated Oregon State from being beaten by a field goal on Fresno State's last drive.
The Oregon State passing game (and the Beavers pass defense) were the subject of a lot of conversation, during and after the game, after Chance Nolan completed 14 of 27 passes, barely more than half of them, for 219 yards, though a number of dropped passes limited both the completion percentage, and the total number of attempts.
And expecially in comparison to the Bulldogs' Jake Haener, who completed more passes than Nolan attempted, on his way to a 29 of 45 night, for 360 yards. Though notably, the stretched Beaver defense managed multiple breakups, and didn't surrender a passing score until Erik Brooks' apparent (at the time) 4 ayard game winning catch with 1:05 to go.
Going forward, against the Bobcats Saturday night in Portland and beyond, Oregon State will be definitely looking for fewer drops, which might include better touch on what have sometimes been hard to catch passes.
And they will have to do it without TE Luke Musgrave, above, who will miss at least the Montana State game, and possibly more, after suffering a hip bruise on the first of 3 tries to win the game. Whether the TE position continues to be a position providing differentiation in the passing game, or if it disappears, will be a defining development for the Beavers.
It will also be interesting to see if the general rotation and utilization of receivers against Montana State by Offensive Coordinator Brian Lindgren makes sense. In Fresno, both Musgrave and Harrison had 5 catches, but no one else had more than 1.
The need to more consistently utilize Anthony Gould as the receiver that best extends the coverage, but was only targeted twice in Fresno, sooner or later is going to be critical for the Beavers' success.
Nikko Remigio, the transfer from California, had a game high 100 yards, on a game high 6 catches, and added 113 more on kick returns.
Oregon State still needs to develop a similar threat, as well as figure out how to stop one.
Defensively, it will depend on how Montana State attacks in the passing game, but there was a lot of successful crossing and shallow slant routes by Fresno State. Something to watch at Providence Park Saturday night will be to see what defensive adjustments Defensive Coordinator Trent Bray makes to cut off those routes before the Beavers run into an actual air raid offense that will run those all night until stopped.
The win in Fresno, the first ever by the Beavers in 7 trips, was still the best non-conference road win in the post Mike-Riley era, and improved the Beavers to 2-0 for the season. It's Coach Smith's best start to a season as a head coach, as well as his first win in Fresno as well, and Oregon State's best start since 2014, back in that Riley era.
Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com
(Photos by Andy Wooldridge)