Oregon State Football: Top 5 Performances from the 2016-17 Season

1. Ryan Nall - 14 carries, 221 yards 3 TD’s vs. Cal

Ryan Nall had some monster performances in 2017, but none were greater than his 221 yard performance against Cal that helped lead the Oregon State to their first Pac-12 victory in wayyyy too long. 221 yards is an insane amount of rushing yards in one game no matter how many times you carry the ball, but Nall managed to do it in just 14 attempts. That’s 15.8 yards per attempt! Many fans will remember Darell Garretson’s game-winning touchdown in OT, but Nall’s 80-yard touchdown run is one of my favorite plays of the season.

2. Marcus McMaryion - 16/19, 265 yards 5 TD’s vs. Arizona

Marcus McMaryion had his struggles at times during the 2017 season, but everything fell into place on Nov. 19th against Arizona. He picked apart the Wildcats secondary and threw five beautiful touchdown passes all to different receivers. He only threw three incompletions and had zero interceptions. The Beavers routed Arizona 42-17 and were it not for the lopsided score McMaryion would have easily eclipsed the 300 yard mark.

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3. Ryan Nall - 31 carries, 155 yards 4 TD’s vs. Oregon

The Civil War belonged to Mr. Ryan Nall. Oregon State took full advantage of a rainy and cold late November night and continued to pound the ball forward utilizing their running game. Ryan Nall ended the night with four touchdowns and 155 yards. Nall also lead the team in receiving with 34 yards, did I mention it was a run-oriented attack? Also, Ryan Nall gave us this glorious gif of him juking/throwing an Oregon defender out of bounds.

4. The Defense vs. Utah

In another sloppy game due to weather, the Beavers put a scare into a very tough and physical Utah Utes team. In hurricane-like conditions against a strong offensive line the much maligned Oregon State defense was up for the task. Although, the Beavers ultimately lost 19-14, they held Utah to 317 yards of total offense and also forced two turnovers. Caleb Saulo (13 tackles, 1 sack), Manase Hungalu (13 tackles, 1 TFL), Bright Ugewoebu (11 tackles, 1 sack/2 TFL) and Devin Chappell (8 tackles, 2 TFL) led the way.

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5. Victor Bolden - 272 all-purpose yards vs. Boise State

Victor Bolden had a lot of explosive plays during his senior season, but those moments were pretty random and he never had one particular game with multiple big plays against top-tier competition. But against Boise State Victor Bolden basically WAS Oregon State’s. Ryan Nall was battling injuries and the quarterback position was influx, but Victor Bolden returned a 99-yard kickoff to the house for a fourth quarter touchdown to keep the game competitive.

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