Portland State vs Oregon State: Quick Recap

First Quarter

Portland State opened up the scoring in the game with a 42 yard TD pass from QB Jalani Eason to Josh Kraught. Noah Brosio missed the extra point. PSU WR Josh Kraught faked out the Beaver secondary with a nice double move. The Beavers marched down 81 yards on 13 plays for a 1 yd Ryan Nall touchdown to give the Beavers an early 7-6 advantage with 7:38 left in the first qtr. The key play of the drive was the 25 yard run and catch by WR Timmy Hernandez from QB Jake Luton on a 3rd.-and 7 from midfield.

The Beaver Defense forced the Vikings to go 3-and-out and took over at their own 22 after a PSU punt. The Beaver Offense would stall out and were forced to Punt to PSU. Portland State took over their next drive on their own 32. Thew would drive the ball down to the OSU 25 yard line at the end of the quarter. PSU held a 121 to 88 advantage on total yards in the first qtr.

Second Quarter

The Beavers were able to come up with a key fumble recovery by Safety Jalen Moore on the PSU 19 yard line on the 3rd play of the second qtr. The fumble was a result of a miscue on the hand-off for PSU. Beavers were unable to convert on a third and 2 and were forced to punt. The Beaver Defense was able to force a PSU punt on the following drive.

Once again, the Beaver Offense were unable to put anything together with 8:45 left to go in the 2nd half. Portland State was able to march the ball down to the Beaver 1 yard line. Thanks to a high snap that gave PSU a 10 yard loss, Oregon State was able to force a turnover-on-downs.

After the stop, the Beavers drove down the field in 8 plays in 98 yards, which was capped off by a 4 yd. TD run by Darrell Garretson. Garretson played most of the drive in a zone-read package, which was also highlighted by an impressive 18 yd. run by RB Trevorris Johnson and a 22 yd. pass completion from QB Jake Luton to TE Noah Togiai.

The Beavers were able to intercept Eason when Beaver Safety Brandon Arnold was able to pick off Eason’s overthrown pass on a flea-flicker. The Beavers punted at the end of the First Half, as they held a 14-6 advantage at the end of the First Half. Beaver Head Coach Gary Andersen was very disappointed of his teams performance in the First Half.

Third Quarter

Jake Luton threw an interception on the Beavers opening drive in the Second Half. PSU was able to drive down on a 64 yd. 10 play drive capped off by a 5 yd. TD run by Jalani Eason. Beaver DE Paisa Savea was able to block the extra point. Garretson fumbled on the next Beaver possession and PSU was able to make the Beavs pay, thanks to a 12 yard TD by Jalani Eason. PSU went for two and scored on the end around to lead 20-14.

The Beavers quickly capitalized on a 43 yard kick return by Artavis Pierce. Luton connected with TE Noah Togiai for 48 yards, which got the Beavs to the PSU 3. Trevorris Johnson would score from 3 yards out that gave the Beavs a 21-20 advantage.

Beavers defense finally made a big play as LB Manase Hungalu intercepted Eason and ran it back 21 yards for a TD making it 28-20 Beavs. The Beavers Defense had another breakdown in coverage as PSU scored on a 46 yd. TD pass from Eason to Kraght. The Beaver D was able to stop an Eason QB Draw before the goal line to stop the 2pt. Conversion. Beavs held on to a 28-26 lead entering the 4th qtr. PSU held an 387 to 261 advantage in total yards.

Fourth Quarter

The Beaver Offense stalled out at the beginning of the 4th. qtr. at midfield. P Nick Probeski’s punt pinned PSU at their own 12-yard line. The Beavers were able to force the Vikings to punt. However, the Beavers caught a huge break when replay showed PSU’s punter had his knee down when he caught the snap at the PSU 39. This was gigantic because the Beavs were going to be pinned at their own 4-yard line. Kicker Jordan Choukair missed a 51 yard field goal. Portland State put their starting receiver, Josh Kraught in after Eason was injured. Kraught is actually the backup QB, and he did a fabulous job leading PSU to the endzone in 9 plays and 67 yds., to take the lead 32-28. Bright Ugwoegbu was able to pick off the 2-pt. conversion.

Then the Beaver crowd came alive. Luton was able to engineer a 7 play 77 yard drive that ended with a Luton 17 yard TD to Isaiah Hodgins with 1:06 left in the game. Kraught got PSU to the OSU 29 with 3 seconds left. PSU initially elected to go for the endzone, but the Beavers called timeout before the play started. PSU changed their mind and elected to go for the field goal. Graycen Kennedy’s 46 yard field goal just missed to the right, and the Beavs held on to win 35-32. PSU outgained the Beavers 515-389, but the Beavers forced three key turnovers that made the difference.

Quick Final Thoughs:

The Beavers did not play well on both sides of the ball. They were very fortunate to win this game. Credit the Offense for scoring the go ahead TD on the last drive. Major credit goes to Portland State, who in my opinion, outplayed the Beavers today. The Vikings are going to be very good in Big Sky play, and they look like contenders for the Big Sky Championship. The Beavs need to take gigantic strides this week as they prepare for a tough Minnesota team next Saturday at Reser.