Cal shuts down Oregon State, 49-7

The Beavers came out fired up in their retro Beaver look and many thought Oregon State could pull off the upset at home. Unfortunately, their offense put together their worst performance of the season and the game was never in doubt as Cal had no trouble scoring on the Beaver defense.

The game got off to an ominous start when Jermar Jefferson was not on the field and it was announced that he was dealing with a minor hamstring injury that almost ruled him out for the game. Jefferson toughed it out, but was limited to just a couple of touches on the game and the offense clearly missed his explosiveness.

Artavis Pierce struggled to find running room all day and Conor Blount never got into any type of rhythm. Near the end of the first half Blount was absolutely destroyed on a helmet-to-helmet hit as he was clearly sliding. The player who delivered the hit was ejected, but Blount was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a concussion.

Jack Colletto took over as Jake Luton is still not 100% recovered from his ankle injury. Without their starting QB and RB the Beavers really struggled. The offense generated just 241 yards on the day and it felt like a lot less.

Cal’s senior running back Patrick Laird had a career day rushing for 197 yards and 2 TDs. Cal’s offense generated 539 yards of offense and despite a goal line fumble had no problems moving the ball up and down the field.

This game was very similar to the Arizona game when it felt like the Beavers might get their first Pac-12 victory since 2016, but instead they laid in egg. The schedule ramps up over the next five games and things could get ugly as the injuries start to mount.