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Washington State tops Oregon State, 31-24

Jayden de Laura and company could not be stopped

By Marcus Russell
NCAA Football: Oregon State at Washington State James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

In a hard fought game Washington State ended Oregon State’s 4-game winning streak. The Cougars outplayed the Beavers and earned their third win of the season. Jayden de Laura sliced up Oregon State’s secondary to the tune of 399 yards and 3 touchdowns. Oregon State was formidable offensively leaning on the running game, but couldn’t come up with key throws when they needed them most. The Beavers will get a bye week before returning to action on October 23rd. Here’s how it all happened:

FIRST HALF

The Beavers defense looked strong in the first half. They forced back-to-back punts to start the game and forced an interception in the redzone. Oregon State jumped off to a 7-0 lead thanks to Jack Colletto’s signature short yardage play, but the offense sputtered after that. A bad Chance Nolan interception lead to Washington State tying it up at ten just before the half.

SECOND HALF

The defensive struggle of the first half turned into a shootout late in this game. The Beavers struggled to defend WSU’s talented wide receivers and Jayden de Laura looked comfortable in the pocket. As frustrating as it was to watch the Cougars dominate offensively, Oregon State almost matched their fire power. BJ Baylor and Deshaun Fenwick both easily eclipsed 100 yards on the ground (309 rushing yards for OSU). Chance Nolan and the passing game could not compliment the rushing attack though. There were a few questionable decisions (having the punter throw a bomb on 4th down), but I was most frustrated by the decision to pass it on the Beavers last possession after the pass interference call gave the team new life. Chance Nolan took an eight yard sack and put Oregon State in a tough position needing a touchdown to tie the ball game.

TAKEAWAYS

  • WSU scored a touchdown on every 2nd half possession (minus the end of game kneel down)
  • Chance Nolan has struggled the past two weeks, could there be a renewed quarterback competition over the bye week?
  • Deshaun Fenwick looked awesome today. It’ll really help BJ Baylor out to share the workload.
  • There’s plenty of blame to go around defensively, but third downs are becoming a problem. Especially third and long.
  • While frustrating this loss doesn’t eliminate the Beavers from winning the Pac-12. Just got to get back on track in the coming weeks.