Oregon State beats Stanford in miraculous fashion

WOW WOW WOW! The Beavers completed a furious 4th quarter comeback thanks to Tre’Shaun Harrison’s heroic catch and run for the win.

I’ve watched it at least 10 times and I still can’t believe what I just witnessed.

Here’s how the whole game played out and what lead to the late game heriocs:

FIRST HALF

Ben Gulbranson got his first start with Chance Nolan out and the Beavs looked good on their first drive. The offense got down to the Stanford 20 and the drive stalled. Backup kicker Atticus Sappington missed a 40-yard field goal though leaving the Beavers empty handed. Stanford took possession and went on a dominate 12-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that was equal parts disturbing and demoralizing. On the ensuing kickoff the refs claimed Jack Colletto called fair catch while Silas Bolden caught and returned it meaning Oregon State would have to start the drive at their 1-yard line. Beaver fans everywhere were irate (or maybe it was just me) but Oregon State put together one of their most impressive drives of the season tying the game up with a Jack Colletto touchdown run. Momentum quickly shifted to Stanford though as they regained the lead with a field goal. The Beavs punted on three straight possessions to end the half (two 3-and-outs). And Stanford added a touchdown to take a commanding 17-7 lead into the break.

SECOND HALF

The defense forced a quick 3-and-out and then the offense got into field goal range. A missed Sappington 45-yarder was of no consequence thanks to a Stanford penalty and he nailed the 40-yarder to make it a one score game. Another great defensive stand made it seem like the Beavers were regaining momentum, but the offense went backwards thanks to three straight passing plays. Tanner McKee hit a couple of receivers for explosive pass plays and the Beavs soon found themselves down by two touchdowns, 24-10. Things looked bleak as the 4th quarter rolled around and Oregon State down fourteen. On 4th-and-8, the coaching staff decided to go for it and not settle for a field goal and Silas Bolden came up with a game-saving touchdown catch.

The Beavs controversial 2-point conversion attempt failed and they trailed 16-24. Their long snapper was injured probably forcing the attempt, but it’s not unheard of for teams trailing by two touchdowns to got for two after the first touchdown. Anyways, with about 7 minutes remaining Oregon State added their second touchdown of the 4th quarter on an explosive 43-yard Damien Martinez TD run. The 2-point attempt failed again though and the Beavs trailed 24-22. (Side note: Martinez had 83-yards on three carries. Please give this dude more carries!)

Oregon State’s furious comeback attempt was almost wasted as Rejzohn Wright was called for a holding penalty on third down that would have given the Beavs offense the ball back with about 4 minutes remaining. The ball landed (far) out of bounds and the refs made a bunch of questionable calls tonight, they sure loved to throw their yellow flags. That extended Stanford’s drive and wasted a lot of clock. The defense stepped up to hold them to a field goal, but Oregon State had zero timeouts left and got the ball back with less than a minute remaining. You all know what happened next though, on a slightly under-thrown ball Tre’Shaun Harrison not only made an outstanding catch he turned on the after burners for the game-winning touchdown! Truly incredible stuff. Ryan Cooper Jr. picked off Tanner McKee to seal the Oregon State victory, 28-27.

The Pros:

• A BEAVER WIN!!
• Tre’Shaun Harrison and Silas Bolden made some incredible catches to help out their quarterback tonight.
• Out-gained Stanford, won the time of possession battle and ran the ball well (192 rushing yards)
• Nice to see the tight ends catch some passes and be involved in the offense tonight.
• Zero turnovers!

The Cons:

• Penalties penalties penalties... 9-for-90 yards and it felt worse than that.
• Too many three-and-outs (4 for the game).
• What happened to the Beavs vaunted secondary? Tanner McKee and his weapons made it look easy at times tonight.
• This game was very ugly, but the win was so so necessary for Oregon State’s season. I’ll take an ugly win any day. The Beavers can return home with positive vibes and get ready for a tough Washington State squad. Fantastic victory anyway you slice it.