Oregon State blasts Cal, 38-10

Behind a dominate defensive performance Oregon State improved to 7-3 on the season. Damien Martinez topped 100 rushing yards for the 4th straight game. The only downside were injuries to Jack Colletto, Jam Griffin, Taliese Fuaga & Heneli Bloomfield.

Here’s how it all went down:

FIRST HALF

The Beavers started off strong forcing a punt thanks to a crucial Alex Austin sack on 3rd down. On Oregon State’s first offensive possession Jack Colletto completed a 37 yard PASS to Anthony Gould keeping the drive alive. On another gutsy 4th down play at the 1-yard line Ben Gulbranson punched in the first touchdown of the game. On the next possession Kyrei Fisher-Morris intercepted Jack Plummer on first down eventually leading to another Oregon State score. And shortly after that Anthony Gould returned a punt to the house giving the Beavs a quick 21-0 lead. As the first half neared a close Tre’Shaun Harrison dropped a touchdown and then Everett Hayes missed a long field goal. On their next possession Ben Gulbranson and Damien Martinez fumbled the handoff leading to a Cal scoop-and-score to get them on the board, 21-7. Thankfully Cal’s offense never got into a rhythm though.

SECOND HALF

Things were going the Beavers way in the 2nd half. They started the 3rd with a 49-yard Everett Hayes FG. Then Cal missed a FG. Leading to an efficient 7-play, 70-yard touchdown drive despite two young offensive lineman on the field. Cal added a field goal to cut the game back to a three-score contest; but Oregon State added another touchdown in the 4th quarter to put the game away for good. In the end Oregon State’s defense and offensive line dominated in a way that the outcome never seemed in doubt. The Beavers will be on the road next week at ASU and then they’ll return home for a big game against Oregon.

The Pros:

• Winning is the best. Fantastic bounce-back effort after losing to Washington. UW beat Oregon tonight which was cool.
• Damien Martinez topping 100 yards for the 4th straight game! Meanwhile the Beavers defense kept Jaydn Ott in check.
• Anthony Gould’s punt return touchdown was awesome. Also it was great to see Everett Hayes nail a 49-yard field goal.
• Holding Cal’s offense to 160 yards and one field goal is super impressive.

The Cons:

• Injuries suck. Jack Colletto’s hamstring seems somewhat serious. Bloomfield and Fuaga going down is a big blow to an offensive line group that is already missing Marco Brewer for the rest of the season. Not sure about Jam Griffin, but he stayed down for a long time and seemed to be in considerable pain after that low tackle.
• Cal’s lone touchdown came off a scoop-and-score. The Beavs are obviously at their best when they eliminate turnovers, but it’s even more important when you have a run heavy offense.
• Would have liked to see Tristian Gebbia get the opportunity to throw a few more passes. But it was still cool to see him get some game action.