Oregon State Football tops SDSU, 26-9

On a sunny and warm day in Corvallis, Oregon State fought and ground their way to a victory over San Diego State. It wasn’t as convincing as many expected (the Beavs were 24.5 point favorites). Despite two DJ Uiagalelei interceptions and decisively losing the time of possession battle, Oregon State still found a way to come away with the comfortable victory.

Here’s how it all went down:

FIRST HALF

SDSU got the ball to start the game and their quarterback Jalen Mayden showed off his dual threat abilities quickly peeling off a 24 yard run to get to midfield. Oregon State buckled down and forced a punt. Then the offense took over and kicked a field goal in large part due to a 43-yard Damien Martinez run. SDSU then answered with a decent drive of their own, but their kicker missed the field goal attempt. The highlight of the first half was when (the very large) Joshua Gray caught a backwards pass and scampered in for an easy touchdown to make it 12-0 Oregon State (the 2-point attempt failed). SDSU kicked a field just before halftime to make it 12-3.

SECOND HALF

A 3-and-out for the Beaver offense to start the third quarter was not what anyone was hoping to see. But the defense did their job Oregon State put together their best drive of the day a 7-play, 84-yard touchdown drive that DJ Uiagalelei capped off with an easy 1-yard QB sneak. Silas Bolden was huge with back-to-back big plays totaling 49 yards. Things stayed knotted at 19-3 for awhile until SDSU capitalized on Uiagalelei’s first interception, with their best drive of the day ending in a Jaylen Armstead TD run. They missed their 2-point attempt (19-9 Beavers). Anthony Gould put the game away on the very next play though taking a short screen pass 75-yards to the house.

Both teams traded interceptions late in the 4th. SDSU also missed another field goal late in the game giving us the final score of 26-to-9.

The Pros:

• Andrew Chatfield Jr. and the rest of the Oregon State pass rush was huge. Recording 6 sacks and generally making life difficult for Jaylen Mayden.
• Damien Martinez rushed for 102 yards and the team averaged 6 yards per carry.
• Despite Jaylen Mayden being very mobile the Beavers mostly shut down SDSU’s rushing attack.
• A perfect non-conference start to the season is huge for Oregon State.
• Anthony Gould and Silas Bolden are both electric playmakers (aka very fast).

The Cons:

• DJ Uiagalelei was not sharp today. The 75-yard TD to Gould helped his overall stat line, but he was just 14-of-30 and missed some key reads/throws.
• Injuries always suck. Makiya Tongue went down and it looked serious. Andrew Chatfield, Damien Martinez and Anthony Gould all were effective, but also may not be 100%.
• Oregon State should not wear the all black uniforms on a warm, sunny day early in the season. The Beavs seemed like they lacked energy for much of the game (I’m not actually blaming the jersey’s for the lack of execution/energy).
• Washington State has been playing really well. Next week will be a HUGE test for this football team.