Recap and Highlights: Oregon State breezes past Washington State, as Cougars skid into bye week
CORVALLIS, Ore. – After starting the season with three straight wins to start the Jake Dickert era, Washington State stumbled into its bye week with losses in three of its last four games.
The previous two could be chalked up to valiant efforts against more talented ranked opponents. Saturday could not.
Oregon State dominated WSU wire-to-wire for a 24-10 win at Reser Stadium in front of an announced attendance of 28,735.
The Beavers (5-2, 3-2 Pac-12) returned the opening kickoff 60 yards and ran through the WSU defense – as they would effectively for much of the game – for a touchdown on their first possession.
Meanwhile the Cougars’ (4-3, 1-3) offense was stagnant, if not nonexistent. WSU totaled one yard in the first quarter. They didn’t score a touchdown until four minutes into the third, where they snapped a near-85-minute touchdown drought that dated back to the previous week.
Cougars quarterback Cameron Ward completed just 46% of his passes (25 of 54 attempts) for 345 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked six times for 48 yards.
Oregon State leaned on its rushing attack, picking up 203 yards on 47 attempts. The Beavers put the game away with back-to-back touchdown drives of 75 yards to end the third quarter.
The Cougars, who were 6 of 17 on third down and 0 of 4 on fourth down conversions, are on bye next week, before hosting No. 20 Utah on Thursday, Oct. 27.
First quarter
15:00 – OSU 0, WSU 0: Washington State won the toss and deferred to the second half. The Cougars will defend the north goal.
10:33 – OSU 7, WSU 0: The Beavers march right down the field and Jack Colletto punches in a 1-yard rushing touchdown.
OSU set up the 8-play 40-yard drive with a 60-yard kickoff return on the opening play.
10:04 – OSU 7, WSU 0: Three straight Cameron Ward incompletions and the Cougars punt the ball right back to the Beavers.
4:35 – OSU 7, WSU 0: Ben Gulbranson’s pass is intercepted by Sam Lockett III at the WSU 23 and returned 36 yards to set the Cougars up in good field position.
The Cougars quickly give it back after a 3-and-out, where Cameron Ward is sacked on third down. Beavers take over on their own 5 after a good punt from Nick Haberer.
0:00 – OSU 7, WSU 0: The Cougars nearly come away with a takeaway at the end of the quarter, as Chau Smith-Wade forces a fumble, but the Beavers recover at the WSU 11 in scoring position.
Second quarter
14:00 – OSU 10, WSU 0: The Beavers touchdown is overturned and settle for a 26-yard field goal by Atticus Sappington. That caps a 12-play 87-yard drive.
Washington State’s offense has one yard.
9:20 – OSU 10, WSU 3: The Cougars finally get the ball moving, but Cameron Ward is dropped for a 12-yard loss on a first down sack and the drive stalls in the redzone.
Dean Janikowski’s 29-yard attempt is good.
7:46 – OSU 10, WSU 3: The Beavers punt to the WSU 16 where Robert Ferrel calls for a fair catch.
4:50 – OSU 10, WSU 3: The Cougars offensive struggles continue and they punt to the OSU 11.
Halftime
If you’re joining after the seemingly never-ending Seattle Mariners 1-0 loss to the Houston Astros, you won’t find much offense here.
After Oregon state scored in the opening five minutes, the Beavers and Cougars combined for two field goals, seven punts and an interception.
OSU takes a 10-3 lead over Washington State at halftime in a defensive battle, where both teams are 3 of 9 on third down conversions and have about 160 yards of total offense apiece.
The Cougars gain just one yard in the first quarter. Cameron Ward is 12 of 27 for 132 yards. OSU freshman QB Ben Gulbranson is 7 of 16 for 93 yards.
WSU will receive the second half kickoff.
Third quarter
13:35 – OSU 10, WSU 3: The Cougars start off the second half right where they left off, with a 3-and-out and a punt. Oregon State starts at its own 26.
8:01 – OSU 17, WSU 3: Anthony Gould hauls in an incredible catch in traffic from Ben Gulbranson for a 17-yard touchdown.
Cougars now in a deep hole, unable to get much offense going. They haven’t scored a touchdown since 11:48 remaining in the second quarter against USC.
4:15 – OSU 17, WSU 10: The Cougars finally get in the endzone on a 9-yard swing pass from Cameron Ward to Jaylen Jenkins. That score snaps a near-85 minute touchdown drought for the WSU offense.
Fourth quarter
14:57 – OSU 24, WSU 10: Jack Colletto powers ahead for his second goal line rushing touchdown of the game. The Beavers are unfazed by the Cougars touchdown and answer with a 8-play 75-yard drive to regain a two-touchdown lead.
Oregon State has 183 rushing yards in the game.
13:14 – OSU 24, WSU 10: Cameron Ward’s pass on 4th-and-long is intercepted by Ryan Cooper Jr. at the OSU 26.
Cougars will need to stop the Beavers’ rushing attack, which has churned out back-to-back lengthy drives.
11:42 – OSU 24, WSU 10: The Cougars force a punt and get the ball back on their 29.
9:19 – OSU 24, WSU 10: Cameron Ward is dropped for a 17-yard loss on third down and the Cougars are forced to punt for the 6th time.
The Cougars defense may be able to make one more stop to stay in this one, but it’s looking like the Beavers are going to snap an eight game losing streak to WSU.
6:06 – OSU 24, WSU 10: Cameron Ward’s fourth down attempt falls incomplete and the Beavers are going to go on to beat the Cougars, barring a miraculous comeback. WSU will drop its third game out of the last four.
1:08 – OSU 24, WSU 10: The Cougars turn the ball over on down and the Beavers will kneel out the clock.
Pregame
The Pacific Northwest’s two prominent state schools appear to be evenly matched, at least on paper.
Oregon State host Washington State on Saturday at 6 p.m. on Pac-12 Network, as the two teams tussle their way back to a .500 record in conference play.
The Beavers (4-2, 1-2) are coming off a 28-27 comeback win at Stanford, while the Cougars (4-2, 1-2) lost handily at No. 6 USC 30-14, unable to muster any points in the second half.
A decision on OSU’s starting quarterback was reveled Friday, with redshirt freshman Ben Gulbranson getting the nod in place of Chance Nolan, who is dealing with a neck injury.
That may not be a bad thing for OSU.
Gulbranson led a 14-point comeback over Stanford last week, including a 56-yard go-ahead touchdown to Tre’Shaun Harrison with 13 seconds remaining. Gulbranson has completed 66% of his passes for 475 yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions. Nolan completed 59.5% of his passes for 939 yards and seven touchdowns against eight interceptions.
The Cougars offense will also be without key offensive starters. Running back Nakia Watson and wide receiver Renard Bell are both out after suffering injuries against the Trojans.
Freshman running back Jaylen Jenkins will take Watson’s place, after having a breakout game against USC.
Players to watch
Jenkins has been the Cougars most-efficient runner, churning 6.9 yards a carry against Watson’s 5.1. He has 37 attempts for 257 yards and one touchdown on the season and if he’s able to continue that pace with a larger workload it will give the Cougars a boost.
Oregon State wide receiver Tre’Shaun Harrison is 6th in the conference in receiving yards and tied for 5th in receiving touchdowns. He’ll need to create space for an inexperienced Beavers QB to give their offense a shot against the Cougars.
Series history
The all-time series between the Cougars and Beavers is close, but not in recent years.
WSU holds a 56-47-3 series lead over OSU, backed by eight consecutive wins. The Beavers last beat the Cougars in Pullman on Oct. 12, 2013. The Cougars won a back-and-forth contest last year 31-24, which featured three lead changes and three ties. Deon McIntosh scored a go-ahead on a 1-yard pass from Jayden de Laura with 5:25 remaining and the Beavers turned the ball over on downs the following possession.
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