Beavers let one slip away — oh, what could have been
Damien Martinez busts through the line for a big gainer against Washington. Martinez rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns and went 44 yards with a pair of screen passes but 10th-ranked Oregon State fell 22-20 to the fifth-ranked Huskies Saturday at Reser Stadium (courtesy OSU sports communications)
CORVALLIS — Sometimes performance doesn’t quite live up to opportunity.
That’s what happened Saturday night to Oregon State in its excruciatingly difficult 22-20 loss to Washington at Reser Stadium.
It was the most meaningful game for the Beavers since 2008, when they went into the Civil War contest with a Rose Bowl berth on the line.
No. 5-ranked Washington, unbeaten and trying to remain alive for a College Football Playoff bid, against the 10th-ranked Beavers, needing a win to stay in the running for the Pac-12 Championship Game.
It was the final Pac-12 game (as we know it) at Reser, and a sellout crowd of 38,415 was on hand, along with the ABC-TV crew with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit. Heck, Herbie even brought along his prized golden retriever, Ben, for the occasion. The Huskies had an 18-game win streak on the line. The Beavers had won nine in a row and 16 of 17 at home. For them, it was “Senior Day,” the seniors’ farewell performance at Reser.
The scene was set. Plenty was at stake for both teams. Opportunity beckoned. The Beavers (8-3 overall, 5-3 in Pac-12 play) gave the Huskies (11-0, 8-0) all they could handle, but it wasn’t quite enough as the Huskies clinched a spot in the Pac-12 title game.
“A tough one to swallow,” OSU coach Jonathan Smith said. “We just came up a couple of points short.”
The Beavers entered Saturday favored by 1 1/2 points. It’s not unusual. The only game all season they didn’t enter as a favorite was at Washington State. They didn’t expect to lose.
“This is not the way we all pictured it,” quarterback DJ Uiagalelei told the media afterward. “Every game we play we feel like we’re going to win. To battle (the Huskies) all day and to lose by two is tough.”
Oregon State shut down Washington quarterback Michael Penix — who entered the game leading the nation in passing yardage — and shut out the Huskies’ high-powered offense in the second half after they had jumped out to a 22-10 halftime lead. It rained hard in the first half and didn’t stop until the fourth quarter, after the Beavers had mounted a 16-play, 78-yard touchdown drive to draw within 22-17 late in the third period.
On its next possession, OSU drove from its 33 to first-and-10 at the Washington 15. A long break due to an injury timeout seemed to help the UW defense gather itself and stalled the momentum of the Beavers, who settled for a 35-yard Atticus Sappington field goal to make it 22-20 with 10:40 to play. Those would be the final points of the game on a day meant for umbrellas, slickers and galoshes.
“The weather was a huge factor,” Smith said. “Give (the Huskies) some credit; they handled the weather better than we did in the first half. We regrouped at halftime and got the early touchdown and kept on chipping away.
“We played our brand of football. We wanted to shrink this game. Time of possession was huge in our favor, but they finished with two more points than us.”
Oregon State held the ball for nearly 15 more minutes than Washington — 37:27 to 22:33 — and won the statistical battle, too. The Beavers finished with more first downs (21-14), rushing yardage (148-110), passing yardage (171-162) and total offense (319-272), despite the fact that a high snap on an attempted punt resulted in a 40-yard loss (which figured on the rushing total) and a safety. The Huskies, who came in averaging 41 points a game, ended with nearly twice as many total tackles (78) as the Beavers (44).
The scoreboard, however, said something else. And the safety wound up providing the margin of victory.
The score was tied at 7-7 late in the first quarter when Oregon State lined up to punt at its 40. The snap by Dylan Black soared over the head of punter Josh Green, who chased the ball — along with several UW defenders — all the way across the goal line. Green booted it out of the back of the end zone for the safety.
“Josh did a good job of making it two points instead of seven,” Smith said.
Uiagalelei sounded a different tune than his coach about the elements.
“Both offenses had to play in the rain,” Uiagalelei said. “We need to own the weather. The rain wasn’t a factor. We just have to go out there and execute.”
What DJ meant was that the rain was a factor equally for both teams. The conditions had an adverse effect on the passing game in particular. Penix — a Heisman Trophy candidate who came in averaging 353.3 yards through the air per contest — was 13 for 28 for 162 yards and two touchdowns. It was Penix’s lowest passing yardage total in two years as a Husky, since his transfer from Indiana before the 2022 campaign. At one point, he had nine straight incompletions.
“The elements were a big factor, but we played good on defense,” Smith said. “We tackled well, and that is a potent passing offense. Holding (the Huskies) to 22 points is pretty good.”
Oregon State’s defensive plan against Penix was simple. The Beavers generally rushed four and rarely blitzed, instead relying on seven defenders on the back end to cover the receivers. Penix was never sacked, but the ploy worked.
“We pressured him a few times on third down,” Smith said. “On first and second (downs) we were doing what we do, and counting on the crowd to help us. (The Huskies) made a few plays, but it was a really good plan.”
Washington’s Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk came in with 114 receptions and 17 TDs between them. Polk was blanked on six targets, but Odunze braved the elements to make seven catches for 106 yards and two scores.
Uiagalelei finished 15 for 31 passing for 166 yards and no TDs with two picks, though one came on the final play of the first half and was meaningless. Silas Bolden and Anthony Gould each caught five balls and Damien Martinez snagged a pair of screen passes for 25 and 19 yards, but DJ missed on a lot of passes on medium and deep routes.
“There were times we could have made plays,” he said. “You play a good team like Washington … we didn’t execute enough at the highest level. (The Huskies) made some plays that cost us. Hell of a game we fought, though. I wouldn’t want to play for any other team than Oregon State.”
Martinez gave a terrific performance, also rushing 26 times for 123 yards and two TDs. The sophomore tailback knew he’d be toting the pigskin a ton.
“At the beginning of the week, we knew it was going to be raining today,” Martinez said. “It was one of those games. When you get into the flow, especially the way the O-line was blocking … I really had no choice but to get in a zone.”
Uiagalelei was effective running, too, carrying six times for 53 yards, including one spinning, smashworthy 26-yard gain up the middle on fourth-and-one.
At times, Oregon State won the line of scrimmage. But the Beavers were never able to take control of the game against a UW defense than may have been the best OSU has faced this season. Uiagalelei was never sacked, but had trouble finding open receivers throughout the game.
Smith called Washington’s defense “solid.”
“They have some good players over there,” Smith said. “That team knows how to win. This ain’t a fluke for how many wins they’ve ripped off in a row. I give them a bunch of credit.”
Oregon State got the ball with 7:55 remaining, trailing 22-20 with the chance to go ahead with a field goal. Problem was, Gould fielded a Washington punt with a fair catch at the OSU 5-yard line, which meant the Beavers had to start deep in their territory instead of at the 20 after what might have been a touchback.
They got three first downs to get close to midfield, but on fourth-and-five from their 47, Uiagalelei overthrew tight end Jack Velling. The Huskies got one first down and ran out the clock.
“We loved the idea of finishing and winning the game with that drive,” Smith said. “But we started with bad field position, and you have to keep converting first downs. We didn’t get enough of them.”
The outcome was a letdown to the sellout throng that packed Reser. And to the thousands of students who filled their section behind the OSU bench more than 90 minutes before kickoff.
“The atmosphere was awesome,” Smith said. “These are the type of games we want to create. We want to come out on the other end of it, sure, but we want to play big games in November.”
Effort wasn’t a problem for the Beavers on Saturday. The defense was plenty good enough to win with, as safety Kitan Oladapo so delicately phrased it, “the seniors putting their nuts on the line.”
“Last one at Reser, you want to go out with a ‘W,’ “ he said. “We played a great 30 minutes (in the second half), playing with our hearts. … we shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times, but we can go to sleep knowing we put it all on the line.”
The Beavers have no time to cry over spilt milk. Next up is a Civil War matchup Friday at Autzen Stadium. They’ll be facing one of the nation’s hottest, most potent teams in Oregon, which can cinch a berth in the Pac-12 Championship game with victory.
“We have one more regular-season game and a bowl game,” Uiagalelei said. “We don’t want to make this one loss turn into two. We are going to play a really good opponent, just like we did tonight.”
Added Oladapo: “We can’t turn this into two losses. I’ve got two more games in a Beaver jersey. I don’t want to lose any more games. We have to respond.”
A redshirt junior, Uiagalelei is eligible to return to Oregon State next season. After the game, he was asked about his plans.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” he said. “I’ve been locked in day to day. I have people who handle that for me.
“I want to finish out these last two games in the right way and be the best version of myself for this Oregon State team. After that, I’ll figure out that decision. But right now, no answer to that question, if I’m leaving or coming back.”
Of course DJ has thought about next year. A lot. There is a lot other think about. Under normal circumstances, he might strongly consider returning, since it’s a bounty crop of quarterbacks in this year’s NFL draft pool.
But the uncertainty of Oregon State’s situation in the Pac-12 looms large. So many questions remain about the Beavers’ athletic future. Will they somehow be able to hang onto Power Five status? Will Smith stay as coach? Will players transfer? What will the 2024 schedule look like?
As the seniors were introduced prior to Saturday’s game, Uiagalelei and O-linemen Josh Gray and Taliese Fuaga went out with them. That would seem to say they have played their final home game as a Beaver.
For now, the Ducks and the upcoming Civil War are commanding the Beavers’ collective focus. And in the back of their minds, the realization that they let a big one slip away in a season in which they’ve let three big ones slip away by a total of eight points.
Oh, what could have been.
► ◄
Readers: what are your thoughts? I would love to hear them in the comments below. On the comments entry screen, only your name is required, your email address and website are optional, and may be left blank.
Follow me on X (formerly Twitter).
Like me on Facebook.
Find me on Instagram.
Be sure to sign up for my emails.
