Both teams were slow to get going in this one with neither scoring any points in the 1st Qtr. San Jose State had the ball to start but were held to a three-and-out. The Beavers took over and proceeded to fumble four plays into their first possession. The Spartans turned the ball back over on downs just five plays later with the Beavers punting six plays into their second possession and the Spartans again in seven plays. The progression finally stopped as points got up on the board by both teams in the 2nd Qtr with Oregon State striking first on an Everett Hayes 45 yard field goal to go up 3-0 with less than two minutes gone in the period. San Jose State would follow right up just four plays later with a drive highlighted by a 40 yard pass from Spartan QB Walker Eget to Senior WR Justin Lockhart followed by a 36 yard TD pass from Eget to WR Nick Nash to go up 7-3. After a punt by the Beavers on their next possession, San Jose State would add three more on a Kyler Halvorsen 32 yard field goal to make it 10-3 with just over six minutes left in the half. Oregon State would tie it up at 10 a piece at the end of their next possession, a 73 yard, 12 play, drive ending with a 10 yard TD run by their Junior RB Anthony Hankerson with less than a minute left in the half. Aided by pass interference as well as a roughing the passer penalties, the Spartans were able to get down the field in a hurry and had a chance to go ahead before the break but had their 26 yard field goal blocked.
The third quarter was about as slow as the first regarding the scoreboard with the exception of an Oregon State Everett Hayes 34 yard field goal to go up 13-10. San Jose State would get intercepted on their next possession but the Beavers couldn’t capitalize and ended up turning the ball back over on downs. Five plays later they got the ball back but threw up a pick six just three plays into their drive to fall behind the Spartans 17-13. Unable to score on their next drive the Beavers had to turn the ball back over on downs at mid-field. 46 yards and six plays later Floyd Chalk IV would run it in from 11 yards out for the Spartans to extend their lead to 24-13. With Oregon State being intercepted at the end of their next drive, 1st and goal deep in the Spartan red zone with under two minutes left in the game, that’s where the score would stay.
Oregon State’s Junior QB Ben Gulbranson would connect on 24-of-37 for 292 yards, no TD’s and 2 interceptions. Junior RB Anthony Hankerson would lead the way on the ground for the Beavers rushing 30 times for 121 of their 182 yards as well as their only offensive TD. Junior WR’s Trent Walker and Jeremiah Noga collectively along with Senior TE Jermaine Terry II collected 17 of Gulbranson’s passes for a combined 252 of the total 292 yards in the air. The Spartans Junior QB Walker Eget connected on 18-of-35 for 395 yards, 1 TD to Senior WR Nick Nash, and 1 interception. San Jose State didn’t muster much of a ground game but of what they did have it was Junior RB Floyd Chalk IV who led the way with 11 carries for 45 of their 68 yard total. The Spartan receivers had a field day with Senior WR’s Nick Nash and Justin Lockhart combining for 11 catches and 289 yards with Junior TE Jacob Stewart and Sophomore WR TreyShun Hurry adding another 4 receptions for 74 yards.
With an overall record of 4-5, the Beavers still need two wins to become bowl eligible. They’ll travel to Colorado Springs this week to take on Air Force. But after that they’ve got No. 20 Washington State and No. 12 Boise State on the menu. It’s going to be difficult. They really needed to win this one. Regarding Oregon State’s inability to score points Angie Machado wrote this for BeaverBlitz: “Over the past 10 quarters, with two different starting QBs, the Beavers have only managed to score THREE touchdowns. They are averaging 2.8 points a quarter since halftime of the UNLV game. The offense has quickly become predictable and boring. While the run game was moderately respectable today, the lack of imagination and execution, especially in the red zone, has been glaring. SJSU is not a top tier defense, but it doesn’t seem to matter at this point. Between untimely penalties, questionable play calling, and a non-existent deep threat, this offense and their ability to put points on the board is regressing…badly.” Boy, they have fallen far and fast since Jonathan Smith took that job at Michigan State.