With Oregon State’s starting QB Chance Nolan still out with a neck strain sustained in the 1st Qtr of their loss at Utah and currently in concussion protocol, Freshman QB Ben Gulbranson started his second game in a row for the Beavers who relied on their defense and running game to beat the Cougars 24-10 at home in Corvallis where they remain unbeaten. The Beavers never trailed in this one up 7-0 at the end of the 1st Qtr, 10-3 at the break, 17-10 after three and then adding another score at the beginning of the 4th Qtr on a short Jack Colletto TD run—his second of the game.
Gulbranson connected on 12-of-24 for 141 yards, 1 TD, and 1 interception while the Beavers rushed 47 times for 203 yards and 2 TD’s in a committee like approach with Freshman RB Damien Martinez carrying most of the load at 16 carries for more than half of those yards and Colletto providing the points on the scoreboard. Sophomore WR Anthony Gould was the recipient of Gulbranson’s sole TD in the air. Sophomore QB Cameron Ward was 25-of-54 for 345 yards, 1 TD, and 1 interception while accounting for all but 23 of the Cougars total yards of offense as their running game was pretty much non-existant averaging basically 1 yard per carry. Oregon State’s defense recorded 62 tackles, six sacks, and 9 tackles for loss and with a ten minute edge in time-of-possession the Cougars didn’t have enough opportunity to close in and take the lead.
As the AP noted in their Take Away for ESPN; “The [Washington State] Cougars didn’t generate enough offense to avoid the loss. Ward continues to flash big-play capability, but the Cougars couldn’t generate a consistent running game and were too one-dimensional. [Regarding Oregon State] The Beavers were understandably conservative in their offensive approach and leaned on the running game. Martinez’s 50-yard run late in the third quarter was one of the key plays in the game. Oregon State’s three-back rotation of Martinez, Deshaun Fenwick and Jam Griffin continues to produce.” One has to think that the Cougar’s running game would have faired far better had their leading rusher Nakia Watson, out with an injury sustained in their loss to USC, been able to play.
The Cougars will play host to Utah at Pullman in a couple of weeks while Oregon State stays home as well to take on Colorado.