1. Such a tough loss, credit to Hall. This dude Cory Hall has been at Oregon State for less than two years, and a few years ago, he was a high school coach. He was the Beavers' head coach today in replacement of Gary Andersen, and Hall led this team to their best game offensively in a LONG time. Someone tell me the last time Oregon State has put up more than 569 yards in a game. They had 559 yards against Cal last year. I looked back and couldn't find any games in the Gary Andersen era where they reached that number. The last time OSU put up that many yards was probably in the Mannion era. Anyways, Hall did a great job getting the boys ready and this team played well against a decent Pac-12 Colorado team all four quarters. Kudos to Hall.
2. Darell Garretson was a leader. 20-of-37 for 289 yards and an interception isn't a sexy stat line, but Garretson played his best football game as a Beaver since the Minnesota game last year. He led the Beavers to three first downs in their final drive that resulted in a field goal attempt that Choukair nearly converted on from 52 yards out. How about this: Oregon State had EIGHT passing plays that went for more than 15 yards, headlined by a 38 yard wildcat, trick-play to Villamin and a 41 yard play to Bradford. DG was cramping up but never came out and fought the entire game. Big props to the senior leader.
3. O-line played incredible. How about this offensive line?! Garretson was not sacked once. Colorado got some pressure, don't get me wrong, and even hit Garretson - forcing an interception, but the OSU offensive line as a whole played incredible. Oregon State averaged 6.1 yards per rush as well. The Beavers dominated time of possession as well (35:40 - 24:20). Awesome performance by the Oregon State offense, and it couldn't have been done without the offensive line.
4. Loved usage of RB's and TE's. I thought Kevin McGiven did a great job play calling last week, and he was excellent today. The first offensive played had Thomas Tyner and Trevorris Johnson on the field at RB and Noah Togiai and Tuli Wily-Matagi on the field. I love these personnel packages. Take a lot at the screenshot below for the stats on OSU's opening drive touchdown. All four running backs and Garretson carried the ball. I love the two TE and two RB sets. The Beavers had things going offensively, and I have to give a lot of props to McGiven.
5. Wrecking Nall returns. He was a beast! Cory Hall wanted the Beavers to play old school football, and the Beavers pounded the rock early and often. Nall finished with 24 rushes for 172 yards and all three of Oregon State's touchdowns. Nall also had two receptions for 28 yards. Pierce got his fair share of carries as well, toting the rock 10 times for 52 yards. Incredible running by Nall all game long, and that was his best performance since last year's Civil War. Nall has 513 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns this season.
6. Final thoughts.
- Oregon State had 30 first downs. Wow.
- Beavs had some crucial penalties. In total, they had 9 penalties for 79 yards.
- I haven't mentioned the defense yet. Yeah, they didn't play well in the second half. Colorado scored four touchdowns on their last five drives, and the final two TD drives were LONG ones. 18 plays, 88 yards and 9 plays, 82 yards. Putting how bad this defense has been this season in context, I'm not disappointed in them because it was about what I expected. Stopping Colorado's offense is not easy. Phillip Lindsay is an incredible running back.
- How about Oregon State opening the game with five consecutive scoring drives? Yes, the game would've been put away early if they would've scored touchdowns on all five drives, but again - let's look at this in context. This offense was averaging 19 points a game, which was last place in the Pac-12. For them to put up 19 points in the first half and control the clock was shocking and impressive.
- I've been calling for Timmy Hernandez to see more of the field, and he delivered in crucial situations today. Collins (who didn't play today due to an illness), Villamin, and Hodgins are all nice, but Garretson trusts Hernandez on third downs, and he delivered - catching some tough balls over future first round pick Isaiah Oliver. Seven receptions for 65 yards for Hernandez - with three of them coming on third down plays.
2. Darell Garretson was a leader. 20-of-37 for 289 yards and an interception isn't a sexy stat line, but Garretson played his best football game as a Beaver since the Minnesota game last year. He led the Beavers to three first downs in their final drive that resulted in a field goal attempt that Choukair nearly converted on from 52 yards out. How about this: Oregon State had EIGHT passing plays that went for more than 15 yards, headlined by a 38 yard wildcat, trick-play to Villamin and a 41 yard play to Bradford. DG was cramping up but never came out and fought the entire game. Big props to the senior leader.
3. O-line played incredible. How about this offensive line?! Garretson was not sacked once. Colorado got some pressure, don't get me wrong, and even hit Garretson - forcing an interception, but the OSU offensive line as a whole played incredible. Oregon State averaged 6.1 yards per rush as well. The Beavers dominated time of possession as well (35:40 - 24:20). Awesome performance by the Oregon State offense, and it couldn't have been done without the offensive line.
4. Loved usage of RB's and TE's. I thought Kevin McGiven did a great job play calling last week, and he was excellent today. The first offensive played had Thomas Tyner and Trevorris Johnson on the field at RB and Noah Togiai and Tuli Wily-Matagi on the field. I love these personnel packages. Take a lot at the screenshot below for the stats on OSU's opening drive touchdown. All four running backs and Garretson carried the ball. I love the two TE and two RB sets. The Beavers had things going offensively, and I have to give a lot of props to McGiven.
5. Wrecking Nall returns. He was a beast! Cory Hall wanted the Beavers to play old school football, and the Beavers pounded the rock early and often. Nall finished with 24 rushes for 172 yards and all three of Oregon State's touchdowns. Nall also had two receptions for 28 yards. Pierce got his fair share of carries as well, toting the rock 10 times for 52 yards. Incredible running by Nall all game long, and that was his best performance since last year's Civil War. Nall has 513 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns this season.
6. Final thoughts.
- Oregon State had 30 first downs. Wow.
- Beavs had some crucial penalties. In total, they had 9 penalties for 79 yards.
- I haven't mentioned the defense yet. Yeah, they didn't play well in the second half. Colorado scored four touchdowns on their last five drives, and the final two TD drives were LONG ones. 18 plays, 88 yards and 9 plays, 82 yards. Putting how bad this defense has been this season in context, I'm not disappointed in them because it was about what I expected. Stopping Colorado's offense is not easy. Phillip Lindsay is an incredible running back.
- How about Oregon State opening the game with five consecutive scoring drives? Yes, the game would've been put away early if they would've scored touchdowns on all five drives, but again - let's look at this in context. This offense was averaging 19 points a game, which was last place in the Pac-12. For them to put up 19 points in the first half and control the clock was shocking and impressive.
- I've been calling for Timmy Hernandez to see more of the field, and he delivered in crucial situations today. Collins (who didn't play today due to an illness), Villamin, and Hodgins are all nice, but Garretson trusts Hernandez on third downs, and he delivered - catching some tough balls over future first round pick Isaiah Oliver. Seven receptions for 65 yards for Hernandez - with three of them coming on third down plays.
