‘Bottom line, whatever it takes to win the damn game,’ and the Beavers did

Oregon State’s Takari Hickle (44) celebrates of one the Beavers’ six sacks in a defense-driven 10-7 win over Washington State Saturday at Reser Stadium (courtesy Karl Maasdam/OSU sports communications)

Updated 11/3/2025 1:07 AM

CORVALLIS — You can call it the Pac-12, or the Pac-2, or whatever you want in this mangled exercise that is known as college football in America these days.

But you have to call Oregon State a winner for the second game in a row.

The Beavers’ 10-7 victory over Washington State means that in this season in which there are only two teams in the conference, they clinched at least a tie for the title.

“It’s fun to win a rival game,” said OSU interim coach Robb Akey, whose team will face the Cougars again in Pullman in the season finale on Nov. 29. “It’s fun to win a conference game. It’s fun to be in first place in the conference.”

That’s something to chuckle about more than to savor. But a second straight win after starting the season with seven straight losses — and this one against a much more high-caliber opponent — made it a meaningful occasion Saturday night at Reser Stadium.

It was anything but a masterpiece at the offensive end. The Beavers managed only 185 yards total offense, including 60 passing. They lost a whopping 53 yards on the ground, less than half of that via sacks, and were 1 for 13 on third-down conversions. A.J. Windsor was called upon to punt 10 times.

“The beautiful thing about that is, you can have (185) yards or (585) yards, but you get no points for that,” said Akey, now 2-0 in running OSU’s show. “We had more points than they did, and that’s what matters.”

Oregon State’s defense rose to the occasion, Washington State missed a chip-shot field goal that could have forced overtime, and the Beavers wound up celebrating on a night that easily could have resulted in just another disappointment.

Credit goes mostly to their defense.

“It was outstanding, seeing them bend-but-don’t-break time after time,” said running back Anthony Hankerson, OSU’s lone offensive star in a game in with both teams’ offenses seemed to be churning in mud.

Washington State came in with a 4-4 record and bowl aspirations. The previous four games featured victories over Colorado State and Toledo and narrow losses to Ole Miss and Virginia, both top-15 teams. The Cougars came to Corvallis as 3 1/2-point favorites and surely fully expected to push their record above .500.

But Oregon State’s defense, which shut out Lafayette in the second half of a 45-13 romp, was even better against the Cougars. The visitors had only 271 yards total offense and, though invading OSU territory six times, crossed the goal line only once.

The Beavers, who had eight sacks in the first eight games, collected six Saturday against Wazzu quarterback Zevi Eckhaus. They had a pair of interceptions — both by junior safety Jaheim Patterson — and forced Washington State into five straight three-and-outs in the second half.

“We did a better job of pressuring the quarterback, and that was with the four-man rush at times,” Akey said. “We haven’t had enough sacks and hits on the quarterback; we did a better job doing that tonight. That showed growth, and it was necessary.

“I was proud of the defense, and I was proud of the team as a whole. There may not have been flashy numbers, and the scoreboard wasn’t lit up, but that’s a good football game if the scoreboard isn’t real high if the defenses are playing good. Bottom line, whatever it takes to win the damn game, that’s what matters the most. Our guys found a way to do that. All three phases of the game contributed to the deal.”

Akey benched quarterback Maalik Murphy and gave Gabarri Johnson the first start of his college career, but his performance was a dud. The 5-11, 185-pound sophomore completed 10 of 15 passes for a ridiculously low 33 yards before exiting late in the third quarter with an apparent foot injury. With Washington State leading 7-3, on came Murphy, which should have happened earlier with the Beavers passing attack stymied and Murphy equipped with the better arm.

The Dean of Portland Sports is now on BlueSky.

The 6-5, 235-pound Murphy threw only three passes, but his 25-yard sideline aerial to Taz Reddicks moved Oregon State to the Wazzu 39. On the next play, Hankerson broke a 37-yard run to the Cougar 2. Two plays later, he busted into the end zone for a TD and a 10-7 lead that the Beavers wouldn’t relinquish.

Washington State made a late bid to make it a miserable day for the partisans in the announced crowd of 32,905, which only Pinocchio could have proffered. A 47-yard punt return by Tony Freeman set up the Cougars at the OSU 43 with 3:59 to play. Running plays of 12 and 13 yards put the visitors at the Beavers’ 18 with 2:31 left. The goal at that time for the OSU defense? Hold Wazzu to a field goal and force overtime.

That is what appeared to be happening when Jack Stevens lined up for a 32-yard 3-point try with 1:15 to go. When he sent the kick wide right, there was bedlam on the Beaver sidelines.

Akey’s reaction to the botched boot?

Rob Akey has helped show the Beavers their way to a pair of victories, including a 10-7 decision over Washington State Saturday at Reser Stadium

“It was awesome,” he said with a smile. “I can’t say any more than that. It was, ‘All right, we don’t have to worry about overtime now. Make sure we get out of here with the ball in our hands.’ ”

The Beavers still needed one first down to clinch the triumph. When Hankerson — who finished with 132 yards on 25 totes — rambled for 10 yards to get it, it was time to party in the Valley Football Center.

“It was electric in the locker room afterward,” said Hankerson, a 5-8, 205-pound senior who has 805 yards rushing and could be on his way to the second of back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. “So proud of the guys, how they responded to adversity. We did a very good job of that tonight.”

Especially at the defensive end. Eckhaus got loose for a couple of long scrambles but passed for only 146 yards and was mostly contained. The Cougars were 2 for 12 on third down and had to punt seven times. They also hurt themselves with 10 penalties for 90 yards.

“We had a really good game defensively,” said junior defensive end Takari Hickle, who had four tackles and half a sack. “It wasn’t a surprise to me, because I know what we’re capable of, but it was nice to be able to show people what we are truly capable of when we put a whole game together.

“Once it happened (in the second half) against Lafayette, the feeling throughout the defense was, ‘We definitely can do this; this is who we are; this is who we are meant to be.’ We just have to keep riding that wave.”

Added Akey: “The (defense has) started to play a little more free. That contributed to our pass rush. Guys were going after it pretty good and finding their way to get there. They were going to make plays rather than to give up a play. When you had the weight on the shoulders for seven weeks, human nature runs into it. As success takes place, it helps.”

Patterson got his first two interceptions of the season, returning the second one 36 yards. The 6-4, 210-pound junior said he got motivation from a pre-game talk with secondary coach A.J. Cooper.

“Coop told me the last couple of games I wasn’t playing up to the standards,” Patterson said. “Tonight, I came out and played up to the standards.”

“I was really fired up about that,” Akey said. “I call (Patterson) ‘Dr. J.’ I was happy that he knew who Dr. J was the first time I said that to him several weeks ago.”

Johnson wasn’t pulled for performance but for injury, Akey said.

“Gabarri wasn’t healthy,” the coach said. “Maalik came in and did a hell of a job. … We’ll find out what status Gabarri will be moving forward, but I was proud of both of those guys tonight.”

Asked to describe their differences, the 6-4 Akey smiled.

“One of ‘em I get to look up to; the other I can rest my arm on his shoulder,” the OSU coach said. “They both have traits that are unique to each other, they fit within what we do as an offense and they make things happen in a different fashion.”

Akey, a long-time assistant coach at Washington State, was asked if the win was more meaningful because of his history in The Palouse.

“It made it a lot of fun,” he said. “I would be lying to you if I told you any different. I had eight fun years there. We had a lot of friends there. There are a lot of people I saw before the game who are real close friends to me.

“I have gone against them three times since I left Washington State. The first one didn’t go so well; the last two have. We have to make this next one go the same way, too.”

Hickle was asked about Akey’s role in the Beavers’ winning two in a row.

“Him being the head coach was a great decision to make,” he said. “We all trust him. He’s a good guy. He’s a great leader. I do like the choice that was made for him to step into that role.”

Patterson was asked if there is a special rivalry between the teams left in the Pac-12.

“They say it’s a rivalry, but a rivalry is if you’re winning and losing,” he said. “But we’ve been winning every time.”

History lesson: Oregon State has won the last two and three of the last four meetings, but before that, Washington State won eight in a row. So bulletin board material goes up for the Cougars.

Next up, though, is the Beavers’ home finale next Saturday against Sam Houston State, a Conference USA team that is 0-8 after a 55-14 spanking by Louisiana Tech on Friday.

The Beavers shouldn’t take anything for granted. They were 0-7 not long ago. It’s just another chance to take care of the task at hand on what will be Senior Night.

“Like we say: Chop wood, carry water,” Hankerson said. “That’s the life of a Beav.”

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