Nice win for Beavers, but injuries a worry

Anthony Gould busts through California’s punt team for a 55-yard touchdown return in Oregon State’s 38-10 victory Saturday night at Reser Stadium (photo courtesy OSU sports communications)

CORVALLIS — There’s little doubt Oregon State’s defense is one of the best in the Pac-12 Conference.

The Beavers put their prowess on that side of the ball on full display in a 38-10 dismantling of California Saturday night at Reser Stadium.

A half-stadium sellout crowd of 28,642 watched the Beaver D hold Cal to nine yards rushing and 160 yards total offense. The Bears are no offensive juggernaut, but quarterback Jake Plummer threw for 406 yards in a 41-35 loss at Southern Cal a week ago, and freshman Jaydn Ott rushed for 274 yards in a 49-31 win over Arizona on Sept. 24.

On Saturday, Plummer completed 22 of 34 passes for only 151 yards and no touchdowns. He was sacked twice and pressured often.

Ott rushed eight times for 20 yards. The Bears ran on only 14 plays, plus the sacks.

“Our D-line played lights out,” said linebacker Kyrie Fisher-Morris, whose second-quarter interception set up a touchdown. “To get a strong push like that is big. We were making plays. Executing. Everybody was on the same page. When everybody’s on the same page, that’s the type of stuff that happens.”

Cal’s only touchdown came on a 33-yard fumble recovery return by Jeremiah Earby.

“The defense was challenging (Cal) all night,” OSU coach Jonathan Smith said afterward. “Those guys came out with energy. The plan was solid — to affect the passer and take away the run game, make them one-dimensional.”

Really, the Bears — now 3-7 in suffering their sixth straight loss — were non-dimensional.

Oregon State is 7-3 overall and 4-3 in Pac-12 play, with the potential for plenty of good things to achieve ahead.

The game’s subplot, though, is not nearly as encouraging for Beaver Nation.

Injuries are part of football, but not at the pace the Beavers racked them up Saturday night at Reser.

The list started when linebacker John McCartan and running back Deshaun Fenwick were late scratches with leg injuries.

Do-everything Jack Colletto went down with a hamstring injury after a leg tackle in the second quarter. Before the period was done, running back Jam Griffin (concussion protocol) and starting offensive linemen

Taliese Fuega and Heneli Bloomfield both left with foot injuries. In the second half, defensive backs Jaydon Grant and Alex Austin departed with leg injuries.

None of the players returned to action. Smith brushed off a query for a count of the injured with, “It’s a long list. I’ve not heard one that (medical personnel) say the season is over for them.”

The regular season? Or is he including the bowl game? There’s a big difference. There’s a very big game in Corvallis in two weeks. Having all or some of those aforementioned available for that would be fortuitous.

The biggest loss, of course, would be Colletto, the favorite to win the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player. On fourth-and-2 on Oregon State’s first offense series, he crossed up the Cal defense loading the box. He faked his patented dive play, then stepped back and launched a deep pass that Anthony Gould snagged for 37 yards to the Bears 10. Four plays later, QB Ben Gulbranson sneaked over from the 1 to make it 7-0.

Oregon State jumped in front 21-0 before Earby scored after grabbing Damien Martinez’s fumble late in the first half. The Beavers went into intermission ahead only 21-7, with Gulbranson totaling 26 yards passing. The quarterback’s numbers would have been better, however, had not Tre’Shaun Harrison let a perfectly thrown ball for what would have been a 35-yard touchdown pass slip through his hands.

The offensive philosophy changed after the break.

“We came out throwing the ball the second half,” Smith said. “Ben was a huge part of that.”

Gulbranson was 10 for 12 for 111 yards and two TDs in the second half.

“We got 17 points in our first three possessions to give us separation,” Smith says.

Harrison did plenty of good things, catching eight passes for 79 yards and a score.

Martinez did, too, rushing for 105 tough yards on 23 carries against a Cal front bunching in to stop him. It was the fourth straight 100-yard performance by the 6-foot, 215-pound freshman, who is now at 729 yards rushing, giving him a reasonable shot at the 1,000-yard mark this season.

I’m still of the belief that Chance Nolan is Oregon State’s best quarterback. Yes, I remember the six interceptions against USC and Utah. He has played plenty of good football, too, and his legs give the offense an extra dimension. Nolan suffered a concussion and, evidently, a neck injury against the Utes and hasn’t played since.

When I asked Smith about Nolan’s potential return, he said, “He has been working at it. He has just not gotten to the point where he is cleared to play quarterback. The concussion/neck piece, moving around … But he is getting closer. It is not a lack of effort. He is wearing out that training room. So we’ll just see.”

At this point, it’s unlikely that Nolan will be back as anything more than a reserve. Gulbranson — still listed at third string on the speed card given media before the game (come on, fellas!) — is not special, but he has  been mostly solid and has avoided turnovers in his five starts. He has made good reads and does a good job sensing when he should take off on a scramble.

Smith let it be known that Gulbranson — a redshirt freshman in eligibility in his third year at OSU — has already graduated. Say it ain’t so! After three more seasons, Ben should have more degrees than an aerospace engineer. Seems like he’s a good leader, too.

“The guys really like him,” Smith said. “He’s steady Eddie. He’s a great one to have in the building.”

Smith felt the Beavers “could make things happen” in special teams, and they did. Gould’s 55-yard punt return for a TD was electrifying. I’m a sucker for false modesty — a dying art — and I loved what the speedy sophomore from West Salem said about it to the media.

“Ten other guys on the field did their job (blocking) on that return,” Gould said. “That makes my job easy. A lot of people don’t see how much work the other guys on the field do to be able to make the play start. On a play like that, I only have to make one guy miss to take it to the house. That’s a credit to the other guys.”

Gould made a terrific diving catch of the throw from Colletto.

“We’d been practicing that all week,” Gould said with a smile. “We had no choice but to connect on it.”

Gould is OSU’s No. 2 receiver with 27 catches for 457 yards, but I’d give him more targets. Gould and 5-8, 150-pound redshirt freshman Silas Bolden give the Beavers two bonafide deep threats. Gould is only 5-9 and 165, but he reminds me some of ex-OSU great Markus Wheaton — smaller but with maybe even better speed.

The other positive special teams sign came with Everett Hayes’ 49-yard field goal in the third quarter. That was good for his confidence, and also for the coach’s. Smith called it “huge.” It was his first successful 3-pointer since Hayes — now recovered from a groin injury that idled him through most of the season — made a pair in the opener against Boise State. Smith also let the junior attempt a 53-yarder in the first half. He had the distance but was wide right.

The Beavers covered for the injured Saturday. Players switched positions in the secondary when injuries occurred. Remember, starting offensive guard Marco Brewer was lost for the season to injury earlier in the season, so the Beavers were missing three O-line starters after Bloomfield and Fuega went down. Redshirt freshmen Tanner Miller (6-1, 280) and Tyler Moreno (6-5, 285) filled in in the second half and made no obvious mistakes.

“We’ve been confident in getting Tanner into a game,” Smith said. “Tyler was close to starting last week the way Taliese was dealing with some things. Those guys have worked really hard. They have earned those reps. The future is bright for that offensive line to continue to be pretty good.”

“Next man up,” is Smith’s mantra. But the next man up is rarely as good as the player he is replacing. Depth is not a particular strength with this Oregon State squad, at least in some areas.

I’m guessing few of the injured will be ready for action when the Beavers visit Arizona State for their road finale next Saturday. And that not all of them will recover in time to face the Ducks in two weeks.

That game will be in Corvallis, where Oregon State is 10-1 the last two seasons. In 2020, the Beavers rallied with 22 fourth-quarter points to claim a 41-38 Civil War victory. The student section is filled for every game, and it is loud and raucous enough to make a difference behind the OSU bench.

“Home turf and the fans make the difference,” Fisher-Morris said. “Beaver Nation is just amazing. Playing in front of our crowd is all the juice we need. It gets us going. (It’s about) protecting our home turf. People don’t come in here and just run us over.”

Defense is the Beavers’ trump card. Coordinator Trent Bray has gotten plenty of credit for the improvement this season, and he deserves every bit of it. Bray’s contingent reminds me of the great defenses of Mark Banker under Mike Riley in the late 2000s.

“We’re into our final quadrant,” Fisher-Morris said. “It’s one game at a time. Dominate, dominate, dominate. We know we can do a lot bigger things this season. We’re not just stopping at bowl-eligible. We’re thinking bigger than that.”

One thing that would be bigger in some eyes: If Oregon loses to Utah and Oregon State beats Arizona State next Saturday, that would put more of a premium on the Civil War. If the Beavers were to win there, the teams would both be 6-3 in Pac-12 play and the Beavers would have the better overall record (9-3 to 8-4). That might mean a better bowl selection.

“We are playing our best football right now,” Fisher-Morris said.

Only a healthy roster will allow for that, though. The Beavers need a little help in the injury department the rest of the way to have a chance to fulfill their remaining goals.

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