CORVALLIS – Was it pass interference that kept Oregon State’s Jermaine Terry II from catching a pass in the end zone on the game’s final play Saturday night in Reser Stadium?
Surely some of the announced crowd of 35,195 left the stadium thinking a yellow flag was in order. That it, plus a possible two-point conversion, was the difference in the Beavers’ 33-25 loss to UNLV.
Oregon State coach Trent Bray said was unable to watch the play on video before beginning his post-game press conference.
“I wanted to before I came in here, but it’s probably best I didn’t,” Bray said.
While the final seconds could have provided a storybook finish, it’s not what cost Oregon State (4-3) the game. It was the Beavers’ lack of offense for most of the second half.
For all the handwringing and worrying about how UNLV (6-1) might work over Oregon State’s beleaguered run defense, it was the Beavers’ usually reliable offense that was the letdown.
Following a first half where OSU’s offense was efficient and productive, it was anything but that for most of the second half. The Beavers’ first five drives after halftime produced a collective 21 yards. Oregon State, which once led 17-6 during the first half, allowed UNLV to score 27 consecutive points to take control of the game.
There was plenty of blame to go around, and the Beavers weren’t shy about pointing fingers at themselves.
Quarterback Gevani McCoy, who ran for two touchdowns during the first half, was sacked six times during the second half.
“I put the blame on myself. I have to play better and put my team in position to succeed,” McCoy said. “There were a few times when we got behind the sticks because of first and second down.”
Bray wasn’t about to entirely place the offense’s downfall on McCoy.
“We didn’t protect like we normally protect, took sacks, just stuff that shouldn’t happen that we could have control over,” Bray said.
It was as if UNLV brought out an entirely new defense in the second half. OSU had myriad success during the first half, as it scored on the first three drives and accumulated 243 yards offense.
Once the second half began, UNLV’s defense dominated. Oregon State’s defense held its own against the country’s No. 4 scoring offense, but couldn’t overcome turnovers and poor field position. The Rebels turned a 17-16 halftime deficit into a 33-17 lead with 4:53 left in the game.
Bray said he didn’t see noticeable halftime adjustments to cause the stark turnaround in performance.
“They’re good. I mean, their pass rushers just got home. We’ve got to be on our work all the time against a good team. We can’t have those lapses, and that’s what it was,” Bray said.
If there was a positive, it’s that Oregon State showed some fight in defending the run. A week after giving up 353 yards and five touchdowns on the ground to Nevada, the Beavers’ injury-riddled defense was facing for one of the country’s top running games. The Rebels had 188 rushing yards, well under their season average of 260. Quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams did most of the damage, running for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
OSU’s defense, down a handful of starters due to injury, worked overtime during the week to fix the issue. Among solutions was moving offensive lineman Dylan Sikorski and tight end Andy Alfieri to defense, and regaining the services of safety Alton Julian, who has played only four games since tearing an ACL during the 2021 season.
Safety Jack Kane said he saw improved effort from Oregon State’s run defense.
“Sometimes guys think that you can just walk into a football game just because of the name you have on your chest. It was a big shot in the face last week. I think our effort was there. People kept battling,” Kane said.
Bray said the defense “was definitely more sound. We’ve got to continue to get better. But I thought there was improvement in that area, which was good to see.”
The loss aside, Kane said it was gratifying to see Julian return to action. Julian hasn’t played in a year, and before that, missed almost two years recovering from ACL surgery. The 6-foot-2, 208-pound Julian was on the field for several defensive series and made two tackles.
“The man’s like a legend,” Kane said. “It was so awesome to get to play with one of my role models throughout my career. I was super proud of him that he went and did a job.”
Oregon State’s season isn’t quite at a crossroads, but it can be seen through the windshield. The Beavers are 4-3 heading into next Saturday game at California, which has lost four games by a combined nine points. The Beavers must win at least two of their final five games to become bowl eligible. November’s schedule includes Washington State and Boise State, which have a combined record of 11-2.
“There was a lot of growth, I thought, from last week and we played a really good UNLV team. But there’s things we’ve got to learn from, because we could have controlled some of the stuff tonight … we’ve got to take care of the little things,” Bray said.
—Nick Daschel can be reached at 360-607-4824, [email protected] or @nickdaschel.
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