10 Takeaways From Oregon State's Las Vegas Bowl Win Over Florida

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With the No. 14 Oregon State football team (10-3, 6-3 Pac-12) defeating Florida 30-3 in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday afternoon, BeaversEdge gives 10 important takeaways from the win!

MORE: WATCH: Oregon State Breaks Down Win Over Florida | Highlights + Social Media Reaction | BeaversEdge Reaction | RECAP - Beavers Cruise Past Florida

Following the 30-3 win over Florida, the 2022 Oregon State football is in rarified air...

Joining the 2000 team (11-1) and 2006 squad (10-4), the '22 Beavers became just the third team in school history to cross the 10-win plateau...

For those familiar with the program when Jonathan Smith took over in Dec. of 2017, this journey has been something out of a storybook...

A case could be made that OSU was one of the hardest power-five jobs in the country after the conclusion of the '17 campaign... The Beavers were in complete disarray after the Gary Andersen debacle and getting to a bowl game, let alone winning one and getting to 10 wins seemed like a pipe dream.

Case in point with Jack Colletto in the postgame press conference who said a lot of people would have laughed if you had said the Beavers would be where they are right now following the Las Vegas Bowl win.

Smith has been a part of two of those three teams, one as a coach and one as a player and there's no doubt it is far more than just a coincidence.

The Beavers invested in Smith five years ago and gave him all the tools and resources to build his program brick by brick. It wasn't always peaches and cream as the Beavers narrowly missed out on a bowl in year two, fell short in the shortened 2020 campaign, and suffered through a demoralizing bowl loss to Utah State in 2021 after returning to the postseason for the first time since 2013.

All those efforts of the last five years were put on full display at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday as the Beavers pounded the Gators and put themselves into the upper echelon of Oregon State football history...

Oregon State and defensive coordinator Trent Bray just came to new terms after the conclusion of the regular season, but Bray might have a case for an even newer and better contract after his defense made Florida's offense look like a JV squad.

OSU's defense was dominant all afternoon long, holding the Gators to a paltry three points and 219 yards of total offense. The total offense yardage total for Florida doesn't even tell the whole story as the Gators tallied 121 yards of that 219 in the fourth quarter when the game was well in hand.

The defense swarmed and hat multiple hats to UF running backs Trevor Ettiene and Montrell Johnson, holding the pair to just 28 rushing yards on 19 carries. The duo had been quite effective this season including posting 100 combined yards in each of their last four games, but OSU's run defense (2nd in P12 & 20th nationally) never let them get going.

Additionally, the Beavers held Ettiene and Johnson to 1.8 and 1.3 yards per carry respectively, which is far less than their season marks of 6.4 ypc and 5.7 ypc, respectively.

Florida didn't fare any better through the air as the loss of quarterback Anthony Richardson proved to be massive and evident early in the matchup. Bray and Co. disguised blitzes, brought pressure from different directions, and harassed Jack Miller II into a 13-of-22 for 180 yards mark...

The Gators were also stifled on third and fourth down attempts as the Beavers combined to hold them just 5-of-16 on the afternoon...

Oregon State and Smith were wise to get Bray a new contract after the regular season as he's a rising star in the industry...

Bray's complete turnaround of the much-maligned unit under former DC Tim Tibesar has been nothing short of phenomenal and there's no question the Beavers are in a good place on that side of the ball moving forward thanks to Bray...

For Oregon State to lose Damien Martinez due to injury (stinger) early in the first half and still run away with this one shows just how cohesive of a group this is...

Martinez had a streak of six-straight 100-yard plus performances entering the matchup against the Gators and had become the focal point of the Beaver ground game.

While Martinez, unfortunately, wasn't able to return to the matchup and reach the 1,000-yard plateau (entered with 970) on the year, OSU's running back depth showed up in a big way, earning some tough physical yards against a Florida defense loading the box.

Deshaun Fenwick and took the lion's share of the carries, taking 21 for 107 yards to pace the Oregon State ground game. Fenwick's 6-foot-2, 226-pound frame was ideal for the physical nature of Florida's defensive line and linebackers and the Bradenton FL native made sure the Gators felt every one of his 21 totes.

Jam Griffin and Tyjon Lindsey also contributed to the ground game, each tallying a rushing score...

Martinez had emerged as the engine of the ground game for nearly the last two months, but we saw firsthand how important key depth is as the Beavers were able to overcome the loss of Martinez and still win going away.

It wasn't a dominant showing on the ground by any stretch as the Beavers tallied 164 yards on the ground (about 30 short of their season average), but for OSU to be able to lose one of the top freshmen in the country and still get close to their averages speaks volumes.

Between Martinez, Fenwick, Griffin, and Isaiah Newell, the Beavers have a ton of depth and talent at the position and for the moment, it appears that all four are set to be back next season.

With four out of five offensive linemen and likely most of the backfield set to return next season, the Beavers are already primed to be a solid offensive unit right out the gate next season....

When in Vegas right?

The Beavers rolled the dice several times against the Florida Gators, hitting several gadget plays to further separate themselves in the blowout victory.

Typically, you'll see teams pull out all the stops in bowl games as far as creativity in the playcalling, but the way that the Beavers chose their spots in this one was impressive and effective.

The Colletto fake punt on the opening drive of the second half is case and point as the Beavers were up just 10-0 when that play occurred. If the Beavers punt or don't convert, it's still a two-score game for the Gators. Their offense wasn't moving the ball great, but that fake really seemed to drain the life from UF and that's exactly what you're hoping for calling that play.

The Beavers were also able to set up their blocked punt of Florida (Colletto) by bringing a different type of rush each time the Gators punted. By mixing looks they were able to ultimately create the advantage that allowed Colletto to make a play and officially put the game out of reach.

Defensively, you've also got to credit Bray and Co. for consistently keeping Florida on their heels by mixing in exotic blitzes and varying pressures. The defensive playcalling was on-point just as much as the offense as the Beavers kept the Gators out of sorts and lost offensively...