10 Takeaways From Oregon State's Win Over Arizona State

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With the Oregon State football team (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12) defeating Arizona State 31-7 on Saturday afternoon, BeaversEdge gives 10 important takeaways from the win!

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Entering the matchup against Arizona State, the No. 23 Oregon State football team was in need of making a big-time statement away from Reser Stadium to close out the regular season road slate.

The Beavers' brought a megaphone to Sun Devil Stadium to make that statement on Saturday afternoon, trouncing Arizona State 31-7 to improve to 8-3 (5-3 Pac-12) on the season.

From the opening kickoff, Oregon State looked poised and ready for this matchup as they scored a touchdown on their opening drive after the defense forced an Arizona State three and out.

It was a bit close for comfort at the halftime break as the Beavers led just 14-7, but two impactful back-to-back touchdown drives to open the third quarter broke the game wide open as the Beavers held a 28-7 advantage entering the fourth.

Outside of a few offensive lapses, a couple of missed field goals, and one Arizona State scoring drive where they moved the ball extremely well for a touchdown, this was a near-perfect road win amidst all the circumstances.

Down a handful of starters and hearing all the noise that they'd be overlooking ASU due to their lowly record and the matchup with Oregon next week, the Beavers surgically dismantled the Sun Devils and had their most dominant road win of the season.

Head coach Jonathan Smith said after the Cal game that it was the Beavers' best performance of the season in all three phases (offense, defense, and special teams) and he echoed that notion again postgame vs Arizona State, saying this win over the Sun Devils on the road was solid in all three phases.

In other words, the Beavers are playing their best football of the season right now and that's a great sign heading into the most important game of the season and a looming bowl matchup.

It's been an up-and-down journey for quarterback Ben Gulbranson after being thrust into the starting quarterback spot in the wake of Chance Nolan's injury, but he had his best performance of the season in Oregon State's blowout victory over Arizona State.

While Gulbranson didn't tally his season-high passing total or even his highest QBR of the season, it was abundantly clear that he was in full command of the offense and looked the most comfortable he has all season long.

Perhaps even more importantly, he played this well away from Reser Stadium. The last time Gulbranson took the field on the road against the Washington Huskies he had a largely forgettable performance as he tallied just 87 passing yards and didn't look in sync or comfortable.

Flash forward two weeks and it's a completely different story on the road as the Beavers emphasized him throwing the ball early and often (5-for-5 for 51 yards) on the opening touchdown drive and throughout the matchup.

That's not to say the Beavers didn't lead with the ground game, they certainly did, but this really seemed like a contest where Gulbranson making plays was a key aspect of the gameplan.

He finished with a line of 15-of-21 for 188 yards and one touchdown while posting a quarterback rating of 162.3...

More impressive was Gulbranson's mobility that he brought to the equation as he was the Beavers' second-leading rusher behind Martinez with 36 rushing yards and a touchdown (QB draw) on nine attempts.

The 36 yards on the ground were Gulbranson's most by a wide margin this season and backs up what we saw during fall camp when he was really showcasing mobility on these exact types of plays.

It's also the second straight week where Gulbranson has a rushing score, further indicating the confidence he has in himself and that the coaching staff has in him as he gets more and more comfortable executing the offense.

It hasn't always been pretty for Gulbranson, but he's playing his best football of the season at exactly the right time and has OSU's offense executing at a much higher level than we saw several weeks ago...

When your name gets mentioned in the same category as Steven Jackson in any context, you're doing special things in the backfield in Corvallis...

True freshman running back Damien Martinez ran for over 100 yards (138) for the fifth straight contest, joining Steven Jackson as the most recent Beaver to do so as Jackson had six-straight 100-yard performances in 2003.

That includes OSU running back legends such as Yvenson Bernard, Jaquizz Rodgers, Jermar Jefferson, and others... perhaps it's just the way the schedule shook out or the Beavers really establishing the run with Gulbranson at quarterback, but regardless what Martinez is doing is flat out special.

He took 22 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns against ASU and was seemingly able to get whatever he wanted on the ground all afternoon long. Kudos to the offensive line as they were able to open up gaping holes in the Sun Devil defensive line that allowed Martinez to be the patient, attacking, downhill runner we've seen blossom in the latter half of the season.

Even more impressive is that Martinez at such a young age showed his ability to be the bell-cow running back. With Jam Griffin exiting the contest due to injury and Deshaun Fenwick not seeing action, Martinez saw nearly all the carries minus a few in the fourth quarter to Isaiah Newell and Kanoa Shannon and didn't miss a beat.

The Beavers have a ton of talent at the running back position, but Martinez's star is shining brightest right now and he's well on his way to being the next great star running back in Corvallis...

The win over California came at a significant cost a week ago as the Beavers had a bevy of players go down with injuries that didn't see action against the Sun Devils.

Defensive backs Jaydon Grant & Alex Austin, Mr. Everything Jack Colletto, running back Deshaun Fenwick, & wide receiver Anthony Gould didn't play in this matchup and that opened the door for a handful of backups to shine with their number being called.

Deploying a next-man-up approach and mentality, the Beavers didn't miss much of a beat offensively or defensively as the backups came in and filled starting roles with poise.

Perhaps most notable was defensive back Skyler Thomas who in place of Grant led the defense in tackles with eight and also tallied a pass breakup. We also saw Jaden Robinson step up in the secondary, Silas Bolden and Tyjon Lindsey in the receiving corps, and Martinez/Gulbranson in place of Colletto to really ensure that there wasn't much of a drop off with some of the main starters out.

Depth and leadership are great measures of how good a team really is and for the Beavers to go into Tempe (one win in the last 53 years) and walk away with a comfortable, comfortable win amidst all these injuries says a lot about the talent Smith and Co. have built up on this roster...

Oregon State's defense has been arguably the story of the season as Trent Bray has the defensive unit playing at its highest level in at least a decade...

That strong play continued against the Sun Devils as the Beavers harassed ASU quarterback Trenton Bourguet and the offense into a tough afternoon that saw them put up just seven points.

Running back X Valladay was able to get his numbers as he tallied 109 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, but the Beavers made Bourguet and the passing game work for everything.

OSU managed just one sack on the afternoon, but tallied five quarterback hits and really made Bourguet make decisions quicker than he wanted. He finished with a line of 20-of-32 for 122 yards, but couldn't execute against the OSU defense on third and fourth downs with much consistency.

All told the Beavers allowed 276 yards of total offense to the Sun Devils in this one and seemingly never felt out of sync with the exception of the lone ASU scoring drive. The Beavers don't tally a ton of sacks or tackles for loss, but the front seven makes you earn every yard, and the secondary plays extremely physical and tough in the back end...

The defense playing at a high level has been a staple of OSU's defensive identity all season long and it is a great sign to see them have a dominant performance away from Reser...