PROMO: Join BeaversEdge.com and get 30 DAYS FREE!

With the Oregon State football team earning its first win of the season against Cal in a 31-27 thriller in Corvallis, BeaversEdge.com Managing Editor Brenden Slaughter gives five important takeaways from the win.

MORE: Jonathan Smith + Players Break Down Cal Win | Highlights + Social Media Reaction

Heading into the 2020 season, the hope was that Oregon State junior running back Jermar Jefferson would regain his Freshman All-American form after having an up and down injury-riddled 2019 season.

Three games into the season and there's no doubt that Jefferson is playing like a man amongst boys.

After having 120 yards and three touchdowns against Washington State in the opener, he followed it up with 133 yards and a touchdown against Washington. But he saved his best performance of the 2020 season for the Cal Bears.

Jefferson opened the game with a 75-yard touchdown run, the longest of his OSU career, and never looked back. He took 18 carries for a season-high 196 yards and the Beavers were able to ride his hot hand throughout the contest. He's now got three 100-yard rushing games on the season and 13 for his career, putting him fifth all-time in OSU's record books.

Two big runs certainly buoyed Jefferson's run totals, but today was just another reminder of just how special he is. When he's breaking off runs like that (10.9 yards per carry), the entire OSU offense is able to open up and it really takes the pressure off of Tristan Gebbia in the passing game.

Following the loss to Washington a week ago, the Beavers talked about how they could root their entire offensive gameplan by establishing Jefferson, and today we saw the fruits of that labor when everything's coming together.

For the second straight week, defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar was able to make adjustments at halftime that made all the difference. But this week, those adjustments led Oregon State to a victory.

After allowing the Bears to rack up 317 yards of total offense in the first half, the Beavers were able to flip the script and once again give themselves a chance to win the game.

Whereas the Beavers couldn't seem to manage any negative plays against the Cougars and the Huskies in the first two weeks, the defense was able to stymie the Cal offense when it mattered, recording nine tackles for loss and two sacks.

"Guys executed so much better today," Avery Roberts said. "We did a better job of handling our assignments and everything worked out for us. "We knew they would try and run the ball, so we had to stop the run. They had to beat us through the air and we ended up getting the win."

Perhaps most importantly, the defense sealed the victory late in the fourth quarter.

Trailing by four with just over a minute remaining and facing a first and goal, Cal quarterback Chase Garbers dropped back to pass. Oregon State safety Akili Arnold was blitzing on the play and managed to tip Garbers' pass, which went a million miles in the air before linebacker John McCartan was able to locate it and come down with the fly ball, all but securing the Beaver victory.

"We had a couple of tough calls on that drive and those guys just kept believing and kept fighting," head coach Jonathan Smith said. "We didn't play perfect football, but these guys keep fighting and we really won the game in the fourth quarter."

It wasn't always pretty, but the defense was able to make the stop and win the game when it mattered, and that's a credit to the continued growth of the defense. Tibesar has taken plenty of heat throughout his tenure, but growth isn't always linear. A rebuild takes time and sometimes it just takes a couple of good performances to really flip the switch,.

While the defense sealed the deal for the Beavers in the late stretches of the fourth quarter, it was the play of the special teams that flipped the momentum of the game.

The first standout play came from punt-returner Trevon Bradford, who was able to give the Beavers a short field late in the third quarter to eventually set up a scoring drive.

Later in the fourth, after Tristan Gebbia threw an interception early in the fourth with the Beavers leading 24-20, Cal responded and re-took the lead. The following drive, the Beavers go three and out, and all of a sudden the Bears were in a position to extend their lead late in the game.

However, the OSU defense was able to force a quick three and out of the Cal offense, and the Bears were forced to punt.

Then, everything changed.

Wide receiver Jesiah Irish, who was acting as the gunning-runner on the punt block team, was able to get home and block the punt, giving the offense a short field to work with. The Beavers ended up punching in the go-ahead touchdown two plays later and wouldn't relinquish the lead.

"The gap looked big enough for me to split it and I tried to put my hand out there," Irish said. "It was a pretty crazy and surreal feeling. There are really no words to describe that feeling."

Smith and his staff always preach about winning the game in all three aspects and there's no question that Irish's blocked punt completely flipped the momentum for the Beavers and perhaps won them the game.

"No question, they were huge," Smith said of the special teams' play. "Setting up two short fields for our offense to get scores on was big. We've really taken a step on special teams this year and those plays made a big difference in the game."