5 Takeaways From Oregon State's 41-38 Win Over Oregon

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With the Oregon State football team (2-2) earning a signature, program-defining win over No. 15 Oregon (3-1), BeaversEdge.com gives five important takeaways from the victory.

MORE: Jefferson Delivers Oregon State, Smith Signature Win | WATCH: Beavers Break Down Oregon Win | Highlights + Social Media Reaction

What a way for Chance Nolan to make his Oregon State debut...

Following an injury to Tristan Gebbia on a third and goal attempt where the Beavers were stopped short, OSU had a massive decision to make with the game on the line and just under 40 seconds remaining.

Do they go with Nolan, the true backup despite his inexperience? Or do they go with hybrid linebacker-quarterback/Taysom Hill specialist Jack Colletto who had already taken snaps at quarterback earlier in the contest?

Per head coach Jonathan Smith, there was a brief thought given to Colletto taking the all-important fourth and goal attempt with the game on the line, but ultimately, the Beavers' head man decided on giving Nolan the green light. Nolan had taken a solid amount of reps with the ones throughout camp, and there was a cool level of comfort with him going into the game.

The four-star recruit from Saddleback C.C. was one of the Beavers' prized offseason hauls, but really missed his best chance to push Gebbia for the starting job when spring practices were canceled and didn't get a chance to be fully immersed in offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren's system.

Yet, as a result of Gebbia's injury, which Smith described as a hamstring that 'he thinks will be fine', there's a good chance that Nolan will see the field as soon as next weeks' matchup with Utah in Salt Lake City.

Before the injury, there's no question that Gebbia was showing poise, leadership, and confidence under center that we just hadn't seen from him, which makes him going down all the more disappointing. He went 23-of-37 for 263 yards and a touchdown, all while committing no turnovers and making savvy plays, such as his 13-yard scamper for a first down that came at a crucial time.

Time will tell what the future holds for Gebbia but there's no question Nolan executed in the biggest moment of his football-playing career, and should he be given the chance to start next week, that confidence will certainly pay dividends on the field.

After being non-existent in the big moments early in the season, the Oregon State passing offense showed life last week in the week over Cal, but they really cranked it up against the Ducks and got back to their old ways.

Gebbia, playing with newfound confidence, found his receivers early and often, developing rapport with his receivers and settling into a nice rhythm with the play-action passing game while Jermar Jefferson feasted on the ground.

"We kept battling through the criticism with our passing game over the first couple of weeks, but our guys really showed up tonight," Smith said.

Trevon Bradford caught eight passes for 93 yards, Kolby Taylor caught seven passes for 114 yards for his first career 100‐yard receiving effort, and Zeriah Beason caught his first career touchdown pass.

"The receivers made some nice plays for him, he made some nice plays with his feet, and he played well enough for us to win this game," Smith said. "Bradford and Taylor made some really, really tough catches. Kolby had a huge catch on a lowball he pulled in to keep that drive going."

Time and time again, when the Beavers needed a conversion or a big play from their receivers, they delivered. Whether or not this uptick in the passing game will be able to continue under the potential direction Nolan is yet to be seen, but this was the first time this season that the passing game improved and Gebbia was a huge reason why.

"I'm so proud of Tristan and so proud of the whole team," Taylor said. "We just kept fighting, we believed and ended up getting the result we wanted."

If you want to talk about a defining moment in this contest, it's certain that the Beavers dominated the fourth quarter.

Heading into the fourth, OSU trailed 31-19. From there, the Beavers outscored the Ducks 22-7 and effectively took control of the contest. While there were some tense moments along the way, you could tell that the momentum began to swing in OSU's favor the longer the game was close.

In an eerily similar feeling to 2016, the Beavers seemed to get stronger as the game went along while the Ducks seemed to lose steam and they were able to capitalize. The yardage and time possession between the two teams weren't all that different in the fourth, but the Ducks committed two turnovers that loomed huge as the Beavers took advantage.

While the Beavers have made huge strides under Smith since his arrival, they've still been searching for that signature, marquee win that defines a program and helps springboard unparalleled levels of success.

Given where the Beavers have been, winning this fourth quarter, against this Oregon team, shows a lot about how far they've come in just the last year. Whereas they came up just short and ended their season in heartbreak at Autzen Stadium a year ago, this time they got the last laugh on their southern rivals and will earn the right to call themselves champions in the state once again.