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With the Oregon State football team (5-4, 3-3 Pac-12) falling to the Colorado Buffaloes (3-6, 2-4) 37-34 in double overtime on Saturday evening, BeaversEdge.com gives five important takeaways from the loss...

MORE: Recap: Oregon State Falls To Colorado 37-34 In Double OT

1. Oregon State Played Down To Its Competition Again

-> For the second consecutive week, the Oregon State football team played down to a team that they were more than capable of beating. Fresh off getting pushed around Berkeley in an ugly and puzzling loss to Cal, the Beavers responded with another dismal performance against a Colorado team that was reeling with a 2-6 record.

While the Beavers weren't out of this contest until Everett Hayes missed a 38-yard field goal in the second overtime, they shouldn't have been in that position to begin with.

The fact that the Beavers have looked this questionable against two teams very low in the Pac-12 standings raises questions about what the mindset of this team has been following the win over Utah two weeks ago.

As evidenced by Cal's loss to Arizona (regardless of personnel not available), the Beavers made the Bears look a lot better than they are a week ago and now made the Buffaloes look a lot better too.

2. First Quarter Woes Continue

-> The first quarter hasn't been kind to the Beavers in recent weeks...

Going back to the Washington game, the Beavers have been outscored 41-7 in the first quarter over the past five games and it's been a big reason why they sport a losing 2-3 mark over that stretch.

While the Beavers have been able to overcome the slow starts at home (vs UW & Utah), that hasn't been the case on the road as they've fallen to Washington State, Cal, & Colorado.

Given that WSU, Cal, & Colorado were all considered to be lesser-tier opponents than the Beavers at the time they played, an argument could be made that OSU's inability to start fast and put winnable opponents away is quite detrimental.

By not putting a winnable opponent behind the eight-ball early, you're giving them confidence that they can not only play with you, but beat you, and that's something the Beavers haven't been able to overcome.

There have been a variety of factors as to why the Beavers have looked flat and lost these past two weeks, but perhaps it's a trend that goes back several weeks.

Starting slow is a horrible habit and we've seen the worst of what it can bring over the past two weeks, so it has to be a top priority for the coaches to figure out why the players haven't come out with a killer mentality.

3. The Beavers Need To Circle The Wagons

-> After the last two weeks, some really hard questions need to be asked and this football team needs to re-find what its identity is.

This is easily the lowest point in the season and it's going to be really interesting to see how this Beaver team responds to extreme adversity.

After things were looking as positive as they have in years following the win over Utah, the program is reeling and on its heels in the wake of shocking losses to Pac-12 cellar residents Cal & Colorado.

Given where the Beavers had come from, you could explain away one loss during this stretch as learning how to win with expectations and all that, but two losses? That's an alarm-bell type moment and one that the leaders of this team need to take and address with as serious of a tone as they ever have.

All is not lost in this campaign, but the past two weeks have completely altered expectations and perhaps shined a light on some of the weaker aspects of this football team.

The Beavers are developing a real Dr. Jeykll/Mr. Hyde persona this season, proving they can be quite impressive at times, and shockingly aloof and puzzling at others. This team can beat anyone, and lose to anyone, and unfortunately, we've seen the latter play out in the worst way these past two weeks.

We're going to find out what this team is made of over this final stretch of three games, and with the amount of senior leadership that this squad has, I'm still confident they'll reach six wins.

However, these past two weeks have exposed this Beaver team as one that wasn't nearly as good as we thought they were and that's a disappointing trend, one they'll need to rectify in quick order.