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With the Oregon State football team (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12) falling to Washington (11-0, 8-0 Pac-12) 22-20 on Saturday evening, BeaversEdge gives five important takeaways from the loss...

MORE: WATCH: OSU Talks Loss To UW | WATCH: BeaversEdge Breaks Down Loss To UW | RECAP - Beavers Fall To Washington

The Oregon State football team nearly found a way to knock off the fifth-ranked Washington Huskies at a rainy Reser Stadium on Saturday evening, but several key mistakes cost the Beavers in a narrow two-point margin.

The first came on Oregon State's second offensive drive from scrimmage in the first quarter. After the Beavers had matched the Washington opening touchdown drive with a scoring drive of their own, the Beaver defense played arguably its best series against the Husky offense all night, forcing Michael Penix and Co. into a three and out and thus giving the ball right back to the offense.

The Beavers got the ball at their 35-yard line, and had a chance to take an early lead on the Huskies and really build some momentum. The Beavers had converted a third and 7 to the UW 39 by way of a DJ Uiagalelei quarterback keeper, only to have the play called back by a holding call from center Jake Levengood.

The Beavers weren't able to convert on the third and 17 and were forced to punt the ball back to the Huskies. Punting to the Huskies isn't at all what happened as long-snapper Dylan Black airmailed the snap over punter Josh Green. Green had no choice but to chase the ball into the endzone and ultimately kick it out the back, preventing the touchdown and giving the Huskies a safety.

That 9-7 advantage may have seemed marginal at the time, but considering what the final tally was, that's an impact play that didn't go the way of the Beavers and cost them a chance at securing an early lead and perhaps more.

The second sizable, momentum-changing play came on Oregon State's second drive of the second quarter. It remained a 9-7 ballgame and the Beavers had just gotten a massive break on their previous defensive drive as Kitan Oladapo made an incredible hustle play on the ball to karate-chop the ball out of UW's Dillon Johnson's hands to prevent a would-be score and give the Beavers the ball back.

Two plays later, Uiagalelei connected with Anthony Gould for a first down catch of 14 yards that would have given the Beavers much-needed breathing room. However, the fumble bug caught Gould as he was stripped and the Huskies recovered at the OSU 19.

Three plays later, Washington turned that turnover into seven points as Penix found the endzone on a five-yard scramble to push the advantage to two scores. The Huskies were aided by a pass-interference call on Ryan Cooper Jr. that may have been a bit ticky-tack, but regardless, it was a massive swing of momentum in the ballgame.

While those were only two plays, the impact they had on the game was massive. As a direct result of those two plays, the Huskies were able to add nine points to their ledger, and ultimately it turned out to be just enough cushion needed.

Given how this matchup ultimately shook out, it's easy to look at the final score and instantly think of the safety as being the difference. And while it was a significantly negative play for the Beavers, the OSU defense forced Washington into a punt on their next drive, thus negating any more damage.

The seven points the Huskies were able to score via the Gould turnover strike me as far more consequential, especially with how elite the defense played in the second half. You take that extremely short field and those seven points off the board and Oregon State perhaps wins this contest...

We alluded to the elite play of Oregon State's defense in this one, especially in the second half, and here's where you have to step back and realize just how solid of a defensive night this was.

We covered in the EDGE Podcast this week that defensive coordinator Trent Bray perhaps had the Washington secret sauce figured out with how well the Beavers played in Seattle a year ago, but also considered that it was a much different group of defensive personnel.

Outside of the opening touchdown drive, Washington's second score right before the half, and the short field the defense was given as a result of the Gould fumble, this defense played superb football against a Heisman Trophy-caliber quarterback.

Sure, the weather certainly played a factor in this one, but the Beavers held the Huskies scoreless in the second half and held them to just 22 points, their second-lowest point total of the season.

All told Oregon State's defense allowed just 272 yards of total offense to the Huskies, barely half more than the 500 they averaged per game this season. The Beavers also made the Huskies earn everything on the ground while also making life as tough as they could on Penix.

Smith confirmed after the game that the plan was to play more straight-up coverage and only rush three to four guys, so not sacking Penix isn't quite as significant as you might seem.

While they weren't able to get to Penix, they did make big plays on the ball, recording five pass breakups and making Penix have to grind for everything he was able to get through the air.

It's also worth noting that Oregon State was ultimately playing short-handed in the defensive backfield in this one as Jaden Robinson and Akili Arnold both left the contest with injuries and didn't return. The Beavers threw a lot of different guys out there but also didn't have Noble Thomas, who didn't suit up for this one.

Considering that the secondary wasn't close to full strength and that they still managed to hold down all but Rome Odunze (seven receptions for 106 yards and two scores) in the Washington receiving corps, it's an impressive feat even in a losing effort.

If you had told the Oregon State coaches and players prior to the matchup that they'd hold Washington and this high-flying offense to just 22 points, they would have thought they had a winning result.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case because Oregon State just couldn't get enough offensive support to pull it out, eerily similar to last season's loss to the Huskies in Seattle...