5 Takeaways From Oregon State's Loss To Washington State

Oregon State's new-look secondary was going to be a big-time question mark on defense entering this season after losing three key starters from a season ago, but the Cougars exposed the Beaver defensive backs in a big way for the majority of the contest.

Ward was sensational, going 28-of-34 for 404 yards and four passing touchdowns while throwing no interceptions and adding a rushing score. He looked comfortable for the entirety of the contest and was routinely finding open receivers en route to 14.6 yards per completion.

OSU seemed to really struggle with Washington State's near-blur tempo in this one as the Cougars were snapping the ball very quickly and there were at least half a dozen times where the Beavers weren't lined up properly when Ward snapped the ball.

Creating pressure on Ward also proved very difficult as the Beavers simply weren't able to get to him nearly enough. The Beavers tallied just one sack and weren't able to make Ward uncomfortable nearly enough.

Defensive coordinator Trent Bray dialed up some more unique blitzes that seemed to disrupt him a bit in the second half, but the cornerbacks and safeties were woefully out of position far too often in the first half.

The touchdown the Cougars got right before halftime stands out in a big way as Ward was able to scramble and keep the play alive before finding a wide-open receiver in the endzone. The Beavers had two defensive backs staring at each other on the play and it summed up how Ward was able to get whatever he wanted for most of the contest.

With the losses in the secondary, the Beavers spoke about how a better pass rush would equalize the defense, but against Ward, OSU wasn't able to make him uncomfortable and Ward was just playing catch with his receivers out there. The Beavers didn't play a lot of press coverage in this one, and with how quickly Ward was getting the ball out, receivers were often wide-open with several yards of room.

The Beaver defense tightened up in the second half, as Ward tallied just 158 of his passing yards after the intermission, but the damage was done as the Cougars were able to move the ball enough to keep OSU at bay. The Beavers were able to get two fumbles, one of Ward and one forced by Calvin Hart Jr., but weren't able to turn them into any points on offense.

It was clear Bray and Co. made some halftime adjustments, as the Cougars had 28 points and 352 yards of offense at the break and finished with 38 points and 528 yards of total offense, but the offense wasn't able to catch up until it was too late.

Given Ward's hot start to the season, you've got to question Oregon State's defensive preparation entering the matchup. Having secondary miscommunications and not being able to get lined up for the hurry-up offense is something you have to anticipate playing on the road against a good team and the Beavers didn't seem ready in that regard until after the Cougars were off and rolling.