Garretson, Nall loved Hall's energy
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Coming into the season, Beaver players were talking "bowl game or bust" but now the Beavers are facing their worst season since 1995 when Oregon State went 1-10 in the Jerry Pettibone era.
In Oregon State's five losses before the Colorado game on Saturday, the Beavers were losing by an average margin of 32 points per game. In their loss against Colorado, the Beavs led for the majority of the game, but lost in a close 36-33 battle.
The Beavers DOMINATED the stat sheet too. Oregon State won in total yards (569-385), time of possession (35:40-24:20), first downs (30-25), third down conversions (10-7), and even tackles for loss (4-2).
But three important categories that Oregon State lost to Colorado in were turnovers (0-1), penalties (3-14 .. 9-79), and of course total points.
"The score didn't show how we played," Oregon State running back Ryan Nall said. "You look at our stats, and specifically the offensive production, that doesn't necessarily show the outcome of the game. [Coach Hall] was really harping on that and making sure we keep our heads up. We're playing ball, but obviously we have to fine tune some things."
"The score wasn't indicative of how we think we played," senior quarterback Darell Garretson added. "We just have to find out what went wrong and improve on those mistakes.
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For Garretson, his career at OSU hasn't been exactly what he hoped for when he transferred from Utah State a couple of years ago.
He led the Beavers to an overtime win last year over Cal, which was the first Pac-12 win in the Gary Andersen era at OSU, but he had a season ending injury in 2016 and didn't get to start this year until Jake Luton went down.
For Garretson's final five games of his collegiate career, he just wants to finish strong with his teammates.
"There's no doubt that our team came together after everything that happened on Monday and all the craziness that went down," Garretson said. "I think when something drastic like that happens, guys tend to come together. It was hard, but the only people that were going to get through it was us together."
Interim head coach Cory Hall can be summed up in one word: energetic. He was the perfect choice by athletic director Scott Barnes as the Beavers needed a jolt of life, and Hall certainly brought that on Saturday.
"There was definitely a lot of energy," Garretson said. "That's what coach Hall brings to the table - a lot of energy. You can tell by the way he coaches his DB's how passionate he is about the game. It rubs off on a lot of people, without a doubt. It makes it fun to go out there and play."
A surprise on Saturday afternoon was the absence of wide receiver Seth Collins, who was reportedly held out of the game due to a sickness, but the Beavers still had their best passing game since the season opener against Colorado State.
Garretson completed 20-of-37 passes for 289 yards and an interception. Timmy Hernandez lead the Beavs with seven catches for 65 yards. Jordan Villamin added three receptions for 57 yards, Noah Togiai caught three passes for 31 yards, and Trevon Bradford had a sensational 41 yard catch.
"Obviously not having Seth hurt a little bit," said Garretson. "I wish I could have him out there everyday. He's like a brother to me, and I love that kid to death. I'd do anything for him, but we had guys that stepped up today and played very well. Jordan, Timmy, Trevon, Noah, even our running backs getting out there. All around, we played very well."