Instant Analysis: Beavers take care of Idaho State

A burning question for us headed into the Idaho State game was how Victor Bolden and Jordan Villamin would bounce back after less than stellar performances against Minnesota. For Villamin, he had a serviceable night as he led the team in receptions. He finished with three catches on five targets for 27 yards. It was Bolden that had the breakout game.

Bolden had two catches for 56 yards, with one of the receptions going for a 48 yard gain that brought the OSU offense down to the Idaho State 27 yard line. Bolden was featured in the run game as he took three handoffs for 111 yards and a touchdown. His fly sweep handoff went for a 92 yard score. Bolden's production was all quality over quantity.

Oregon State quarterback Darell Garretson was not as efficient against Idaho State as he was against Minnesota. He was 25-for-40 passing with 228 yards, three touchdown passes, and no interceptions against the Gophers on September 1. Today, he was 15-for-30 passing with 172 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. Garretson did well on the ground, however, as he was second on the team in rushing with 46 yards and the game's opening touchdown.

Garretson hit Paul Lucas early on the game as Lucas snuck up the seam for a 44 yard gain. He also connected with Victor on a 48 yard gain, but other than that, the Beavers just didn't have much going in the passing game.

This was a big head scratcher. Oregon State couldn't get much going through the air, so you'd figure that Nall would carry the load, but he didn't. Nall had six carries in the first quarter and four carries in the second quarter, but they just went to him three times in the second half.

Sure, some of that might have been because the Oregon State staff wanted to limit his carries, but he simply wasn't that productive on the night. The OSU offensive line did not help much either. The Beavs had 246 yards on the ground, but 92 of those yards went to Bolden on his touchdown run, and don't forget that OSU was playing against an average FCS team.

I have no doubt that Nall will be better than ever as the season goes on, but the Oregon State staff went away from him today for one reason or another. He finished with 13 carries for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Oregon State gave up a ton of yards against Idaho State. The Bengals totaled 363 yards, but for the most part, the Beavs' defense was pretty impressive. Idaho State was able to march down the field with no result. The Jakori Ford 75 yard touchdown was an atrocious effort by the Oregon State defense as Ford bounced off five tacklers. They were pretty solid other than that though.

The Beavers forced five turnovers (3 interceptions, 2 fumbles) and were stingy on fourth down as the Bengals turned the ball over on downs twice. Oregon State had a decent pass rush with four sacks, but it was hard for the group to get going since Idaho State quarterback Tanner Gueller was getting rid of the ball very quickly on slant routes. And it felt like they ran slant route after slant route after slant route.

Both teams were pitiful on third and fourth down conversions. Oregon State was just 5-for-16 on third down conversions and was 0-for-1 on fourth down conversions. The failed fourth down attempt came on Nall's last carry in the game - a fourth and one from Idaho State's 10 yard line. Nall was stuffed for a loss of one yard.

Oregon State was able to move the ball pretty easily all night, but their lack of success on third down stalled a ton of drives.