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With the Oregon State football team (2-1) falling to Oregon (3-0) 49-14 on Saturday afternoon, BeaversEdge gives an edition of the 3-2-1, with three things we learned, two questions, and one prediction!
MORE: Harlan: Oregon State Outclassed By Oregon | WATCH: BeaversEdge Breakdown | WATCH: Oregon State Talks Loss
Three Things We Learned
1. Oregon State's Defense Ripped Apart By Oregon
-> A week after coming off a shutout win over San Diego State, the program's first SO road win since 1976, you would have figured some momentum would have carried over into this highly-anticipated matchup with the Ducks.
It turns out San Diego State might just be really bad offensively. Dillon Gabriel and the Oregon Ducks cut through the Beaver defense, which had been so stellar at home over the past couple of years, like a hot knife through butter.
Saturday was the Beavers' most lopsided loss at Reser Stadium since 2019, when Utah rolled them 52-7. At times, the team's defensive group looked reminiscent of the one the Beavers put out on the field early in the regime of the previous coaching staff.
Bad games happen, sure, but to be this out-of-sync in arguably the biggest game of the year is very surprising, if not shocking.
Until the game got away in the second half, the BeaversEdge staff was up in the press box, and there was a genuine discussion about how shocked we were that Oregon State's offense was keeping them in the game rather than the defense, and I think that speaks to just how rough of a day it turned out to be.
All told, Oregon racked up 546 yards of total offense and scored points on every single drive, minus the final seconds to close out the first half and the end of the contest. At times, Gabriel looked like Tom Brady (maybe with a little Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes in there, too), having all day to throw, move around in the pocket, throw guys open, and have them make solid plays after the catch.
Regardless of down and distance, whenever Gabriel dropped back to throw, he'd have 5-6 seconds at least in the pocket before casually finding an open receiver who didn't have a Beaver defender within 5-10 yards of him.
Perhaps that was the Beavers guarding against the big-chunk play, but that didn't even work as Gabriel ran wild on a 50-yard touchdown run to essentially remind the Reser Stadium faithful that Oregon could get whatever they wanted on offense.
Make no mistake, this is a solid Oregon offensive team. They've got more talent and speed across the board at all positions, but there was no chance they'd found their offensive footing until this matchup. The Beaver defense made it really easy on the Oregon offense and when there are very few defensive plays that could have changed the game, it's not surprising to see the final score.
2. Halftime Adjustments? Nowhere to be found...
-> Halftime adjustments anyone? The final score won't indicate that this was a ballgame at halftime but nevertheless it certainly was. Despite not playing their best ball by any stretch in the first half of the contest, the Beavers trailed just 22-14 at intermission and if the defense could find any life, there was a legit chance for them to get back into this contest.
Unfortunately, that couldn't be further from the truth as whatever (if any) adjustments the Beavers made at the half did them zero good as Oregon was able to run away from the game and make the Beaver defense look like a JV squad.
Over the past couple of seasons, the Beavers were never out of a game at home. Whether that was the leadership, coaching, or fundamental belief the players had in themselves, I'd be willing to bet a game like this wouldn't have happened the last three years.
