CORVALLIS – Oregon State’s student body got a welcome-to-Beaver football moment they may never forget.
Reser Stadium came alive Saturday night, as some 9,500 students – most attending their first OSU football game of the 2021 season – were among 33,733 watching the Beavers win a pivotal, historic game over Washington 27-24.
As soon as Everett Hayes’ 24-yard field goal slammed into the net behind the goal posts, students rushed the field as though it was victory in 2008 and the opponent was No. 1 USC. Students grabbed whatever player they could find to get selfies, while several others were hoisted into the air during a midfield celebration.
The stakes were real. Oregon State (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12) beat Washington for the first time since 2011, ending a nine-game losing streak. For the first time in school history, the Beavers are alone atop the Pac-12 North standings. It’s not known the last time OSU had sole possession of first place in the conference standings, but it’s at least not since 1975.
“It’s what you always dream about playing college football,” safety Alton Julian said. “I always wanted to be a part of a team rushing the field. I rushed the field when I was a kid. It was just lovely out there. … a bunch of fun.”
Safety Jaydon Grant, in his sixth year at Oregon State, badly wants to bring a winner to the school.
“Been through a lot here. Took a lot of Ls,” Grant said. “Close, heartbreaking losses as well. So to be on the flip side means everything.”
Thing is, a week after Oregon State announced itself nationally with a beatdown of USC, the Beavers learned they could win without bringing the A game. The defense was solid, forcing two turnovers and holding Washington to 318 yards. But the OSU offense completely relied on the running game, as the Beavers completed just seven passes for 48 yards.
“Couldn’t be more proud of the way we continued to fight. We did not play our best in some areas, but you just keep responding and you play for 60 minutes. I totally thought they did that,” OSU coach Jonathan Smith said.
The Beavers, who had steamrolled their past three opponents, called on their grit to outlast Washington. The Beavers, trailing 24-17 with 10 minutes remaining, made huge plays on both sides of the ball to rally past the Huskies.
“We showed people that when you come play us, you’re going to have to fight for 60 minutes,” Julian said.
Fight the Beavers did, particularly when Washington scored two touchdowns during a 17-second span to take a 24-17 lead. OSU’s passing game was lost, and the Huskies’ defense through three quarters hadn’t given up a play longer than 12 yards.
But Oregon State snapped to life. The Beavers put together a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive to tie the game. It included plays of 19 and 22 yards by Anthony Gould, who has barely played since starring in the win over Hawaii nearly a month ago.
Then came a fourth-and-1 stop, where OSU’s defense turned back a quarterback sneak at the Washington 46 with 3:18 remaining.
“There wasn’t a bigger play in the game,” Smith said. “Everyone, I assume in the stadium, knows they’re going to run quarterback sneak. We owned the line of scrimmage.”
Oregon State quickly moved into scoring range, so much so Washington appeared ready to let the Beavers score so they had enough time to produce a tying touchdown. Smith, immediately sensing the give-up strategy, took a couple of kneel downs and a short run to set up Hayes’ game-winner.
It was not much more than an extra point kick, but Hayes had never been in this situation. Earlier in the game, Hayes missed a 39-yard field goal. Now he was asked to win a game for the first time in his life.
“I was 100 percent confident that I was going to go out and make it,” Hayes said. “As a kicker, you really look forward to those type of moments. You get to impact the game and it’s a lot of fun.”
Smith admitted Nolan didn’t throw the ball well, and didn’t have a good grasp of UW’s pass coverage. Not to mention Nolan’s fumble inside the OSU 10 that set up Washington’s go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.
But when Smith looked Nolan in the eye with 10 minutes left, he had no doubts.
“The kid is competitive,” Smith said. “He responded. We needed to answer. … He did not have his A game, but at the end of it, he found a way to help us win.”
Nolan wasn’t alone. The defense had some big moments, but during the second half, allowed Sean McGrew to take over for a stretch with runs out of the wildcat formation. But when asked to make a big play, Oregon State’s defense dominated.
“You can definitely build off this as a learning experience,” Smith said. “The game’s not exactly going your way. There’s some back and forth. There’s not going to be any quit. We’re more than capable of finding a way of winning a game when we haven’t played our best.”
The mantra of the 2021 Beavers is “We’re not done yet.” So as much as they set a standard a week ago at USC, and sent fans home on a joy ride Saturday, there are seven games remaining.
Anything remains possible.
“In order to keep this momentum, looking back at the fact that we won four straight games, we can’t be complacent,” Grant said. “How do you handle success? The coaches on this team, our leaders on the team … do a great job keeping us humble.”
--Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel