Oregon State 42, Colorado 9

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October 22nd – at Oregon State            Oregon State 42, Colorado 9

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Oregon State running back Damien Martinez ran for 178 yards on 22 carries, including three short scoring runs, as Oregon State embarrassed Colorado, 42-9. Beaver quarterback Ben Gulbranson completed 14-of-22 passes for 202 yards and two more scores as the Beavers accumulated 472 yards of total offense in the rout.

Quarterback J.T. Shrout, in for injured Owen McCown, completed 13-of-29 passes for 209 yards and two interceptions, including a pick six early in the third quarter which made it a 35-3 game, ending any chance of CU coming back from a 21-3 halftime deficit. Jordyn Tyson had 92 yards on three receptions, with all three catches coming in the second half after the outcome of the game had been decided. For the game, the CU offense was held to 290 yards of total offense, including only 84 rushing yards.

“Hats off, Oregon State’s a very good football team,” said CU interim head coach Mike Sanford, whose record fell to 1-1 since taking over for Karl Dorrell. “They’re the upper echelon of the Pac-12 Conference. We had our opportunities, but the margin is so small … and some of those things obviously caught up to us.”

“Looking at a loss like this, we know exactly what it is”, said linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo, who led the team with 11 tackles, including three third down stops. “Before it was a lot of different fingers pointing a lot of different ways. A lot of different things were wrong. We could point okay, we didn’t do X, Y and Z correct. How can we get this better? What players can we put in better situations? How can we as players on the field, what can we do better with our coaches to make them more comfortable to call certain calls? So not really, its on us.”

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Game Story … J.T. Shrout made his third start as the CU starting quarterback, with all three coming on the road. Like the first two games, the Buff offense failed to gain a first down on their first possession. But, in a small victory, the Buffs didn’t turn the ball over on their first possession, as had been the case when Shrout started the games against Air Force and Minnesota.

After Trent Carrizosa’s 43 yard punt was returned 23 yards to the CU 47-yard line, it appeared that the Beavers were in line for a quick score. Instead, on a botched handoff on the first play from scrimmage, the Beavers fumbled the ball, with defensive end Terrance Lang recovering at the Oregon State 46-yard line.

Instead of taking advantage, the Buffs gave the ball right back. On a third-and-ten after two missed passes, Anthony Hankerson fumbled, with Oregon State returning the ball back to the CU 40-yard line.

With its second possession in CU territory in as many possessions, the Oregon State offense took advantage. It took nine plays to cover the 40 yards, including a conversion on a fourth-and-one at the Buff 21, but the Beavers did get their first score. Freshman running back Damien Martinez took it in from four yards out, giving Oregon State a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Buffs made some progress on their third possession of the game, with Jayle Stacks and Charlie Offerdahl picking up first downs on running plays. The drive stalled near midfield, however, with the Buffs punting the ball back to the Beavers.

Oregon State’s ensuing drive was an impressive 11-play, 82-yard drive taking over six minutes of clock. A pair of 12-yard plays, one on a pass and one on a run, coupled with 11-yard pass, quickly put the ball on CU’s side of the field for the third straight possession. The Buffs only forced two third downs on the drive, with both third-and-two opportunities easily converted. Early in the second quarter, the drive was finished off with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Ben Gulbranson to Silas Bolden, making it a 14-0 game.

After a failed onside kick gave the Buffs good field position, the CU offense put together its only scoring possession of the first half. The Buffs converted a third-and-two of its own, with Jayle Stacks picking up ten yards to keep the drive alive. On the next play, Stacks picked up another 11 yards, giving the Buffs possession in Oregon State territory. A sack of J.T. Shrout put the Buffs behind the chains, with CU settling for a 44-yard field goal by Cole Becker. Oregon State 14, Colorado 3, midway through the second quarter.

When the Buff defense forced a punt on Oregon State’s next possession, there was some hope and some momentum on the CU side of the ball. Instead of taking advantage, the CU offense … went three-and-out.

Taking over at their own 45-yard line after a short punt, it took only five plays for Oregon State to score. Aided by two penalties against Jamar Montgomery on the same play (roughing the passer and unsportsmanlike conduct) totaling 30 yards, the quick drive was culminated with Damien Martinez picking up his second touchdown of the night, this time from three yards out. Oregon State 21, Colorado 3, under two minutes to play in the half.

A defensive holding call and a 12-yard scramble by J.T. Shrout gave the Buffs another opportunity to score before halftime. Shrout’s next offering was intercepted, but CU got the ball back on offsetting penalties. When Shrout hit Jack Hestera for a 21-yard gain, the Buffs had a chance to score in the final minute before the break. Four incomplete passes later, however, and the ball was turned over on downs.

Halftime score: Oregon State 21, Colorado 3

The Buff defense largely did it’s job in the first half, holding Oregon State to 182 yards of total offense. But … the CU offense had a grand total of 100 yards of offense, with J.T. Shrout completing only five of 15 passes for 41 yards. There were some drops, but at the end of the half, CU had more yards in penalties (45) than passing (41).

The first few minutes of the second half were a microcosm of CU’s 2022 season. With the game getting out of hand, but still a game, the Buffs imploded. Four plays into the third quarter, the Beavers were on the board again, this time with a 60-yard touchdown pass from Gulbranson to Jack Velling making it a 28-3 game less than three minutes into the second half.

11 seconds later, it was 35-3.

On CU’s first play from scrimmage in the second half, J.T. Shrout was intercepted by Alex Austin, who brought the pass back 40 yards untouched. There was still 27 minutes of game left to be played, but the game was over.

The Buffs almost fumbled the ball right back to the Beavers, but settled for a three-and-out on their next possession.

Oregon State stopped itself on the ensuing drive, with a personal foul penalty leaving the Beavers with a second-and-25 which even the OSU offense couldn’t overcome.

Taking over at their 20-yard line, the Buff offense put together its first touchdown drive of the game. In quick succession, J.T. Shrout improved his stats with a 20-yard completion to R.J. Sneed, a 27-yard completion to Montana Lemonious-Craig, and a 14-yarder to Daniel Arias, giving CU its first red zone opportunity of the game. Three plays later, the Buffs faced a fourth-and-six at the Oregon State 15-yard line. Shrout’s pass fell incomplete, but the Beavers were called for pass interference in the end zone, giving CU new life. A second pass interference penalty gave the Buffs another first-and-goal at the OSU two-yard line, with Jayle Stacks scoring on a one yard run on second down. When the two-point conversion pass was batted down, the score remained 35-9 late in the third quarter.

A pair of 23-yard runs by the Beavers quickly gave Oregon State another scoring opportunity, putting the ball at the Colorado 29-yard line. Three more runs netted nine more yards, but, on fourth-and-one at the CU 20-yard line, linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo tackled OSU backup quarterback Jack Colletto for no gain, turning the ball over on downs.

On CU’s next play, J.T. Shrout hit freshman wide receiver Jordyn Tyson for 58 yards and a first down on the Oregon State 22-yard line. Charlie Offerdahl then on a nine-yard run, and had a run inside the ten yard line on the next play … but he fumbled the ball, with Oregon State recovering.

A sack by Robert Barnes and Marvin Ham left Oregon State with a third-and-16 at its seven yard line. Did the Buffs hold? Nope … on the next play Damien Martinez ripped off a 40-yard run. Martinez later capped the 87-yard touchdown drive with his third score of the night, this time from four yards out. Midway through the anti-climatic fourth quarter, the lead was now up to 42-9.

A 19-yard run by Jayle Stacks and a 27-yard completion from Shrout to Jordyn Tyson helped CU’s anemic offensive stat sheet, but once again CU’s drive netted no points. An 11-yard completion to Charlie Offerdahl gave the Buffs a first-and-goal at the OSU nine yard line, but the Buffs couldn’t punch it in, with a fourth-and-goal pass by Shrout was intercepted in the end zone, leaving the Buff offense with four turnovers on the night.

Final score: Oregon State 42, Colorado 9

“I saw a lot of examples of fight; we were a little dinged up and banged up,” Sanford said. “Guys were fighting and continuing to, you know, find some fun in the game of football, even in the fourth quarter. And, you know, the huddle offensively as we move the ball. You know, I just, I was really proud of how the offense continued to respond, we just got to take care of the football. And obviously, the outcome and the score of the game would be drastically different”.

For the game, the Buffs had four turnovers, including a fumble inside the Oregon State ten yard line, and a pick six thrown by J.T. Shrout. The CU offense finished 2-for-11 on third downs, while Oregon State went 7-for-11 on third down opportunities. The Buff offense had a season-high 190 yards of total offense in the second half … all coming after the scoreboard was already up to 35-3.

“I believe in these players, and I want them to continue to press through the feeling of having to make a play, and pressing to make a play”, Sanford said. “But just to go out there and make the plays. And, you know, I think we saw that in glimpses today, but just piecing it together consistently. And as I said, the margin of you know, to come and play a really good 6-2 now, Pac-12 team, you know, the margin is so small. So I think we just, we just got to continue to have that belief, that inner belief in ourselves to continue to go out and make those plays and, and I believe that we’re gonna, we’re gonna make those plays down the stretch; got a lot of football left, I got a ton of belief in these guys. And this is a locker room that is fighting, and will continue to fight, we’re gonna go get some results that we want.”

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Game Notes … 

— With the victory, Oregon State took the lead in the all-time series, at 7-6, with the teams now 2-2 in games played in Corvallis;

— Freshman wide receiver Jordyn Tyson recorded a career-high in yards (92) with only three catches. His 58-yard reception represented CU’s longest play from scrimmage of the season. Tyson’s 92 receiving yards were the sixth-most by a true freshman in a game in CU history;

— Oregon State was the first team to return a kickoff against the Buffs (2-for 46 yards). CU kicker Cole Becker had previously had every kickoff go through the end zone for a touchback;

— Linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo recorded four third down stops (three on third down, one on fourth)—a CU season-high, representing the 19th time in school history a player had four (the record is 5, by Carson Wells versus Oregon State in Boulder in 2021);

— Freshman running back Jayle Stacks had career highs in carries (8), yards (50), and first downs earned (4). Stacks also scored his first career touchdown.

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Tags: Anthony Hankerson, Charlie Offerdahl, Cole Becker, J.T. Shrout, Jamar Montgomery, Jayle Stacks, Jordyn Tyson, Josh Chandler-Semedo, Montana Lemonious-Craig, R.J. Sneed, Terrance Lang, Trent Carrizosa
This post, about the Oregon State game, from the 2022 Season, is filed under Article.
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