Some games are blowouts; others make you feel a little sorry for the other team. Oregon State’s 66-14 demolition of San Diego State on Saturday definitely belonged in the second category. The Beavers scored touchdowns on their first five possessions, piled up 651 yards, and made the Aztecs look like they’d rather be spending their Saturday afternoon somewhere else. Honestly, who could blame them?
But here’s what caught my attention. As ridiculous as Oregon State’s offense has become, the defense might have delivered the more impressive performance. San Diego State managed just 147 total yards and six first downs. Six! That’s barely enough to put together a respectable highlight package, let alone compete in a football game.
The Aztecs converted only two of their 13 third-down opportunities and finished with 91 passing yards. Oregon State controlled the football for 42 minutes and 18 seconds, a school record. When your defense keeps getting the ball back, and your offense keeps scoring, things can get ugly fast. Saturday was a perfect example.
Of course, we need to talk about Braden Atkinson. The guy is playing video-game football right now, and apparently someone forgot to adjust the difficulty setting. He completed 29 of 38 passes for 409 yards and five touchdowns, matching his five-score performance against Colorado State the previous week. He now has 21 touchdown passes through six games, and he’s doing it without looking particularly uncomfortable.
My favorite moment might have been his two-yard touchdown pass to fellow quarterback Maalik Murphy on the opening drive. Yes, a quarterback throwing a touchdown to another quarterback. Why not? When things are going this well, apparently the playbook becomes a suggestion rather than a limitation.
Then there’s Jesse Legree, who is rapidly becoming appointment viewing. The true freshman caught 10 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns, including a 71-yard score on Oregon State’s first offensive play of the second half. He’s now recorded six consecutive 100-yard receiving games, breaking a school record previously shared by Mike Hass and Brandin Cooks. That’s some pretty impressive company for a player who hasn’t even finished his first college season.
What I like about this offense, though, is that it isn’t entirely dependent on Atkinson throwing the ball all over the field. Oregon State also rushed for 189 yards, with AJ Newberry, Cornell Hatcher Jr., and Jake Reichle each finding the end zone. The Beavers converted 12 of 17 third downs and committed zero turnovers. There’s a difference between an offense that occasionally hits big plays and one that consistently moves the football. Right now, Oregon State looks like the latter.
So, what didn’t go well?
Well, you really have to dig around to find something to complain about when your team wins by 52 points. Still, San Diego State’s 97-yard kickoff-return touchdown was an ugly special-teams moment that deserves attention. The Aztecs also put together a 67-yard touchdown drive late in the first half, scoring in just 69 seconds. Those mistakes didn’t matter Saturday, but against a better opponent, giving away points that easily could become a problem.
Caleb Ojeda also missed a field goal, although he connected from 53 yards as the first half expired. Nobody needs to spend the next week panicking about the kicking game. Still, cleaning up those smaller mistakes is how a team moves from simply beating opponents to becoming genuinely difficult to beat.
And that’s where things get interesting for Oregon State.
Remember, this team started the season 0-2. Legitimate questions arose about how quickly head coach JaMarcus Shephard could get everything working. Four consecutive wins later, the Beavers are 4-2 overall and 2-0 in Pac-12 play. They’ve scored 207 points during that winning streak, the most in any four-game stretch in program history. They’ve also topped 600 yards in consecutive games for the first time.
Those aren’t numbers you stumble into by accident.
Now, I’m not ready to declare Oregon State the team to beat in the conference just yet. San Diego State entered Saturday with a losing record, and the Beavers haven’t exactly faced a murderer’s row during this winning streak. Tougher tests remain, and I’d like to see how this offense responds when an opposing defense starts taking away its favorite options.
But something about how Oregon State is winning is encouraging. The offense isn’t just explosive. It’s efficient. The defense isn’t simply surviving while the offense scores. It’s creating opportunities and getting off the field. And Shephard’s staff seems to have found a rhythm that wasn’t there during those first two losses.
Oregon State hosts Washington State next Saturday, October 17, at 3 p.m. The Cougars arrive with their own problems, but rivalry games tend to ignore records. It’s another opportunity for the Beavers to show that this winning streak is about more than beating struggling opponents.
I don’t expect another 66 points. Frankly, that’s a ridiculous standard to set.
What I do expect is a team that looks increasingly comfortable with what it’s trying to accomplish. Six games into the season, Oregon State has gone from a program searching for answers to one that’s giving opposing coaches plenty of questions.
And after Saturday, I’d imagine San Diego State has a few suggestions about which questions to ask.
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