Beavers can’t capitalize on momentum

The Oregon State Beavers might’ve ended their 11 game losing streak last Saturday, but unfortunately, they couldn’t do much to capitalize on that momentum and start a streak of the opposite nature.

Falling behind 31-7 at the end of the first half, the Beavers fell to the Boise State University Broncos by a final score of 38 to 24 last Saturday in Corvallis. The Broncos now own a 3-0 record, the first time they’ve gotten to such a mark since the 2011 season.

Boise State had little trouble moving the football against the Beavers defense, accumulating a total of 512 yards of total offense, including a whopping 274 yards rushing on 42 carries. They allowed junior running back Jeremy McNichols to gain 208 of those rushing yards on 28 carries, along with three rushing touchdowns. McNichols also added a touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter, giving him four total touchdowns on the day.

One week after doing just enough to help the Beavers pick up their first win since September of 2015, quarterback Darrell Garretson completed 11 of 16 passes in the first half, but those completions spanned a paltry 53 total yards. He was benched after the first half of last week’s game, in favor of freshman walk-on quarterback Conor Blount. With Blount at the helm in the second half, the Beavers scored 17 points in the second half.

At least early on, it looked like Oregon State would prove to be a tough opponent for Boise State. After the Broncos took the opening kickoff and put together a nine play, 75-yard drive that ended in a five yard touchdown run by McNichols, Victor Bolden Jr. of the Beavers took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 59 yards to the Broncos 41 yard line. Garretson completed two passes to get the ball to the Broncos 29 yard line, and after a pass interference call on Boise State on the next play, running back Ryan Nall ran for a 14 yard touchdown. The scoring drive took all of 57 seconds.

On the very next drive, the Broncos actually fumbled the football deep in their own territory, when senior safety Devin Chappell of Oregon State sacked Broncos quarterback Brett Rypien, forcing a fumble which junior linebacker Titus Failauga recovered at the Broncos 22 yard line. But after going three-and-out immediately following that fumble, Beavers kicker Garrett Owens missed the 45 yard field goal attempt, preventing Oregon State from capitalizing on the turnover and grabbing an early lead.

From there onward, Oregon State punted on their next five drives in the first half. They gained a total of 41 combined yards on those five drives.

One of the few brights spots in the game for the Beavers was senior cornerback Treston Decoud. He continues to have a stellar season, allowing a 7.4 quarterback rating on passes thrown in his direction this season, which is the best of any cornerback in the Pac-12.

Life won’t get much easier for the Beavers, as they play their first Pac-12 opponent this season, visiting Boulder, Colorado to take on the University of Colorado Buffaloes. Colorado enters the game as 18 point favorites, having most recently defeated the Beavers cross-state rivals — the University of Oregon Ducks — in Autzen Stadium.