Beavers upset the California Golden Bears 47-44

For the third straight week, the Oregon State Beavers defense allowed their opponent to score 38 or more points. But this time, they were able to not only keep up in the shootout, but also outscore them, too.

The Beavers upset the California Golden Bears this past Saturday, winning 47-44 in an overtime shootout. The two teams spent the afternoon moving up and down the football field like ping pong balls, in a game that featured exactly 1,000 yards of total offense.

Oregon State managed to hold on for the victory, despite blowing a 17 point lead in the fourth quarter. Freshman running back Artavis Prince ran for a two yard touchdown just over four minutes into the fourth quarter, giving the Beavers a 41-24 lead with about ten-and-a-half minutes left in the game. But the Bears scored the next 17 points, capped off by a 29 yard field goal with five seconds left to go in regulation.

The Beavers won the overtime coin toss, and subsequently deferred. They held the Bears to only four yards on their first (and only) overtime possession, leading to California kicking a 39 yard field goal. When the Beavers started their possession, it only took them three plays to find the endzone, with quarterback Darell Garretson running it in from 16 yards out.

Oregon State actually stormed out to a 10-0 first quarter lead over California, and held a 17-3 over halfway through the 2nd quarter. The Beavers held the football for over 11 in minutes in the first quarter, while forcing the Golden Bears to punt on their first two drives. The Beavers went 79 yards on 13 plays, ending with kicker Garrett Owens connecting on a 31 yard field goal. On the next drive, they went 46 yards on nine plays, behind healthy doses of running by Garretson and running Ryan Nall, with the later scoring a touchdown from four yards out. That gave the Beavers a 10-0 lead with less than two minutes left in the first quarter.

After California answered with a 27 yard field goal, Oregon State’s defense continued to do their job in the second quarter, holding California to three total yards on six plays. Yet, the Golden Bears still managed to cut the Beavers lead to 17-10, after Garretson was intercepted by California’s Raymond Davison, who returned the interception 39 yards for a touchdown with less than one minute left in the first half.

The second half, however, featured much more scoring. California outscored Oregon State 31-24 in the second half, scoring 24 of their 31 points in the fourth quarter. Oregon State actually scored on their first four drives of the second half, punching it into the end zone on three of those four drives. On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Nall ran 80 yards for a touchdown, giving the Beavers a 24-10 lead. After Oregon State kicked a field goal on their next drive, Nall dashed for 62 yards on the ensuing Oregon State drive, setting up his five yard touchdown plunge on the next play. That put the Beavers up by a 34-17 margin.

California answered with a 13-play, 91-yard drive of their own, but Oregon State’s next drive ended with Prince’s two yard touchdown run. But, California scored the remaining 13 points in regulation, including the 29 yard field goal with five second left, which sent the game into overtime

The Beavers second win this season matches their win total from 2015. But, they’ll have little time to enjoy the victory, as they host #21 Utah next week in Corvallis.