Oregon State beats up on Cal Poly, snaps a 6-game losing streak

Among the most famous lines from the works of William Shakespeare includes the idea that “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

For Oregon State University, even though their 45-7 win last Saturday came against the unheralded Cal Poly Mustangs, it’s still a win nonetheless – and it’s head coach Jonathan Smith’s first win since late October of 2018.

Senior quarterback Jake Luton threw for a career-high four touchdown passes in the win, and completed over 77 percent of his passes in the game (he threw 22 attempts); the completion percentage was his highest ever as a member of the Oregon State football program, in a game where he threw more than one pass.

The primary beneficiary of Luton’s big day was sophomore wide receiver Champ Flemings. The 5-foot-5 receiver entered the game with only four receptions as a freshman, and two receptions in Oregon State’s first two games. But on Saturday, Flemings caught five passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns. His two scores came on consecutive drives in the third quarter, helping put away any chances of a comeback by the Mustangs for good.

Meanwhile, junior wide receiver Iasiah Hodgins also caught two touchdown passes from Luton in the game. He easily leads the game with 23 receptions on the season, and has scored at least one touchdown in all three of Oregon State’s games this year. In fact, Hodgins is only of only six wide receivers in college football to have already accumulated five touchdown receptions.

If you want to look at a near-flawless performance, then simply look back at what the Beavers were able to accomplish in the first half of the game. They scored on all six of their drives in the first half, with five of those drives ending in touchdowns. At halftime, the Beavers led the Mustangs by a 38-7 score, with each of Oregon State’s touchdown drives going for at least 45 yards. The field goal attempt made by the Beavers towards the end of the first half came directly as a result of the Mustangs fumbling the football on their own side of the field.

Despite the fact that star running back Jermar Jefferson was not able to play in this game, having been spotted wearing a walking boot during the course of the week, the Beavers were still able to carve out 258 yards rushing on 33 attempts. Sophomore running back B.J. Baylor ran for 101 yards on just 7 carries, most of which came on a 74-yard rush in the 3rd quarter that would eventually end in reserve quarterback Tristan Gebbia running the ball in for a touchdown on the ensuing play, marking Oregon State’s final touchdown of the game. Senior running back Artavis Pierce led the team with 12 attempts, running for 90 yards of his own.

The Beavers will have an extra weekend, thanks to an early bye week, to partake in any final revels thanks to their win against Cal Poly, before they enter into Pac-12 play the following weekend. Like their bitter cross-state rivals in Eugene, the Beavers open up their conference schedule by playing Stanford University. The Ducks will take on Stanford next Saturday, with the Beavers taking on Stanford the Saturday after that.