Beavers are on the road at Stanford Saturday

Saturday, October 29

Corvallis, Ore.

7:45 PM

Oregon State

Washington State

Tickets

Photo by: Karl Maasdam/Oregon State Athletics

November 01, 2016 | Football

Complete Game Notes

By: Oregon State Athletic Communications

THE SERIES/GAME FACTS
• Saturday is the 83rd meeting between the two programs in the series that goes back to 1919.
• Stanford holds the series lead 54-25-3.
• The Cardinal are 28-10-2 against the Beavers in games played at Stanford.
• Stanford has won the last six meetings; it's the longest streak in the series since a six-game win streak from 1990-95. OSU won seven of the first nine games in the series to start this century.
• In 2015, Seth Collins threw for a career-high 275 yards for the Beavers and Jordan Villamin made seven receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Caleb Saulo recorded a career-best 14 tackles and forced a fumble in the contest the Beavers lost 42-24.
• Former Beaver and current Los Angeles Rams' quarterback Sean Mannion completed a school-record 41 passes vs. Stanford Oct. 26, 2013.
• The longest pass play in OSU history occurred vs. Stanford, Oct. 14, 2000, when Beaver quarterback and current Washington offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith connected with former NFL standout Chad Johnson for 97 yards.
• OSU Athletics Hall of Famer Steve Brown set a school record with 22 tackles at Stanford, Oct. 28, 1972, and still holds the Beaver record with four interceptions vs. the Cardinal, Oct. 30., 1971.
• Oregon State University president Dr. Ed Ray earned a master's and Ph.D. in economics from Stanford in 1969 and 1971 respectively.

TOUGH SLEDDING: Oregon State's schedule through eight games ranks as the 10th-most difficult in the country per USA Today's Sagarin Rankings. The top 15 most difficult schedules features a who's who of the Pac-12 Conference with Stanford (No. 2), USC (8), UCLA (11), Arizona (13) and Oregon (14).

ONLY THE BEAVS: Oregon State is the only team in the Pac-12 that has played four current Associated Press top 25 teams and, in fact, have played five ranked teams (No. 4 Washington, No. 16 Utah, No. 21 Colorado, No. 24 Boise State and No. 25 Washington State).

ONE EYE IN THE REARVIEW, ONE ON THE ROAD: The combined record of OSU's seven FBS opponents thus far in the season is 44-13 with a winning percentage of .772. The four remaining teams on the schedule are 13-19 having won at a clip of .406. The disparity is even greater in conference contests with the first five Pac-12 foes the Beavers have faced with a 20-6 record (.769) and the four left on the schedule holding a record of 5-16 (.238).

CREATING HAVOC: The Oregon State defense has shown marked improvement creating big plays in 2016. The Beavers have created 14 turnovers (five interceptions & nine fumble recoveries) through eight games. In 2015, OSU caused just 12 turnovers (eight INTs & four fumble recoveries) all of last season.
MISSING IN ACTION: Every football team suffers injuries as the season wears on. For Oregon State 12 players that began the season as expected starters OR became starters due to injury have combined to miss 35 starts. Among the starters to miss at least one game are: OL Yanni Demogerontas (4), LB Titus Failauga (4), QB Darell Garretson (2), OL Sean Harlow (3), LB Manase Hungalu (1), CB Jay Irvine (4), OL Fred Lauina (2), RB Ryan Nall (1), TE Ricky Ortiz (1), LB Joah Robinett (2), TE Noah Togiai (6) and CB Dwayne Williams (5).

M.A.S.H. UNIT: With the injury bug once again biting the Oregon State football program, the Beavers were only able to suit up 63 players due to injury and illness, seven fewer than allowed for a visiting team per Pac-12 regulations, at Washington two weeks ago. Entering the game with the Huskies, OSU was missing players who had accounted for 74% of the team's total rushing yards and 91% of the team's total passing yards.

DONE FOR THE YEAR: The list of Beavers considered out for the season has grown to 10 including: OL Sam Curtius, S Jonas Dahl, QB Darell Garretson, CB Jaydon Grant, CB Jay Irvine, DL Thor Katoa, OL Bobby Keenan, S Landry Payne, TE Noah Togiai, TE Kenny Turnier and DE LaMone Williams. In addition, injuries and illness have prevented several others from playing through the first half of the season including: OL Gunnar Braden, CB Charles Okonkwo and OL Robert Olson.

BECOMING THE NORM: OSU has accumulated more first downs via the rush than the pass for the second straight season. The Beavers have converted 67 first downs on the ground versus 62 through the air. Prior to 2015 the last time Oregon State had finished a season with more first downs on the ground was 2000.

RUSHING THE BALL: Last month, against California, the Beavers rushed for 474 yards - the most in the Gary Andersen era. It was the fourth-most rushing yards in school history and the most-ever against a conference opponent. The old record was 470 yards at Idaho in 1942 when both teams were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. The record against a current conference opponent in a league game was 428 at UCLA in 1994. OSU entered the game with 557 rushing yards through four games.

READY OR NOT: The OSU rushing attack through eight games has been effective to the tune of 5.5 yards per carry (287 carries for 1,576 yards). That is a record-setting pace for a full season. The current record is 4.9 ypc (474 for 2,336) set in 1960. The Beavers have spread the rushing gains around as well with four different players exceeding 100 yards in a game – Ryan Nall, Victor Bolden Jr., Darell Garretson and Tim Cook.

THE WRECKING NALL: Earlier this season against Cal, sophomore running back Ryan Nall rushed for 221 yards on 14 carries, the 10th-best performance in school history. His former personal-best was 174 yards at Oregon in 2015. With 131 yards last week against Washington State, Nall has two 100-yard performances this year and four in his career. In addition, he has scored nine touchdowns via the rush in the last eight games in which he's played and 10 total touchdowns in the same span. Nall averages 7.2 yards per carry in 2016 leading the Pac-12 and ranks ninth in the nation.

FIRST ONE, NOW TWO: Entering last week's game against Washington State, Victor Bolden Jr. was the only OSU player with two rushes of 75 or more yards - 92 vs. Boise State & 75 at Washington) in the same season since Steven Jackson in 2002 (75 vs. Fresno State & 80 vs. UCLA). Now, after gashing the Cougars for an 89-yard touchdown jaunt Ryan Nall has joined the fray. Nall ran 80 yards to paydirt against California as well.

TWO OF THE BEST: Starting wide receivers Victor Bolden Jr. and Jordan Villamin are spending the season climbing Oregon State's career receiving yards records list. Currently Bolden Jr. ranks 14th all-time at OSU with 1,689 receiving yards while Villamin is 19th with 1,328 yards. In addition, Bolden Jr. is seventh on OSU's all-time like with 158 career receptions.

BIG PLAY BOLDEN: Senior Victor Bolden Jr. has been all over the field for the Beavers through four games - as a wide receiver, running jet sweeps and reverses, and returning punts and kickoffs. In the early going, Bolden Jr. has punished teams for failing to account for him resulting in big plays for the Beavers. Bolden Jr. is the only player in the NCAA with two plays of 90+ yards - 92-yard jet sweep (second-longest rushing play in OSU history) against Idaho State and a 99-yard kickoff return against Boise State.

AIMING FOR THE CYCLE: Senior do-everything player Victor Bolden Jr. is one of 12 players in the nation to have scored touchdowns rushing, receiving and as a kick returner in 2016. Bolden notched a receiving touchdown in the season-opener at Minnesota, had a 92-yard touchdown run against Idaho State in Week 2, and returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against Boise State in Week 3. Others that have accomplished the feat are Antonio Callaway (Florida), Keion Davis (Marshall), Quadree Henderson (Pittsburgh), Adrian Killins (UCF), T.J. Logan (North Carolina), Tim McVey (Air Force), Joe Mixon (Oklahoma State), Rashaad Penny (San Diego State), Tony Pollard (Memphis), John Ross (Washington) and Aregeros Turner (Northern Illinois).

VIC IS ON A STREAK: Victor Bolden Jr. is tied for 15th in the nation for receptions in consecutive games played. Bolden Jr. has caught at least one pass in 32 games in a row in which he's played. Only Nate Phillips (UA) with 41, River Cracraft (WSU) with 37, JuJu Smith-Schuster (USC) with 36 and Christian McCaffrey (Stanford) with 33 have longer streaks in the Pac-12. Robert Davis (Georgia State) leads the nation with receptions in 45 straight games.

OWENS TIED FOR SEVENTH: Beaver kicker Garrett Owens has quietly moved up the record charts for field goals at OSU. He enters Saturday with 32 made field goals. Owens is tied with Kieron Walford (1976-79) who converted 32 out of 56 in his career. Owens has made 32 of 44 field goals for a .727 percentage. Ryan Cesca (1999-2002) is next on the list for Owens with 34 career field goals.

BRIGHT SPOT: Sophomore linebacker Bright Ugwoegbu has been a different player in 2016. Ugwoegbu earned a spot on the first string at outside linebacker in 2015 in what turned out to be a part-time role. He tallied 17 tackles including 2.0 tackles-for-loss and a sack. So far in 2016 through eight games, Ugwoegbu has been one of the Beavers' biggest playmakers with 54 tackles, including a team-leading 11.0 tackles-for-loss and squad-best 5.5 sacks. In addition, he has a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pair of pass breakups. His 11.0 TFLs and 5.5 sacks already exceed the team-highs from last year.

TRUE STUDENT-ATHLETES: Eleven Beavers either have or are on track to graduate by January. Juniors Kendall Hill, who was recently granted a sixth year of eligibility, graduated following summer term with a degree in human development and family sciences, and Garrett Owens, received his degree in sociology in the spring. In addition, Gavin Andrews (economics), Devin Chappell (economics), Rahmel Dockery (sociology), Sean Harlow (human development and family sciences), Ricky Ortiz (agricultural sciences), Caleb Saulo (sociology), Dustin Stanton (business administration), Noke Tago (human development and family sciences) and Sosaia Tauaho (liberal studies) are scheduled to graduate in December.

SENIOR CLASS: The Beavers are once again one of the most inexperienced teams in the country. OSU entered the season with 15 seniors on the active roster, which ranks as tied with Washington State as the second-youngest team in the Pac-12 behind USC with 14. It is tied as the 13th-fewest seniors in the nation.

SHUFFLING THE DECK: When senior offensive lineman Sean Harlow returned to the lineup at Colorado it prompted a ripple effect along the line. Blake Brandel moved from left tackle to right tackle, Dustin Stanton slid from right tackle to right guard and Gavin Andrews further moved inside from right guard to center. Brandel, Stanton and Andrews had never previously played their new positions in a game for the Beavers. Fred Lauina was the lone regular to remain in his usual position at left guard. Lauina ended up getting injured in the game sending true freshman Gus Lavaka into action at left guard finishing the complete revamp of the Beavers' offensive line.

FRESH FACES: So far in 2016 Oregon State coaches have called on 19 young players to make their OSU debuts. Nine true freshmen have played so far in 2016 including: QB Conor Blount, WR Trevon Bradford, LB Andrzej Hughes-Murray, OL Gus Lavaka, RB Artavis Pierce, LB Joah Robinett, K Adley Rutschman, LB Shemar Smith and LB Shemiah Unutoa-Whitson. In addition, redshirt freshmen DT Elu Aydon, WR Andre Bodden, Ol Blake Brandel, CB Xavier Crawford, S Omar Hicks-Onu, LB Hamilton Hunt, CB Jay Irvine, S Jalen Moore, CB Shawn Wilson and TE Tuli Wily-Matagi have seen playing time for the first time in their careers.

12 MORE FIRST TIMERS: Nine transfers have also been called upon to contribute including: RB Tim Cook, QB Darell Garretson, WR Timmy Hernandez, OL Brayden Kearsley, DE Phillip Napoleon, S Landry Payne, LB Wesley Payne, DT Paisa Savea and CB Kyle White. Juniors OL Sam Curtius and RB Marcus Greaves as well as sophomore OL Yanni Demogerontas have also taken their first college snaps this season bringing the grand total of 2016 first-timers to 31 players making their collegiate debut for the Beavers.

FIRST TIME STARTERS: Fourteen Oregon State players have registered the first starts of their careers. First-time starters include sophomore OL Yanni Demogerontas, redshirt freshmen DT Elu Aydon, OL Blake Brandel, CB Xavier Crawford, CB Jay Irvine and S Jalen Moore. True freshmen LB Andrzej Hughes-Murray, OL Gus Lavaka, LB Joah Robinett and LB Shemiah Unutoa-Whitson have also made starts in 2016. Junior college transfers RB Tim Cook, WR Timmy Hernandez, DE Phillip Napoleon and DT Paisa Savea have also registered starts in recent weeks. In addition, juniors QB Darell Garretson and OL Brayden Kearsley have also made their first OSU starts. Both players had started at their previous schools, Garretson arrived at OSU with 11 starts under his belt at Utah State and Kearsley had four starts at BYU.

LET'S DO IT AGAIN: Oregon State safety Kendall Hill has been granted a sixth year of eligibility for the 2017 season by the NCAA. Hill missed his true freshman season (2012) due to a knee injury suffered during the spring of his senior year of high school. He then suffered a season-ending knee injury during the spring practice session in 2013 and missed a second straight year.

TEAM CAPTAINS: The 2016 team is captained by seniors Victor Bolden Jr., Devin Chappell, Sean Harlow, Caleb Saulo, Dustin Stanton and junior Darell Garretson.

NEW COORDINATORS: The Oregon State football program is one of five in the nation (Bowling Green, Hawai'i, UCF and Utah State) that has had a different offensive AND defensive coordinator in each of the last three seasons. On the offensive side, the Beavers have been led by John Garrett (2014), Dave Baldwin (2015) and Kevin McGiven and T.J. Woods will co-coordinate in 2016, while on the defensive side it has been Mark Banker (2014), Kalani Sitake (2015) and now Kevin Clune (2016). Bowling Green is the only team to have had four different coordinators on both sides of the ball in the last four years. In point of fact, Danny Langsdorf was the offensive coordinator for the previous 10 seasons before Garrett's stint under then-head coach Mike Riley.

DREAM COME TRUE: Oregon State Athletics and Unitus Community Credit Union have teamed up to grant wishes each game. Through Unitus' Dreams Come True program, the Beavers will welcome a children facing serious illness to Reser Stadium for the ultimate fan experience every home game during the 2016 season. Recipients will be recognized on the video board during the game, receive tickets, pre-game sideline passes, a chance to interact with the players on game day, a football signed by the OSU football team and a personalized game jersey. To learn more about the Dream Come True program visit osubeavers.com/dreamcometrue

SCHEDULE QUIRK: The Beavers have two separate two-game stretches at Reser Stadium - one is complete (Cal and Utah) and the second closes out the season for the Beavers (Arizona and Oregon). The last time OSU played a pair of league two-game home stands in one season was 1991.

CAMP BEND: The Oregon State football program opened fall camp by trekking across the Cascade Mountain range 155 miles to Bend, Ore. for the first week of practice. The team worked out at Summit High School while living in the dorms of Central Oregon Community College. The squad was able to work on team-bonding as well as receiving the benefits of working out at an elevation of 3,623 feet.

WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE, WIN THE GAME: Over the last 156 games, Oregon State is 52-17 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent, 12-43 when committing more and 16-17 when even.

300TH GAME IN RESER: The Beavers' will play their 300th game in Reser (formerly Parker) Stadium late this year against Arizona, Nov. 19.