Stanford Football: 3 takeaways from ugly win over Oregon State

2. Oregon State’s defense played great — until the end

I watched all of this game and Oregon State didn’t look like a defense that is known for being a punching bag in the Pac-12. This unit gives up 43.7 points per game which is 128th in the nation. So if anybody told me that this unit would hold Stanford under 20 points, I would’ve called you a liar and tried to bet you anything that was significant.

The Beavers held Stanford to 222 total yards — Love averages 198 yards per game himself and they barely allowed them to get over his average. The running game as a whole only tallied 81 yards.

Oregon State normally allows 478 yards a game which is 12th-highest in the nation, but the Beavers made it tough on the visitors all night even securing a interception by sophomore safety Omar Hicks-Onu.

Until a huge fumble by the offense late in the fourth quarter, it seemed they had Stanford defeated, but the fumble and a big fourth-down conversion by Stanford allowed the Beavers to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (I know that statement is backwards, but that is what really happened). They played great, but still lost 15-14. Is this a moral victory?