Oregon State football: 3 takeaways from thrilling upset of Oregon

Oregon State football used a 21-point fourth quarter to come back and defeat the Oregon Ducks at home in Corvallis, Ore., on Saturday afternoon. The Beavers found themselves down 34-17 early in the fourth quarter before scoring the final 21 points of the game to secure the win. The Beavers needed all three game phases to pull off the upset.

Oregon State got a 48-yard kickoff return after the Oregon field goal to give them a short field for the first of their three touchdowns. The Beavers then forced a fumble, giving them another short field at Oregon’s two-yard line. Finally, the call Dan Lanning will get criticized for calling an option play, allowing Bo Nix to run the ball deep in their territory.

Everything that could go wrong for the Ducks went wrong in the fourth quarter. For the Beavers, they are proving last season was no fluke. Here is more on Oregon State’s win.

3. Jonathan Smith is building something in Corvallis

When Jonathan Smith took over Oregon State, they went 1-11 the season before and 2-10 in Smith’s first season. The Beavers are going to a bowl game for consecutive seasons, which has not happened since 2015-2016. The Beavers have two wins against Oregon in the last three years. The Beavers haven’t had that happen since they won two straight in 2006-07.

They are well-coached, and the talent depth has significantly improved. This season, the Beavers have played the top of the Pac-12 tough. They beat Oregon this afternoon and played Washington and USC to one score. The Utah game was the only non-competitive game they played this season. With USC and UCLA leaving the conference in 2024, the Beavers could be a player for years.