Oregon State Falls To Fresno State 36-27 Amidst Special Teams Issues
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Following a deflating loss to Cal in the first week of the season, the Oregon State Beavers hosted a future Pac-12 rival in the Fresno State Bulldogs.
This Saturday may have been an even bigger gut punch, with the Bulldogs coming away with a 36-27 win over Trent Bray's squad.
While the Beaver offense looked improved, they found themselves dealing with a whole other set of issues as they fall to 0-2 in 2025.
MORE: Pro Beavs: Former Oregon State Players To Watch in Week One Of The 2025 NFL Season
Final Two Minutes
Oregon State got the ball down five points with 2:08 remaining. Murphy completed three passes on the drive and David Wells Jr. took a 34-yard catch-and-run into the end zone to give the Beavs a lead. OSU then failed to convert the two-point conversion. The OSU defense then failed to contain E.J. Warner, who scrambled into Beavs territory and gave Dylan Lynch a look at the 43-yard field goal that gave the Bulldogs back the lead.
With 29 seconds remaining, the Beavers tried a last-ditch effort to get into field goal range, but Murphy was intercepted by Jakari Embry and Embry ran it back 45 yards for a touchdown.
Special Teams Issues Throughout
Oregon State did not convert on any of their four touchdowns on the day.
Oregon State's normal long snapper Dylan Black was unable to play due to an injury sustained last week. Redshirt sophomore Jackson Robertson, who action in nine games in 2024, struggled heavily with botched snaps on the Beavs' first two extra points, resulting in misses.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Will Haverland was moved into the position after Robertson's miscues and understandably didn't look completely comfortable. The Beavs went for two on their third touchdown to try and make up some ground, but it was unsuccessful. While the Beavers scored on four of their first seven drives, they only got 21 points out of that sequence of events.
The bad snaps also affected the Beavs punt game. Beavs punter AJ Windsor mishandled a snap in the second quarter, and despite trying to kick the ball out of bounds, which is a penalty, the Bulldogs picked up the ball and ran it in for a 42-yard score. Another bad snap in the fourth quarter on a punt attempt resulting in a turnover on downs that set up Fresno State at the 21-yard line. The Bulldogs turned that into three points with a 28-yard field goal to extend the lead.
The Beaver defense tried to answer that sequence with a drive down to the 22-yard line, but a 40-yard field goal attempt by Caleb Ojeda resulted in a miss.
OSU went for two on their two later touchdowns, but failed to get the ball over the goal line.
What Went Right?
The most improved aspect of Oregon State's attack from last week was the passing game. Maalik Murphy completed 31 passes on 48 attempts for 371 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Taz Reddicks caught 11 passes for 158 yards on 16 targets. Trent Walker also caught seven passes for 99 yards on nine targets.
The rushing attack was also solid with Anthony Hankerson rushing for 136 yards. Overall, the Beavs' offense produced over 200 more yards than the visitors, but that's of little consolation given the other aspects of the Beavers' performance and the road ahead of them.
The Beavers begin a particularly difficult stretch with two games against ranked opponents, at Texas Tech (September 13) and at Oregon (September 20), over the next two weeks.
OSU kicks off against Texas Tech next Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT on Fox.
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Joe Londergan joined the SI brand in 2023 with G5 Football Daily. With over 15 years of experience in covering and working directly in college and pro sports, Joe's expertise has been featured in Front Office Sports, SB Nation, and XRAY.FM. He is a member of both the Football Writers' Association of America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. Joe holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a master's degree in sports administration from Seattle University. Outside of his writing career, Joe enjoys golfing, although he admits that while he hits driver decently, his short game is a liability.
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