Running Back Cornell Hatcher Was Oregon State's Biggest Silver Lining in Houston Loss
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Oregon State lost to Houston 27-24 in overtime on Friday night after a Cougar rally in the fourth quarter.
However, the Beavers' offense showed vast improvement from the prior week at Oregon, where they didn't even muster 150 yards of total offense.
Cornell Hatcher
The redshirt freshman from Corona, CA had a breakout game, proving that he belongs in the running back rotation. Hatcher averaged 5.5 yards a touch on 17 carries and rushed for a TD early in the fourth quarter. Stepping up in place of the injured Salahadin Allah, it's hard to imagine that's the last we'll see of the talented freshman this year.
"I thought Cornell ran great," head coach Trent Bray noted postgame. "I mean, he got vertical, ran hard. I mean, he was a big part of us, you know, those last two scores. I mean, he has big time runs."
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Trent Walker
The Oregon State passing offense once again revolved around the senior from Beaverton. Trent did his best to keep drives alive yesterday, and had a crucial catch late in the game that allowed the Beavers to attempt a game-winning field goal. Walker finished with seven catches for 103 yards, and he now has 30 catches on the season. Postgame, Walker vowed to continue his part in leading the team towards overall improvement.
"This is not how I wanted to finish my senior year," the team captain said. "This is not how I want to look back at my time at Oregon State."
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Bryce Caufield
Oregon State's offense tends to be more balanced when they get the tight ends involved, and Friday, they were able to do that. There were a couple of plays where the Beavers got Caufield open out into the flat, and both times it worked for a first down. While Oregon State didn't get much production yesterday from receivers other than Trent Walker, it was a good sign to see Caufield making an impact in the passing game.
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Ben Pahl is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in Portland, Oregon. His work covering college and professional sports has been featured by the Orange Media Network at Oregon State University as well as KBVR.fm. His other career stops in sports include the Portland Pickles baseball club and the NBA G-League's Rip City Remix.