Top 10 Oregon State Football Games Since 2000: #10

After a bumpy start to the 2013 season, the Sean Mannion-led OSU Beavers headed to Salt Lake City to kick off their Pac-12 slate. Losing a heartbreaker to FCS Eastern Washington in their opener, it was crucial for Mike Riley's squad to open up conference play with a victory.

First Half

Coming into to one of the conference's toughest road environments, the Beavers got off to a strong start. They put together a 64-yard drive on their opening possession that ended in a Trevor Romaine field goal, before forcing a quick three-and-out on Utah's opening drive.

After both teams traded stops, Oregon State got the ball back and began to fire up their electric passing offense. Starting from their own 37-yard line, Mannion found Brandin Cooks for a 21-yard completion, immediately getting the Beavs into Utah territory. After a big conversion on third-and-ten kept the drive going, Mannion slung a bullet to wideout Richard Mullaney for a 17-yard TD completion, giving them a 10-0 lead. Putting up two offensive scores and holding the Utes to zero first downs, it was all Beavers in the opening quarter.

After Utah finally got on the board early in the second quarter, the Beaver offense immediately responded by putting together a scoring drive of their own, this time ending with a TD reception from tight end Connor Hamlett. The Beavers took a 20-10 lead into the dressing room.

Second Half

The third quarter couldn't have started any better for the visiting side, with Beaver DB Sean Martin picking off Utah quarterback Travis Wilson and returning it 27 yards for a touchdown on the opening drive of the half. This stunned the home crowd into silence, as Oregon State took a commanding 27-10 lead.

But the Utes certainly weren't going to roll over. They responded with a four-play, 75-yard TD drive that took less than three minutes. Their defense then stepped it up by forcing an Oregon State punt to give their offense the ball right back. Travis Wilson was clinical on this next TD drive, going 3-of-4 through the air for 59 yards. The score was now 27-24 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, and the comfortable Beaver lead had completely evaporated.

There was no shortage of fireworks from there. After the ensuing kickoff, Mannion ran a play-action fake, and then lofted a ball over the top of the Utah secondary to Brandin Cooks, good for a 55-yard TD. But the Utes immediately threw another counter-punch with a Lucky Radley TD reception two minutes into the fourth, making it a 34-31 ball game. Oregon State got three on their next possession, opting to go with a Trevor Romaine 20-yard field goal on fourth and goal.

Getting the ball back down six with seven minutes left, Utah torched the OSU defense by going 85 yards in under three minutes. This gave the Utes their first lead of the game, and put the Beavers in desperation mode trailing 38-37 with just 4:25 left. But the Beaver offense flexed their muscles, putting together a heart-stopping TD drive that included a clutch fourth-down reception by Richard Mullaney to keep his team in the game. Cooks caught a TD pass on 3rd-and-12, and then OSU converted a gigantic two-point conversion to go up seven points. But Travis Wilson led an incredible drive for the Utes in a do-or-die situation, and the game went into overtime tied at 45.

Overtime

Heading into the OT period, the Beavers couldn't have been feeling great about getting a stop. Utah had just put together four TD drives over their last five possessions, and Wilson's mobility in the pocket was causing all sorts of problems. However, the OSU front seven kicked things into a higher gear, shutting down two James Poole rushes to set up third and long, where they came away with a crucial stop. Utah converted a field goal, but the Beaver defense had done their job. The offense took the field, knowing that a touchdown wins the game.

Mannion didn't miss a beat, opening the drive with a 15-yard completion over the middle to Kevin Cummings, setting up first and goal from the 10. Terron Ward then had a productive carry over the left side, setting up second-and-goal at the six. Then, on a dropback in the pocket, Mannion read the secondary and lofted one into the end zone. His pass just barely got above the fingertips of a Utah defensive back and ended up in the arms of his superstar wideout Brandin Cooks, giving Oregon State their first win at Utah since 1968. FINAL: Oregon State 51, Utah 48.

Key Stats

This one was an absolute barn-burner, with a plethora of players all over the stat sheet.

For the Utes, QB Travis Wilson ended with over 400 all-purpose yards and accounted for five total TDs, three of them on the ground. Utah halfback James Poole took 25 carries and caught seven passes, finishing with nearly 200 all-purpose yards.

For the Beavers, Sean Mannion and Brandin Cooks both had monster performances. Mannion threw for 443 yards and five TDs, while Cooks caught nine passes for 210 yards and three TDs. Often overlooked in this classic was the production of Richard Mullaney, who turned in a huge game of his own with 142 receiving yards and a TD. The Beaver secondary came away with three picks, with future Kansas City Chiefs starter Steven Nelson snagging two interceptions of his own.

Come back every weekend this summer for a new installment in the series!

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