Oregon State hopes to build off first Pac-12 win in two years
One win doesn’t make everything better, but it sure doesn’t hurt with the process.
Oregon State ended a trio of harrowing losing streaks with last week’s 41-34 overtime victory at Colorado, its first road victory since Oct. 4, 2014, a span of 22 games. That was also the Beavers’ first win in Pac-12 play in 14 games and its first against an FBS opponent since the end of the 2016 season.
Even more amazing was how OSU (2-6, 1-4 Pac-12) did it, rallying from down 31-3 early in the fourth quarter to force overtime and then win it in extra time.
“I think it’s big in regards to you don’t have to answer questions about it anymore,” first-year coach Jonathan Smith said Monday in his weekly press conference. “Kids don’t have to read about it anymore. At the same time it’s not the biggest win in the school’s history.”
It also isn’t an excuse to forget about the remaining games this season, starting with Saturday’s home game against USC (4-4, 3-3).
“We’ve got another great opponent coming in,” Smith said. “They present challenges in a lot of ways.”
The Trojans come to Corvallis at a very vulnerable point, having lost two in a row, including 38-35 at home to Arizona State last week. That was the Trojans’ first home loss under third-year coach Clay Helton, but they are 1-3 on the road this season.
OSU is 1-3 at Reser Stadium and hasn’t been competitive for much of its last three games there, getting outscored 140-58. But the Beavers also didn’t have access to senior quarterback Jake Luton, who had missed four straight games with an ankle injury before coming off the bench at Colorado to lead the comeback.
Luton was 28 of 39 for 310 yards and three touchdowns, helping him earn Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors. And that was despite still not being 100 percent.
“He was so limited, physically, through the week of practice that we weren’t certain he would be able to operate,” Smith said. “He was able to make throws from the pocket, for the most part, so that was huge.”