Oregon State, Jack Colletto defeat Washington State 24-10, beat Cougars for first time since 2013: Game at a glance
Oregon State ended nearly a decade of Washington State dominance, as Jack Colletto scored two touchdowns to lead the Beavers to a 24-10 win Saturday night at Reser Stadium in Corvallis.
OSU beat the Cougars for the first time since 2013, stopping a streak of eight consecutive losses. The victory also moves the Beavers (5-2, 2-2 Pac-12) to within one win of bowl eligibility.
Oregon State freshman Damien Martinez ran 16 times for a career-high 111 yards. Quarterback Ben Gulbranson, making his second OSU career start, threw for a touchdown, an interception and 141 yards.
Oregon State’s defense had quarterback Cameron Ward scrambling most of the night. The sophomore transfer, sacked six times by the Beavers, completed 25 of 54 passes for 345 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
For the sixth time in seven games, Oregon State’s defense held the opponent to fewer than 400 yards. Washington State (4-3, 1-3) had 368, and only 23 on the ground.
It was a story of two quarters for Oregon State as the Beavers led 10-3 at halftime.
OSU’s offense and defense were sharp during the first quarter. On the opening kickoff, Silas Bolden ignited the Beavers with a 60-yard return, eventually leading to a Colletto 1-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead.
The Beavers’ defense was tenacious and effective for the first 16 minutes, holding WSU to 1 yard of offense. Oregon State took a 10-0 lead a minute into the second quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Atticus Sappington.
The OSU offense couldn’t get out of its way the rest of the half, managing just 11 yards during the final 14 minutes. Washington State began to move the ball, but the Beavers consistently put the Cougars in tough field-position situations. All WSU could manage before halftime was a 29-yard field goal by Dean Janikowski.
OSU opened the second half with a grinding drive that finished in spectacular fashion. The Beavers used short runs and passes to slowly move up the field. The 74-yard, 11-play drive ended when Gulbranson, with a Cougars defender squarely in his face, rifled a 17-yard pass to Anthony Gould. The fourth-year sophomore leaped high in the air, caught the ball in heavy traffic and fell into the end zone to put OSU in front 17-3.
It didn’t take long for Washington State to answer. Ward worked over OSU’s defense with short passes, finishing an 81-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Jenkins.
Oregon State didn’t flinch. The Beavers added another scoring drive, the centerpiece a career-high 50 yard run by Martinez. That set up Colletto’s second touchdown, increasing OSU’s lead to 24-10 three seconds into the fourth quarter.
Oregon State then turned to its defense, which ended consecutive Cougars drives with an interception by Ryan Cooper Jr. and a third-down sack of Ward.
Three of Washington State’s final four drives ended with turnovers on downs.
Briefly: Colletto moved into OSU’s top 10 for career rushing touchdowns with 22. … Cooper has three interceptions this season.
— Nick Daschel reported from Corvallis.
