The Beavers dropped to 4-4 on the season after suffering a blowout loss against the Golden Bears.
After the Oregon State Beavers dropped their third game in a row — this one in lopsided fashion — coach Trent Bray talked to reporters about his team’s performance against a dominant California Golden Bears squad Saturday in Berkeley, California.
Here’s a transcript of what Bray had to say as the Beavers enter their second bye week of the season. Bray’s comments have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: Well, Trent, talk about this game. Obviously, you’re very disappointed about how it came out.
Bray: Yeah, we didn’t play well at all, on any phase. Didn’t coach well, didn’t play well, unacceptable.
Q: The start of the game, how it started out, just kind of set the tone.
Bray: Yeah, they went right down and scored. We stalled out, way back deep in our territory, was kind of a sign of what was coming the rest of the day.
Q: Fourth quarter, 17-play drive. The guys continued to play hard because they want to get better and they want to get back on track.
Bray: There’s no question. We’ve got to do a better job as coaches, giving them the tools to be successful.
Q: Six quarters now on offense, just haven’t really done much. Do you have any reasons why things have just kind of gone sour on that side of the ball?
Bray: I couldn’t say anything right off the top my head. Tonight there was no running game. So, whenever we don’t have a running game, it’s hard to get stuff started. And that’s kind of been, the third quarter against UNLV as well, the lack of being able to run the football, behind the sticks. That’s not how we play, and so we get we struggle when we have to play that way.
Q: Why did you guys decide to pull Gevani (McCoy)?
Bray: It’s just, the offense wasn’t going. Wanted to see if one of those other guys could light a spark and and get something going. That’s about it.
Q: How’d Ben (Gulbranson) do?
Bray: I thought there were some good things. Obviously, the touchdown drive he made good decisions and good reads, and we were able to get in the end zone.
Q: What are you going to do with the bye week as far as getting back on track?
Bray: It’s about one, there’s a couple of phases. We got to get healthy, get some guys back, that’ll help. We got to look at ourselves and how are we, what do we have to teach and what do we have to coach so we can make this strong push these last four games? And then we got to just get better.
Q: Can you evaluate the quarterback position moving forward?
Bray: I couldn’t make that right now. I got to see the film and talk to Gundy (Ryan Gunderson).
Next game: Oregon State (4-4) vs. San Jose State (5-2)
When: Saturday, Nov. 9Time: TBDWhere: Reser Stadium, CorvallisTV channel: The CW (Channel 32 in Portland)Stream: Watch live for free with Fubo (free trial), or with DirecTV Stream (free trial). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest depending on your location.Oregon State football 2024 season schedule, scoresSign up for The Beavers Beat newsletter
Q: What happened with the past defense today? Because the run defense been the issue, and that was OK today. What happened with the pass defense?
Bray: That’s a good question. I think we were out of place too many times, and they’re good. Their quarterback’s a real good player. They’ve got real good receivers, and you have to be sharp and on your game to defend a team like that. And we were not today.
Q: That first touchdown, that was kind of improvisation. As a coach, is that just one that it just happens, or are there things that you tell your guys to look for on something like that?
Bray: Oh, God. That was just a really instinctive and smart play by them, a great effort by their quarterback, just smart by their back who’s about to get tackled, just flipping it. That’s just a great play by them.
Q: How do you handle a flight home after a loss like this?
Bray: I don’t watch the film because I’m too emotionally still in it. I’ll think and reflect on where we’re at, what we’ve done, how can we do it better? That’s probably what I’m doing.
Q: Are you? Are you concerned about losing some of these guys.
Bray: No, not at all.
Q: You said you’re emotional. How would you describe your emotions right now?
Bray: You’re frustrated. Frustrated, I think. Lost two close ones that we could have had, and then came out and didn’t play well tonight. And so it’s frustrating because we’re better than our record, and we need to play to that standard, and we got to get our guys to. So again, it falls on me first, and the coaches and getting those guys ready to go so they play better.
Q: I think back to our conversation in January in your office, your message to the team and the College Football Playoff chase. Obviously, that has ended. Moving forward, how do you recalibrate things, what do you look at moving forward?
Bray: Yeah, I think it’s just about us. We’re constantly looking for the best versions of ourselves, and that’s what we’re after. And we have not found it, so that’s what we’re chasing. And we got four games left, we got to make a strong push to give ourselves a chance to have one more game. So that’s the focus right now is that next game to get us closer to it.
— Nick Daschel covers the Oregon State Beavers. Reach him at 360-607-4824 or @nickdaschel. Listen to the Beaver Banter podcast or subscribe to the Beavers Roundup newsletter.
