Oregon State football’s first stop of a two-game road trip to end the 2025 season takes the Beavers (2-8) to Tulsa, Oklahoma
Oregon State football’s first stop of a two-game road trip to end the 2025 season takes the Beavers (2-8) to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Golden Hurricane (2-7, 0-6 American) looks to end its five-game skid, while Oregon State searches for a spark before its season-finale against Washington State.
Saturday’s matchup at Tulsa marks Oregon State’s first road trip under interim head coach Robb Akey. The Beavers are 0-3 on the road this year. Since former head coach Jonathan Smith departed Corvallis for Michigan State, Oregon State is 1-8 away from Reser Stadium. Its last road win came two weeks into the 2024 season, shutting out San Diego State 21-0 in early September.
After a devastating loss to the previously-winless Sam Houston Bearkats last Saturday, Akey says the Beavers are “moving forward” to their next opportunity.
“That’s the biggest thing of all… Getting our minds back to understanding that (we’ve) got an opportunity,” Akey said Monday. “And so now that opportunity is here. What are you going to do with it? We’ve got to make sure we overcome the feelings and all that from this past weekend and — regardless of our situation as a team — you play (another) game and get an opportunity.”
Like the Beavers, Tulsa head coach Tre Lamb said his team iis reeling after five-straight losses. Their last win came Sept. 19 against Oklahoma State, Mike Gundy’s final game as the Cowboys head coach.
“Its been a hard seven weeks,” Lamb said. “(The American) is a good conference, but it doesn’t feel good on Sundays when you lose five straight (with) two off weeks stuck in there… We’re not as good as I thought we’d be. We’re not playing as well as I thought we would (and) we’re not coaching as well as I thought we would. It starts with me.”
Lamb’s Hurricane
Lamb, just 36 years old, is one of Division I FBS’ youngest coaches. He’s in year one at Tulsa after successful stints with Gardner-Webb and East Tennessee State in the FCS ranks. Now with the Golden Hurricane, Lamb engineered a pass-first offense that throws the ball twice as much as they run.
Redshirt-freshman Baylor Hayes followed Lamb from ETSU and earned Tulsa’s starting quarterback job. He’s passed for over 1,500 yards, but five interceptions and 20 sacks have kept Tulsa behind the sticks. He has, however, tossed nine scores and rushed for three more.
Hayes’ three rushing touchdowns ties him with senior running back Dominic Richardson for the team lead. Richardson carried the ball 157 yards for 696 yards through Tulsa’s first nine games. Receiver Zion Booker is the Hurricane’s receptions leader (46), but tight end Brody Foley is Hayes’ top weapon in the passing game, hauling in 27 balls for 409 yards and a team-leading six touchdowns.
Tulsa came close to a win against Temple on Oct. 25, but the Owls eked out a 38-37 overtime win. The loss was the fourth of the previously mentioned five-straight, in which the Hurricane’s defense surrendered 39 points on average. Lamb said that if Tulsa is going to find an advantage, it’ll come on special teams.
“Special teams has been abysmal for (Oregon State),” Lamb said. “They’ve been one of the worst in the country all year long and I’m hoping we can take advantage of that… They’re losing games a lot like we are, in ways you just couldn’t make up.”
Beavers’ stout defense
Lamb tipped his cap to Oregon State’s defensive performances as of late. For all of Oregon State’s struggles, its defense was fantastic against Washington State and Sam Houston.
“(Oregon State is) solid on defense. They’re big, fast, long,” Lamb said. “They’ve played well on defense all year, statistically. They haven’t given up a bunch of points.”
In the three games since former head coach Trent Bray’s dismissal, opposing offenses scored just one touchdown per game against the Beavers’ defense. No one has amassed more than 300 yards of offense against the Beavers in the span and Oregon State’s allowed opponents to convert just 28% (13-of-46) third-down tries.
Add in the Beavers’ four interceptions, seven sacks and 19 tackles-for-loss and the group looks as stout as any. According to interim linebackers coach Mark Criner, who took over the job from Bray, stopping the run is paramount for the Beavers.
“Shoring up the run game has really helped us,” Criner said. “(Tulsa) is more pass-oriented from an offensive standpoint. That (allows) us to get after the quarterback a little bit… you can bring more pressures on second-and-10, second-and-long.”
Aiden Sullivan is Oregon State’s lightning rod defensively. The linebacker logged four tackles-for-loss in the last three games and had at least six total tackles in each matchup. Sullivan battled through a foot injury to play against Sam Houston and had limited snaps because of it, but should play this weekend.
Johnson improving, Hankerson hunting 1,000-yard mark
The Beavers’ new offensive playcaller, Danny Langsdorf, said quarterback Gabarri Johnson’s career game was a step in the right direction. Johnson completed 29 of his 42 passing attempts, including 18 of his first 19, for 286 yards.
“He did some good quarterback stuff,” Langsdorf said. “He progressed on some reads and checked the ball down. His job is to make some plays with his legs and scramble. I thought he did a decent job — maybe a little quick a couple times. But I thought he did a better job, an improved job, at using the whole play.”
Johnson rushed just seven times for 22 yards, 21 of which came on an incredible scramble to move Oregon State into field goal range. His box score was, however, impacted by a pair of interceptions and red zone collapses. The Beavers went 0-for-5 inside Sam Houston’s 30 yard line in the second half of Saturday’s loss, including twice in the final five minutes.
Senior running back Anthony Hankerson enters Saturday’s game hunting his fifth-straight 100-yard performance. Hankerson rushed for over 500 yards in the Beavers’ last three games. He’s 31 yards shy of his second-straight 1,000-yard season and a touchdown away from the 25th of his Oregon State career.
Week 12: Oregon State (2-8) vs. Tulsa (2-7)
When: Thursday, Nov. 15
Where: H.A. Chapman Stadium; Tulsa, Oklahoma
Time: 10 a.m. (PT)
TV: ESPN+
Favorite: Oregon State (-2.5)
