OSU’s offense sputtered through the first half and the defense got pushed around at the line of scrimmage all night.
Oregon State went about winning a sloppy football game Saturday night at Reser Stadium.
The No. 15 Beavers beat No. 18 UCLA 36-24 before a vocal crowd of 37,600. It was convincing if not inspiring.
OSU’s offense sputtered through the first half and the defense got pushed around at the line of scrimmage all night. If UCLA freshman quarterback Dante Moore hadn’t kept obligingly serving up interceptions, this could have gone far wrong.
The offense woke up intermittently in the second half, when quarterback DJ Uiagalelei gunned TD strikes of 43 yards to Silas Bolden and 32 yards to Jack Velling.
That gave OSU enough breathing room to fend off the Bruins, who had little trouble moving the ball on the ground. UCLA rushed for 284 yards and averaged 5.7 per carry. Change-of-pace quarterback Collin Schlee alone carried for 110.
UCLA coach Chip Kelly faulted his running game as inconsistent. Imagine what might have happened had the Bruins hit on all cylinders.
“I think Collin gave us some spark with some designed quarterback runs or reads,” Kelly said. “But we need to be more consistent rushing the football.”
Well, maybe. But it seemed as if UCLA’s backs were running through big holes and breaking tackles throughout. The Beavers compensated by taking the ball away, intercepting Moore three times. Ryan Cooper returned one of the thefts 67 yards for a score.
Moore was a big-time recruit with a bright future. On this drizzly night, though, it’s hard to know why UCLA put the ball in the air at all.
And so, the Beavers are 6-1, 3-1 in the Pac-12, and bowl eligible. That would have been cause for celebration in the not-so-distant, bad-old-days.
But this team has larger aspirations and a point to make ever since 10 members of the conference bailed out, leaving OSU and Washington State to fend for themselves next year in what some are calling the Pac-2.
It’s an issue for OSU fans, who were loud enough to cause communication problems for the UCLA offense. They gave the Bruins an earful as they left the field after the game.
Kelly called OSU’s fans “awesome,” and said the new, high west side of Reser creates a louder environment on the field.
“That made it difficult,” he said.
As usual, the Beavers are flying beneath the national radar. Saturday’s spotlight was farther north.
Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and ESPN’s early-morning, traveling circus touched down in Seattle to set the stage for Washington’s thrilling 36-33 victory over Oregon.
That game was dramatic. This was not.
And if the Beavers’ defense doesn’t buckle down, it’s difficult to see OSU playing on even terms with either Oregon or Washington.
Oregon State’s six victories make for a nice first half of the season. On paper. But OSU’s loss was to Washington State in Pullman. On Saturday, Arizona blew out WSU 44-6. Yikes.
The Beavers’ next game is against Arizona in Tucson in two weeks. They almost certainly will need a sharper performance in a tough venue than they had at home against UCLA (4-2, 1-2).
Don’t forget, last week OSU had to outscore California 52-40 to escape with a victory in Berkeley.
This hasn’t exactly been a lockdown defense. OSU coach Jonathan Smith and defensive coordinator Trent Bray have 14 days to figure something out.
It’s never been easy once the Pac-12 disposes of nonconference play and begins turning on itself. Why should the conference’s final season as now configured be any different?
The Beavers will need both sides of the football for the stretch run. Don’t forget, the season closes against Washington and Oregon back to back.
Getting in a high-scoring, slugfest with either doesn’t look like a winning formula.
It’s probably not the best plan against Arizona either.
— Ken Goe reported for The Oregonian/OregonLive from Corvallis.
