Coming off of two losses, Oregon State fought hard against the Stanford Cardinals Saturday night down south in Palo Alto finishing with a nail-biting win, 28-27.

The Saturday night win did not come easy with another absence of tight end Luke Musgrave and starting quarterback, Chance Nolan, both due to injuries. The Beavers began with a slow start ending the first quarter with zero touchdowns and a missed field goal. 

With 3:37 left in the first quarter and one yard from the endzone, Cardinals sophomore running back Casey Filkins pushed his way through to score Stanford’s first touchdown of the game.

Oregon State struggled to pick up momentum in the first half of the game with only seven points by inside linebacker Jack Colletto in the first quarter. 

In the second quarter, Oregon State received three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties from Alex Austin and Brandon Kipper which threatened the possibility of an ejection. The Beavers continued to fall behind the Stanford Cardinals after two consecutive touchdowns.

Redshirt freshman kicker Atticus Sappington helped boost the Beavers’ chances in the third quarter with a 40-yard field goal. Despite the Cardinals 14-point advantage, they began to grow nervous about the Beavers growing confidence and offensive strength. 

Still, in the beginning of his football career at Oregon State, redshirt freshman Ben Gulbranson made another appearance, starting in his first college game. Despite starting slow, Gulbranson was able to throw his first two touchdowns in his collegiate career.

To kick off an 18-point run in the fourth quarter, Gulbranson threw a 21-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Silas Bolden to bump the score to 16-24 followed by freshman running back Damien Martinez who added another 43-yards and three extra points with Gulbranson running for a two-point conversion.

The Beavers dove into the fourth quarter with confidence and determination to surpass the 14-point difference at the end of the third, and not only did they achieve those points, but tacked on an extra four to bring home their fourth win of the season.

Starting the fourth quarter down by eight points, the Beavers came back stronger than ever.

With 13 seconds left on the clock and down by five, Gulbranson threw a 56-yard pass to senior wide receiver Tre’Shaun Harrison who scored a touchdown to bring the score to 28-27.

The Beavers improbable ending to Saturday’s game gives them their first PAC-12 conference win of the year, bringing them to a 4-2 season record.

Up next, Oregon State welcomes Washington State to Reser Stadium on Oct. 15, looking to keep their momentum rolling for the rest of conference play.