Corvallis, OR – The Oregon State Beavers led from start to finish in their game against No. 18 UCLA on Saturday night.
Entering the contest with the AP’s No. 15 ranking, the Beavers and their offense were coming off a 52-point performance against Cal, while UCLA started the game with the country’s fifth-ranked defense in terms of yards allowed per game.
It was a quick start for the Beavs, as they intercepted UCLA quarterback Dante Moore in the opening 90 seconds of the game. That turnover led to an Atticus Sappington field goal, and OSU tacked on another field goal after the Bruins offense responded to the interception with three-and-out.
After Oregon State picked off Moore for the second time with 3:13 remaining in the first quarter, backup Beaver QB Aidan Chiles tossed a 10-yard touchdown to tight end Jack Velling.
With the Beavers’ lead at 13-0, UCLA engineered an eight-play, 75-yard drive that saw Logan Loya take a 10-yard pass from Moore into the end zone. When OSU’s Deshaun Fenwick lost a fumble near midfield on the ensuing possession, UCLA’s offense stalled just inside the 20 and the Bruins tacked on a field goal to cut the Beavers lead to 13-10.
Another Beaver field goal saw the Bruins get the ball on their own 25 with 1:55 remaining in the half. After driving to midfield, Moore threw his third interception of the half and Ryan Cooper Jr. returned it 67 yards for a touchdown. Instead of UCLA taking the lead entering the half, the interception increased OSU’s lead to 23-10.
In the second half, the teams started by exchanging punts. After this, OSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei found Silas Bolden for a 43-yard touchdown that put the Beavers up 29-10. The Bruins immediately responded with a 69-yard touchdown drive that only took 1:58 off the game clock.
It was part of a sequence of possessions that saw the Beavers and Bruins trade touchdowns on four consecutive drives, including two Uiagalelei passes and two rushing touchdowns for the Bruins. With a little over 14 minutes remaining in the game, Oregon State brandished a 36-24 lead.
After an Oregon State punt, UCLA made it down to the Oregon State 26-yard line before Moore was sacked on 4th down by the Beavers’ Calvin Hart Jr.
Another punt from OSU, had UCLA starting on their eight-yard line and drove down to the Beaver 30 before enduring a holding penalty and two sacks on Moore. The Beavers stifled a screen pass on a 4th-and-25, and Uiagalelei took a knee to end the game.
After the game, when Uiagalelei was asked why his game had been elevated in the past two weeks he said:
“I just feel comfortable. I’m playing confident, I’m feeling confident, I’m doing good on my reads and progressions. I feel like the coaches have done a good job instilling confidence in me. I appreciate the coaches and the players giving me confidence.”
Head Coach Jonathan Smith added that he is pleased with his running back duo of Martinez and Fenwick, especially the emergence of Fenwick, saying:
“Our running backs are doing really good, and they’re kind of 1A and 1B.”
For the contest, Uiagalelei went 14/24 for 266 yards and two touchdowns, while running backs Damien Martinez and Deshaun Fenwick combined for 142 yards on 24 carries. The balanced running attack helped propel the Beavers past the Bruins.
UCLA’s Moore, on the other hand, went 15/34 for only 168 yards with one touchdown while tossing three interceptions, all in the first half. Moore’s turnovers lead to 13 points, including the pick-six.
The Beavers will likely see a favorable jump in the AP poll with USC, Oregon, and Louisville losing.
Moving forward, Oregon State has a two-week layoff before taking the field against Arizona in Tucson on October 28th.