Editor’s note: This is a column and does not reflect the views or opinions of the Daily Barometer.

Over the past four years of sports at Oregon State University, we have seen dominating wins, comebacks, buzzer beaters, walk-offs and overtime wins against some of the Beavers’ biggest rivals in Corvallis. But what happens when the Beavs’ most popular sports hit the road? 

Lost leads, pitching blunders and turnovers consume the Beavers away from Corvallis.

During the 2024 football season, the Beavers’ away record was 1-4, including an embarrassing shutout loss to Air Force on Nov. 16. 

These losses didn’t come against teams who were significantly better than the 5-7 Beavs; Air Force finished 5-7, Nevada University finished 3-10, and the University of California, Berkeley finished 6-7. 

The only team that finished with a significantly higher record than the Beavers was Boise State University, who ended the season 12-2.

In 2023 and 2022, Beaver football lost a total of two games at home, while their away record stood at 6-5.

In 2021, their record was 1-5 on the road.

One of Beaver football’s biggest accomplishments was their defeat of a dominant University of Oregon football team at Reser Stadium in 2022, who finished the season 10-3, and their only road loss was to the Beavers. 

Men’s basketball statistically is the worst-performing sport at OSU on the road. 

Since the 2021-2022 season, Beaver Basketball has an away record of 5-38.

In the 2024-2025 season, the Beavers defeated Gonzaga University, who made it to “The Big Dance” at home in overtime on Jan. 16.

However, when the Beavs made the trip to Spokane, Washington, they were soundly defeated 98-60. 

With the 2025 baseball season still underway, it’s hard to say how their road journey will turn out. With what we know now, the Beavs have lost one series to an unranked Nebraska University and were swept against the — at the time — No. 13 Oregon Ducks. 

In 2024, the Beavers were favorites to make it to the College World Series; however, their 9-12 away record and silent bats against the University of Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, Kentucky, in the Super Regionals shortened their season. 

That season, the Beavs only lost two games at home.

The three seasons prior, Beaver baseball was 44-28 on the road.

What can be gathered from this information? Is the travel too much for collegiate athletes? Is the atmosphere from the fans adding that much of an advantage to the home team? Do certain stadiums pose disadvantages to the visiting teams?

Flat tires

While on the road in San Luis Obispo this season, Beaver baseball’s ace Nelson Keljo strained a muscle in his tricep during a workout. This caused him to miss his upcoming start in Lincoln, Nebraska, the following week.

Pitching partner-in-crime Eric Segura made the start instead. In previous games, Keljo started while Segura came in as a long-term relief pitcher to finish the remainder of the game. 

Unfortunately, Segura’s first official start of the season ended in a 3-7 loss. Did Segura feel lost on the mound without Keljo? Can the loss be attributed to Keljo’s injury? 

Do injuries throw the team dynamic off when they’re away from home?

Men’s basketball forward Parsa Fallah suffered a concussion in the second half against San Francisco on Jan. 18. Already down before the second half started, the Beavers took another road loss.

Former starting quarterback Gevani McCoy struggled with a shoulder injury after beating Colorado State at home on Oct. 5. The following start, McCoy threw for 231 yards against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

However, this shoulder injury lingered, and McCoy lost his starting spot to Ben Gulbranson on the road against Cal and Air Force. 

For larger rostered sports like football and baseball, injuries before away trips reduce roster depth, size and availability. With key players either at home or in the locker room due to injury, there is a disruption of team chemistry and camaraderie.

Running on empty

Beaver football faced Nevada on the road on Oct. 12, and was leading 24-21 heading into the fourth quarter. However, a pick-six, a late touchdown and an interception to end the Beavs’ final drive solidified the comeback for the Wolf Pack.

The men’s basketball team matched up well against Saint Mary’s in their final season meeting in the West Coast Conference Tournament. The Beavs led for 13 minutes in the first half and by halftime were only down by one. However, as soon as the whistle blew to start the second half, the Beavers were unable to turn it around.

In the bottom of the ninth, Beaver baseball had a 6-3 lead against the Cal Poly Mustangs. Three base hits, a sac fly and a home run later, the Mustangs secured the come-from-behind win. 

In the series finale against Nebraska, the Beavers allowed nine runs in the seventh inning, which took the score from 7-6 to 7-15. The Beavers were unable to come back.

The latter half of the game seems to be a weakness for the Beavers. 

Could travel play a factor in the exhaustion? 

During the stretch of time between Beaver baseball’s three road losses against Cal Poly and Nebraska, the team traveled down the coast for a three game weekend series in San Luis Obispo, California,  then back home, then to Portland that following Tuesday, and hopped on another flight with a two hour time difference to Lincoln, Nebraska for another three game series. 

Stalled Engines

High-scoring offense really gets the game started; however, on the road, the teams just keep stalling.

In the most recent series on the road for Beaver Baseball, the Beavs were outscored 20-5. The bats were silent.

The team’s batting average for the weekend was .177.

Despite their poor performance that weekend, the Beavers still managed to have a higher batting average on the road (.298) than at home (.264).

So why all of a sudden are they unable to convert? 

Beaver football can relate to the lack of offensive production on the road. They were shut out against Air Force and only scored one touchdown against Cal.

They scored a total of 96 points on the road, compared to 208 points at home. 

It is important to note that Beaver football played two more games at home than on the road; however, the point differential is 112, meaning that to even the score, the Beavers would have to score 56 points in two games on the road. The highest number of points they scored on the road was 37. 

The men’s basketball team followed a similar pattern this season, with scores as high as 94 in regulation at home and as low as 55 on the road. Their points per game average at home is 79.22, and away is 72.1. 

Lost luggage

With all of this in mind, there’s just something missing. 

College sports fans have created some of the most hostile environments for visiting teams. College students love to heckle pitchers, kickers and basketball players taking free throws.

The crowd noise created can disrupt communication amongst players and coaches. You may even have officiating biases.

Psychological pressure is endured when on the road, timeouts and pitching changes are called to silence the home fans. 

Visiting teams need to bring an energy that can consume or drown out the opposing crowd. 

Finally made it home

Historically, the Beavs are better at home. After strenuous road trips, they manage to turn it around back at home.

While Gill Coliseum is on the smaller side amongst Division I stadiums, it is known for being loud, creating an energy to fuel the Beavers.

Beaver sports fans can credit themselves for creating such an incredible environment to help push their teams to victory in such important games. 

The road wears them down, but at home, the Beavers drive a different car.