After a heartbreaking 35-31 loss on Saturday, the Oregon State football team took to the practice field looking to fix the minor details ahead of Stanford.

At one point Oregon State led Washington State 21-0. By halftime, they led 24-6 and were playing arguably the best football of the season.

However, it was a complete flip between halves. The Beavers then allowed 22 unanswered points in the third quarter and were unable to keep pace with the Cougars.

“We handled the adjustments (Washington State) made well,” senior offensive tackle Dustin Stanton said. “But we wanted it more in the first half, and they wanted it more in the second half.”

What ultimately ended OSU’s hope of winning against Washington State was their inability to play with a lead.

“We can’t be too comfortable or surprised when having a lead like we did,” Stanton said. “That is part of the learning process for this team. It often comes down to the fourth quarter of games in this conference so finishing games is key.”

After throwing for a total of 327 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions, starting quarterback Marcus McMaryion spoke to where he feels the team’s mindset and attitude are at currently.

“We could look at it either negatively or positively,” McMaryion said. “I think this team is looking at it in a positive manner. We’re going to be that much more knit-picky at practice because the small details cost us a game.”

Looking ahead to the Stanford Cardinal, who were projected to finish atop of the Pac-12 North standings, have since gone (5-3, 3-3 in Pac-12) and are currently third in the Pac-12 North.

For most of the season, the Cardinal have been last in total offense in the Pac-12 averaging 304.4 yards a game. By comparison, the team has consistently been ranked in the top three total defenses, only allowing 355.9 yards per game.

“They’ve got a bunch of smart dudes that play tough, are well-coached and well disciplined,” co-offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven said. “They’ve been playing very well on defense so far this season. Against some of the most explosive offenses in the league, they’ve (Stanford defense) has done a great job against them.”

In order for the Beavers to win against Stanford, the team is in desperate need of playing a full game for 60 minutes.

“We’ve had some really good first halves of football, to any team’s standards,” McGiven said. But the bottom line is that we did not win those football games and did not play for all four quarters.”

For the Beavers, a bowl game is not quite out of reach. In order to be bowl eligible, the Beavers would need to likely win out the rest of their schedule.

A tough task for a team that is currently given a 0.2% chance of winning out based on the national ESPN Football Power Index; the Cardinal lead among Pac-12 teams projected at 31.6%.

Although the odds may be stacked against the Beavers, McMaryion seems optimistic in leading his team to the tough road ahead.

“I told Bolden after the game I don’t want to send him out not going to a bowl game,” McMaryion said. So I’m gonna do everything in my power to send these seniors out on the right note.”