Beavers continue upswing

CORVALLIS, Ore. – There was no Oregon State letdown to be found following the Beavers’ upset win over Southern California. Yvenson Bernard and Matt Moore helped make sure of it.

Bernard rushed for two touchdowns, Moore accounted for two scores and Oregon State beat Arizona State 44-10 Saturday in front of 38,274 at Reser Stadium.

Avoiding a loss against the Sun Devils after a monumental 33-31 win against the then third-ranked Trojans the previous week was on the minds of the Oregon State players in the constant rain.

“We focused on working hard and doing what we do,” said Oregon State tight end Joe Newton. “We focused on coming out and playing the same game we played last week.”

The Beavers scored on their first five possessions and jumped ahead 31-10 at halftime.

“That was the storyline, how we were going to react after winning last week against USC,” Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. “I’m proud of the coaches and players for staying the course once again.”

Moore completed 17 of 31 passes for 282 yards, including a 9-yard TD pass to Anthony Wheat-Brown that put Oregon State up 24-7 with 9:52 left in the first half.

Moore also ran 5 yards for a score with 8:52 remaining to make it 31-7. He rushed five times for 44 yards.

“As far as running goes, there was green grass and I just went,” Moore said. “I’m just trying to keep the ball going, preventing sacks.”

Moore was not taken down for a loss against the Sun Devils.

The Beavers (6-3, 4-2) sacked Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter four times and intercepted two of his passes. Carpenter finished 9 for 27 for 124 yards.

Oregon State’s defense, with the thought of building on the USC win, kept the Sun Devils from getting yards easily.

Defensive lineman Curtis Coker said a fear of going backward was at play.

“Yes, there is fear,” Coker said. “I didn’t want to go from beating No. 3 to losing to Arizona State.”

ASU (5-4, 2-4) was held to its lowest point total of the season and fewest since a 48-13 home loss to Oregon on Sept. 30.

Carpenter pinned some of his team’s offensive struggles on its inexperience players.

“We’re playing a lot of young guys right now who are learning how to win, including myself,” Carpenter said. “We get down like that and have to come back. It’s pretty hard to do.”