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Recap and highlights: Washington State pulls off upset of Oregon State 31-24 in high-scoring second half

Recap

After a battle of attrition in the first half, the offenses got to work in the second half.

Oregon State came in with the PAC-12’s No. 1 rushing offense. Washington State’s run-and-shoot finally took off. The result was a fourth-quarter scoring frenzy.

Jayden de Laura went 32 of 46 for 399 yards and three touchdowns and the Cougars outlasted the Beavers 31-24 at Martin Stadium.

Midway through the fourth, de Laura guided the Cougars (3-3, 2-2) on a 12-play, 75-yard drive, culminated by a 1-yard toss to Deon McIntosh to take a 31-24 lead with 5 minutes, 25 seconds to go.

Oregon State moved quickly to the WSU 24. On fourth-and-20 with 40 seconds to go, Chance Nolan checked down to wide open Trey Lowe, but the back came up one yard short.

Washington State had 491 total yards of offense, the most under coach Nick Rolovich.

After a scoreless first quarter that saw the Beavers outgain WSU 132-34, Oregon State went on a 13-play, 91-yard drive, ended by a 2-yard touchdown run by 6-foot-3, 239-pound linebacker Jack Colletto off a direct snap.

The Cougars took the ensuing possession to the OSU 13 and Dean Janikowski hit a 30-yard field goal to make it 7-3.

Oregon State (4-2, 2-1) quickly got to the WSU 25, but had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Everett Hayes.

De Laura hit on his next four pass attempts to get into Beavers territory, but a fourth-and-goal pass intended for Travell Harris fell harmlessly when the receiver appeared to get tangled up with a pair of defenders.

George Hicks III came up with an interception with 51 seconds left in the half but on third-and-goal, de Laura scrambled to his right and his lob to Harris was picked by Omar Speights to end the half.

Early in the third, a botched OSU fake punt gave the Cougars good field position, and Max Borghi barreled into the end zone from the 3 to tie it at 10-10.

After a long Oregon State drive, WSU edge rusher Brennan Jackson came up with a pick at the Cougars 5. After a couple of first downs, de Laura connected with Joey Hobert on a 55-yard catch-and-run and Washington State took its first lead of the day.

Oregon State came right back. B.J. Baylor broke though the defense for 50 yard to the WSU 15 and Fenwick finished the drive on the next play as OSU evened it up with 4 seconds left in the third.

Harris took a slant 58 yards to the OSU 7, then de Laura hit Lincoln Victor with a screen and the receiver stretched into the end zone to put the Cougars up 24-17.

Oregon State needed just five plays, all rushes, to tie it again – with Fenwick taking it the last 11 yards.

First quarter

14:03 - WSU 0, OSU 0: Jayden de Laura gets the Cougars first drive going with an 18-yard completion to De’Zhaun Stribling on third down.

11:54 - WSU 0, OSU 0: Deon McIntosh powers ahead to convert a fourth-and-1 attempt. Cougs’ ball on the Beaver 44.

10:03 - WSU 0, OSU 0: Cougar drive stalls and Nick Haberer’s punt rolls into the endzone for a touchback.

6:59 - WSU 0, OSU 0: The Beavers pick up two first downs, but WSU’s defense comes up with two solid plays to force a turnover on downs. Brennan Jackson stuffs OSU for no gain on third down, and Kyle Thornton bats down a pass from Chance Nolan on fourth. Cougs take over on their own 47.

5:37 - WSU 0, OSU 0: Cougars go three-and-out. Fair catch caught by the Beavers on their own 9.

3:17 - WSU 0, OSU 0: Beavers moving the ball into WSU territory. Chance Nolan completes a 23-yard pass to Luke Musgrave down to the WSU 31. Nolan bulldozed multiple WSU defenders to convert a third down earlier in the drive.

0:00 - WSU 0, OSU 0: Beavers knocking on the door, facing third down from the Cougar 2 at the start of the second quarter.

Second quarter

14:57 - OSU 7, WSU 0: Jack Colletto runs in a 2-yard quarterback power for a touchdown.

12:26 - OSU 7, WSU 0: Deon McIntosh picks up a first down on a 4-yard run up the middle to the OSU 35.

11:15 - OSU 7, WSU 0: Jayden de Laura completes a 17-yard pass to Calvin Jackson Jr. to the OSU 18, but Jackson Jr. takes a big hit and appeared to be injured, but was seen walking on the sideline. Jackson Jr. is the Cougs’ leading receiver on the season.

8:53 - OSU 7, WSU 3: Dean Janikowski’s 30-yard field goal is good.

5:55 - OSU 10, WSU 3: Everett Hayes 39-yard field goal is good. Jaylen Watson stopped Deshaun Fenwick in the backfield on third down to halt a 7-play 54-yard drive. 

3:28 - OSU 10, WSU 3: Jayden de Laura completes an 18-yard pass to Lincoln Victor down to the Beaver 30. Cougars on a six play 45-yard drive.

2:08 - OSU 10, WSU 3: Jayden de Laura’s pass falls incomplete in the endzone for a turnover on downs on the OSU 7. Cougars badly wanted pass interference called. 

0:51 - OSU 10, WSU 3: George Hicks III makes a diving interception on the sideline off of Chance Nolan. Cougars get the ball back with a chance to get points before the half at the OSU 28.

0: 01 - OSU 10, WSU 3: Jayden de Laura makes a terrible decision in the redzone and throws an interception after a deflected pass on a broken play. Cougars miss a big chance to score on two redzone possessions before the half.

Halftime

Washington State missed two opportunities to put points on the board late in the first half and trail the Beavers by a touchdown. Oregon State will receive the ball out of the locker room and have been controlling the game with its rushing attack.

OSU has outgained WSU 133-19 on the ground, while the Cougars hold a 169-54 yard advantage through the air. The Cougars offense will need to improve on their 2 for 8 third down conversion rate to have a chance for a comeback in the second half.

Third quarter

11:37 - OSU 10, WSU 3: Beavers power running game gains two first downs on the first series out of halftime, but a fake punt of fourth down falls incomplete. OSU sideline was screaming for a pass interference call, but Cougars take over at midfield.

9:27 - OSU 10, WSU 3: Jayden de Laura completes a 26-yard pass to Donovan Ollie on third down to the OSU 12. Another redzone opportunity for the Cougs.

8:40 - WSU 10, OSU 10: Max Borghi runs up the middle for a 3-yard touchdown. Borghi gets into the endzone for the first time since week 2 against Portland State. 

4:20 - WSU 10, OSU 10: Brennan Jackson intercepts Chance Nolan’s pass after being tipped around by a Beaver receiver and bouncing off of a WSU players helmet. OSU’s 10 play 67-yard drive gets down to the WSU 8, but results in no points thanks to the turnover.

0:48 - WSU 17, OSU 10: Jayden de Laura completes a 55-yard touchdown to Joey Hobert, who gained 52 yards after the catch. The touchdown is the second-longest play of WSU’s season.

0:04 - WSU 17, OSU 17: The Beavers answer back in a hurry. B.J. Baylor picks up a 50-yard gain on the first play off the drive and Deshaun Fenwick runs in a 15-yard touchdown on the following play.

Fourth quarter

14:14 - WSU 17, OSU 17: Travell Harris hits another gear over the middle on a 58-yard pass from Jayden de Laura. 

13:41 - WSU 24, OSU 17: This game has turned into a track meet. Jayden de Laura completes a 14-yard touchdown Lincoln Victor. All three Cougar drives of the half have resulted in touchdowns.

11:15 - WSU 24, OSU 24: Back-and-forth we go. Deshaun Fenwick scores his second touchdown on an 11-yard run. Fenwick at 112 yards in the game, while B.J. Baylor leads with 145.

9:24 - WSU 24, OSU 24: Deon McIntosh picks up a big third down conversion on a 16-yard pass from Jayden de Laura.

5:28 - WSU 31, OSU 24: Jayden de Laura rolls out on a bootleg and completes a 1-yard touchdown to a wide open Deon McIntosh in the flat. De Laura up to 399 yards passing with three touchdowns.

1:29 - WSU 31, OSU 24: Timeout Beavers. OSU is grinding the clock out on this drive. Face third-and-10 from the WSU 28.

1:17 - WSU 31, OSU 24: WSU is called for pass interference on fourth down. Beavers stay alive with new set of downs on the WSU 14. “BS” chants rain down from the home stands.

 0:33 - WSU 31, OSU 24: Chance Nolan completes a short pass on fourth and 18 to Trey Lowe, who cuts across the field and comes up a yard short of a first down. The Cougars take over and will kneel to win the game.

Rolovich reportedly seeking medical exemption

Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich is seeking a religious exemption after refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, according to a report published Saturday morning.

June Jones – Rolovich’s coach at Hawaii in the early 2000s – told USA TODAY’s Brent Schrotenboer that he has advised the second-year Cougar coach to receive a vaccine, but Rolovich instead has elected to file for an exemption and is awaiting word on whether he will be granted approval.

Washington State (2-3, 1-2 Pac-12) will host Oregon State (4-1, 2-0) at 1 p.m. on Pac-12 Network. The Cougars are coming off of a 21-6 win over Cal, while the Beavers defeated Washington 27-24 behind a made field goal as time expired.

OSU has won four-straight since losing to Purdue in the opening week, including a 45-27 win over USC the week after the Trojans scored 45 unanswered points in a win over the Cougars. 

The Beavers moved into first place in the Pac-12 North last week after Oregon lost to Stanford. OSU was not ranked in the AP Top 25, or AFCA Coaches Poll, but received 27 votes in each.

Series history

WSU has won the last seven meetings with OSU, the closest being a 54-53 win where the Cougars scored two touchdowns in the final 2:10 minutes to comeback from a 53-42 lead that had the Beavers at a 98% win probability.

Before the Cougars’ 7-game win streak, the Beavers had won eight of the previous 10 meetings.

WSU leads the all-time series 55-47-3 dating back to 1903, where Oregon Agricultural won 6-0 over Washington Agricultural in Corvallis.

Team stats

Scoring WSU OSU
Points Per Game 23 36
Points Allowed Per Game 25 21.6
Total Yards 348 436.8
     Yards Passing 231 207.6
     Yards Rushing 117 229.2
Yards Allowed 386 359.2
     Pass Yards Allowed 245 252
     Rush Yards Allowed 141 107.2

Individual leaders

PASSING Att.-Comp. Yards TD Int.
Jayden de Laura (WSU) 68-111 788 9 4
Chance Nolan (OSU) 67-98 895 9 3
RUSHING Carries Yards TD
Max Borghi (WSU) 56 299 2
B.J. Baylor (OSU) 81 536 9
RECEIVING Receptions Yards TD
Calvin Jackson Jr. (WSU) 26 334 3
Tyjon Lindsey (OSU) 10 162 3
   

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