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Oregon State vs UCLA Recap

It wasn't pretty, and it surely wasn't comfortable, but Mike Riley is in no position to complain: His Oregon State team played worse than it did in week eight, but attained a decidedly better result.

The Beavers didn't rock and roll on Saturday afternoon in Reser Stadium against the UCLA Bruins. Quarterback Sean Canfield and the rest of an orange-shirted offense failed to light up the scoreboard the way they did on Oct. 24 against USC. Even a defense that presided over a 19-3 lead with 10 minutes left in regulation couldn't feel too good about itself after allowing two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions to the anemic Bruins down the stretch. When UCLA tied the game at 19-apiece with 2:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, a home date with a 0-4 Pac-10 foe suddenly turned into a nerve-filled appointment with potential disaster.

But one week after taking USC to the wire, Oregon State evidently made good use of its familiarity with pressure.

In just 82 seconds, the Beavers responded to UCLA's tying tally, marching 70 yards to pay dirt when receiver James Rodgers used an old standby--the ever-reliable fly sweep--to swoop into the end zone from 17 yards out. Just as soon as they had forfeited leverage in this conference clash, the Beavers regained their winning edge... with 44 seconds left in regulation. The Bruins couldn't mount a response, and OSU moved to 5-3 for the year.

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At first glance, it's hard to understand (beyond UCLA's ability to convert a pair of 2-point conversions) how the Bruins were able to give the Beavers such a good run at Reser. Oregon State didn't commit a turnover, making it hard for Coach Rick Neuheisel's impotent offense to gain much of a foothold on the road.

Yet, a closer look at this contest indicates that Oregon State went just 2-for-11 on third downs. It was that inability to sustain drives which hampered the Beavers more than anything else. OSU did rack up 463 total yards, but because those yards were divided among many possessions (a result of the 11 total punts in the game), they didn't mean all that much. You can bet that third-down efficiency will be Riley's foremost focus heading into November.

Oregon State suffered a decline in form compared to its 42-36 loss at USC. When a downtick is nevertheless accompanied by a win in a conference game, no one in that Corvallis camp will be inclined to voice very much of an objection.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer