Rewinding Oregon Ducks’ rout of Oregon State Beavers

CORVALLIS — The No. 9 Oregon Ducks beat the Oregon State Beavers 49-14 Saturday afternoon at Reser Stadium in the 128th meeting of their heated rivalry series.

Here’s a recap of how the game unfolded. Stay with OregonLive for much more coverage from this Ducks vs. Beavers game.

MORE DUCKS VS. BEAVERS COVERAGE

• Dillon Gabriel, No. 9 Oregon erupt against Oregon State

• Bill Oram: Oregon finally wakes up and finds its stride

• Joe Freeman: Is it time to worry about the Oregon State defense?

• No. 9 Oregon finds its offense, routs Oregon State

• Oregon linebacker earns high praise from Dan Lanning

• Ducks change starting offensive line, do not allow sack

• Dillon Gabriel finds freedom in space vs. Oregon State

• Oregon State’s lessons from Saturday can’t go to waste

• Oregon’s halftime adjustments suffocate OSU’s run game

• What UO coach Dan Lanning said after the win

• What OSU coach Trent Bray said after the loss

LIVE UPDATES RECAP

OREGON 49, OREGON STATE 14 — FINAL

Ducks ninth drive

Oregon kneels it down, and the Ducks beat their rivals 49-14 to improve to 3-0 on the season. The Beavers fall to 2-1.

Beavers ninth drive

Oregon State starts at its 25. A penalty pushes back the Beavers, but then a screen to Anthony Hankerson sets up a third and short. OSU converts on a pass to Taz Reddicks. After the two-minute timeout, the Beavers will face third and 4 from their 47-yard line. It goes to fourth and 3. McCoy’s pass falls incomplete, but there’s a flag for pass interference. They pick up the flag because the ball was tipped. And that means it’s a turnover on downs. The Ducks get it back, and that should do it. Oregon should be able to run out the clock and leave Reser with a lopsided victory in its 128th meeting with the Beavers.

Ducks eighth drive

Dante Moore checks in at quarterback for the Ducks. Moore and Oregon move it down the field a bit, but the drive stalls and Atticus Sappington comes on to attempt a 39-yard field goal. The kick is good, extending the Ducks’ lead to 49-14 with 4:34 to play.

Beavers eighth drive

The Beavers are oh-fer in the second half. They had a little momentum, picking up two first downs to reach the Oregon 46-yard line. But the drive stalled there and Gevani McCoy’s pass on fourth-and-six fell incomplete, resulting in a turnover on downs. The Ducks’ defense has stuffed Oregon State on all four of its second-half drives, allowing just 57 yards on 18 plays after halftime.

Ducks seventh drive

Just when it looked like Oregon State’s defense might earn a stop for the first time today, the Ducks unleash their longest play of the game — a 65-yard touchdown pass from Dillon Gabriel to Jayden Limar. It was a simple screen pass out wide to the left on third-and-10 at the Oregon 35-yard line, but after a block here and a juke there, Limar raced untouched down the left sideline for a backbreaking touchdown. Gabriel has now completed 20 of 24 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns. And the Ducks have erupted for 532 yards on offense, building a commanding 46-14 lead.

Beavers seventh drive

It wasn’t a three-and-out … but it wasn’t much better. The Beavers manage a first down for the first time in the second half, but sputter afterward, punting after gaining just 15 yards on five plays. The Oregon State offense has had three second-half possessions, amassing just 28 yards on 11 plays.

Ducks sixth drive

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Noah Whittington adds to the Beavers’ misery, racing left around the defense for a 27-yard touchdown. It came at the end of a six-play, 82-yard drive that lasted 3:14. The Ducks have scored on all six of their drives today and lead 39-14. The Beavers’ defense has been manhandled.

THIRD QUARTER — DUCKS LEAD 32-14

Third quarter thoughts from James Crepea, The Oregonian’s Ducks beat writer: “Oregon imposed its will in the third. Oregon State needs a miracle. Ducks have been terrific on offense all day and Dillon Gabriel ahs faced almsot no pressure. UO’s defense buckled down with back-to-back three and outs and now the possession strategy is gone for OSU without a massive special teams play and/or turnover.”

Beavers sixth drive

The wheels have fallen off for Oregon State. The Beavers go three-and-out for the second consecutive drive, punting the ball back to an Oregon offense they have not been able to stop. Oregon State has gained just 13 yards on six plays on its last two drives, which have lasted all of 3:27.

Ducks fifth drive

Five tries, five scores. The Ducks cruise 75 yards on nine plays, capping another impressive drive with another touchdown. This one came on a Jordan James one-yard run, giving the running back 57 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the day. The Ducks are averaging 7.7 yards per rush, 9.2 yards per play and have scored four touchdowns and one field goal on five drives. They lead 32-14. A close game is quickly turning into a blowout.

Official attendance: 38,419 … a Reser Stadium record.

Beavers fifth drive

Any momentum the Beavers may have gained from their red zone stand immediately faded away on their first drive of the second half. Oregon State goes three-and-out, gaining just seven yards. A botched snap on second down didn’t help.

Ducks fourth drive

Oregon opens the second half much like it opened the game, cruising down the field into the red zone with relative ease. But this time, Oregon State makes a defensive stand. On third-and-six from the OSU 7-yard line, Dillon Gabriel’s pass to Tez Johnson crashed to the Reser Stadium turf. It was Gabriel’s first incompletion of the game and it forced a 25-yard Oregon field goal attempt from Atticus Sappington. The kick was good and the Ducks extend their lead to 25-14.

HALFTIME — DUCKS LEAD 22-14

Thoughts on the first half from The Oregonian’s staff:

Bill Oram: “Gonna be a big halftime for both defensive coordinators. The offenses are both getting what they want, which is certainly more meaningful for the Ducks after the foibles of the first two weeks. Dillon Gabriel has been splendid. You can’t get any better than his 10/10 for 114 yards with 59 rushing yards and a TD. The Ducks protection up front has been huge — and a welcome change.”

James Crepea: “Oregon’s offense is having a field day and as good as that’s been, its defense has bordered on inept, particularly against the run. Given this was hardly a mystery entering the game, how poorly the Ducks did last week abd 2 OSU OL out, this is a very bad showing for the Oregon defensive front 7. Plus bad tackling in space.”

Nick Daschel: “It’s still temporarily a game as Anthony Hankerson scores late in the half to cut Oregon’s lead to 22-14. Unless there’s drastic change on defense in the second half, it won’t matter. OSU must figure out how to get the Ducks into third down.”

Ryan Clarke: “On the edge and in space, a lot left to be desired from the Oregon defense in the first half.”

Beavers fourth drive

The Beavers were desperate for a touchdown to keep things within reach … and they delivered, using a 14-play, 81-yard drive to make it a one-score game at halftime. Gevani McCoy completed six of eight passes for 42 yards on the drive, which featured six first downs, one fourth-down conversion and a touchdown called back via video review. It looked like McCoy scored on a 11-yard run, but it was overturned after review. One play later, Anthony Hankerson barreled up the middle, scoring a touchdown on a second effort with 15 seconds left in the first half. Oregon leads 22-14 at halftime.

Statistically, the game is remarkably close: Oregon State has out-gained Oregon 218-217 and owns a decisive edge in time of possession — 21:03 to 8:57. But the Beavers’ defense has been gashed and gutted by the Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks’ offense, which has scored with relative little resistance on all three of Oregon’s first-half drives.

Ducks third drive

Another Oregon drive … another easy touchdown. The Ducks have their way with the OSU defense — yet again — marching 84 yards on eight plays. The impressive drive ends with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Dillon Gabriel to Traeshon Holden with 6:43 left in the first half. Gabriel had all day in the pocket on the scoring play, progressing through multiple reads before he found Holden open in the back of the end zone. The Ducks have amassed 218 yards — and are averaging 10.9 yards per play — over their first three drives and Gabriel has been a star, completing 10 of 10 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, while rushing twice for 59 yards and a touchdown. Oregon leads 22-7.

Beavers third drive:

Gabarri Johnson in at quarterback for the Beavers … and it doesn’t go well. Jam Griffin runs for 13 yards on the first two plays, but two botched snaps sabotage the things from there. The first shaky snap came on first down and resulted in a 7-yard loss. The second came on third down and Johnson tried to dance his way out of it, but could only scramble for 2 yards, forcing the Beavers to punt. The drive goes five plays for 14 yards.

Ducks second drive

While the Beavers have used methodical, plodding drives to eat up gobs of clock, the Ducks have blitzed their way to an early lead. Oregon’s second drive of the game goes 75 yards in just four plays, ending with a Dillon Gabriel 54-yard touchdown jaunt. The Ducks’ quarterback ran an option play left, faked a pitch to his running back, and sprinted untouched to the end zone, crushing the Beavers’ momentum. The Ducks added a two-point conversion run to take a 15-7 lead with 13:36 left in the second quarter.

Thoughts on the first quarter from The Oregonian’s staff:

Nick Daschel: “Ducks’ first offensive series makes it clear: OSU had better find a way to be explosive and get a couple of cheap scores. Beavers won’t be able to keep up by grinding it out. Just as interesting will be OSU’s defensive response when the Ducks get the ball next. UO made it look too easy on its opening drive.”

Ryan Clarke: “Yeah they looked good on that (scoring) drive, but OSU won’t be able to keep up unless the defense looks a lot better.”

James Crepea: “Oregon offense had as good an opening drive as it could order up. The defense has been brutal, getting churned out for yards and 3rd down conversions on both possessions. Oregon State’s offensive line has held up well and the time of possession was exactly what the Beavers would have wanted coming in.

Bill Oram: “We knew coming in that time of possession would be a factor. Oregon State controlled the ball for 11:34 of the first quarter. That’s gotta be the gameplan. As others have noted, the question is whether the defense can keep up. But then again, who needs time of possession when your quarterback is busting off 54-yard TD runs.”

Beavers second drive

Oregon State goes back to its bread-and-butter on its next drive, running the ball eight times during a 13-play drive that went 75 yards and resulted in its first touchdown of the game. Griffin rushed for 28 yards. Gevani McCoy had a big third-down completion on the drive, connecting with Trent Walker on a 13-yard pass-and-catch on third-and-10 that kept things alive for Oregon State. The Beavers hold a decisive edge in time of possession — 11:34 to 3:26 — continuing their early-season trend.

Ducks first drive

The Ducks answer the Beavers’ miscues with a dominant debut drive, cruising through Oregon State’s defense with little resistance. Jordan James finished an eight-play, 74-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. Dillon Gabriel was perfect on the drive, completing 4 of 4 passes to three different receivers for 48 yards. Tez Johnson had two receptions for 32 yards. Oregon leads 7-0 with 6:39 left in the first quarter.

Beavers first drive

A nice opening drive by Oregon State sputters near the 20 yard-line and ends without points. After marching 49 yards on 11 plays, Everett Hayes’ 44-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Tysheem Johnson. It didn’t help that the snap was low, but the low liner never had a chance. The Beavers mixed up the run and pass more than they have at any point this season, with six passes and four runs, but the drive was hampered by penalties — the Beavers opened the game by committing their first false start of the season and also were whistled for a personal foul and another false start. The second false start was costly, as it came on fourth-and-one at the UO 21-yard line during a quarterback sneak attempt.

PREGAME DETAILS

Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and the game will air live on Fox. If you don’t have cable, you can watch live for free with Fubo (free trial) or DirecTV Stream (free trial).

Pregame injury updates: Oregon State center Van Wells and receiver Darrius Clemons are among those who will not play for the Beavers. And Oregon offensive lineman Matthew Bedford is not listed on the player availability report for the Ducks.

The annual matchup always features animosity and intrigue and this year’s game is no exception. It’s the first time the teams are playing in September and first time since 1963 they will do so as nonconference opponents.

That’s a byproduct, of course, of the Ducks’ decision last fall to bolt to the Big Ten, which helped detonate the Pac-12 and leave Oregon State trapped in conference realignment limbo.

No. 9 Oregon (2-0) at Oregon State (2-0)

• When: Saturday, Sept. 14
• Time: 12:30 p.m. PT
• Where: Reser Stadium, Corvallis
• TV channel: Fox Sports Live (KPTV 12 in Portland)
• Stream: Fubo (free trial) or DirecTV Stream (free trial). If you already have a provider, you can also watch this game live on FOX Sports Live with your cable or satellite provider login information.
• Oregon football 2024 season schedule, scores
• Oregon State football 2024 season schedule, scores

–Joe Freeman covers the Oregon State Beavers. Reach him at 503-294-5183 or @BlazerFreeman. Listen to the Beaver Banter podcast or subscribe to the Beavers Roundup newsletter.