Mannion's Career Day Propels Beavers By Bruins 27-20

Storm Woods had a big day against UCLA totaling 96 yards and a score.
(AP Photo/ Mark J. Terill)

Oregon State continues to surprise. After beating Wisconsin at home two weeks ago, Oregon State had a bye week to prepare for the UCLA Bruins and they did not waste it. Sean Mannion threw for a career high 379 yards and two scores as the Beavers upset UCLA in Los Angeles 27-20. The Beaver run defense stopped the nation's leading rusher in Johnathan Franklin allowing him only 45 yards on the ground on 12 carries. Brett Hundley did not go quietly throwing for 372 yards himself and a score but it wasn't enough as the Beavers forced the Bruins to be one dimensional and kept the ball in the air where talented defensive back Jordan Poyer was patrolling.

A lot of the focus was on the talented freshman Brett Hundley and what he has done with the Bruin offense and they were the favorites coming into this game. Too bad no one told Oregon State. The Beavers forced a 3 and out on their first defensive possession and started to march the ball down the field with Sean Mannion spreading the ball around to different receivers all over the field. The drive would eventually stall out and OSU was forced to settle for a field goal giving them the early lead.

The teams would trade punts until in the second quarter UCLA started to find their rhythm, getting the ball deep into the red zone, but like their counterparts, the Bruins would stall out inside the 10 yard line and kick a field goal to tie the game at 3. The Beavers though would waste no time in responding as Sean Mannion found Brandin Cooks breaking free and streaking toward the end zone for a 75 yard touch down play. The Beav's weren't done their either. After getting the ball back on a Bruin punt Mannion would go over the top and find Markus Wheaton in the end zone for another 42 yard scoring toss to put the Beavers up 17-3 in the second quarter.

Just before the end of the half, Brett Hundley found Shaquille Evans up the sideline for a 65 yard gain and touchdown  to bring the Bruins back within a score at 17-10. The Bruins hoped that would give them a little momentum going into the second stanza. After forcing an Oregon State punt it looked like they were poised to get themselves back into the driver seat but the Beaver defense wasn't having any of that. The teams would trade defensive stands going back and forth and UCLA looked poised to take advantage, intercepting Sean Mannion in Beaver territory but were once again turned away by the stingy OSU defense.

The Beavers would then go on a long drive, covering 88 yards and nearly 5 minutes on the clock. Once again it was a healthy serving of Sean Mannion passing the ball but the drive was capped by running back Storm Woods breaking across the goal line from two yards out to give the Beavers a 24-10 lead.

The Bruins though, would not go away. They responded with a 7 play 75 yard drive of their own, capped by a Brett Hundley 1 yard touch down rush.  Once OSU got the ball back though they would respond with another field goal to stretch the lead back to 10 which proved to be insurmountable. UCLA would make a short field goal to render the final score but it was largely just a window dressing.

Head Coach Mike Riley was proud of his teams resiliance stating "It was a great job by our team; I just loved it," Riley said. "That was a really good group of offensive players and a good offensive scheme and I thought we just kept playing. When something bad happened, nobody blinked and somebody else made a play." Oregon State will stay on the road, having to travel to Arizona to face the Wildcats who were pasted 49-0 by the Ducks while UCLA gets to rebound against Colorado who is coming off a big come from behind win against Washington State.

Oregon State Beavers Way Too Early Preview

It was a baptism by fire for the Beavers last year, hopefully the experience
will temper the squad for the next season.
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

Last season was another tough year for the Beavers. They could not have started the season much worse losing in overtime to FCS opponent Sacramento State in over time. They followed that up with three more losses, including a 35-0 shut out at Wisconsin. The Beavers would get their first win of the season against Arizona at home and then beating Washington State in Seattle. Oregon State would not win again until the Huskies came to town to give the Beav's their last win of the year. OSU had one of the most prolific passing attacks in the country, ranking in the top 20 but in a lot of situations the Beavers were trying to throw their way back into the game. Their running attack was anemic and the offensive line wasn't helping matters much. That's where the Beavers must start to rebuild if they are to be competitive this season in the Pac-12.

The Beavers are young, last season they played more froshmen than ever before in program history. They had to face a steep learning curve, going up against the likes of Oregon, Wisconsin and Stanford but overall the trial by fire will serve them well in the future. While the offensive line was the weak link of the team they got some help in the recruiting field, reeling in 7 OL recruits including Isaac Seumalo a 4* recruit from Corvallis.

As was mentioned, the Beavers were a top 20 passing team last season. Markus Wheaton and James Rodgers were the main targets for Quarterback Sean Mannion who threw for over 3300 yards. Wheaton came close to a 1000 yard season and James Rodgers bounced back from an ACL tear to reel in 45 receptions and three touchdowns. Not only has Rodgers graduated, stalwart Joe Halihuni is also graduating. Halihuni was the go to guy when OSU needed a first down to keep the drive alive. The Beavers still have Wheaton as well as Jordan Bishop to carry the load. As far as the running game goes, Sophomore Malcom Agnew will likely tote the rock the most for the Beavers. He lead the team last year in rushing with 423 yards and found the end zone 5 times on the ground. He is going to have to step up his production to take the pressure off of Mannion so the offense can produce.

On defense, the Beavers are going to to have to rely on defensive back Jordan Poyer who lead the team in pass break ups. While the defense held their own against the pass, they had a tough time defending the rush. They allowed nearly 200 yards a game on the ground and the defensive line is going to have to shore themselves up if they want to stay in games this upcoming season. They are going to have to replace defensive leader Lance Mitchell who intercepted the ball twice and was among team leaders in tackles. Replacing him will be a challenge as his affect was felt far beyond the box score.

With the Beavers going a combined 8-16 the last two seasons, the fans are clamoring for change. Coach Riley and staff are going to have to show improvement this year or the boosters may be calling for a new regime. Looking at the schedule for the next season, they have a similar beginning, Nichols State before Wisconsin comes to town before the conference schedule starts. Optimistically, the Beavers could find their way to a 6-6 record and get themselves back to a bowl game. That may be what they need to keep the current coaching staff intact and show boosters and future recruits that the team is making progress. However, in the worst case scenario they could find themselves in another 3-9 season which could cause a lot more grumbling in Corvallis.