Oregon State quarterback Gevani McCoy threw 25 passes in Saturday night’s game against San Diego State.

It raises the question: Why?

Never mind that McCoy had trouble with orientation on several of his throws.

There was simply no need to throw the ball in the air. At least not because the Beavers could have moved it on the ground.

Run defense was the biggest concern before the game after Oregon State rushed for 362 yards in its season opener against Idaho State last week.

As it turned out, the concerns were justified. SDSU’s inability to stop the run, coupled with its own offensive problems, led to a 21-0 loss to the Beavers in front of 25,318 spectators (18,580 turnstiles) at Snapdragon Stadium.

“We’ve got to bounce back big,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said. “We’re going to take every opportunity to win or learn as we go through this. The adversity we faced tonight is part of it, and we can grow from it and get stronger. I’m excited for the next step in this process that we take together as a team.”

Oregon State ran 51 times for 237 yards and two touchdowns, scoring on a 16-yard run by Jam Griffin (18 carries, 89 yards, TD) in the first quarter and a 15-yard run by Anthony Hankerson (16 carries, 73 yards, TD) in the fourth quarter. The Beavers scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass from McCoy to Bryce Caufield with five minutes left.

The running game allowed the Beavers to dominate the time of possession from 41:07 to 18:53. Oregon State ran 78 plays to the Aztecs’ 49.

“They have some great runners,” SDSU cornerback Chris Johnson said. “It’s always hard to stop a great runner, and when you’re up against a great offensive line … I think we matched them perfectly. We have a great interior, exterior, secondary, all of that. Obviously, they just made more successful plays and were able to make bigger plays than we did.”

And what about SDSU’s “AztecFAST” offense? You can’t be fast if you’re not on the field.

SDSU struggled in the first half for the second week in a row, trailing 7-0 at halftime. It didn’t help that the penalties (16) that plagued them last week continued in the first half (7), although the Aztecs were limited to one penalty in the second half.

“I thought the defense played great,” said SDSU tight end Jude Wolfe. “They gave us a lot of opportunities. They gave us the ball back. On offense, we didn’t take advantage of that.”

The Aztecs’ offense showed signs of life midway through the third quarter, sparked by wide receiver Louis Brown IV’s pike catch for a 32-yard pass.

That gave SDSU first-and-goal at the 7-yard line. Two plays got the ball to the 2, but the Aztecs came up empty-handed when quarterback Danny O’Neil was stripped of the ball while stretching toward the goal line. O’Neil was playing with a knee brace after injuring it in the first quarter.

“That was great,” Oregon State coach Trent Bray said. “That would have tied the game. They were down there. That was the turning point in the game, in my opinion, when we were able to hold the ball out of the end zone and take it away. That really turned the momentum back in our favor because they had it.”

O’Neil completed 11 of 24 passes for 107 yards in the game and running back Marquez Cooper carried 13 passes for 54 yards, leading an SDSU offense that was limited to 179 total yards. SDSU punter Tyler Pastula had the best game, punting seven times for 340 yards (48.6 yards average) and a longest of 63 yards. He had one attempt blocked.

The game played out similarly to last week’s season opener against Texas A&M-Commerce, when SDSU trailed 6-3 at halftime after struggling on offense, and the problem was compounded by penalties (nine in the first half and 16 in the entire game).

Against Oregon State, the Aztecs scored three points and were out on the game’s opening drive, getting a 45-yard punt from Pastula and then getting a 15-yard facemask penalty on the return against Dalesean Staley.

This allowed the Beavers to start near the halfway line. Five plays and 53 yards later, Griffin threw the ball to a referee in the end zone after his 16-yard touchdown run.

Thus, the Beavers led 7-0 after 3 minutes and 13 seconds of play.

It stayed that way until halftime, only because SDSU’s defense made some brilliant saves and Oregon State kicker Everett Hayes missed a 38-yard field goal attempt seven seconds before halftime.

The Beavers spent nearly half the first quarter on a 13-play offense that was cut short when McCoy threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-4 from the SDSU 45-yard line. Aztecs linebacker Cody Moon pressured McCoy and made him make a bad throw.

SDSU also forced Oregon State to punt on its first two possessions of the second quarter, but the Aztecs’ offense was unable to capitalize on those opportunities.

Pastula, who punted five times in the first half, had more than twice as many yards (225) in the first half as the Aztecs’ offense (101).

Remarkable

It was 30 degrees at kickoff, making it the second hottest game in Snapdragon Stadium history. Or the hottest after sunset.

The record, of course, was the 38-degree day at Snapdragon’s opening game in the 2022 season opener against Arizona. This game kicked off at noon.

• The Aztecs have now kept two clean sheets in seven games (including last year’s 6-0 loss to Nevada) after keeping one clean sheet in the previous 211 games (27-0 against Ohio in the 2018 Frisco Bowl).

For Oregon State, this was the first away game without conceding a goal in 41 years (0-0 draw in Oregon in 1983).

• SDSU will make its first road trip on Saturday, playing Cal at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN).

The Bears are off to a 2-0 start after their 21-14 win at Auburn on Saturday.

• SDSU sophomore wide receiver Mikey Welsh did not play in the game because of a right leg injury. During pregame warmups, Welsh was spotted with a boot on his right foot.

Originally published: September 7, 2024 at 22:51