Oregon State took a brutal 38-22 punch to the gut from Fresno State Saturday night at Valley Children’s Stadium, and if you think that score is tough, just wait until you dig into *how* it all went down. This wasn’t just a loss; it was a total unraveling that screams for a serious gut check.
The Coaching Mismatch Was Ugly
Look, two things can be true at once, right? Oregon State is still ahead of schedule, still building a legitimately surprising season with a potent offense, especially after pounding on some less talented teams and the worst defenses out there. But Fresno State? They showed us the Beavers aren’t a College Football Playoff team, not even close to the two most talented teams in the Pac-12 right now. And frankly, that’s okay, it doesn’t diminish the season they’re having, but it’s a cold dose of reality.
What really stings is how outcoached JaMarcus Shephard and his staff looked. This is definitely the first time in conference play, and arguably the first time all season, they seemed completely flat-footed. Matt Entz and the Fresno State crew clearly did their homework, picking apart Braden Atkinson from his time at Mercer and the Beavers’ tendencies. We’re talking self-scouting during bye weeks, people! Fresno State was just way more prepared, and offensively, OSU had zero effective counter-punches. That’s a killer.
Six Pre-Snap Penalties? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
Winning on the road against a team that’s got talent and coaching comparable, or even better, than yours is already a monumental task. But when you shoot yourself in the foot six times with pre-snap penalties and give up five sacks, with *two* of those leading to fumbles? That’s not just hard, that’s practically impossible. We could’ve been up by multiple scores early! Think about it: Jake Reichle’s would-be touchdown negated by a false start, Aeryn Hampton’s foot barely out of bounds, and a bunch of other penalties just killing drives. And don’t even get me started on the defensive screw-ups, the missed tackles, the over-pursuits. This was a mess.
Then there’s the offensive line. Man, they might’ve had their worst game of the season. Yeah, Houston was more physically dominant, but that’s a given. Against Fresno State, OSU’s O-line had a brutal showing across the board. Sacks allowed by multiple guys in one-on-one matchups. Sure, the rushing stats look worse because of the sacks, but the bottom line is Fresno State absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage, and our guys just aren’t a particularly stout group right now. That’s a huge problem.
Josiah Freeman Ran Wild, and Our Tackling Is Still Suspect
Speaking of problems, Fresno State’s 6-foot-4 receiver Josiah Freeman had a HUGE night. Two touchdowns! He had a massive advantage against Isaiah Houi, and he just went off. If there’s one thing our receiving corps is missing, it’s that kind of size and length. We’re leaning on our tight ends for it, but an outside target like Freeman? He showed why he’s so hard to beat.
And the tackling issues? They’re still here, man. We saw vulnerabilities early in the season against Houston and Texas Tech, and yeah, that was understandable with the talent and schedule timing. Tackling improved over the last five games, but guess what? Opponent speed also dropped. Against legitimate athletic threats like Fresno State, the Beavers showed their tackling fundamentals, speed, strength, and angles are *still* major weaknesses. Plus, Braden Atkinson’s reliance on his first read and how easily he’s impacted by pressure when it’s not there? Coach Entz called it out, and it’s something he’s gotta fix.
This loss was a wake-up call, plain and simple. They gotta shake this off fast because Texas State is coming to town. The Beavers need to prove this was just a hiccup, not a sign of things to come, and show they can clean up these self-inflicted wounds.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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