Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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30 JANUARY 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BOWL PREVIEW: OREGON STATE Sept. 3: No. 18 Oregon State 42, San José State 17 Junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei accounted for 5 touchdowns in his debut to help Oregon State cruise to a 42-17 win at San José State. The Clemson transfer tossed 3 touchdown passes and ran for 2 more, while helping the Beavers rack up 473 yards of total offense. Sept. 9: No. 16 Oregon State 55, UC Davis 7 The Beavers utilized an explosive ground attack to run away with a 55-7 victory over UC Davis in their home opener. Oregon State ran for 269 of its 450 yards of total offense. Sophomore running back Damien Martinez led the way with 104 yards and 1 touchdown on just 7 carries. Sept. 16: No. 16 Oregon State 26, San Diego State 9 Oregon State's defense recorded 6 sacks and allowed only 70 yards rushing en route to overpowering San Diego State 26-9. Redshirt senior defensive end Andrew Chatfield Jr. led the Beavers with 2 sacks, while Uiagalelei passed for 284 yards with 1 TD through the air and another on the ground. Sept. 23: No. 21 Washington State 38, No. 14 Oregon State 35 Redshirt senior running back Deshaun Fenwick rushed for 101 yards and 3 touchdowns, but the Beavers' rally from a 21-point deficit fell just short in a 38-35 defeat at Washington State. Fenwick's scores came on dashes of 38, 9 and 4 yards, while Uiagalelei capped a 21-point fourth quarter with a 5-yard scoring toss to sophomore tight end Jack Velling. Sept. 29: No. 19 Oregon State 21, No. 10 Utah 7 The Beavers' defense held the Utes to just 198 total yards on their way to a 21-7 triumph. Junior linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold spearheaded the defensive effort with 9 tackles (5 solo), a sack and an interception. Uiagalelei threw for 205 yards and 1 score, while junior wide receiver Silas Bolden led the receiving corps with 6 receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. Oct. 7: No. 15 Oregon State 52, Cal 40 Velling reeled in 3 receiving scores to help Oregon State outlast Cal for a 52-40 road win. Uiagalelei threw for 275 yards and tallied a season-best 5 scoring tosses, with Velling — who finished with 4 catches for 38 yards — be- ing his favorite target. Redshirt senior safety Kitan Oladapo led the defense with 11 tackles, plus notched 1 tackle for loss and 1 pass broken up. Oct. 14: No. 15 Oregon State 36, No. 18 UCLA 24 The Beavers scored 17 points off 3 takeaways — including a 67-yard pick six by senior nickel back Ryan Cooper Jr. — in the first half to jump on UCLA, and then they held on for a 36-24 triumph. Uiagalelei threw for 266 yards and he added a pair of touchdown passes, while the tight end Velling contributed 3 grabs for 83 yards and 2 scores. Oct. 28: Arizona 27, No. 11 Oregon State 24 The Wildcats scored a pair of touchdowns during a six-minute stretch of the fourth quarter to build a 10-point lead and then fended off Oregon State's comeback bid for a 27-24 upset in Tucson. Velling paced the Beavs with 5 receptions for 71 yards and 1 touchdown, while Uiagalelei threw for 218 yards and 2 scores. Nov. 4: No. 16 Oregon State 26, Colorado 19 Oregon State tallied 4 sacks, forced 2 fumbles and held Colorado to mi- nus-7 yards rushing in a 26-19 win in Boulder. Chatfield led the way with 3 sacks and 1 forced fumble to help OSU improve to 7-2 for the first time since 2012. Colorado's negative rushing output marked the first time an OSU op- ponent failed to rush for positive yardage since 2007. Nov. 11: No. 12 Oregon State 62, Stanford 17 The Beavers racked up a season-high 598 yards while scoring 9 touchdowns on their 13 drives to rout Stanford 62-17. Martinez posted 4 first-half touch- down runs — 7, 59, 15 and 5 yards — and finished with 146 yards rushing on 15 carries. Fenwick and backup freshman quarterback Aidan Chiles also added scores on the ground, while Uiagalelei threw for 240 yards and had a pair of scor- ing tosses. Nov. 18: No. 5 Washington 22, No. 11 Oregon State 20 Despite 10 unanswered second-half points, Oregon State's upset bid came up just short and the Beavers fell 22-20 to Washington. Martinez had both OSU touchdowns and led the rushing attack with 153 yards on 26 carries, but Uiagalelei completed only 15 of 31 passes for 166 yards with 2 interceptions. Nov. 25: No. 6 Oregon 31, No. 16 Oregon State 7 The Ducks dominated the Beavers in the regular-season finale for the in- state rivals, jumping to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter and never trailing. OSU couldn't get its ground game going, rushing for only 53 yards on 24 attempts. Uiagalelei passed for 220 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 intercep- tion, while Bolden had 4 catches for 56 yards and 1 score. Note: The Associated Press poll was used for rankings until the College Football Playoff rankings came out in Week 10. — Steve Downey Junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei accounted for 5 touchdowns (3 pass- ing, 2 rushing) in his Oregon State debut, a 42-17 win at San José State Sept. 3. He has entered the transfer portal again, however, and will not play in the bowl game against the Irish. PHOTO COURTESY OREGON STATE Oregon State's Season In Review