Monday Morning Tail Slap: Oregon State climbs to highest AP Poll ranking in 11 years
Beavs beat Bruins on Homecoming, climb to No. 12 slot in AP Poll
Oregon State University couldn’t have asked for a much better homecoming week. The weather held up for a bit, until it didn’t, but what’s a homecoming in the Northwest without at least a little bit of rain. Reser Stadium once again showed it’s one of the most electric atmospheres in college football in 2023. Not to mention, one of the most notable appearances in Oregon State homecoming history, Bernice Beaver made her return to the field, ending a decades long hiatus and received a well-deserved soaring ovation from Beaver Nation.
All of which would have been incomplete without a complete performance on the field and that is exactly what Jonathan Smith and the Beavers provided on a rainy evening in the Willamette Valley. It wasn’t always the prettiest of wins, but OSU never surrendered the lead after they jumped out in front 3-0, and after Ryan Cooper Jr’s pick six in the final minute of the first half, the No. 15 Beavers maintained a two-score cushion between the No. 18 Bruins. Smith is now 2-0 against UCLA since taking over the head coaching position at Oregon State. OSU defeated the Bruins 48-31 the last time these two teams met at the Rose Bowl in 2019.
The win marked two consecutive victories over ranked opponents at Reser. Something Oregon State football has never done before (granted, the schedule hasn’t given them a ton of opportunities to do so over the years). Coming into the game, UCLA’s stout defense hadn’t given up more than 17 points to an opponent all season. Their dominant run defense yielded less than 65 rushing yards per game, the Beavers rushed for 133. Washington State managed just 12 yards on the ground against the Bruins in Week Six.
The defense generated a season-high five sacks, and created three turnovers that translated to 13 points. DJ Uiagalelei had another encouraging start, throwing for 266 yards, two touchdowns, and protecting the ball through all four quarters. Freshman phenom Aidan Chiles added another touchdown pass, bringing OSU’s total to 18 touchdown passes against four interceptions on the year. Ben Gulbranson and Chance Nolan combined for 16 touchdown passes against 13 interceptions through all of 2022.
Oregon State’s various rewards for the effort: they clinched bowl eligibility at the earliest date in school history, they get a week off, and they are now ranked the highest they’ve been ranked in the AP Poll (No. 12) in 11 years. James Williams, who covers UCLA for the Orange County Register, ranked the Beavs at No. 8 on his ballot.
Remember when a certain outgoing coach said “It doesn’t matter who they hire.” ???
Sunday afternoon saw the Beavers rise to the No. 12 spot in the Week Seven AP Poll. The highest they’ve been ranked since October of 2012 when the Beavs started 6-0 and got up to No. 7 in the poll.
I know I’m guilty of spending quite a bit of time in the past when considering this current rendition of Oregon State football, but to see the flying Beaver head in the AP rankings directly one spot behind the Alabama Crimson Tide, it’s impossible for me not to look back and give some thought to the incredibly long road it took for the Beavers to get to this point. When OSU takes the field in Tucson two weeks from now, they’ll do so with the lowest number besides their name on the scoreboard since meeting Washington at then-named CenturyLink Field in Seattle on October 27, 2012.
A win against a ranked UCLA team earlier in the season that year served as a launching pad for one of the more magical seasons Oregon State has seen. Coming off the shocking 10-7 win against No. 13 Wisconsin in the season-opener at Reser, the still unranked Beavs traveled to Pasadena to face off against a talented and No. 19-ranked UCLA team. It may not have been an all-time classic, but it was an exciting game and showed just how good of a team that iteration of the Beavs could be.
Sean Mannion outdueled Bruin signal-caller Brett Hundley on the day. The pair of future professionals tossed the ball all over the Rose Bowl and combined for more than 750 passing yards, with the slight edge going to Mannion (379 and 2 TDs), who connected for long touchdowns with both Brandin Cooks and Markus Wheaton in the first game that the superpowers of the high-octane receiving were fully on display.
Cooks and Wheaton torched the Bruins defense for 175 and 150 receiving yards respectively on the afternoon. The Beavs jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in that game as well and never surrendered the lead in a 27-20 win. OSU may have entered the game unranked, but jumped up to No. 18 in the polls the next week and remained in the polls for the duration of the 2012 season, culminating with a heartbreaking loss to Texas at the Alamo Bowl.
The type of springboard this last victory over a tough UCLA team can be for the 2023 Beavers will play out over the next six-plus weeks. Given the pedigree of UCLA’s defense, this is arguably the best offensive performance of the year for Uiagalelei, OC Brian Lindgren, and the rest of the OSU offense. If the offense can keep that same pace and the defense travels well to tough upcoming matchups against Arizona (do not overlook the Wildcats) and Colorado, then the Beavs’ Las Vegas dreams will start to look more and more like a reality.