BEAVS WIN! Bounce back vs. ASU to move to 7-1

A NIGHTMARE OF a start for the Beavs. Cody Vaz was under assault. The Beaver D got run over on the first ASU drive. But Oregon State battled back. Running back Terron Ward darted to and fro. The stop corps began to find their footing. Markus Wheaton provided a spark, and then a flame. And at the end of the half, somehow the score was tied… But Oregon State was really ahead.

Oh, they didn’t officially take the lead until early in the third quarter, forging a 26-19 lead on a back-shoulder pass from Cody Vaz to Markus Wheaton. But Oregon State took away the will of ASU in the first half with their resiliency and comeback.

Terron Ward played a huge role in that.

He crossed the century mark for the game on his 13th carry – and might have had it on his 12th had not a questionable holding call not precluded a Beav TD late in the third quarter. Instead, OSU settled for a field goal on that drive – by a perfect-on-the-night Trevor Romaine (more on that later).

THE FRUSTRATION OF ASU was apparent late in the first half. And it only grew in the third quarter.

They had outplayed OSU in the early stages, but they couldn’t shake the Beavs. Big mistake.

After Oregon State took the lead a few minutes into the third quarter, Michael Doctor snuffed out one would-be ASU drive with a corralling tackle. Doctor had one helluva stretch in the middle stages of the game, bringing pressure that shuttered ASU grabbing back momentum on two occasions.

And when ASU tried to cash in, with a field goal try at the end of the third quarter, it was ASU’s kicker that missed wide left. And that brings up an interesting point.

When Oregon State needed it most, when ASU early on had the Reser crowd worried and muted, Romaine nailed his kicks. He’s been shaky in the past at times. But not against ASU.

It’s a tough, tough pill to swallow for an offense after a hard-fought drive, when a field goal try goes begging or an extra point sails wide. It was Arizona State that had to deal with that on Saturday, not the Beavs, because Romains was nails and kept ‘Ol Mo firmly with the black and orange.

Ward’s 28=yard scamper early in the fourth quarter came just before Vaz found a wide open Brandin Cooks to push the score to 36-19 and placed the game effectively out of reach.

And when Ward wasn't ripping off the hashes, he and Malcolm Agnew were staying home and doing good work in pass protection for Vaz (with starter Storm Woods unable to go due to a variety of leg woes.)

Vaz was hot and cold. He, and the offensive line, looked dazed early and there were a number of overthrows. But he was also right on target on a number of other occasions, leading to scoring plays by Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks.

Wheaton in particular looked like he hadn’t missed a beat after suffering a concussion that forced him out of the game last week.

ONE OTHER NOTE: Give it up for cornerback Sean Martin.

OSU’s heralded corner Jordan Poyer was held out due to injury but try as they might on Saturday, ASU found only misery when they tried to take advantage of Martin, the guy who took his place -- and the rest of the OSU secondary.

ASU came out fast, and they looked like they were ready to run away with it in the first quarter. But OSU stayed mentally tough, bounced back and in the end, instead forced ASU to fold -- and to do so midway through the second half.

Impressive.