Oregon State football’s eye-opening early stretch of mistakes and misfortune continued Sept. 13 in a trip to Texas Tech
The Beavers proved no match for the home team, as the Red Raiders exemplified in a 45-14 victory why they are the US LBM Coaches Poll’s No. 20 team.
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Oregon State, unable to find much consistency or momentum, displayed why it has started the season 0-3 for the first time since 2011.
Texas Tech (3-0) built its lead to 45-0 in the middle of the fourth quarter before both sides decided to reach into their depth. Oregon State won the fourth, 14-7. Before then, it was all Red Raiders.
Here’s how Texas Tech claimed such a dominant victory over Oregon State.
Oregon State defensive back defensive back Sails Vadrawale III, right, tackles Texas Tech wide receiver Coy Eakin. Texas Tech racked up 513 yards of offense in a 45-14 win.
Texas Tech offense caught lightning in a bottle
In a game delayed more than two hours after just a few minutes had been played, the Texas Tech offense gathered 513 yards of offense, 444 of that passing the ball, to OSU’s 282, with 275 passing.
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It’s the most yards Oregon State has given up all season and the most points surrendered by the Beavers since a 49-14 loss to Oregon last year.
At the heart of Oregon State’s demise Saturday was Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton. Morton threw for a career-high 442 yards with four touchdowns on a 66% completion rate. He was a constant threat with the ball in his hands, and his receivers were reaping the benefits.
Morton had two receivers post over 115 receiving yards, another with 80 yards and one more with 60 yards. Oregon State’s Skyler Thomas picked off a Morton pass.
The Beavers’ defense did show flashes of life, though. Oregon State defenders posted seven tackles for loss and attempted to play a physical, hard-hitting brand of football. Texas Tech’s offense was simply too fast, skillful and creative for the Beavers and matched the visitors’ physicality as well.
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Oregon State got overmatched by a Texas Tech offense that has scored 174 points through three games.
Oregon State running back Anthony Hankerson, center, is bottled up by Texas Tech defensive backs John Curry, left, and Ben Roberts. The Beavers were held to just 7 net yards rushing. Hankerson had 12 yards on 11 carries.
Oregon State offense couldn’t find a groove
Through three quarters, primarily facing Texas Tech’s front-line defenders, the Beavers’ offense had gained 162 yards to the Red Raiders’ 448. The OSU rushing game was in the hole in terms of yards gained, responsible for negative-3 yards on 19 attempts.
Texas Tech’s physical, packed defensive front made for a slow day for Anthony Hankerson and the rushers wearing orange and black. Hankerson finished the game with 12 yards on 11 carries with a long run of 3 yards. Oregon State in total gained 7 yards rushing for the game.
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On paper, Oregon State’s pass game delivered nothing of an unusual performance. Quarterback Maalik Murphy completed 23 of 42 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown, plus two ill-timed interceptions in deep offensive territory.
Receivers David Wells Jr. and Trent Walker posted 103 yards and 68 yards of receiving, respectively.
But an offense that reached the red zone just three times and converted 7 of 17 third downs frequently paled in comparison to a Red Raider offense that goes pound-for-pound with the best in the nation.
There have been growing pains in the OSU offensive game with penalties, dropped passes and simply unlucky plays plaguing the first three games of the 2025 campaign. While the loss to Texas Tech can’t quite be chalked up to a specific category, Oregon State coach Trent Bray has consistently emphasized that the sloppy play must be cleaned up.
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It’s not about to get easier to clean up, though, as No. 5 Oregon opens its doors to Oregon State next Saturday, Sept. 20, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
Landon Bartlett covers high school sports and Oregon State for the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at lbartlett@salem.gannett.com or on X or Instagram @bartlelo.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon State football falls hard at Texas Tech, starts season 0-3
