Fresno State Beats Oregon State 38-22 as Bulldogs Sack Braden Atkinson Five Times

Oregon State showed up in Fresno with the most dangerous passing attack in the country, a share of first place in the Pac-12 and a 6.5-point cushion from the oddsmakers. Fresno State showed up with five pass attempts in the first half. Guess which approach worked.

The Bulldogs ran, hit a handful of shots over the top and sacked Braden Atkinson five times on the way to a 38-22 win over Oregon State on Halloween night at Valley Children's Stadium. Fresno State, in its blackout theme, improved to 5-3 and 2-2 in its first Pac-12 season. Oregon State, which had received votes in both polls, fell to 5-3 and 3-1 with its first conference loss.

It was also the Bulldogs' second straight win in the series, following a 36-27 victory in Corvallis last season. According to Fresno State's own game notes (opens in a new tab), the program had not beaten Oregon State in consecutive meetings since a four-game run from 1989 to 1994. Fresno State now leads the series 10-6.

The First Half: Three Kicks, Three Haymakers

The weirdness started early. Fresno State's first drive lasted two plays, ending when Jayden Mandal threw an interception to Sailasa Vadrawale III at the Bulldogs' 34. The Bulldogs had thrown one pick in 201 attempts all season.

Oregon State had a short field and came away with nothing. A false start wiped out what would have been a 1-yard touchdown run, and the Bulldogs stuffed a fourth-and-goal from the 3 at 11:36 of the first quarter. After a Fresno State three-and-out, the Beavers settled for Caleb Ojeda's 54-yard field goal at 6:41, a terrific kick that still felt like a consolation prize.

Fresno State answered with its best drive of the half, eight plays and 75 yards capped by Mandal's 15-yard touchdown run with 1:47 left in the opening quarter.

That set the rhythm: Oregon State kicked, and Fresno State hit back harder. An 11-play, 65-yard Beavers march, fueled by a 20-yard AJ Newberry run, a 14-yard Cornell Hatcher Jr. carry and a 23-yard Jesse Legree catch, died at the 10 after another false start, and Ojeda hit from 28. Forty-five seconds later it was 14-6. Mandal found Josiah Freeman for 12 yards, and then Bryson Donelson broke a 63-yard touchdown run, the longest play of the night.

The Beavers' response was a 14-play, 64-yard grind that took 5:14 off the clock and ended, again, with a field goal, Ojeda's third, from 29 yards. Jordan Malau'ulu returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards, and Fresno State needed seven plays to cash it in, Mandal hitting Freeman for a 26-yard touchdown with 1:54 left in the half.

Oregon State threatened again before the break. Atkinson connected with DeCorion Temple for 28 and 19 yards to get into Fresno State territory, but Dylan Hampsten sacked Atkinson with 18 seconds left, the ball came loose, and Fresno State recovered at its own 17.

The halftime numbers were a strange split. Oregon State outgained Fresno State 235 to 214, held the ball for 17:16 of the 30 minutes, and still trailed 21-9. Fresno State had attempted five passes. It did not need more, because it was averaging 9.3 yards per carry, with Donelson at 100 yards on nine attempts by the break.

The Third Quarter Belonged to Fresno State, Again

Fresno State came into this game having outscored opponents 45-8 in third quarters this season. Make that 62-15.

After an Oregon State punt to open the half, Mandal found Jahlil McClain for 48 yards, the drive stalled, and Manaki Watanabe made it 24-9 with a 30-yard field goal at 10:00.

The next snap was the one that broke it open. Martin Owusu sacked Atkinson on the first play of the ensuing drive, the ball came out, and Fresno State recovered at the Oregon State 19. Five plays later Mandal ran in from 3 yards out, and it was 31-9 with 7:37 left in the quarter.

Oregon State did push back. Atkinson hit Temple for 25 and Adonis McDaniel for 14, and Cornell Hatcher Jr. finished a seven-play, 75-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, the Beavers' first trip into the end zone after three field goals. 31-16 with 4:46 to play in the third.

Fresno State answered in six plays. Mandal hit Jake Appleget for 37, then went right back to Freeman for a 31-yard touchdown with 1:35 left in the period. Oregon State's last drive of the quarter went backward 23 yards on two sacks and an illegal shift. That was the ballgame.

The fourth quarter was mostly about the clock. Fresno State survived a Gavin Correia fumble, recovered by teammate Ezekiel Avit, before Watanabe missed from 44 yards. Oregon State turned it over on downs twice, on an incomplete fourth-and-7 throw from the Fresno State 21 at 9:21 and on Atkinson's 1-yard keeper on fourth-and-3 near midfield at 7:02. The Beavers finally found the end zone on a 12-play, 80-yard drive, Atkinson hitting Eric Olsen for 9 yards with 1:45 left, but the two-point pass failed. Fresno State took over at midfield after the onside kick, and Mandal knelt out the clock.

The Turning Point

If you want one sequence, take the first snap after Watanabe's field goal. Oregon State was down 24-9 with almost 25 minutes left and an offense that had averaged 42.7 points per game. Instead, Atkinson went down, the ball came loose and Fresno State took over 19 yards from the end zone. Mandal's touchdown run a few minutes later pushed the lead to 22, and Oregon State spent the rest of the night throwing into a pass rush that knew what was coming.

Stars of the Night

Jayden Mandal, Fresno State QB. Efficient is the word: 11 of 17 passing for 202 yards and two touchdowns, plus 34 yards on the ground with two more scores. That is four total touchdowns. The one blemish was the interception on the game's second play, the Bulldogs' first pick in seven games.

Josiah Freeman, Fresno State WR. Freeman came into the night with two touchdown catches all season and left with six catches for 88 yards and two scores, including both of the Bulldogs' passing touchdowns.

The Fresno State pass rush. Five sacks, nine tackles for loss and two sacks that shook the ball loose, both recovered by Fresno State. Dylan Hampsten had two of the sacks, and Ethan Tierney, Deijon Laffitte and Martin Owusu had one each. Tytus Khajavi led the Bulldogs with eight tackles.

DeCorion Temple, Oregon State WR. In a frustrating night for the Beavers, Temple was the most reliable piece, with six catches for 97 yards.

By the Numbers

• Atkinson finished 33 of 59 for 373 yards with one touchdown and two lost fumbles. Once the sacks were counted, Atkinson's rushing total was minus-14 yards. Atkinson entered averaging 372 passing yards a game with 24 touchdowns and two interceptions.
• Jesse Legree, who led the nation with 1,040 receiving yards and 14 touchdown catches, was held to seven catches for 70 yards and no scores.
• Oregon State finished with 77 rushing yards on 28 carries. Fresno State ran for 190 on 39 carries.

What It Means

For Oregon State, this is the first real dent in a turnaround season. JaMarcus Shephard took over a team that went 2-10 last year, and the Beavers had won five of their first seven, including all three Pac-12 games. The Beavers are still alive in the league race, but the offense that had looked unstoppable just had a blueprint written against it: make it kick, and make it pay for every dropback.

For Fresno State, this was the kind of win the program needed in its first year in the new Pac-12. Matt Entz's team had dropped one-score games to Boise State and San Diego State and was a home underdog, by 6.5 points per GV Wire (opens in a new tab). The Bulldogs answered by doing what their preview promised: protecting the ball (one turnover), creating takeaways (two) and owning the third quarter.

Next up, Oregon State hosts Texas State on Nov. 7, while Fresno State travels to Utah State the same day.

The Take

The temptation with Oregon State this season has been to treat Atkinson and Legree as a cheat code, and for seven weeks that was mostly fair. Fresno State's answer was not complicated. It kept the Beavers out of the end zone when it mattered, sacked the quarterback until the pocket shrank, and let a patient offense take the four or five big shots that came free. Halloween in Fresno was a blackout. For the Beavers' passing game, it was close to one too.

Sources: ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and play-by-play, Fresno State Athletics game notes and preview, GV Wire, ESPN preview. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Fresno State Athletics.