The 2008 Oregon State Beavers football team represented Oregon State University as a member of the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Mike Riley, the Beavers compiled an overall record of 9–4 with a mark of 7–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the Pac-10. Oregon State was invited to the Sun Bowl, where the Beavers defeated Pittsburgh. For the third straight season, Oregon State won at least nine games and finished in the top three in the Pac-10 standings. The team played home games Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon.
Schedule
Game summaries At Stanford
Statistics ORSTSTAN First downs 29 18 Total yards 490 301 Rushing yards 86 210 Passing yards 404 91 Turnovers 3 0 Time of possession 28:46 31:14 Team Category Player StatisticsOregon State Passing Lyle Moevao 34/54, 404 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT Rushing Jacquizz Rodgers 14 rushes, 54 yards Receiving Sammie Stroughter 12 receptions, 157 yards, 2 TDStanford Passing Tavi Pritchard 10/17, 91 yards, TD Rushing Toby Gerhart 19 rushes, 147 yards, 2 TD Receiving Ryan Whalen 3 receptions, 30 yards
Oregon State was almost able to come back late in the fourth quarter when Darrell Catchings caught the ball just outside the end zone, but it was knocked loose by Taylor Skaufel, resulting in a touchback and victory for the Cardinal.
At No. 19 Penn State
Statistics ORSTPSU First downs 19 23 Total yards 342 454 Rushing yards 92 239 Passing yards 250 215 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 32:29 27:31 Team Category Player StatisticsOregon State Passing Lyle Moevao 25/41, 250 yards, 2 INT Rushing Jacquizz Rodgers 22 rushes, 99 yards, 2 TD Receiving Sammie Stroughter 4 receptions, 56 yardsPenn State Passing Daryll Clark 14/23, 215 yards, 2 TD Rushing Evan Royster 17 rushes, 141 yards, 3 TD Receiving Jordan Norwood 8 receptions, 116 yards, TD
Despite the off-field distractions, the Nittany Lions rolled to a 35-7 halftime lead en route to a 45-14 win in their first-ever meeting with the Beavers. Penn State's sophomore tailback Evan Royster ran for a career-high 141 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns. Lion quarterback Daryll Clark's 276 total yards of offense (215 yards passing, 61 yards rushing) helped Penn State total 454 yards of offense.
Penn State linebackers Tyrell Sales and NaVorro Bowman both recorded 10 tackles each, both career-highs and linebacker Josh Hull and safety Mark Rubin both made their first career interceptions. 108,159 were in attendance at Happy Valley for this first-ever meeting between the schools.
Hawaii
Statistics HAWORST First downs 14 28 Total yards 211 485 Rushing yards 57 217 Passing yards 154 268 Turnovers 3 0 Time of possession 22:33 37:27 Team Category Player StatisticsHawaii Passing Tyler Graunke 12/27, 118 yards, 2 INT Rushing Kealoha Pilares 8 rushes, 36 yards, TD Receiving Michael Washington 7 receptions, 71 yardsOregon State Passing Lyle Moevao 20/34, 268 yards, 3 TD Rushing Jacquizz Rodgers 26 rushes, 110 yards, 2 TD Receiving Shane Morales 5 receptions, 93 yards, TD
Oregon State scored 45 unanswered points ien route to their first victory of the season. It was the second time in 3 years that Oregon State has defeated Hawaii.
No. 1 USC
Statistics USCORST First downs 16 22 Total yards 313 343 Rushing yards 86 176 Passing yards 227 167 Turnovers 2 0 Time of possession 22:11 37:49 Team Category Player StatisticsUSC Passing Mark Sanchez 18/29, 227 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing Stafon Johnson 7 rushes, 48 yards Receiving Damian Williams 6 receptions, 94 yards, TDOregon State Passing Lyle Moevao 18/28, 167 yards, 2 TD Rushing Jacquizz Rodgers 37 rushes, 186 yards, 2 TD Receiving Sammie Stroughter 3 receptions, 42 yards
The Beavers shocked the college football world as they upset the No. 1 Ranked USC Trojans at home on September 25, 2008. Oregon State is one of two Pac-10 Conference school to have beaten USC twice during the Pete Carroll era.
Freshman Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns for OSU, USC quarterback Mark Sanchez passed for 227 yards, and Damian Williams caught 80 yards for the Trojans.
This was the last time an unranked team defeated a AP No. 1 team until 2021, where unranked Texas A&M upset AP No. 1 Alabama 41–38.
At No. 15 Utah
Statistics ORSTUTAH First downs 20 18 Total yards 405 337 Rushing yards 92 136 Passing yards 313 201 Turnovers 1 2 Time of possession 31:06 28:54 Team Category Player StatisticsOregon State Passing Lyle Moevao 21/31, 313 yards, 2 TD Rushing Jacquizz Rodgers 25 rushes, 101 yards, TD Receiving James Rodgers 5 receptions, 82 yardsUtah Passing Brian Johnson 17/30, 201 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Matt Asiata 7 rushes, 53 yards Receiving Brent Casteel 5 receptions, 105 yards
After five games, the pattern for the 2008 Beavers has been the home team wins. The Beavers led 28-20 with about 2 minutes remaining in the fourth. They let Utah drive all the way down the field and score along with a 2-point conversion to tie it up. The Beavers gave the ball right back to Utah and place kicker Louie Sakoda nailed a 37-yard field goal as time expired. Sophomore kicker Justin Kahut of Oregon State missed an extra point in the early stages of the game which led Mike Riley to go for the two-point conversion after two of the Beaver's touchdowns. Both failed and it cost the Beavers the game.
Washington State
Statistics WSUORST First downs 8 26 Total yards 132 548 Rushing yards 53 323 Passing yards 79 225 Turnovers 2 4 Time of possession 30:15 29:45 Team Category Player StatisticsWashington State Passing Mars Lobbestael 7/17, 79 yards Rushing Chantz Staden 17 rushes, 47 yards, TD Receiving Jeshua Anderson 1 reception, 27 yardsOregon State Passing Lyle Moevao 12/24, 186 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT Rushing Jacquizz Rodgers 23 rushes, 168 yards, TD Receiving Sammie Stroughter 6 receptions, 116 yards, TD
During the Beavers blow out of the Cougars, they managed to set a school record for most points in a Pac-10 game. "Quizz" had 168 yard day as the Cougars lost another quarterback. Washington State's quarterback problems, along with other difficulties would lead them to a 1-8 season. The Beavers on the other hand improved their record to 2-1 in the conference.
At Washington
Statistics ORSTWASH First downs 19 16 Total yards 421 377 Rushing yards 230 101 Passing yards 191 276 Turnovers 0 4 Time of possession 31:11 28:49 Team Category Player StatisticsOregon State Passing Lyle Moevao 18/22, 191 yards, TD Rushing James Rodgers 3 rushes, 110 yards, 2 TD Receiving Shane Morales 4 receptions, 61 yardsWashington Passing Ronnie Fouch 17/32, 276 yards, 3 INT Rushing Terrance Dailey 16 rushes, 102 yards, TD Receiving D'Andre Goodwin 5 receptions, 136 yards
The Beavers, led by the two Rodgers brothers, were able to fly by the winless Huskies in dramatic fashion. Jacquizz Rodgers had 93 yards, but the spotlight was on his older brother, James Rodgers who had over 200 yards returning kicks, running, and receiving. The Huskies would go on to lose the rest of their games, as they go winless in conference and non-conference.
Arizona State
Statistics ASUORST First downs 14 22 Total yards 217 261 Rushing yards 78 109 Passing yards 217 261 Turnovers 0 1 Time of possession 27:29 32:31 Team Category Player StatisticsArizona State Passing Rudy Carpenter 15/27, 217 yards, TD Rushing Shaun DeWitty 16 rushes, 110 yards Receiving Kerry Taylor 6 receptions, 81 yardsOregon State Passing Sean Canfield 19/28, 218 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Jacquizz Rodgers 30 rushes, 133 yards Receiving James Rodgers 8 receptions, 102 yards
After a low-scoring half, the Beavers lead the Sun Devils 7-6 at halftime. Teams exchanged touchdowns and field goals in the third and fourth quarters. After Arizona State's last touchdown with 21 seconds remaining, Rudy Carpenter's pass on the two-point conversion was picked off by Victor Butler. The onside kick was also recovered by the Beavers as they held on to the win, and the undefeated home record.
At UCLA
Statistics ORSTUCLA First downs 18 17 Total yards 423 237 Rushing yards 201 48 Passing yards 222 189 Turnovers 2 4 Time of possession 32:47 27:13 Team Category Player StatisticsOregon State Passing Sean Canfield 16/22, 222 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Jacquizz Rodgers 31 rushes, 144 yards, TD Receiving James Rodgers 6 receptions, 115 yardsUCLA Passing Kevin Craft 20/42, 189 yards, 2 INT Rushing Kahlil Bell 12 rushes, 45 yards Receiving Taylor Embree 5 receptions, 64 yards
After two field goals by either side in the first half, the teams headed into the locker room at the half in a 3-3 tie. In the second half, the Beavers blew open the game and ended up only giving up a second Bruin field goal in the second half. The Beavers blew out the Bruins 34-6.
California
Statistics CALORST First downs 11 20 Total yards 232 339 Rushing yards 85 194 Passing yards 147 145 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 25:14 34:46 Team Category Player StatisticsCalifornia Passing Kevin Riley 11/25, 117 yards, TD, INT Rushing Jahvid Best 15 rushes, 116 yards, TD Receiving LaReylle Cunningham 2 receptions, 45 yardsOregon State Passing Lyle Moevao 14/28, 145 yards, INT Rushing Jacquizz Rodgers 27 rushes, 144 yards, TD Receiving James Rodgers 6 receptions, 50 yards
At Arizona
Statistics ORSTARIZ First downs 17 19 Total yards 390 297 Rushing yards 166 139 Passing yards 224 158 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 27:17 32:43 Team Category Player StatisticsOregon State Passing Sean Canfield 20/32, 224 yards, TD Rushing Jacquizz Rodgers 10 rushes, 102 yards, TD Receiving Sammie Stroughter 5 receptions, 116 yards, TDArizona Passing Willie Tuitama 16/22, 158 yards, TD Rushing Keola Antolin 25 rushes, 114 yards, TD Receiving Rob Gronkowski 3 receptions, 50 yards, TD
No. 19 Oregon
Statistics OREORST First downs 22 25 Total yards 694 463 Rushing yards 385 89 Passing yards 309 374 Turnovers 0 4 Time of possession 29:36 30:24 Team Category Player StatisticsOregon Passing Jeremiah Masoli 11/17, 274 yards, 3 TD Rushing Jeremiah Johnson 17 rushes, 219 yards, TD Receiving Terrence Scott 2 receptions, 93 yards, TDOregon State Passing Lyle Moevao 27/51, 374 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT Rushing James Rodgers 7 rushes, 56 yards Receiving Sammie Stroughter 7 receptions, 145 yards
Oregon gained 694 yards on 69 plays, a 10.1 yard per play average. The loss was a Civil War record for points allowed as well as yards allowed, and kept the Beavers from going to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 1964 season. The loss to Oregon snapped a six-game home winning streak by the Beavers and a two-game winning streak in the Civil War. The Beavers were knocked out of contention for the Rose Bowl, which matched up two of their previous opponents, USC and Penn State. The Beavers finished in the third place in the Pac-10.
Vs. No. 18 Pittsburgh (2008 Sun Bowl)
Statistics ORSTPITT First downs 15 10 Total yards 273 178 Rushing yards 80 89 Passing yards 193 89 Turnovers 3 2 Time of possession 30:50 29:10 Team Category Player StatisticsOregon State Passing Lyle Moevao 21/42, 193 yards, 2 INT Rushing Jeremy Francis 15 rushes, 76 yards Receiving Sammie Stroughter 6 receptions, 88 yardsPittsburgh Passing Bill Stull 7/24, 52 yards, INT Rushing LeSean McCoy 24 rushes, 85 yards Receiving Dorin Dickerson 2 receptions, 37 yards
The Sun Bowl was played on December 31, 2008 in El Paso, Texas. Victor Strong-Butler was named the game's MVP.
Rankings
Personnel
Statistics Team