The 1985 Oregon State Beavers football team represented Oregon State University in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Beavers started the season 2–0, their best start in 18 years, but lost all but one of their remaining games to post their 18th consecutive losing season. The Beavers' 3–8 record was their best in seven years. The 1985 season is best known for Oregon State's 21–20 win over Washington, the largest point spread upset before Stanford's 2007 win over USC.

Schedule

Before the season Joe Avezzano compiled a 6-47-2 record at Oregon State from 1980 to 1984. The university allowed his five-year contract to expire on November 23. After Oakland Raiders' assistant coach, Sam Boghosian, withdrew his name from consideration, Idaho's head coach, Dennis Erickson, became the front runner. Erickson wanted the job, and Athletic Director, and former head coach, Dee Andros, wanted to hire him. However, President John Byrne waited. Eventually, Erickson withdrew his name for consideration along with a couple of the other more obvious choices.

After more than five weeks, long enough for the search to become a regional joke, the university settled on Dave Kragthorpe, the Athletic Director at Utah State. Kragthorpe had four years of head coaching experience at South Dakota State and Idaho State, where he employed the "Air Express" offense. However, he had not coached in three years. The head coaching search led to Andros losing his position as Athletic Director. Andros was "promoted" to a special two-year fundraising position created specifically for him.

Oregon State's starting quarterback in 1984, Ricky Greene, transferred to Western Oregon, and Greene's backup, Steve Steenwyck, was declared academically ineligible. Three days before the first game, after the ambidextrous scrambler, Shaun Shahan, lost a close quarterback battle to fellow redshirt freshman, Erik Wilhelm, Shahan quit the team as well. In addition to losing three quarterbacks in the offseason, Oregon State also lost all but three defensive starters. The Beavers did however return the Pac-10's most prolific receiver in both 1983 and 1984, Reggie Bynum. Bynum entered the season having caught the first, second, and fourth longest passes in Beaver history.

Game summaries Idaho

Idaho and Oregon State met 27 times between 1937 and 1966. Between 1967 and 1983, the two teams did not play, but the series resumed in 1984 in Moscow. The Vandals won that game 41-22, playing without starting quarterback, Scott Linehan. Idaho had not won back to back games in the series since 1937–1938. The Beavers entered every game in 1985 as underdogs. The Beavers-Vandals spread was the lowest spread of the season for the Beavers with Idaho favored by a mere 5 points.

It took Oregon State almost half of a quarter to get its first first down. By that time, Wilhelm had thrown two interceptions and Idaho led 16-0. The Beavers scored 23 straight points to post a 23-16 lead, but Linehan ran in from four yards out with one second left in the first half to tie the game at 23. After Idaho again knotted the game at 26, Oregon State marched from its own one-yard line to set up Dave Nielsen's 36-yard field goal with 5:44 left. On the ensuing kickoff, the Vandals fumbled and the Beavers recovered at the Idaho eight. Bynum caught his fourth touchdown reception on the next play. Lavance Northington ended the Vandals' following drive by intercepting a pass at the Beaver 14 with 3:19 left. However, after Oregon State's drive stalled, Idaho blocked the Beavers' punt. The ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety. Idaho failed to field Oregon State's free kick, which Oregon State's Brian Swanson recovered at the Vandal nine. From there, Darvin Malone scored on his second carry, giving the Beavers a 43-28 win. Wilhelm finished with 27 completions and four touchdown passes, which tied Oregon State records. Bynum caught all four of Wilhelm's touchdown passes, which set a Beaver record and tied a Pac-10 record. Idaho's coach was Dennis Erickson, Oregon State's future coach. The Beavers did not play an Erickson-coached team again until the 1988 Oregon State-Washington State game. It was Oregon State's last win over an Erickson-coached football team for more than two decades.

California

Oregon State had not won two consecutive games in seven years and had not started a season 2-0 in 18 years. The game was played on the rain-slicked turf of Civic Stadium in Portland, Oregon. The Beavers scored first on a four-play 39-yard drive, capped off by a nine-yard Wilhelm to Bynum connection. In the second quarter, California drove to the Oregon State two. On fourth down, the Bears lined up for a field goal, but the snap was fumbled. California's kicker, Leland Rix, got to the ball and scooped it to tight end Don Noble, who ran in the "pass" for a game-tying touchdown. After the Bears took the lead, Oregon State scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Wilhelm to Dave Montagne with time running out in the first half to take a 13-10 halftime lead, despite Wilhelm's four first half interceptions.

Oregon State's offense did not commit a second-half turnover. After California tied the game at 13 late in the third quarter, Wilhelm hit Bynum for a 66-yard touchdown pass. The Bears tied the game again at 20 early in the fourth quarter. The game took its toll on Oregon State. Two different strong safeties were injured during the game. In fact, the only starting defensive back to play the whole game was cornerback Lavance Northington. The other starting cornerback, Brian McElroy, was knocked out for the remainder of the season. Oregon State got the ball back for the last time with 4:08 left. On fourth-and-four at the California 40 with 1:26 left, Wilhelm hit Bynum for a five-yard gain. On the next play, Darvin Malone rambled 32 yards for a first down at the Bear three with 51 seconds left. The Beavers got the ball to the two and almost let the game clock expire. However, Jim Nielsen made his way onto the field to convert a 20-yard field goal with no time left. Oregon State's win remains its last in Portland.

Fresno State

In the 23 seasons from 1981 to 2003, Oregon State and Fresno State played 13 times, more than three times more often than any other nonconference opponent in the same period. The Beavers won the first meeting 31-28 in the largest comeback ever, at the time. The Bulldogs looked to even the series. Jim Sweeney, coach of Fresno State was no stranger to Oregon State, having coached Washington State from 1968 to 1975.

The Beavers started their first drive at the Bulldog nine after a fumble, and Oregon State's second drive breached the Fresno State six, but both drives ended in Jim Nielsen field goals. In the second quarter, Fresno State responded with three field goals of their own, the last field goal with two seconds left in the first half.

In the second half, rather than choosing to receive, Fresno State chose to kick with the wind. After Glenn Pena pinned the Bulldogs at their own 5-yard line with a 37-yard punt, Jim Sweeney's son Kevin Sweeney hit Stephen Baker "the Touchdown Maker" for a 95-yard touchdown, when the defensive back guarding Baker fell down. The play is the longest pass play in Parker Stadium history. In 2000, after Parker Stadium was renamed Reser Stadium, Chad Johnson (Ochocinco) finally broke the record, when he caught a 97-yard touchdown from Jonathan Smith. The Bulldogs converted the extra point for a 16-6 lead. In the next 4:44, Fresno State scored another two touchdowns on six offensive plays to take a 30-9 lead. The Bulldogs tacked on a fourth-quarter field goal for a 33-9 lead. Oregon State scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull within 11. The Beavers' last chance ended when the Bulldogs' punter was able to recover a bad snap for a safety with 11 seconds left. The wind played a big factor in the game, as the team with the wind outscored the other team a combined 51-6. Wilhelm finished 28 for 51, setting a new Oregon State record for completions and tying an Oregon State record for attempts. The win was Fresno State's first in Corvallis, and the win was Jim Sweeney's first over Oregon State since 1973. The Bulldogs finished the season 11-0-1, the only undefeated team in Division I-A.

Grambling State

After the 1969 Fred Milton affair, Dee Andros was branded as a racist in many circles. In an effort to entice more black football players to enroll, Oregon State signed a home-and-home contract with Grambling State. The Tigers won the 1975 game in Portland 19-12, Dee Andros' final year. As Andros was no longer the Beavers' coach, much of the impetus to play Grambling had subsided. However, the Beavers could not afford to buy out the contract to play the 1985 game in Shreveport, Louisiana against the Division I-AA Tigers. Grambling State's head coach was Eddie Robinson with 322 career head coaching victories, one win short of Paul "Bear" Bryant's record of 323 career wins. 13,396 fans showed up for the event, filling less than a third of Independence Stadium. The Beavers' share of the gate was not enough to offset the travel costs, so the university lost money on the game.

Grambling State scored two first-quarter touchdowns. Jim Nielsen kicked a 53-yard field goal with one second left in the first half, to pull within 11. On the last play of the third quarter, Wilhelm suffered a season-ending injury. Rich Gonzales took his place, leading the Beavers to another Jim Nielsen field goal. Grambling State safety, James Harris, tackled Gonzales in the end zone for a safety, and the Tigers tacked on a touchdown to win 23-6. Oregon State was penalized 16 times for 159 yards, while Grambling State was penalized 6 times for 49 yards. Kragthorpe cited the disproportionate number of penalties as a key reason for the loss. Many columnists also noted the large penalty disparity.

As of 2017, this game is Oregon State's only trip to Shreveport, Louisiana.

USC

USC began the year beating #11 Illinois by 10 points in Urbana, Illinois. After the win, recruiting violations were uncovered, leading to an assistant coach being fired. The Trojans, in turmoil, proceeded to lose to Baylor by a touchdown in the Coliseum and Arizona State by 24 points in Tempe, Arizona. Entering the game, Tailback U had not scored a rushing touchdown in 1985. Kragthorpe described the Trojans as a bear with a burnt paw.

On Oregon State's first drive, the Beavers drove 55 yards, to set up a 52-yard field goal attempt, which Jim Nielsen missed. The Trojans wound up rushing for 387 yards and four touchdowns; the Beavers rushed for -3 yards and never breached the Trojan 30-yard line. Gonzales passed for 94 yards but rushed six times for -61 yards. Bynum entered the game, the second-leading receiver in the country but was held to seven catches for 70 yards. The 63-point loss is the largest in Oregon State's history.

Washington State

Washington State's quarterback was future Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien. In their first five games, the Cougars primarily ran a veer offense. During the game, Washington State debuted the wishbone offense. Rypien ran for two touchdowns and his replacement ran for another. In turn, Oregon State's quarterback was sacked four times and tackled behind the line of scrimmage twice more to finish the game carrying six times for -51 yards. To make matters worse, Bynum was injured early in the second quarter and did not return for three weeks. No Beaver team had ever lost two consecutive games by 97 points.

Washington

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