Saturday, October 28
Tucson, AZ
7:30 PM
Oregon State
at
Arizona
Photo by: Karl Maasdam
Oregon State Comes Off Bye Week For Saturday Night Matchup At Arizona
October 23, 2023 | Football
GAME 8: OREGON STATE VS. ARIZONA
Oct. 28, 2023 • Tucson, Ariz. • Arizona Stadium • 7:30 p.m. PT • ESPN
Game Notes
- Oregon State hits the road and ends the month of October with a matchup against Arizona Saturday night in Tucson. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. PT.
- The game will air live on the ESPN. Brian Custer (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst) and Lauren Sisler (sideline) will call the action.Â
- The game will air live on the Beaver Sports Radio Network. For a list of affiliates, turn to page two of these notes.
- Every game this season can be heard live on the Varsity Network, a free application available via computer browsers, smartphones and tablets. After downloading the application, search for Oregon State.Â
- Oregon State and Arizona are meeting for the first time since 2019, when the Beavers picked up a 56-38 victory in Tucson.Â
- The Beavers are 14-5 versus the Wildcats since 1999.
Oregon State By The Numbers
3 - Number of teams, Beavers included, who are perfect in the red zone this season. OSU is 25-for-25. The other two teams? South Alabama and Western Kentucky.
6 - Tackles apiece for Akili Arnold and John McCartan at Arizona in 2019.
7 - Receiving touchdowns for Jack Velling, who leads the nation among tight ends. Velling needs one more to break the single-season OSU record for a tight end.
18 - All-time rushing rank for Damien Martinez at OSU, who has 1,658 yards with the Beavers. Sixty-one more and he'll move into 16th.
23 - Wins for the Beavers since 2021, the most over a three-year stretch since OSU won 26 from 2007-09.
26 - OSU's wins, in 32 such games under head coach Jonathan Smith, when leading at half.
32 - Victories for Smith, evening his career winning percentage to .500.
64 - Tackles for Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, who would have been just 19 off the team lead a year ago.
Against Arizona
- The teams are meeting for the 42nd time in a series that dates back to 1966. OSU and Arizona last met in 2019 in Tucson, a 56-38 win by the Beavers. The 56 points in the win still stand as the most points scored by OSU in Pac-12 play under head coach Jonathan Smith.
- Arizona had won two straight and 3-of-4 leading up to the Beavers' win in 2019. Prior to that, OSU had won 4-of-5 and 12-of-14 from 1999-2012. The Beavers won six straight from 1999-2004 and then went 6-1 versus Arizona from 2006-2012.Â
- Jacquizz Rodgers, who holds the Oregon State single-game record for catches versus Arizona with 13 in 2009, had 10 receptions in the second half of that game. That set a then-school record for most receptions in a half, since bettered by Markus Wheaton (12) in the first half versus Nicholls State in 2012.
- Isaiah Hodgins had 150 receiving yards in the 2019 win, the fourth-most by a Beaver against Arizona.
News, Notes And More
- Twitter.com/BeaverFootball is still the program's main Twitter handle, but the Twitter.com/BeaverFBNews account was created prior to the 2019 season.
- Follow @BeaverFBNews for news, pre-game and in-game notes and more. The handle will post in-game news and scoring information as it happens.
More Versus The 'Cats
- Oregon State, over the last 19 games dating back to 1999, has out-scored Arizona, 594-493, an average of 7.4 points per game. The Beavers have posted 30 or more points 10 times during that stretch.
- OSU has won by 10 or more nine times, including five times by 20-plus.
- The Beavers, at 7-2 in Tucson, have scored an average of 31.4 points in the wins, while allowing an average of 21. OSU gave up a combined 93 points in the two losses, in 2015 and 2017.
Recapping UCLA
- Oregon State won its second straight matchup versus a top-25 team when beating then then-No. 18 Bruins. It followed a win  over then-No. 10 Utah at the end of September. The Beavers last won back-to-back matchups with top-25 teams in 2012.
- OSU won its eighth straight home game, the Beavers' longest streak since 2007-08. Â Oregon State improved to 15-1 at home since the start of the 2021 season.
- Oregon State became bowl eligible with the win.
- The Beavers intercepted three passes in the win, for the first time since Sept. 17, 2022 against Montana State. OSU did so for the first time in a Pac-12 game since Sept. 25, 2021 at USC.
- Atticus Sappington connected on three field goals for the second time in his career. He has multiple field goals in four career games, and three in 2023.
- Oregon State scored first for the sixth time in 2023. The Beavers are 6-0 when doing so.
- Attendance at the homecoming game was 37,600, the largest in the Completed Reser Stadium.
One Of 10
- Oregon State is one of 10 teams nationally with two wins over AP Top-25 teams this season.
- OSU last won two games against top-25 teams in the same season in 2010. The Beavers last won three during the 2000 season.
Velling Goes Seven
- Jack Velling caught two passes in the win over UCLA, giving him seven on the season. That's the most in the nation by a tight end this season.
- Velling's seven touchdowns also ties Tim Euhus (2003) and Joe Newton (2004 and 2006) for the most ever by a Beaver tight end. An eighth touchdown will also tie Velling with Chad Johnson (2000) and Shane Morales (2008) for the ninth-most in a single-season at OSU regardless of position.
- Velling has five receiving scores over his last two games. He is the first Beaver with five over two games since Brandin Cooks in 2013.
Midseason Honors
- Taliese Fuaga, Tanner Miller and Silas Bolden were all recognized on midseason All-America Teams last week.
- Bolden was selected as all purpose second team by The Athletic. Miller was a second-team selection by the Associated Press.
- Fuaga, well now, he was popular. The OSU offensive lineman was named a first-team selection by ESPN, CBS Sports, AP, USA Today, Pro Football Focus and 247 Sports. He was also a second-team honoree per The Athletic.
Joe Moore Award
- Taliese Fuaga is a part of an Oregon State offensive line that was also recognized as a watch list member for the Joe Moore Award. The award is given annually to the nation's top offensive line.
- Six different Beavers have started on the offensive line for Oregon State this season, with four – Fuaga, Joshua Gray, Tanner Miller and Heneli Bloomfield – starting all seven. Jake Levengood has seen action in six, while Grant Starck has one start on the year.Â
- The Beavers are ranked second nationally for run blocking per Pro Football Focus. Fuaga is the nation's No. 1 offensive lineman for overall and rush blocking per the ranking service. Miller is ranked fifth overall in the Pac-12, followed by Levengood (No. 7), Gray (No. 15) and Bloomfield (No. 20). Fuaga (first), Levengood (fourth), Miller (fourth), Gray (seventh) and Bloomfield (ninth) are all in the top-10 for run blocking.
- The honor is no stranger to the Beavers who were semifinalists for the honor in 2021. Jim Michalczik, Oregon State's associate head coach and offensive line coach, is in his sixth season leading the group.
Smith Gets Recognized
-Â Jonathan Smith is one of 26 head coaches across the country to be named to the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year watch list. The watch list was announced during the Beavers' bye week.
- Smith, one of five from the Pac-12, has led OSU to its first 6-1 season since 2013. The Beavers are 23-10 over the last three seasons.
- Oregon State's 36-24 win over UCLA pushed Smith's career record to 32-32.
- He was named the Co-Coach of the Year in the Pac-12 last season, joining Washington's Kalen DeBoer. Smith was the first OSU coach to be honored since Mike Riley in 2008.
- Smith was also named the Region 5 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). He was the first Beaver coach to earn that honor since Riley in 2012.
Dual 1ks
- Damien Martinez and Deshaun Fenwick have both rushed past 1,000 yards for their careers with the Beavers, combining for 3,041.
- Martinez ranks 18th with 1,658 and he's the program's all-time leader with 6.2 yards per carry. He has averaged 6.4 yards per attempt this season.
- Fenwick, meanwhile, is at 1,383 yards during his career at Oregon State. He has 1,906 in 44 collegiate games after totaling 523 at South Carolina. Fenwick's 1,383 yards rank 28th at OSU.
- Oregon State ranks 13th nationally averaging 5.46 yards per carry this season. That's up from the Beavers' 4.87 a year ago.
DJU To The Manning, Maxwell
- DJ Uiagalelei was named to the Manning Award and Maxwell Award watch lists during the bye. The Beaver starting quaterback was selected after passing for 1,573 yards and 15 touchdowns over the first seven games of the season.
- Those 1,573 passing yards would have led the Beavers last season. His 15 touchdown passes, meanwhile, are just one shy of the team's entire total in 2022. He's tied with Sean Mannion (2012 and 2014) and Jonathan Smith (1999) for the 13th-most in a single-season since 1996. Uiagalelei needs five more to become the seventh Beaver since '96 with 20 or more.
- He's also rushed for five scores, tying Ben Gulbranson (2022) and Matt Moore (2006) for the most by a Beaver QB since at least 1996.
Bowl Eligible
- Oregon State's 36-24 win over UCLA made the Beavers the third team in the Pac-12 to be bowl eligible this season.
- The Oct. 14 date is the earliest on the calendar the Beavers have ever been bowl eligible. The previous date was Oct. 19 during the 2013 season.
- Oregon State is bowl eligible in the month of October for the fifth time in program history.
Looking To Go 7-1
- Oregon State is looking to go 7-1 for the first time since 2012. The 2012 Beavers opened the year 6-0, then lost to Washington, 20-17, before defeating Arizona State, 36-26. That team ended the season 9-4 and played Texas in the Valero Alamo Bowl.
- Oregon State, meanwhile, has a 6-1 record seven games into the season for the first time since 2013.
In The Rankings
- Oregon State finds itself No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 and 12th in the US LBM Coaches Poll entering the game with Arizona. OSU is up four spots in the AP Top 25 after the win over the Bruins, and two in the coaches poll.
- The Beavers are ranked in each of the first nine AP Top-25 polls of a season for the first time in program history.
- Oregon State was in the AP Top 25 for six weeks during the 2022 season, which included a final ranking at No. 17 after the win over Florida. The Beavers also finished 17th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
What Are The Odds?
- Oregon State has won the coin toss in all seven games this season. The chances of that happening? Mathematically it is .007. Simulate the first seven games of a season 1,000 times and OSU wins all seven coin tosses only seven times.
- It is believed that Colorado is the only other team nationally to have won every one of its coin tosses this season. Should the Beavers and Buffaloes win theirs again this week - taking the odds down to .003 - then one team's streak will have to end Nov. 4 in Boulder.
Almost A Full Extra Yard
- Oregon State is fourth in the Pac-12 averaging 6.94 yards per play this season. If the season ended today, that would set the OSU single-season record, bettering the 2021 team's 6.4 yards per average.
- Notably, the 6.94 yards per play is nearly a full yard better than 2022, which was 6.09.Â
- The key difference has been in yards per completion. OSU averaged 12.91 yards per completion last season. This year, that has risen to 14.30. That's helped OSU to 249.1 yards per game overall, up from 199.5 a year ago.
- The Beavers also had a 1.23 TD/interception rate. This season's is 4.50.
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Oct. 28, 2023 • Tucson, Ariz. • Arizona Stadium • 7:30 p.m. PT • ESPN
Game Notes
- Oregon State hits the road and ends the month of October with a matchup against Arizona Saturday night in Tucson. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. PT.
- The game will air live on the ESPN. Brian Custer (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst) and Lauren Sisler (sideline) will call the action.Â
- The game will air live on the Beaver Sports Radio Network. For a list of affiliates, turn to page two of these notes.
- Every game this season can be heard live on the Varsity Network, a free application available via computer browsers, smartphones and tablets. After downloading the application, search for Oregon State.Â
- Oregon State and Arizona are meeting for the first time since 2019, when the Beavers picked up a 56-38 victory in Tucson.Â
- The Beavers are 14-5 versus the Wildcats since 1999.
Oregon State By The Numbers
3 - Number of teams, Beavers included, who are perfect in the red zone this season. OSU is 25-for-25. The other two teams? South Alabama and Western Kentucky.
6 - Tackles apiece for Akili Arnold and John McCartan at Arizona in 2019.
7 - Receiving touchdowns for Jack Velling, who leads the nation among tight ends. Velling needs one more to break the single-season OSU record for a tight end.
18 - All-time rushing rank for Damien Martinez at OSU, who has 1,658 yards with the Beavers. Sixty-one more and he'll move into 16th.
23 - Wins for the Beavers since 2021, the most over a three-year stretch since OSU won 26 from 2007-09.
26 - OSU's wins, in 32 such games under head coach Jonathan Smith, when leading at half.
32 - Victories for Smith, evening his career winning percentage to .500.
64 - Tackles for Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, who would have been just 19 off the team lead a year ago.
Against Arizona
- The teams are meeting for the 42nd time in a series that dates back to 1966. OSU and Arizona last met in 2019 in Tucson, a 56-38 win by the Beavers. The 56 points in the win still stand as the most points scored by OSU in Pac-12 play under head coach Jonathan Smith.
- Arizona had won two straight and 3-of-4 leading up to the Beavers' win in 2019. Prior to that, OSU had won 4-of-5 and 12-of-14 from 1999-2012. The Beavers won six straight from 1999-2004 and then went 6-1 versus Arizona from 2006-2012.Â
- Jacquizz Rodgers, who holds the Oregon State single-game record for catches versus Arizona with 13 in 2009, had 10 receptions in the second half of that game. That set a then-school record for most receptions in a half, since bettered by Markus Wheaton (12) in the first half versus Nicholls State in 2012.
- Isaiah Hodgins had 150 receiving yards in the 2019 win, the fourth-most by a Beaver against Arizona.
News, Notes And More
- Twitter.com/BeaverFootball is still the program's main Twitter handle, but the Twitter.com/BeaverFBNews account was created prior to the 2019 season.
- Follow @BeaverFBNews for news, pre-game and in-game notes and more. The handle will post in-game news and scoring information as it happens.
More Versus The 'Cats
- Oregon State, over the last 19 games dating back to 1999, has out-scored Arizona, 594-493, an average of 7.4 points per game. The Beavers have posted 30 or more points 10 times during that stretch.
- OSU has won by 10 or more nine times, including five times by 20-plus.
- The Beavers, at 7-2 in Tucson, have scored an average of 31.4 points in the wins, while allowing an average of 21. OSU gave up a combined 93 points in the two losses, in 2015 and 2017.
Recapping UCLA
- Oregon State won its second straight matchup versus a top-25 team when beating then then-No. 18 Bruins. It followed a win  over then-No. 10 Utah at the end of September. The Beavers last won back-to-back matchups with top-25 teams in 2012.
- OSU won its eighth straight home game, the Beavers' longest streak since 2007-08. Â Oregon State improved to 15-1 at home since the start of the 2021 season.
- Oregon State became bowl eligible with the win.
- The Beavers intercepted three passes in the win, for the first time since Sept. 17, 2022 against Montana State. OSU did so for the first time in a Pac-12 game since Sept. 25, 2021 at USC.
- Atticus Sappington connected on three field goals for the second time in his career. He has multiple field goals in four career games, and three in 2023.
- Oregon State scored first for the sixth time in 2023. The Beavers are 6-0 when doing so.
- Attendance at the homecoming game was 37,600, the largest in the Completed Reser Stadium.
One Of 10
- Oregon State is one of 10 teams nationally with two wins over AP Top-25 teams this season.
- OSU last won two games against top-25 teams in the same season in 2010. The Beavers last won three during the 2000 season.
Velling Goes Seven
- Jack Velling caught two passes in the win over UCLA, giving him seven on the season. That's the most in the nation by a tight end this season.
- Velling's seven touchdowns also ties Tim Euhus (2003) and Joe Newton (2004 and 2006) for the most ever by a Beaver tight end. An eighth touchdown will also tie Velling with Chad Johnson (2000) and Shane Morales (2008) for the ninth-most in a single-season at OSU regardless of position.
- Velling has five receiving scores over his last two games. He is the first Beaver with five over two games since Brandin Cooks in 2013.
Midseason Honors
- Taliese Fuaga, Tanner Miller and Silas Bolden were all recognized on midseason All-America Teams last week.
- Bolden was selected as all purpose second team by The Athletic. Miller was a second-team selection by the Associated Press.
- Fuaga, well now, he was popular. The OSU offensive lineman was named a first-team selection by ESPN, CBS Sports, AP, USA Today, Pro Football Focus and 247 Sports. He was also a second-team honoree per The Athletic.
Joe Moore Award
- Taliese Fuaga is a part of an Oregon State offensive line that was also recognized as a watch list member for the Joe Moore Award. The award is given annually to the nation's top offensive line.
- Six different Beavers have started on the offensive line for Oregon State this season, with four – Fuaga, Joshua Gray, Tanner Miller and Heneli Bloomfield – starting all seven. Jake Levengood has seen action in six, while Grant Starck has one start on the year.Â
- The Beavers are ranked second nationally for run blocking per Pro Football Focus. Fuaga is the nation's No. 1 offensive lineman for overall and rush blocking per the ranking service. Miller is ranked fifth overall in the Pac-12, followed by Levengood (No. 7), Gray (No. 15) and Bloomfield (No. 20). Fuaga (first), Levengood (fourth), Miller (fourth), Gray (seventh) and Bloomfield (ninth) are all in the top-10 for run blocking.
- The honor is no stranger to the Beavers who were semifinalists for the honor in 2021. Jim Michalczik, Oregon State's associate head coach and offensive line coach, is in his sixth season leading the group.
Smith Gets Recognized
-Â Jonathan Smith is one of 26 head coaches across the country to be named to the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year watch list. The watch list was announced during the Beavers' bye week.
- Smith, one of five from the Pac-12, has led OSU to its first 6-1 season since 2013. The Beavers are 23-10 over the last three seasons.
- Oregon State's 36-24 win over UCLA pushed Smith's career record to 32-32.
- He was named the Co-Coach of the Year in the Pac-12 last season, joining Washington's Kalen DeBoer. Smith was the first OSU coach to be honored since Mike Riley in 2008.
- Smith was also named the Region 5 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). He was the first Beaver coach to earn that honor since Riley in 2012.
Dual 1ks
- Damien Martinez and Deshaun Fenwick have both rushed past 1,000 yards for their careers with the Beavers, combining for 3,041.
- Martinez ranks 18th with 1,658 and he's the program's all-time leader with 6.2 yards per carry. He has averaged 6.4 yards per attempt this season.
- Fenwick, meanwhile, is at 1,383 yards during his career at Oregon State. He has 1,906 in 44 collegiate games after totaling 523 at South Carolina. Fenwick's 1,383 yards rank 28th at OSU.
- Oregon State ranks 13th nationally averaging 5.46 yards per carry this season. That's up from the Beavers' 4.87 a year ago.
DJU To The Manning, Maxwell
- DJ Uiagalelei was named to the Manning Award and Maxwell Award watch lists during the bye. The Beaver starting quaterback was selected after passing for 1,573 yards and 15 touchdowns over the first seven games of the season.
- Those 1,573 passing yards would have led the Beavers last season. His 15 touchdown passes, meanwhile, are just one shy of the team's entire total in 2022. He's tied with Sean Mannion (2012 and 2014) and Jonathan Smith (1999) for the 13th-most in a single-season since 1996. Uiagalelei needs five more to become the seventh Beaver since '96 with 20 or more.
- He's also rushed for five scores, tying Ben Gulbranson (2022) and Matt Moore (2006) for the most by a Beaver QB since at least 1996.
Bowl Eligible
- Oregon State's 36-24 win over UCLA made the Beavers the third team in the Pac-12 to be bowl eligible this season.
- The Oct. 14 date is the earliest on the calendar the Beavers have ever been bowl eligible. The previous date was Oct. 19 during the 2013 season.
- Oregon State is bowl eligible in the month of October for the fifth time in program history.
Looking To Go 7-1
- Oregon State is looking to go 7-1 for the first time since 2012. The 2012 Beavers opened the year 6-0, then lost to Washington, 20-17, before defeating Arizona State, 36-26. That team ended the season 9-4 and played Texas in the Valero Alamo Bowl.
- Oregon State, meanwhile, has a 6-1 record seven games into the season for the first time since 2013.
In The Rankings
- Oregon State finds itself No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 and 12th in the US LBM Coaches Poll entering the game with Arizona. OSU is up four spots in the AP Top 25 after the win over the Bruins, and two in the coaches poll.
- The Beavers are ranked in each of the first nine AP Top-25 polls of a season for the first time in program history.
- Oregon State was in the AP Top 25 for six weeks during the 2022 season, which included a final ranking at No. 17 after the win over Florida. The Beavers also finished 17th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
What Are The Odds?
- Oregon State has won the coin toss in all seven games this season. The chances of that happening? Mathematically it is .007. Simulate the first seven games of a season 1,000 times and OSU wins all seven coin tosses only seven times.
- It is believed that Colorado is the only other team nationally to have won every one of its coin tosses this season. Should the Beavers and Buffaloes win theirs again this week - taking the odds down to .003 - then one team's streak will have to end Nov. 4 in Boulder.
Almost A Full Extra Yard
- Oregon State is fourth in the Pac-12 averaging 6.94 yards per play this season. If the season ended today, that would set the OSU single-season record, bettering the 2021 team's 6.4 yards per average.
- Notably, the 6.94 yards per play is nearly a full yard better than 2022, which was 6.09.Â
- The key difference has been in yards per completion. OSU averaged 12.91 yards per completion last season. This year, that has risen to 14.30. That's helped OSU to 249.1 yards per game overall, up from 199.5 a year ago.
- The Beavers also had a 1.23 TD/interception rate. This season's is 4.50.
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