The Stanford Cardinal (6-3, 4-3 Pac-12) defeated the Oregon State Beavers (2-7, 1-5) 26-15 Saturday afternoon at Stanford Stadium behind 365 total rushing yards, the Cardinal’s highest output on the ground since 2011. The win made Stanford bowl-eligible for the eighth straight season.
Big plays were the primary source of points and yards for both teams.
For Oregon State, quarterback Marcus McMaryion connected with wide receiver Victor Bolden Jr. in the second quarter, who broke a Dallas Lloyd tackle en route to a 75-yard touchdown, a career long for both McMaryion and Bolden. Oregon State’s other score was set up by a 52-yard run in the third quarter by running back Ryan Nall, who finished with 77 yards.
For Stanford, running back Bryce Love scored the first touchdown of the game in the first quarter with a 56-yard run, and Christian McCaffrey later set up a field goal in the second quarter with a 51-yard run of his own. Even quarterback Keller Chryst followed solid downfield blocking on his way to a 44-yard gain in the third quarter that would put the Cardinal in position for a one-yard McCaffrey touchdown run.
Despite contributions from multiple sources on the ground, McCaffrey proved to be the focal point of the Stanford offense. He frequently got to the second level of the Oregon State defense, cutting out sizable chunks of yards on his way to 199 total yards on the ground. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry.
The Stanford defense put in another sound effort, holding Oregon State under their scoring average for the season and picking off two Marcus McMaryion throws. Excluding the two big plays by Bolden and Nall, the Cardinal held the Beavers to just 139 total yards.
Kicker Conrad Ukropina proved reliable for Stanford as well, making four out of five field goals, including an accurate 52-yard boot that tied his career long.
The win marks the seventh consecutive victory over the Beavers for Stanford. The Cardinal will now focus their attention on the other team from Oregon when they travel to Eugene to play the Ducks at Autzen Stadium next Saturday.
Contact Samuel Curry at currys ‘at’ stanford.edu.