Oregon State’s winless season continued with another devastating setback, a 27-24 overtime loss to Houston that saw the Beavers squander control in the game’s final minutes. For head coach Trent Bray, the frustration was clear: his team had played winning football for three and a half quarters, only to unravel late.
“We dominated that game till the last six minutes and then it totally flipped,” Bray said. “So we gotta finish. Bottom line.”
The turning point came in overtime when starting quarterback Maalik Murphy, hampered by a hand injury, could not take a direct snap. That forced Bray to insert Gabarri Johnson on a critical 3rd-and-1. The play failed, and Oregon State’s decision to go for it on 4th down instead of attempting a kick backfired. “He couldn’t hold the ball. He couldn’t take it under center,” Bray explained, adding, “Analytics [say] third-and-one, fourth-and-one, your percentage of getting one of those is good. But yeah, that weighed on my mind too. Absolutely.”
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Special teams proved disastrous once again. Two field goal attempts were blocked in overtime, killing Oregon State’s chances at its first win of the year. “Everything. Four guys could have blocked it. Excuse my language, but four guys could have blocked it. That had nothing to do with scheme. We gotta protect. That was really disappointing.” It marked the third game this season where kicking woes sealed a defeat.
Defensively, the Beavers had clamped down through three quarters, allowing just seven yards in the third. But in the fourth, Houston broke loose for 180 yards, including multiple explosive passes over the top. “We did a good job all night making them throw it down. And then the last six minutes the ball was just thrown over our head,” Bray said.
For Bray, the toughest part was watching his players work tirelessly only to walk off the field winless yet again. “My feelings are insignificant in my mind. I feel for the players. They’ve done what we asked them to do. They came out and played a really good football game against a really good team. And to let it slip away at the end…I’m disappointed for them.”
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