Justin Kahut drilled a 33-yard field goal into a fierce wind with 7 seconds to go Saturday night, to help the Oregon State Beavers beat the UNLV Rebels 23-21 at Sam Robb Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The first quarter featured the two teams pounding each other in the Vegas heat for field position but not being able to reach the endzone, with the Beavers' Justin Kahut hitting the left upright on a 47-yard field goal attempt, that turned out to be the only serious scoring threat for either team in the opening 15 minutes.
UNLV threatened halfway through the second quarter, but Oregon State's Lance Mitchell forced a fumble after a completed pass, and Keaton Kristick recovered at his own 18, taking the ball out to the 32 to halt the Rebel advance. The Beavers moved the ball straight down the field, converting a couple of third downs and getting a big run by Jovan Stevenson down to the UNLV 1, setting up a first-and-goal. Jacquizz Rodgers was stopped twice, then on third down, Sean Canfield lofted a play action pass into the right quarter of the endzone and into the waiting arms of Brady Camp for the games' first points. Kahut hooked the PAT wide left, but Oregon State had the lead at 6-0.
After the second half kickoff went out-of-bounds, the Beavers took the ball at the 35 and scored 5 plays later. Jacquizz Rodgers, who started the drive with a 45-yard run, scored from 3 yards out just under two minutes into the third quarter. Kahut kicked the extra point and the lead was 13-0. The Rebels ran the kick back 61 yards, then scored shortly thereafter. Omar Clayton hit Rodelin Anthony with a 19-yard scoring strike, to cap a 5-play, 36 yard drive. Kyle Watson kicked the PAT and UNLV drew to within 6 at 13-7. Oregon State quickly moved back into scoring position. After 10 1st half carries for just 35 yards, Jacquizz Rodgers broke a 46-yard scamper to the left side, down to the Rebel 28. On second-and-goal from the 4, Canfield threw a slant pass to James Rodgers coming from the right for the touchdown, to cap the 7-play, 75-yard drive. Kahut drilled the extra point and the Beavers lead was 20-7, with 7:17 remaining in the third, a lead they would take into the 4th quarter.
The Rebels scored 4:07 into the final stanza, as Anthony scored his second touchdown of the night on a 14-yard pass from backup quarterback Mike Clausen. Watson's PAT sliced the Oregon State lead to 20-14. UNLV took the lead six minutes later. After stopping the Beavers near midfield on 4th-and-inches, Clausen threw a lob pass into the right corner of the endzone to Phillip Payne from 11 yards out. Watson kicked the point, putting the Rebels up 21-20 with 4:16 remaining. Oregon State's offense sputtered on their final possession, but facing 3rd-and-26, a critcal pass interfernce penalty against UNLV kept the drive alive. The Beavers moved the ball stadily down the field after that, nearly scoring on a swing pass to James Rodgers, who was stopped at the 16-yard line just as he was ready to break away for a score. OSU nearly made a monumental mistake by not being on the ball with 17 seconds to play, allowing the clock to run down to 10 seconds, before calling a timeout. However, Kahut kept his cool, in the face of two straight Rebel timeouts and in the shadow of his earlier missed PAT and field goal. He calmly drilled the ball through the uprights from the left hash, then watched as his teammates stopped a desperation play as the clock ran out, preserving Oregon State's 23-21 win.
Sean Canfield led the Beavers with 26-of-32 passing for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jacquizz Rodgers had a huge night, rushing 26 times for 166 yards and a touchdown, while catching 10 passes for 64 yards. James Rodgers caught 7 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown and Brady Camp caught a one-yard touchdown pass. For UNLV, Omar Clayton was 18-of-26 passing for 170 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, before leaving due to injury. Mike Clausen came in and went 6-for-9 for 59 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Rodelin Anthony caught 5 passes for 58 yards and 2 touchdowns as well as losing a fumble that led to Oregon State's first score of the night. Phillip Payne caught 5 passes for 43 yards and a score, and Ryan Wolfe caught 9 passes for 92 yards.
The Beavers ran 66 plays for 384 net yards to the Rebels' 60 plays for 309 yards. OSU had the edge in first downs 22 to 20. The Beavers were 6-for-11 on third down, while UNLV was 6-for-10. Oregon State was penalized 8 times for 55 yards and the Rebels were called for 4 penalties for 41 yards. UNLV committed the only two turnovers of the night.
Oregon State starts the season 2-0 for the first time since 2005, while winning their road opener for the first time in seven years. The Rebels slip to 1-1.
The Beavers return home next Saturday to face the Cincinnati Bearcats at Reser Stadium in Corvallis. The Bearcats are 2-0, after blasting SE Missouri Saturday 70-3. Game time next Saturday is set for 6:58p.m. EDT. The live broadcast, with Mike Parker, Jim Wilson and Ron Callan can be heard at http://www.kpam.com/. Fox Sports Net will televise the game, Oregon State's school-record 21st consecutive televised game. UNLV hosts Hawaii next Saturday at 11:00p.m. EDT.
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