By Marisol Nicholson

OREGON STATE GAME NOTES

https://osubeavers.com/documents/2023/12/24/231229_Oregon_State_FB_Notes_vs_Notre_Dame.pdf

GAME 13: OREGON STATE VS. NOTRE DAME
Dec. 29, 2023 • El Paso, Texas • Sun Bowl Stadium • 11:00 a.m. PT • CBS

TV/Radio/Internet
Television: CBS
Play-By-Play: Brad Nessler
Analyst: Gary Danielson
Sideline: Jenny Dell
OSU Radio: Beaver Sports Network, Varsity Network (Oregon State)
Play-By-Play: Mike Parker
Analyst: Jim Wilson
Sideline: Ron Callan
Pre-Game: Steve Preece
SiriusXM: 373
SiriusXM Internet: 373
National Radio: Bowl Season Radio
Play-By-Play: Dave Hunziker
Analyst: Justin Fuente
Sideline: Rachel Phillips
SiriusXM: 201 or 208
SiriusXM Internet: 964
Live Stats: OregonState.Statbroadcast.com

Game Notes
– Oregon State participates in the Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl on Friday, Dec. 29. Kickoff against Notre Dame is scheduled for 11 a.m. PT (12 p.m. in El Paso). The game will be held at Sun Bowl Stadium.
– The game will air live on CBS. Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (analyst) and Jenny Dell (sideline) will call the action.
– 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.
– The game will also air on Bowl Season Radio. Dave Hunziker (play-by-play), Justin Fuente (analyst) and Rachel Phillips (sideline) will be on the call.
– Oregon State is making its 20th all-time bowl appearance, going 12-7 in its previous 19.
– The Beavers are meeting the Fighting Irish for the third time, following victories in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl and 2004 Insight Bowl.
– OSU is appearing on CBS for the second time this season, following the season opener Sept. 3 at San Jose State. Prior to this season, the Beavers had only appeared on CBS in the 2006 and 2008 Sun Bowls.
– The Sun Bowl marks one of 10 bowl games to feature two teams ranked in the top 25 of the CFP. It’s one of three not played as a New Year’s 6 or CFP game.
– Oregon State is the visiting team in the neutral-site matchup.

Oregon State By The Numbers
0 – Points allowed by the Beavers in the team’s 3-0 win over Pittsburgh in the 2008 Sun Bowl. That remains the last shutout at the bowl.
5 – Number of Beaver linemen graded in the top-15 overall for the Pac-12 by Pro Football Focus. No other team has more than three.
5.06 – Rush yards per attempt for OSU. The Beavers are one of two teams in the Pac-12 to average better than 5 yards a carry.
7 – Oregon State’s turnover margin this season, which ranks third in the Pac-12. OSU is at plus-2 in its six games away from Reser Stadium.
8 – Wins in nine games this season when the Beavers score first. Oregon State is also 8-0 when leading at halftime.
21.3 – Points allowed per game by OSU this season, the team’s fifth-fewest in a single season dating back to 1996.
30 – Points allowed by the Beavers in their two previous matchups with the Fighting Irish. OSU has scored 79 points in those two games.
36 – Oregon State sacks, second in the Pac-12 to UCLA’s 43.
61 – Passes defended by the Beavers, fourth-most in the Pac-12.
82 – Points off turnovers by the Beavers, compared to 26 by opponents.
237 – Career tackles for Kitan Oladapo, who will be playing in his 46th game. Oladapo also has three interceptions, 26 pass breakups, 14.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.
718 – Receiving yards each by Silas Bolden and Anthony Gould to tie for the team lead. Gould, however, will not play in the bowl game after declaring for the NFL Draft.
2,024 – Career rushing yards for Deshaun Fenwick, who is set to play his last collegiate game at the Sun Bowl.

Bowl History
– Oregon State is playing in its 20th bowl game all-time, and third consecutive dating back to the 2021 season.
– OSU is 12-7 all-time in bowl games.
– It’s the first time the Beavers have played in three straight since OSU went to the postseason four consecutive times from 2006 to 2009.
– Oregon State won five consecutive bowl games from 2003 to 2008. The Beavers are now looking to win back-to-back bowl games for the first time since that stretch.
– Thirteen of the Beavers’  previous 19 bowl appearances have come since the 1999 season. Oregon State is 8-5 in bowl games since 1999.
– Oregon State has scored first in each of its last six bowl games, going 3-3.
– Derek Anderson holds the Oregon State single-game record with 358 pass yards against Notre Dame in 2004 Insight Bowl.
– Yvenson Bernard holds the OSU record with 177 rush yards against Maryland in the 2007 Emerald Bowl, while James Newson’s 165 receiving yards against Pittsburgh in the 2002 Insight Bowl is the program’s standard.
– Kyrei Fisher-Morris is the lone Oregon State defender to tally two double-digit tackle efforts in a bowl game. He finished with 10 against Utah State in the 2021 Los Angeles Bowl, and followed that with 11 versus Florida in the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl.

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.

30-3 Over Florida
– Oregon State tallied 20 second-half points and held Florida to a field goal with less than a minute left to defeat the Gators, 30-3, at the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl.
– Ben Gulbranson was named the bowl’s MVP after completing 12-of-19 passes for 165 yards. He also scored on a 7-yard rush in the third quarter, and threw a 15-yard scoring strike to Silas Bolden.
– Deshaun Fenwick gained 107 yards on the ground in the win.
– OSU limited Florida to 219 yards of total offense, the fewest by a Beaver bowl opponent since Pittsburgh netted 178 in 2008.

Sun Bowl Records
– Matt Moore’s 356 passing yards in the 2006 Sun Bowl marks the seventh-most ever in the game. He finished the 39-38 win over Missouri completing 31-of-54 passes for four touchdowns.
– Moore’s four touchdowns are tied with Oregon’s Justin Roper (2007).
– The 54 pass attempts are tied for third-most.
– OSU passed for 24 first downs in that game, the most ever at the bowl.
– Joe Newton caught two touchdowns in the game, and he is one of 18 players with at least two in bowl’s history.
– Johnny Hekker downed five punts inside the 20 in OSU’s 3-0 win in 2008. That’s tied for the single-game record. His 10 punts overall tie him for third on the list.
– Sammie Stroughter’s 18-yards per punt return in 2006 are second.
– Victor Butler is also second in tackles for loss after totaling five in the 2008 Sun Bowl. He ended the game with four sacks, also second, trailing only Reggie McKenzie’s 4.5 for Tennessee in 1984.

Bray Hired
– Trent Bray, who has been on the Oregon State coaching staff for nine seasons over two stints, was hired as Oregon State’s 32nd head coach on Nov. 29.
– Bray had spent the past two-and-a-half seasons as the team’s defensive coordinator. The Beavers went 20-9 during his tenure as defensive coordinator.
– Bray was hired as linebackers coach in 2018 until being promoted to defensive coordinator in November 2021.
– His first stint at Oregon State came from 2012-14, also coaching linebackers.
– Bray served as linebackers coach at Arizona State from 2009-11 and at Nebraska from 2015-17.
– Bray has been a Broyles Trophy nominee twice; in 2016 at Nebraska and 2022 with the Beavers.
– He was a standout linebacker for the Beavers, and is still ranked sixth all-time in the program’s history with 337 tackles.
– Bray will not coach during the bowl game, instead choosing to focus on head coaching duties for the 2024 season.

Hynson Named Interim
– Kefense Hynson, who has also been on the Oregon State staff for six seasons, will serve as the team’s interim head coach, earning that distinction on Nov. 25.
– Hynson has coached wide received and is was the team’s passing game coordinator prior to being named interim head coach.
– Hynson, who came to Corvallis in 2018, has coached one of the Beavers’ top position groups over the last six seasons. That started with Isaiah Hodgins, who spent two seasons with Hynson, and who was a 2019 Biletnikoff watch list selection. Hodgins finished his OSU career second with 20 receiving touchdowns, sixth with 176 receptions and seventh for yards at 2,322.
– Following Hodgins, Hynson helped Trevon Bradford into the Oregon State record books. Bradford ended his Oregon State career with 151 catches (10th at OSU) and 1,904 yards (also 10th).
– Receivers have been named All-Pac-12 five times during Hynson’s tenure.

Bowl Game Staff
– Interim head coach Kefense Hynson will call the plays on offense while also working with the tight ends. Jon Boyer, meanwhile, will serve as offensive coordinator and will coach the Beavers’ quarterbacks.
– Former Beaver wideout Trevon Bradford will coach the team’s wide receivers. Torrey Gill will coach OSU’s running backs and Kayden Lyles takes over coaching on the offensive line.
– Anthony Perkins will take over as defensive coordinator while still overseeing cornerbacks.
– Brandon Huppert takes over the linebackers, and will be assisted by former Beaver backer Avery Roberts. Keanu Yamamoto, meanwhile, is set to coach the team’s defensive line.
– Jake Cookus will coach the team’s safeties. Cookus will still serve as OSU’s special teams coordinator. Michael Frisina will assist on special teams.

Gulbranson Under Center
– Ben Gulbranson returns back to a starting role as quarterback for the Beavers. He last played more than a handful of snaps in the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl, where he was ultimately named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
– Gulbranson went 7-1 as the Beavers’ starting quarterback a year ago. He completed 121-of-194 (62 percent) passes last season, throwing for 1,455 yards and nine touchdowns. He was named the Las Vegas Bowl MVP after passing for 165 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 15 yards and a score in Oregon State’s 30-3 win.
– Gulbranson has appeared in one game this season, completing his lone pass attempt for 6 yards.

Winning Season
– Oregon State has assured itself of a winning overall record for the third consecutive season, a stretch last accomplished when the Beavers posted four straight from 2006-09.
– OSU also finished 5-4 in Pac-12 play, the team’s third consecutive winning record in conference play. That also last happened in four straight from 2006-09.

On This Date
– Oregon State has played on Dec. 29 twice, going 1-1.
– The Beavers defeated Missouri, 39-38, in the 2006 Sun Bowl, and lost a 31-27 decision to Texas in the 2012 Alamo Bowl.

Home/Road
– The Oregon State defense has been stingy this season, holding opponents to just 21.3 points per game, among the fewest allowed on average in the Pac-12.
– OSU has been extra stout in home games, allowing just 86 points – 14.3 per matchup at Reser Stadium. Opponents, meanwhile, have scored an average of 28.3 points per game on the road.
– The Beavers have been better against FBS teams with winning records, holding them to a 21.3 clip. Teams with losing records have averaged 24.2 points per game.

Fenwick Notes
– Deshaun Fenwick heads into the Sun Bowl set for his final game at the collegiate level.
– The senior has played in 34 games in an Oregon State uniform, and enters the matchup with 1,501 rush yards on 282 carries. That’s an average of 5.3 yards per carry.
– He’s scored 16 rushing touchdowns.
– The Brandenton, Fla., native has also caught 17 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns, both of which have come this season.
– Fenwick played three seasons for South Carolina before transferring to Oregon State, and tallied 523 yards and two touchdowns on 97 carries with the Gamecocks.
– Fenwick is one of 60 active players at the FBS level with at least 2,000 rush yards, and his 2,024 rank 55th. He is averaging just under 5.4 yards per carry in his career.

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