CORVALLIS, Ore. — For Jacquizz Rodgers, the question wasn’t whether Oregon State would beat Washington State, but by how much. The answer: Plenty.
“We knew this was a going to be a pretty easy win, so we put it on ourselves to get better,” the talented true freshman running back said after Oregon State demolished the Cougars 66-13 Saturday night.
Rodgers ran for 168 yards, Sammie Stroughter had 116 yards receiving and the heavily favored Beavers eclipsed their previous record for points in a Pac-10 game despite Lyle Moevao’s four interceptions. Eight different Beavers scored touchdowns, and the last one infuriated the banged up Cougars.
“It really shows Oregon State has no class in my opinion,” defensive back Romeo Pellum said about the 39-yard touchdown pass from Beaver backup QB Sean Canfield to Damola Adeniji with 7:35 left in the game.
“We were down (46) points and they still throw the deep ball. That shows no respect.”
Washington State’s personnel woes continued after quarterback Marshall Lobbenstael was lost to a sprained knee in the fourth quarter. Lobbenstael, who played at Oak Harbor High School, will miss two to four weeks.
The Cougars (1-6, 0-4 Pac-10) had more penalty yards (170) then offensive yards (132).
“It’s tough,” said first-year Washington State coach Paul Wulff. “We’re going to work through it. The kids are frustrated but they’re working hard.”
The Beavers (3-3, 2-1) ran up 548 yards of total offense, including 323 rushing yards. Rodgers, a true freshman from Richmond, Texas, surpassed 100 yards for the fifth game in a row, hitting the century mark by the middle of the second quarter.
Moevao completed 12 of 24 passes for 186 yards.
The Beavers jumped out to a 14-0 lead with touchdowns on their first two drives and were poised for a third but Moevao’s pass into the end zone was picked off by Xavier Hicks. Moevao, the Beavers junior quarterback, threw three more interceptions in Oregon State’s next five drives, opening the door for Washington State.
Chantz Staden ran for a 2-yard score for the Cougars and Louis Bland took a 16-yard interception back for a 16-yard TD to get Washington State within 21-13. That was a close as it got.
Justin Kahut made a 28-yard field goal just before halftime for the Beavers, and Moevao, James Rodgers, Ryan McCants and Jeremy Francis ran for touchdowns.
Adeniji blocked a punt and recovered it for a TD early in the fourth quarter and then caught the final TD pass.
Oregon State coach Mike Riley, who won his 50th game with the Beavers, said Oregon State wasn’t piling on.
“I don’t think much about those situations but I have to play my (backups) and I am going to let them play,” he said.
Lobbestael was 6-of-16 for 72 yards before getting knocked out of the game at 14:13 in the fourth. He was replaced by freshman Dan Wagner. The Cougars lost QBs Gary Rogers and Kevin Lopina to injuries earlier in the season. Leading rushers Christopher Ivory and Dwight Tardy also missed the game.
Washington State star receiver Brandon Gibson was a nonfactor with just two catches for 26 yards.
Oregon State’s previous high point total in a conference game came in a 55-7 win over UCLA in 1999.
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