Beavers' defense comes alive

CORVALLIS, Ore. — As the Oregon State football team trudged to its locker room at halftime, most of the Beavers sneaked a peek at the scoreboard. The numbers didn't lie: The Beavers were down 30-16 and seemed to be fading fast and heading toward a third consecutive defeat.

But Oregon State didn't panic. The Beavers didn't make wholesale changes on offense or defense. They simply decided to play better.

Coach Mike Riley didn't sprinkle any magic dust at halftime, but it must have seemed like it as Oregon State came back for a 44-33 Pac-10 victory at Reser Stadium.

The Beavers' offense might have outscored Washington State 28-3 in the second half, but it was the Oregon State defense that came up with big play after big play.

"We put ourselves into a big hole in that first half," said junior safety Sabby Piscitelli. "But we knew could get out of it. We just had to make some plays. And we got the big plays when we needed them."

Piscitelli made the biggest of the big plays, coming up with an interception return for a touchdown and recovering a fumble after Washington State's Michael Bumpus coughed up the ball after a 40-yard pass from Alex Brink.

For the game, Oregon State's defense had four interceptions, a pair of sacks and a fumble recovery.

"Guys in the locker room at halftime looked at each other and decided it was time to play," said Piscitelli. "We were down, but we weren't going to give up. No way."

With 10:34 left in the fourth quarter, Piscitelli stepped in front of a WSU receiver, snatched a Brink pass and raced 23 yards untouched into the end zone to tie the score at 30.

"I had been reading the out routes the whole game," said Piscitelli. "When the receiver made a move, I was ready."

With Washington State leading 33-30, Piscitelli did it again. Oregon State safety Al Alfalva knocked the ball out of Bumpus' hands after he had caught a 40-yard pass. The ball bounced wildly before Piscitelli scooped it up and returned it to the 37-yard line.

Two plays later, Oregon State quarterback Matt Moore connected with Mike Hass on a 63-yard TD pass with 6:50 left in the game.

"We told the offense at halftime if they scored some points, we'd make it easy for them," said OSU linebacker Trent Bray, who had 15 tackles and an interception. "The defense came up with the plays at the right time."

Washington State may have rung up some big numbers (531 passing yards and 152 rushing yards) but Oregon State didn't care. The only numbers the Beavers cared about were on the scoreboard.

"They were making big plays in the first half and it was like there was nothing we could do to stop it," said Bray. "It was frustrating, real frustrating. But we just realized we had to play — that was it. We got back on the field and did what we were supposed to do."

Oregon State coach Mike Riley didn't like what he saw in the first half. But he didn't come up with any kind of "Win One For The Gipper" speeches at halftime, he simply told his team to execute.

"The big plays from Washington State were discouraging," he said. "But everyone just kept battling. It didn't look good when were down 17 points, but that's why you play the second half. It was a great experience for everyone on this team. There were a lot of big plays made by a lot of guys."