5 takeaways from Oregon State football’s blowout loss at Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, Texas — Things went from bad before the weather delay to worse for Oregon State football in a 45-14 loss at Texas Tech.

The Beavers were desperate on special teams, undisciplined on defense, and uncreative on offense. It wasn’t nearly enough to compete with the Red Raiders, who were far from perfect despite the score.

Here are five takeaways from OSU’s disappointing trip to West Texas:

Special teams made progress, but is still a mess

While Oregon State did convert its first two extra points of the season on Saturday (yikes, considering it was game three), the Beavers resorted to having center Van Wells snap the ball to punter AJ Winsor only slightly deeper than shotgun position.

That led to some brutal punts and great field position for Texas Tech, as Winsor had little room to get them off. He did improve as the game went on, but this sort of desperation in a crucial phase of the game is a sign of where the season is at for OSU.

How is it possible that a Division I football team doesn’t have a reliable, backup long snapper? Especially considering the injured starter, Dylan Black, spent all of last season making an inspirational comeback from a cancer diagnosis?

This isn’t Trent Bray’s brand of defense

Bray owns the failures of this OSU defense, as he said Saturday night, but the lack of effort and discipline is jarring. This isn’t what anyone expected with Bray moving back into the defensive coordinator role.

The Beavers were flying around and motivated on defense throughout fall camp. So, what changed? Has this team’s confidence evaporated that quickly?

OSU surrendered 601 yards to a high-flying Texas Tech offense. Regardless of opponent, that’s a number the Beavers should tape on the inside of their visors as a point of motivation. The effort, particularly tackling in space and jogging to the ball while giving up two first downs with 30+ yards to go, was unacceptable.

Pressure is still lacking

Oregon State might have notched its first sack of the season Saturday, shared between Shamar Meikle and Thomas Collins, and forced Behren Morton into an intentional grounding, but this team still can’t get after the quarterback well enough.

That stands on its own as the major issue for the OSU defense which bleeds into everything else. Morton had all day to throw on most of his snaps, and it allowed him to take deep shots to his speedy receivers. Imagine what Oregon’s Dante Moore could do with that much time.

Nebraska transfer edge rusher Kai Wallin appears to be sidelined for the foreseeable future. He didn’t dress on Saturday. Without him, even more falls on Collins’ broad shoulders. But getting after the quarterback is a scheme issue as much as it is personnel-related. Bray and his staff need to take a long look at that area of the game on film.

Time to think outside the box on offense

The OSU offense lacks the kind of creativity it needs to produce anything of substance. As Bray said of Texas Tech’s formidable defensive line, “They’re good, but so what?”

Anthony Hankerson ran 11 times for 12 yards against the Red Raiders. If a patchwork OSU offensive line can’t create holes for him between the tackles, Ryan Gunderson needs to find ways to get Hankerson and Salahadin Allah in space as frequently as possible. And utilize more misdirection and motion.

And where on Earth are the OSU tight ends in all of this? Bryce Caufield caught a touchdown Saturday in garbage time, but he is woefully underutilized given his evident ability as a receiver. And whatever issues OSU might have with giving Riley Williams a chance, at least he’s a big body that can potentially set the edge in the run game.

The OSU offense is too talented at the skill positions to be this bland.

Maalik Murphy needs to be better

Very little of the blame for OSU’s struggles falls on Murphy. He is clearly a talented quarterback thrust into a bad situation, and has been forced to chase the game three weeks in a row.

But the same bad habits Murphy had at Duke — which led to 12 interceptions last season — are showing themselves week after week. He is undoubtedly forcing it downfield at times. Both of his interceptions against Texas Tech were off the back foot and into heavy traffic. That’s not up to snuff regardless of game state.

Murphy is trying to run when things break down. Credit where it’s due there. But he’s not particularly mobile, so that won’t help his team much, either.

Next game: Oregon State (0-3) at No. 4 Oregon (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten)

When: Saturday, Sept. 20

Time: 12:00 p.m. PT

Where: Autzen Stadium, Eugene

TV: Big Ten Network

--Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon State Beavers for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at RClarke@Oregonian.com or on Twitter/X: @RyanTClarke. Find him on Bluesky: @ryantclarke.bsky.social.

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