Oregon State Brings The Saw To San Diego In Impressive Effort
Ricky McKinley // Dam Daily • Published: September 19th, 2026
It wasn't the 42-10 beat down that some pundits predicted
cough, cough, but what the Oregon State defense did to the Aztecs' offense could constitute a hostile takeover after they amassed three forced fumbles, six sacks, and 13 TFLs. .
Sure, some skeptics could argue much of the dominant effort came after SDSU QB Jayden Denegal was knocked out of the game, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Denegal fumbled twice, both in the red zone, before leaving the game permanently. And that's what good defenses do, make the plays that count.
After both offenses marched down the field to open the game a Kallen Gutridge interception gave the Aztecs the opportunity to jump in the lead. Taking over at the Beavers 16 the defense was able to force a 3rd down, but after the OSU defense blanketed his receivers, QB Jayden Denegal broke out of the pocket and dashed for the endzone. Just when it appeared that Denegal was going to inch into the end zone, Sailasa Vandrawale leveled the quarterback to force a fumble on the one yard line.
Oregon State's offense started a familiar theme at that point, struggling. Oregon State and Gutridge quickly went three-and-out giving the Aztecs great field position, and setting up the defense behind the eight-ball, for the second-straight drive. But once again, they stepped up. This time Ka'eo Akana barreled around the edge, crushing Denegal for a strip sack that would spell the end of the night for Denegal.
With backup QB Zach Lawrence in the game, the Beavers dared him to beat them over the top.
Spoiler alert - he couldn't. Lawrence completed 13 of his 24 passes for a meager 122 yards in the contest while absorbing five more sacks without tossing a touchdown. With the passing game effectively grounded, the Beavers built the dam along the front seven tallying 13 tackles for loss while allowing only 24 yards total on the ground, a massive improvement from the gouging Quinten Joyner handed them a week ago.
Yet despite the dominant effort, the Beavers had no margin for error defensively as their own offense continued to struggle as well with the score remaining at 14-7 well into the 4th quarter. With 2:38 remaining, Gutridge finally broke through with a 13 yard strike to Coooper Jensen, giving the Beavers a two score cushion that allowed Beavers fans watching at home to breathe a sigh of relief.
Beavers' defensive coordinator Armando Leon praised his defenses response after a tough showing last week in the post-game press conference:
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Question One: "Stan Lewis from 97.3 The Fan, Coach. Your defense played lights out, especially after Jayden Denegal was knocked out of the game. Did your game plan change without Denegal under center, or was it merely a formality?"
Armando Leon: "First off, I wish Jayden the best and hope he has a speedy recovery. I wasn't informed of the extent of his injury, but you never want to see a young man get hurt playing the game he loves. We would have loved to assert our dominance with him in there, but to answer your question - no. Our plan was to shut down the run and make them beat us through the air. Even when Jayden was in the game, we bent but didn't break with two red zone fumbles recovered. That shows we're swarming to the ball and making the right reads to be in position. Once we created some indecision under center, it bought us a few more seconds to get home on the rush. And that's when it all started coming together."
Question Two: "Olivia with Oregonlive here, Coach. How proud of this defense are you after last weeks loss to Texas Tech, where to be frank your unit was manhandled at times?"
Armando Leon: laughs "I thought you were on our side, Olivia. It's a hell of an effort from our guys, but it's what we've talked about all week. Putting in the work no one else wants to and making sure our next game is our best game. It's not like this was some 42-point blowout, we had a touchdown lead until the final two minutes. That means we're focused, in go-mode every down. One mistake can put them right back in it, and that's not easy to do for some teams. So once again, couldn't be prouder of these young men for the wherewithal to keep their composure and execute."
Question Three: "Last one in the back, Coach. Chip Maverick from The Daily Aztec. Jayden Denegal was slicing and dicing before he left the game, the red one fumbles aside. What say you to Coach Lewis saying that without him in the game, it allowed your defense to be more aggressive and have the success they did."
Armando Leon: "I'd say he wasn't watching the same game, respectfully, Chip. We put Jayden on the ground twice and I have no reason to think we wouldn't do it again. Now, if you want to blame the backup QB not being ready? That's a different conversation that should be had with Coach Lewis and his staff. Cause my guys? They're ready to play, top to bottom. If they don't coach the same way? Well, let they mama love em."
•••
GET 'EM COACH! Next man up is nothing new and if salty Aztec fans want to cry that their QB got hurt? Sounds like they ain't built for Cuban links!
To me, this is a statement win for the Beavers in 2026. They had a rough two weeks to open the season, but they were also against a pair of teams with double-digit wins last year. Whereas we had double-digit losses. We were
expected to lose those games, and still came out 1-1. But now that we're on level ground, with the rest of the conference? Our coaching has us on the fast track to the top.
Look out Pac-12, cause we're looking to go from last to first in the Pac this year. Never mind that last year, there were only two of us...it still counts!
•••
|
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Oregon State (1-1) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| San Diego State (1-1) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
|
| Q | Team | Time | Play | Oregon State | San Diego State |
| 1st | Oregon State | 6:42 | Salahadin Allah, 23 Yd Run | 7 | 0 |
| 1st | San Diego State | 5:03 | Donovan Brown, 10 Yd Pass From Jayden Denegal | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | Oregon State | 4:18 | Malachi Durant, 24 Yd Pass From Kallen Gutridge | 14 | 7 |
| 4th | Oregon State | 2:38 | Cooper Jensen, 13 Yd Pass From Kallen Gutridge | 21 | 7 |
Oregon State San Diego State
Passing | Stats Passing | Stats
----------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Kallen Gutridge | 17/24, 196 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Jayden Denegal | 9/12, 138 Yds, TD
Zach Lawrence | 13/24, 122 Yds
Rushing | Stats Rushing | Stats
----------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Salahadin Allah | 28 Att, 106 Yds, TD Christian Washington | 7 Att, 36 Yds
Kallen Gutridge | 8 Att, 6 Yds Zach Lawrence | 9 Att, -13 Yds
Receiving | Stats Receiving | Stats
----------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
David Wells Jr | 6 Rec, 74 Yds Jordan Napier | 5 Rec, 24 Yds
Malachi Durant | 5 Rec, 76 Yds, TD Donovan Brown | 5 Rec, 62 Yds
Cooper Jensen | 2 Rec, 20 Yds, TD Jerry McClure | 4 Rec, 78 Yds
Defensive | Stats Defensive | Stats
----------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
CB Exodus Ayers | 9 Tkl, 4 TFL LB Owen Chambliss | 6 Tkl, 3 TFL, 2 Sacks
DE Ka'eo Akana | 3 Tkl, 3 TFL, 1.5 Sacks, FF DT Krishna Clay | 4 Tkl, 3 TFL
CB Sailasa Vadrawale | 6 Tkl, TFL, FF SS Josiah Cox | 8 Tkl, INT
Pac-12 Week Three Results
38 Washington (2-1) @ Washington State (1-2) 10
49 #18 North Texas (2-0) @ Texas State (0-3) 35
20 FCS @
Boise State (1-2) 45
24 Fresno State (1-2) @
Old Dominion (3-0) 27
23 #22 BYU (2-1) @ Colorado State (1-3) 12
13 Utah State (1-2) @
Miami (OH) (2-1) 35
Notable Week Three Results
27 #8 Georgia (2-1) @
#1 Texas (3-0) 38
17 #12 Ole Miss (2-1) @
#3 Texas A&M (3-0) 31
14 #13 Miami (3-1) @
#15 Notre Dame (3-1) 35
