CORVALLIS - Jonathan Smith's first season as Oregon State's football coach ended not with a win, but a whimper.
OSU's 55-15 loss to Oregon in the Civil War Friday in Reser Stadium can't be spun into anything other than what it was: a total shellacking.
As the two teams left Reser's soggy FieldTurf, the Ducks (8-4, 5-4) awaiting a bowl bid and the Beavers (2-10, 1-8) licking their wounds, the gap between the two programs yawned like Hell's Canyon.
Quarterback Justin Herbert, Oregon's most irreplaceable player, didn't take a second-half snap after suffering an apparent shoulder injury late in the second quarter.