CORVALLIS - As Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith said minutes after his team's 55-15 Civil War beatdown by Oregon, there were many reasons why Friday's game didn't go the Beavers' way.
But two stood above all. And neither were surprising, as run defense and offensive execution in key situations were enormous factors during Oregon State's two-win 2018 season.
Oregon ran for 392 yards against OSU, a giant number, and yet, not even among the two worst performances of the season. The Ducks ran when they wanted, and during the most obvious of situations, and there was little the Beavers could do in response.