Beavers chew up Cal 62-14

CORVALLIS — Oregon State took care of business against underdog California Saturday night at Reser Stadium — and how.

The Beavers — ranked 15th by the Associated Press, 16th in the BCS and 17th by USA Today — laid the hammer on the outmanned Bears from the the start en route to a 62-14 victory.

Sean Mannion passed for 325 yards and four touchdowns as the Beavers (8-2 overall, 6-2 in Pac-12 action) broke an early 7-7 tie with 42 unanswered points.

Oregon State took the second-half kickoff and marched to paydirt, Storm Woods carrying the final yard for a TD and a 42-7 advantage with 11:28 left in the third quarter. That was pretty much it for the Bears (3-9, 2-7) in what may have been the swan song for beleaguered coach Jeff Tedford.

OSU’s Terron Ward made it 49-7 with a 47-yard TD scamper with 4:58 to go in the quarter.

Cal got back on the scoreboard on Allan Bridgford’s 1-yard sneak with 58 seconds left in the period, drawing the Bears to within 49-14.

Early in the fourth quarter, Ward scampered 17 yards for another touchdown. The PAT missed, banging off an upright.

The final touchdown came when running back Malcolm Agnew took a short pass from backup QB Richie Herrington, a redshirt freshman, and dashed across the goal line from 8 yards.

Mannion threw for 239 yards and four touchdowns as Oregon State jumped to a 35-7 halftime lead. Mannion completed 16 of 24 passes — including six for 94 yards to Markus Wheaton — as the Beavers took control early.

The Beavers had 19 first downs and 333 yards total offense and took advantage of three turnovers and seven penalties for 88 yards by the Bears in the half.

Oregon State had a great scoring opportunity on its first play from scrimmage after a Cal punt. Mannion went deep to a wide-open Wheaton, who had to wait for the ball but still made the catch for a 48-yard reception to the Bears’ 30. Two plays later, Mannion’s pass went through the hands of Colby Prince to Cal’s Josh Hill, who made the interception at the Bears’ 23.

On Cal’s next possession, OSU’s Jordan Poyer got the ball back on an interception at the Bears’ 44. Four plays later, Mannion found Wheaton over the middle for 11 yards, a TD and a 7-0 lead with 9:10 left in the first quarter.

Cal responded immediately, going 82 yards in nine plays, mostly on the ground but aided by a 15-yard taunting penalty by OSU’s Scott Crichton. Sofele covered the last nine yards for a score to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:30 to go in the quarter.

The Beavers came right back, moving 68 yards in just five plays. Woods’ 38-yard run took them to the Cal 19. Two plays later, Tyler Anderson dived in from the 1 and Oregon State was back on top 14-7 with 4:34 remaining in the period.

After John Braun’s fumble recovery gave Oregon State the ball at the OSU 39, the Beavers the increased the margin to 21-7. The score came on Mannion’s wounded-duck 48-yard TD pass to Brandin Cooks, who came back for the ball and crossed field to race past three Cal defenders with 10:56 left in the second quarter.

Soon it was 28-7 after Mannion’s third TD pass, a 14-yard hook-up with reserve tight end Connor Hamlett.

Oregon State regained the ball on Cal’s third turnover, a fumble by Darius Powe that was recovered by Poyer at the OSU 35. The Beavers marched 65 yards for another TD, Mannion finding Micah Hatfield in the back of the end zone for six yards and the score and a 35-7 advantage with 15 seconds to go before intermission.

NOTES — It was Mike Riley’s 80th victory as coach at Oregon State. Riley is 80-65 in his dozen seasons — 72-51 since returning for his second stint in 2003. ... The third quarter was played in a torrential downpour. There were more empty seats than spectators by midway through the quarter. ... Mannion matched a school record for TD passes in a half. ... OSU lost two players to injury in the second quarter — Cooks, who was shaken up after a reception on a helmet-to-helmet hit, and Anderson, who suffered an apparent knee injury. ... Cooks passed the 1,000-yard mark in receiving yardage and moved into sixth place on OSU’s single-season list with 1,048 yards this season. ... Oregon State has won 11 of its last 14 meetings with California. ... Brennan Scarlett, Cal’s 6-4, 255-pound sophomore outside linebacker from Central Catholic, came into the game with 40 tackles, including six tackles-for-loss and 2 1/2 sacks. ... Jacob Wark, a 6-4, 255-pound sophomore tight end from Jesuit High, came into the game with six catches for 55 yards in a reserve role for the Bears. ... Maximo Espita, Cal’s 6-2, 220-pound tight end from South Salem High who backed out of a verbal commitment to Oregon State to sign with the Bears, is playing as a true freshman, mostly on special teams. ... Joey Mahalic, the former Wilson High quarterback and baseball player, signals in plays from the sidelines for the Bears. Mahalic, who played pro baseball for three years, is a freshman in eligibility.

kerryeggers@portlandtribune.com

Twitter: @kerryeggers

SCORE BY QUARTERS

California 7 0 7 0 -- 14

Oregon State 14 21 14 13 -- 62

FIRST QUARTER

OSU — Markus Wheaton 11 pass from Sean Mannion (Trevor Romaine kick) 9:10.

CAL — Isi Tofele 9 run (Vincenzo D’Amato kick) 6:30.

OSU — Tyler Anderson 1 run (Romaine kick) 4:34.

SECOND QUARTER

OSU — Brandin Cooks 48 pass from Mannion (Romaine kick) 10:56.

OSU — Connor Hamlett 14 pass from Mannion (Romaine kick) 7:13.

OSU — Micah Hatfield 6 pass from Mannion (Romaine kick) :15.

THIRD QUARTER

OSU — Storm Woods 1 run (Romaine kick) 11:28.

OSU — Terron Ward 47 run (Romaine kick) 4:58.

CAL — Allan Bridgford 1 run (D’Amato kick) :58.

FOURTH QUARTER

OSU — Ward 17 run (kick failed) 12:50

OSU — Malcolm Agnew 8 pass from Richie Herrington (Romaine kick) 2:24

ATT: 43,779