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Beavers take one on chin in opener at CSU Oregon State running back Ryan Nall looks for an opening as Colorado State defensive lineman Jakob Buys comes in for a stop in the first half on Saturday in Fort Collins, Colo. [THE ASSOCIATED PRESS] Sunday Aug 27, 2017 at 2:00 AM By Kevin HamptonCorvallis Gazette-Times FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The Oregon State football team was looking for the program’s first road win since 2014 on Saturday in its 2017 season opener. The Beavers have a longer wait in store. Turnovers, a tough call, an explosive Colorado State offense and a poor defensive outing resulted in a 58-27 nonconference loss to the Rams In front of 37,583 fans on a hot late-summer afternoon. The Beavers lost five turnovers — three interceptions and two fumbles — and were outgained 525 yards to 456. Coach Gary Andersen said the loss was uncharted waters for him. He said he was not used to getting beat in such a physical fashion and, as most coaches do, took responsibility for the outcome. He said the Rams were able follow their recipe for success, while the Beavers could not respond. “We got beat badly,” Andersen said. “Badly.” The second half was particularly brutal for the Beavers. OSU was outscored 34-7 as the Rams started to click and took advantage of Oregon State's gifts. Four of the turnovers came in the second half. “There was some huge turnovers, obviously,” Andersen said. “Those were back-to-back picks, one goes for a touchdown. Those are gigantic plays when you’re playing on the road in that setting and situation. Those can’t happen.” A controversial call at the end the first half that made the Beavers settle for a field goal instead of an apparent touchdown, led into some rough times for OSU in the third. The Beavers were able to hold CSU out of the end zone on the first drive of the second half and the Rams tacked on a field goal, keeping the lead to one score at 27-20. Then a interception return for a touchdown and suddenly the Beavers were in a 34-20 hole. Jake Luton's high throw was intercepted by Rams linebacker Tre Thomas, who raced 44 yards for the score. The Beavers followed up with another interception when Timmy Hernandez fell on a deep route. The Rams took advantage with a field goal and a 37-20 lead early in the fourth. A strange sequence led to an OSU touchdown. The Beavers gave up a big punt return, but offsetting penalties resulted in a re-kick. It looked as if Nick Porebski was roughed on the play, but the ball was touched by the Rams and recovered by OSU. Luton hit Noah Togiai down the sideline for a 25-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 10 with 11 minutes, 52 seconds left in the fourth. The Rams wasted little time in getting the lead back up to 17, then got the ball back at midfield after Togiai fumbled after a catch. CSU turned it into another TD and it was 51-27. Andersen said one key was the Beavers were not able to run the ball effectively. Ryan Nall had a 75-yard score and finished with 115 yards but OSU had a total of 152 yards on 29 carries. “It’s a great play. It’s awesome to get a score of 75 yards,” Andersen said. “It’s wonderful. But our yards per carry is not even close to where it needs to be.” Luton said the Beavers now have to answer and get back on track. “You get beat like this in a fashion that we weren’t ready to get beat and I don’t think anyone expected that we were going to come in here and have an outcome like this," Luton said. "So now it’s how you answer." The teams traded three-and-outs to start the game. The Beavers made it 7-0 on their next possession, going 80 yards in eight plays with Luton tossing a 39-yard strike to a wide open Hernandez. The Rams tied it with an impressive 79-yard drive in nine plays, capped by a 1-yard TD run by Izzy Matthews. A Kyle White interception set up the offense just short of midfield and the Beavers drove into field goal range. Jordan Choukair had his kick from 45 deflected but an offsides penalty gave him another chance and he hit from 40. The Beavers led 10-7 at the end of the first quarter. The Rams made it 14-10 with two nice pass plays to cap a 76-yard drive, the second an 18-yard score by Dalyn Dawkins. One carry by Nall and the Beavers were back in the lead. The junior raced 75 yards for the score on the first play of the possession. The defense did a nice job of forcing a three-and-out, but OSU fumbled the ball away on its own 10. The Beavers did not fold and the Rams had to settle for a field goal and a 17-17 game. The defense was not up to the CSU challenge after a drive ended with a missed field goal by Choukair from 52 yards out. The Rams proceeded to drive 66 yards in eight plays and Dawkins punched it in from the 2 to make it 24-17 with 1:13 left in the half. Luton moved the ball with several completions, going to Trevon Bradford for 34 yards to the 7, then hit Togiai in the end zone, but the pass was ruled incomplete on the field and was not overruled by replay. The Beavers had to kick the field goal and settle for a 24-20 halftime deficit. “I couldn’t see it, so I don’t know,” Andersen said of the Togiai play. “The guys up in the box said they thought he caught it and I saw the same thing everybody else saw on the video board. So it wasn’t because (the officials) said it wasn’t.”