SAN DIEGO – The Oregon State defense held San Diego State in check – at just 179 yards – as they took the road opener by a 21-0 score on Saturday night in Snapdragon Stadium.  

Clinging to a 7-0 lead after three quarters, the Beavers (2-0) tripled the lead with a pair of scores in the final frame to put away the Aztecs.

Jam Griffin opened the Beavers’ scoring on the day, dashing into the endzone from 16 yards out on the game’s first drive. Doubling the lead in the fourth quarter, Anthony Hankerson capped a 98-yard drive in the fourth with a 15-yard touchdown sprint. Gabarri Johnson sealed the win with a 21-yard touchdown toss to Bryce Caufield in the fourth’s late stages.

Gevani McCoy went 15-of-25 for 160 yards while Johnson was a perfect 2-for-2, threw for 23 yards and the lone touchdown pass. Griffin paced the rushing attack with 89 yards on 18 tries while Hankerson followed with 71 yards on 16 carries.

The Beaver defense held the Aztecs in control and yielded just seven first downs. SDSU’s seven first downs were among the lowest allowed by a Beaver defense in the last 24 seasons, the eighth time it’s happened since 2000. Aztec running backs were limited to just 72 yards, with just a long rush of 10.

A trio – Thomas Collins, Melvin Jordan IV and Jack Kane – led the Beaver defense with 4.0 stops each while another trio added three each as well. In addition to the stops, Kane forced a fumble and was one of four to register a pass breakup. When the Aztecs threatened to tie the game early in the fourth, Nikko Taylor scooped up a loose ball on the goal line to set up a 98-yard, 8:04 scoring drive.

The Beavers dominated in time of possession (41:07 to 18:53) and had nearly 30 more plays than their hosts, holding a 78-49 advantage.

Oregon State will return to Reser Stadium next week when the Rivalry Series resumes and the Beavers will host Oregon. The nationally-televised kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. and can be seen on Fox.

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