By Fitzgerald Cecilio

Corvallis, OR

Freshman running back Storm Woods ran for a career-high three touchdowns as No. 8 Oregon State matched the school's best start in 105 years with a 21-7 victory over Utah Saturday at Reser Stadium.

Woods tallied 47 yards on 16 carries in his first multi-touchdown effort of his young career while quarterback Cody Vaz completed 16 of 26 passes for 174 yards for the Beavers (6-0, 4-0 Pac-12), who last started the season perfect through six games in 1907.

Vaz also completed timely passes to wide receivers Markus Wheaton and Kevin Cummings in the seven-play, 67-yard drive in the fourth period capped by Woods' third touchdown run of the game. Wheaton caught seven passes for 90 yards while Cummings caught two passes for 32 yards.

"It is an exciting time and I really appreciated the awesome crowd, it was just electric out there. It was one of the neatest nights and we appreciate that support. We made some timely plays defensively and some big time throws to Kevin Cummings and Marcus Wheaton. I am proud of how the kids kept playing and the coaches prepared them," said Beavers coach Mike Riley.

For the second time in three weeks, the Beavers have forced opponents to four turnovers after the Utes committed two lost fumbles and threw two interceptions. Oregon State forced five against Washington two weeks ago.

"They're a good defense. They played hard and they played physical," said Utah quarterback Travis Wilson, who completed 15 of 28 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.

In the first quarter, linebacker Michael Doctor picked off Wilson's pass to DeVonte Christopher and returned it 19 yards with 2:02 left in the first quarter.

Then, Vaz hit tight end Connor Hamlett for 12 yards before Woods barreled his way for a one-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 Beavers lead.

In the second quarter, Wilson received a jarring hit from defensive end Rudolf Fifita, forcing the playmaker to fumble at the Utah's 10-yard line, paving the way for another scoring run by Woods to make it 14-0.

Utah responded two drives later with a 10-play, 88-yard drive capped by an 18-yard touchdown pass by Wilson to Jake Murphy to make it 14-7. The score snapped the Beavers' streak of not allowing a touchdown at home at 85 minutes and 31 seconds.

The Utes (2-5, 0-4 Pac-12) had a chance to tie the score early in the second half but Wilson's pass to Christopher went incomplete.

The Beavers added an insurance run in the fourth quarter from Woods' scoring run and Sean Martin prevented the Utes from scoring double digits with an interception.

The Utes were the third team that failed to score double digits at Reser Stadium this season. The last time an Oregon State team held three opponents to single digit was in 2000.

 

Storm Woods' Three TDs Help Oregon State Improve to 6-0