DJ Uiagalelei threw for 223 yards and accounted for two touchdowns on Saturday night as No. 16 Oregon State held off a late Colorado rally for a 26-19 Pac-12 Conference win in Boulder, Colo.
The Beavers (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12) led 23-5 after Atticus Sappington converted a 22-yard field goal with 13:57 left in the game, but Shedeur Sanders led the Buffs’ last-ditch charge.
Sanders sandwiched Sappington’s 41-yard field goal with touchdown passes of 15 and 11 yards to Travis Hunter and Anthony Hankerson, respectively, the latter score cutting the deficit to seven with 1:42 remaining.
However, Oregon State sealed the outcome when Damien Martinez, who rushed for 115 yards on 21 carries, gained 10 yards and a first down in the last 90 seconds.
Sanders completed 24 of 39 passes for 245 yards while under constant pressure. He was sacked four times and hurried on multiple occasions. Hunter caught eight passes for 98 yards while recording two tackles and breaking up a pass as a cornerback.
Colorado (4-5, 1-5) managed just 238 total yards of offense and 15 first downs en route to its fifth loss in six games. It rushed just 19 times for minus-7 yards.
Oregon State initiated the scoring with 1:26 left in the first quarter when backup quarterback Aidan Chiles ripped off a 23-yard touchdown run to cap a nine-play, 71-yard drive.
The Buffaloes got on the board with 7:35 left in the first half when Alejandro Mata kicked a 32-yard field goal. However, they had started the possession at the Oregon State 19 after a fumble recovery and couldn’t get a first down.
A major faux pas led to the Beavers scoring with 16 seconds remaining in the half. Stuck deep in its own territory, Colorado tried to mount a drive via the pass but instead went three-and-out. After a 28-yard punt return by Anthony Gould and a penalty on the Buffs set the visitors up at the Colorado 20, Uiagalelei hit Deshaun Fenwick with a 20-yard scoring strike for a 14-3 lead.
–Field Level Media
