At Reser Stadium on Saturday, Oregon State (2-8) did what no team had done all season. The Beavers lost to the previously winless Sam Houston Bearkats (1-8).

The 21-17 loss was a swan song to all that made the Beavers unwatchable — or maybe just comically frustrating — this season. They ended the 2025 home slate the same way they began, losing ugly on their home field.

The Beavers’ defense played shockingly well, holding Sam Houston to only 157 yards and one touchdown. Oregon State’s own offense flirted with a 500-yard performance, but had four drives, including each of their last three, end in Bearkats territory. Special teams, yet again, cost the Beavers a victory after Sam Houston scored 14 points in the third phase.

“Do I expect Beaver Nation to be sad and — excuse my mouth, but — pissed? Yes,” Interim head coach Robb Akey said. “We are too. Understand that that locker room isn’t feeling good right now. You know, we talked about jubilation a week ago. And you’ve got the direct opposite of it tonight. We feel it. The players feel it. We all feel it… We all need to unite together to try and bounce back.”

Entering Saturday’s game, Oregon State was 24-0 since 1996 when holding opposing offenses to under 200 yards. The Beavers are 24-1 in the category now. The statistical outlier is microcausal of the game itself and is, for the water cooler football talkers,  all you need to know to effectively kill time Monday morning. Nevertheless, here are three more.

The ghost of special teams past rears its head

Oregon State’s special teams were, yet again, the nation’s worst with a bullet.

Sam Houston returned the opening kick of the second half for a touchdown. Surprisingly, it was the first Oregon State gave up in 2025. The Bearkats also blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. It wasn’t the first Oregon State allowed, which is surprising in its own unique way. The Beavers also missed two of their three field goals. And if that surprised you, welcome to Oregon State football in 2025.

“You obviously don’t have the desire to give up — we had three miscues that were flagrant,” Akey said. “The opening kick-off of the second half, that one really irritated me… I’ll take all the heat and credit for that. (If we) just execute those, get the punt off, and everything is fine. Even with that one, we still have the ability to win the damn game. And we’ve got to be able to overcome those.”

Sam Houston missed a pair of field goals of their own, too. But, at minimum, the Beavers left 20 points on the field. Factor in three second-half turnovers on downs in the red zone and the number balloons to 30, perhaps even 40 points left on the field.

Empty calories offense

Oregon State’s 474 offensive yards proved no different than the calories of a fast food meal — empty.

Beavers quarterback Gabarri Johnson and receiver David Wells Jr. played the best games of their careers. Johnson completed 29 of his 42 pass attempts for 286 yards. Nine of those catches were courtesy of Wells Jr., who put up 112 receiving yards. Both players’ totals set new career-bests. And both fail to explain just how important Johnson’s 23-yard circus-act scramble at the end of the first half and Wells Jr.’s toe-drag catch on third down truly were.

But they were empty calories. The Beavers turned the ball over on downs three times near or in the red zone, including twice with under five minutes to play and the chance to take the lead. Sandwiched between the two was the second of Johnson’s pair of interceptions. After a quick 10 points to start the game, the Beavers crossed the Bearkats’ 30-yard line five times.

They scored once.

Both of Oregon State’s touchdowns came courtesy of senior running back Anthony Hankerson. On his senior night, Hankerson crossed the century mark for the fourth-consecutive time. He finished with 166 yards on 33 carries and a pair of touchdowns.

Streeter: Hire Robb Akey for 2026 as… something

To pull back the curtain, I’m writing this one first. I’m also switching to first-person mode for it. It’ll likely be bumped to the bottom, but its fresh in my mind.

I don’t know what next season holds for Robb Akey’s career, but I hope it’s in an Oregon State crewneck. I expect this to be an unpopular opinion amongst fans, but I’ll stand on it. His 20-50 record as a Division I head coach, well, 22-51 now, isn’t inspiring. The way his team played Saturday against the Bearkats wasn’t inspiring.

Everything else he does is. I’m out on Robb Akey, the Oregon State head football coach. But I’m all in on Robb Akey, the leader of young men. I’m on record for writing that the Beavers quit on their season after their loss to Wake Forest. And what did they do after? Won two in a row under Akey and developed an identity as a football team. A lot can be said about the Beavers, but their defense and rushing attack is unquestionably better than it was two months ago — regardless of opponent quality.

Sure, they lost. They’ve done it a lot this season and very well may do it again, maybe even twice. Oregon State will hire a new head coach and, more likely than not, several assistants under him. Akey should absolutely be one of them. Whether it’s as defensive coordinator, a return to his special assistant title or, heck, the team Chaplin, find Akey a job and allow him to keep leading young men.

If you aren’t keen on the take, that’s fine. Akey already made his pitch to you to change your mind and keep your faith.

“We’ve been busting our tails to do that the whole season. And these guys, that’s why I feel awful for them because they experienced success the last few times out there. And it didn’t happen that way today. But understand this: we all share the same feeling, believe it or not, but we won’t lose faith,” Akey said. “You get a new day every day, and we’ll approach it day by day just like we talked about before, and we’ll have a team ready to roll. We’re going to play in Tulsa, Oklahoma, next Saturday, and we’re gonna come out of there smiling again, and build it back up.

“We can’t change what has happened and what the whole total or what the past of the season looks like… But we’ve got an opportunity to go win two more games. And one of them gives us, like we said, the (Pac-12) championship. And that’s something that we can smile about again, and there will be good things coming. Good things are going to happen here.”

Week 12: Oregon State (2-8) vs. Tulsa (2-7)

When: Saturday, Oct. 15

Where: H.A. Chapman Stadium; Tulsa, Oklahoma

Time: 10 a.m. (PT)

TV: ESPN+