CORVALLIS — The retro Benny the Beaver logo is faded at midfield inside an empty Reser Stadium. Beneath it, the modern Oregon State logo was visible all game.
It wasn’t a completely successful cover job.
But that isn’t necessarily the fault of the hard-working people tasked with preparing Reser Stadium ahead of Saturday’s blowout loss for OSU football. They, like others whose jobs take place on that field, might not have been provided with adequate resources.
It serves as a poignant symbol of an athletic department desperately trying things the old way when reality is staring the Beavers directly in the face. It took the form of empty seats staring down at the two clashing logos.
OSU is not innovative, plucky or punching above its weight in football. It is wholly irrelevant. Winless. A symbol of abject failure in its most important revenue-generator, careening into the new Pac-12 it helped build like a wagon on fire on the Oregon trail.
Oregon State fans sit in the upper decks before the game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Reser Stadium on October 11, 2025 in Corvallis, Oregon.Ali Gradischer/The Oregonian & OregonLive
One can try to hastily gloss over an 0-7 season, and make excuses for why the Beavers find themselves at one of the low points in their football program’s history. Athletic director Scott Barnes certainly has: A broken conference, an out-of-control NIL market, a departed coach.
But here in OSU’s inescapable reality, its players are now admitting that teammates have quit. Apparently, this isn’t the first time.
“To be honest with you, effort problems have been happening every game,” backup quarterback Gabarri Johnson said. “I could say the same thing about people in the first game when we got down to Cal. They quit already. Whoever wants to play is going to show.”
Linebacker Aiden Sullivan demurred when asked the same question about teammates quitting.
“I can’t answer that,” he said.
Trent Bray appears to have lost the OSU locker room. Judging by the team’s record, the new and exhausting ways it finds to lose games each week, and Johnson’s comments, he might not have had control of it in the first place.
All this while the athletic department tries to explain away its controversial NIL management deal with Blueprint Sports, its general manager and NIL business manager having quit, and deputy athletic director Brent Blaylock facing relentless criticism for alleged comments unbecoming of someone who purports to represent this university community.
Oregon State Executive Deputy Athletics Director and Chief Operating Officer Brent Blaylock looks on during the second half of the game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Reser Stadium on October 11, 2025 in Corvallis, Oregon.Ali Gradischer/The Oregonian & OregonLive
These are all things Bray can’t control, but they pile up. This exacerbates the difficulty of losing. And the second-year head coach may end up taking the fall for the football program he loves but hasn’t been properly equipped to lead.
Beaver fans are proud. At times, they are optimistic to a fault, despite being given few reasons to be by those stewarding their teams. But right now, they are tired. And they left in droves at halftime and during the third quarter Saturday.
Bray must be tired, too. Of taking questions about his job security, and his team’s constant failure to show up and do all the little things necessary to win.
Defensive back Kobe Singleton #0 of the Oregon State Beavers reacts after a play during the second half of the game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Reser Stadium on October 11, 2025 in Corvallis, Oregon.Ali Gradischer/The Oregonian & OregonLive
“I really don’t think about that,” Bray said, asked whether he feels his status is up in the air. “Those are out of my control, decisions that people make. I’m just going to show up until they tell me I can’t.”
At this point, everything seems beyond Bray’s control.
Bray said he doesn’t think his players have quit. But he has to say that. His future is on the line, now sitting at 1-13 in his last 14 games at the helm.
Telling the truth would mean the thing everyone can see is real. The terrifying present.
Better to paste a smiling, cartoon Beaver over it and hope no one notices.
Next game: Oregon State (0-7) vs. Lafayette (5-2, FCS)
When: Saturday, Oct. 18Time: 7 p.m. PTWhere: Reser StadiumTV Channel: The CW (Channel 32 in Portland)
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