The Oregon State Beavers opened the second quarter down 7-0 against the BYU Cougars. Similar to their performance in the first quarter, the Beavers struggled early in the second period but finished strong. Oregon State enters halftime with a 14-14 tie, scoring 14 unanswered points to rebound from a 14-0 deficit.
The Beaves were in position to score at the beginning of the second quarter, located at the Cougar 12-yard line. The Cougars secondary, however, came up with a big stop when linebacker Kyle Van Noy intercepted Beavers quarterback Sean Mannion in the red zone and returned the football for 40 yards. BYU took the ball down the field and scored on a three-yard rushing score by senior JJ Di Luigi, giving them a 14-0 advantage.
Mannion bounced back on the next drive and helped the Beavers get on the score board, helping Oregon State move 57 yards down the field and punching in a one-yard rushing score to pull the Beavers within seven points.
The Cougars could not hold onto possession for long on the succeeding drive, running just one play before running back Michael Alisa fumbled the ball away to return. Oregon State reclaimed possession but failed to register score, missing on a 41-yard field goal attempt by Trevor Romaine to keep the score 14-7.
The Beavers would score again before the end of the half, though. Just three plays after the missed field goal, Jordan Poyer intercepted Cougars quarterback Riley Nelson and returned the ball for a 51-yard touchdown, tying the score at 14-14. Oregon State blocked a 49-yard field goal attempt by BYU's Justin Sorensen in the half's final seconds to maintain the score.
Mannion enters halftime with 108 yards and one interception on 9-of-16 passing in addition to one rushing touchdown. Malcolm Agnew leads the Beaver rushing attack with 41 yards on eight carries and Markus Wheaton leads the Beaver receivers with 84 yards on six receptions.
BYU will receive the ball at the beginning of the second half.