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Quarterback Jeff Tuel passed for 157 yards and rushed for 79 Saturday as Washington State snapped a 16-game conference losing streak with a 31-14 win over Oregon State.
It was the Cougars' first Pac-10 win since a 16-13 overtime victory against Washington in the 2008 Apple Cup.
Tuel completed 10 of 15 passes, connecting with receiver Daniel Blackledge four times for 76 yards and hitting Marquess Wilson for a 33-yard touchdown pass that gave Washington State (2-9, 1-7) a 21-0 lead in the third quarter. James Montgomery added 67 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Cougars.
The Beavers (4-5, 3-3) lost for the third time in the last four games - and the first time in seven games at Reser Stadium - and are in jeopardy of missing the bowl season for the first time in five years. Oregon State still has USC, No. 6 Stanford and top-ranked Oregon left on the schedule.
Oregon State's Ryan Katz completed 12 of 21 passes for 155 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Markus Wheaton had six catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 93 yards.
Tuel became the latest mobile quarterback to give the Beavers problems. Last week, UCLA's Richard Brehaut had 18 carries for 61 yards against Oregon State, including six times to move the chains on first down. This week it was Tuel who was able to rely on his mobility to get of trouble, running the ball 18 times against the Beavers.
Oregon State was booed by the home fans going into halftime after it was outgained 214-124 by the Cougars. Katz was sacked three times for minus-29 yards and then was pulled in favor of backup Cody Vaz after throwing an interception with the Beavers driving at the Cougar 12.
Oregon State blew another scoring opportunity when Justin Kahut missed a 35-yard field goal attempt after a high snap.
Tuel completed 6 of 8 passes for 101 yards and ran for 66 yards in the first half. He was injured after rushing the ball to the Beavers 1-yard line, where Montgomery punched it in to give the Cougars a 14-0 lead that they took into halftime.
It was the first time Washington State held a team scoreless in the first half since outscoring Stanford 10-0 in 2007. The Beavers had not been shut out in the first half all season.
Tuel came back out for the second half and led the Cougars on a 64-yard drive that culminated in his touchdown pass to Wilson.
Katz sandwiched two touchdown passes to Wheaton around a 37-yard field goal by Washington State's Andrew Furney that made the score 24-14 with 9:50 remaining. The Cougars capped the scoring with a 5-yard TD run by Chantz Staden with 2:04 left.
