CORVALLIS, Ore. — Sean Mannion threw for 276 yards and a touchdown and Oregon State's defense smothered Montee Ball to earn a 10-7 upset of No. 13 Wisconsin on Saturday.
"They played their hearts out, and I'm so proud of them," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. "It's unbelievable. They just played like crazy to win that game."
Mannion hit Brandin Cooks on a 20-yard touchdown on the first drive of the second half to give the Beavers a 10-0 lead. Then the defense took over. It forced two turnovers and held Ball, a Heisman Trophy finalist last season, to 61 yards rushing. More important, Ball's streak of games with a touchdown ended at 21.
Ball's longest run was 15 yards.
"They were actually presenting what we had planned," Ball said. "We just didn't do a great job executing."
The Beavers were aggressive, blitzing from all angles to make life miserable for Danny O'Brien, who was sacked three times and threw an interception.
O'Brien led one final drive, hitting Jacob Pedersen on an 11-yard touchdown with 1:31 left that kept the Badgers from being shut out for the first time in 15 years.
The onside kick was smartly executed by Wisconsin kicker Kyle French, who hit it with his left foot and was initially ruled to have recovered it at the Badgers 46.
But the play was reviewed, and it was determined that French touched the ball before it went 10 yards, giving possession to the Beavers.
Mannion knelt down three times and the upset was complete with the orange-clad Beavers fans racing from the stands and covering the Reser Stadium turf as the final seconds ticked away.
"This might be one of the top moments of my college career," said Jordan Poyer, who had a sack. "I still believe there are a lot more moments to come in my senior season. The sky is the limit for us right now."
The loss snapped Wisconsin's 33-game nonconference win streak dating to 2003 at UNLV, second longest in the country behind LSU. Wisconsin finished with 207 yards, its fewest in five years, and 35 on the ground.
"The performance in the first half was unacceptable, and that begins with me," coach Bret Bielema said. "The best rhythm we had all day was the last two minutes at the end. I thought we were extremely fortunate to only be down 3-0 at the half."
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