Oregon State has another top-10 victory under coach Jonathan Smith.

Just one week after falling to Washington State on the road, the 19th-ranked Beavers (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12) welcomed the 10th-ranked Utah Utes (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12) to Reser Stadium and sent them home, tail between the legs, with a 21-7 loss.

The Utes entered with injury concerns, and those were further exasperated in the game. Logan Fano left in the first half. Bryson Barnes was knocked out of the game in the second half. It all finally looked like too much for the Utes, who were awful on offense all night and couldn’t limit the explosives from Oregon State.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Utah’s offense puts up another stinker, and the dam finally breaks

The game-defining moment was a string of plays near the end of the third. Utah made it down to the Oregon State 5-yard-line thanks to a very questionable pass interference call.

From there, Utah was sacked for a 6-yard loss, tackled for a 12-yard loss after a fumbled snap, and then picked off. First-and-goal from the 5, down 14, with plenty of time left in the third to make sure you’re going into the fourth within a single score. Instead, you’re turned away with prejudice.

Utah had already made a quarterback change earlier in the game — moving from Nate Johnson back to Bryson Barnes — because Johnson couldn’t hit his receivers in the hands. And even when he did, they didn’t catch it.

So Oregon State took back over with the chance to go up three scores. After what the Utah defense did to Baylor and then UCLA, it was fair to wonder if Morgan Scalley’s group could bail the offense out yet again.

Nope.

Oregon State worked its way down the field, starting at its own 15 and reaching the Utah 45, where it faced a fourth-and-1.

That’s when Silas Bolden called game.

It was a brilliant call from the Beavers, and Bolden just needed a block on the edge from Jack Velling to spring him.

Up 21-0, the game was effectively over with 13 minutes still on the clock.

Utah had 132 yards of offense through three quarters, with an average of 3.1 per play. It finished with 198 yards.

Oregon State didn’t really do anything special. The Beavers simply tackled well and didn’t let anyone in behind them. Utah was just exceptionally poor. Drops. Missed throws. Bad blocking up front. The pass game finished 13-for-31 for 141 yards, a score, and an interception.

No one was ever in a position to be successful. The ground game faced an Oregon State defense that didn’t respect the pass. The pass game did nothing to change that. Take away a 41-yard garbage-time touchdown deep into the fourth and Utah averaged 2.7 yards a play on first down. It should come as no surprise, then, to learn the Utes went 2-for-13 on third down.

You can understand why Utah is struggling on offense. Its starting quarterback is out. Its top running back, Ja’Quinden Jackson, didn’t play. It’s top pass-catcher, Brant Kuithe, is out. When your stand-in quarterback throws in the dirt and your receivers don’t catch the balls that hit them in the numbers, there’s not much you can do.

Utah now heads into its bye week with some serious work to do. Cameron Rising alone will not fix this mess of an offense.

Silas Bolden balls out… again

Pay attention, Pac-12 defensive coordinators. The junior receiver from Rancho Cucamonga is starting to emerge a little bit.

Last week, Bolden brought in five of his eight targets for 76 yards. He was the clear go-to option for DJ Uiagalelei.

Friday night against the Utes, Oregon State worked to get him the ball all over the field. He had six catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. He had two carries for 53 yards and a touchdown. He was a highlight machine, and he’s starting to get some serious trust from both his quarterback and the guy calling the plays in Corvallis.

There was a wonderful adjustment at the last minute:

There was some nifty footwork on the sideline for a score:

And then there was… whatever this was:

The Pac-12’s disaster scenario, teased

I don’t want to take anything away from Oregon State earning a huge win at home, but with how good the conference has looked, my mind drifted to the College Football Playoff in the fourth quarter.

At halftime of this game, the FS1 studio crew asked if a Pac-12 team would end the CFP drought and earn one of the four spots this season. Chris Petersen, the former Washington head coach, mentioned the fear. Does the Pac-12 cannibalize itself? With four top-10 teams and as many as eight ranked teams so far this season, the depth in the league is awesome. It’s a fair question.

That fear was legitimized over the second half.

Oregon State lost to Washington State on the road and then beat Utah at home a week later. How many times is that going to happen this season with the league’s top teams?

Utah hosts Oregon on Oct. 28.

Then USC hosts Washington a week later.

Then Oregon hosts USC while Washington hosts Utah a week after that.

At some point, Cameron Rising has to return, right? Does Utah catch someone when he does?

The College Football Playoff committee hasn’t valued this conference for years. A two-loss Pac-12 champion is a longshot to make it into the four-team field. Even a one-loss Pac-12 champ will be picked at. (The Big Ten could have three one-loss teams as well.) And with all of the league’s top four teams playing each other, a blemished champion is a very real possibility. We’ve now seen a top-10 Pac-12 team lose on the road. How many more times is that going to happen this season?