Oregon State controlled the game from start to finish on Saturday to beat Arizona State 31-7 and move to 8-3 on the year.

It’s the first time Oregon State has won eight games in a year since 2012, and the Beavers have a very real shot at reaching double-digit wins for the first time since 2006. The Beavers host Oregon for their annual in-state rivalry game next Saturday, and then will play in a second consecutive bowl game for the first time in a decade. In short: coach Jonathan Smith has worked wonders with the Beavers this year.

On the other side, Arizona State fell to 3-8 on the tumultuous year. The Sun Devils have lost three straight and will go into the Territorial Cup next week hoping to avoid the first nine-loss season in program history.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Damien Martinez does it again

Oregon State’s freshman tailback has been sensational this year. On Saturday against the Sun Devils, he recorded his fifth consecutive 100-yard rushing performance.

Martinez rumbled for 138 yards and two scores on 22 carries. After limited usage in the first month and a half of the year, Martinez has turned it up of late. He had six explosive run plays, bringing the season total to 26.

Remember, this was a running back who came into college as a 3-star recruit with only two other Power Five offers — Kansas and Georgia Tech. Under Smith, the Beavers are carving out a nice little niche as a program that will take underrecruited running backs and help them develop into studs. And, no, I don’t think it’s too early to say Martinez will be a star before he leaves Corvallis. He was a back Oregon State couldn’t stop raving about in the offseason, and he has lived up to every bit of the billing.

Surgical first-half performance put the Beavs right where they hoped to be

The Beavers averaged 8.4 yards per play in the first half and only faced third down twice. Ten explosive plays, including six on the ground, helped Oregon State to 13 first downs while running a total of 27 plays. That’s staggering efficiency. That’s surgical execution. And it put Oregon State in the exact right spot.

This is a group that has been at its best this year when running the ball and playing bulldog defense. Setting the tone in the first half the way it did put the Beavs in control to squeeze the life out of the game in the second half. Arizona State had 70 yards on 20 plays after the halftime break. Eleven pass plays yielded 22 total yards through the air. ASU was 1-for-5 on third in the second half.

Mind you, the Sun Devils only got three second-half possessions. Oregon State had two five-minute drives in the third quarter that both ended in touchdowns, then it had an eight-minute drive in the fourth quarter that nearly salted away the game clock and gave the ball back to ASU with 27 seconds on the clock. That drive ended in a missed field goal — about the only thing Oregon State did wrong all day.

X Valladay is the lone bright spot for ASU… again

ASU tailback Xazavian Valladay is having a strong season in an otherwise miserable year. He ran for an 11-yard touchdown in the second quarter on a cutback that tied the game, a play that was set up by a 39-yarder from him two plays prior. Valladay went over the 1,000-yard mark on the ground for the third time in his career during the performance, thanks to a 13-carry, 109-yard day in his final home showing.