Backup quarterback Ben Gulbranson and Tre'Shaun Harrison hooked up on a 56-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left Saturday night as Oregon State rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun host Stanford 28-27 in Palo Alto, Calif.
Harrison plucked Gulbranson's pass from behind a defender at the Cardinal 35-yard line and then raced past multiple defenders to the end zone for a stunning score that improved the Beavers to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Pac-12 Conference.
Gulbranson, playing in place of injured starter Chance Nolan, completed 20 of 28 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. He started the comeback by hitting Silas Bolden for a 21-yard scoring strike on the fourth quarter's first play.
Damien Martinez brought Oregon State within 24-22 on a 43-yard run with 5:45 left in the game, but Joshua Karty connected on a 46-yard field goal with 58 seconds remaining to give Stanford (1-4, 0-4) a five-point lead that didn't hold up.
Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee completed 20 of 32 passes for 269 yards and two scores, both to Brycen Tremayne. It wasn't enough to keep Stanford from losing its 11th straight game against FBS foes, dating to last year.
The first half was well-played for the most part. Both teams moved the ball well, but the difference was that Stanford was able to finish off more drives with points.
After Oregon State missed a 40-yard field goal on its first possession, the Cardinal took a 7-0 lead at the 3:37 mark of the first quarter when Casey Filkins scored on a 1-yard run.
The Beavers responded with a 99-yard drive that chewed up more than 7 1/2 minutes and ended on a 1-yard run by Jack Colletto out of the wildcat formation with 10:52 left in the second period.
Stanford made it two scores in two possessions on a 47-yard field goal by Karty with 8:44 remaining before halftime, then expanded its lead to 17-7 when McKee hooked up with Tremayne for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 58 seconds remaining.
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