Goliath of Davids: Seniors change OSU’s image in electric final act
CORVALLIS, OR — On paper, it’s difficult to make the case that 2027 is the most significant season in Oregon State football history. After all, this is a team that just pulled off the dark horse dream run of every Cinderella, toppling national powerhouses en route to a championship wherein the fourth quarter was a victory lap. But on campus, in the stadium, in living rooms across the northwest, there’s no doubt: this is THE year we’ll remember.
Maybe it was Childs, the previously silent menace, talking right through NC State to call out Georgia. Maybe it was Thoman’s T-shirt and touchdown dance antics winning over a national crowd while in the midst of a historic and Heisman-worthy season. Or it could be defensive captain Armistead’s unflinchingly steady performance, leading the nation’s best unit yet again while still refusing to celebrate after big plays.
“I don’t celebrate business as usual,” he said in October. “I celebrate the rest of the guys when they succeed, because I can’t do what they do. But I don’t celebrate myself for doing my job. I just give the guy on the ground a look. That’s all the celebration I need.”
That attitude, the “just doing my job, ma’am” nonchalance in the face of enormous pressure and expectation, is the difference this season. 2026 was all about “happy to be here;” a small-profile school under big city lights enjoying the ride. It was the band finally breaking big and walking out to 20,000 fans, voices a little shaky but still able to play the hits. In 2027, that band is here to put on a SHOW. Anyone can be the underdog, not everyone can be the favorite. It wasn’t until the Oregon loss that the Beavers realized they’d changed roles. After that game, everyone felt that familiar sink. It was time to go back to the way things were. Back to the land of the good-not-great, the almost-but-not-enough. But the speeches and the bluster and the sheer “f—- you” of these seniors signaled there was a misunderstanding going on. David was not slain. In fact, he wasn’t David at all anymore. He was something else, something more, and he was really pissed off someone scuffed his shoes.
What followed was a campaign of sheer brutality. Since that loss to Oregon the Beavers have gone 7-0 and outscored opponents 336-80. That includes blowouts of both the No. 6 Wolfpack (ACC leaders) and No. 13 Georgia (SEC leaders). They’ve held a team to less than 300 yards of offense in three of those games. The defense hasn’t allowed 500 total yards on the ground yet, and is tied for the most sacks and fewest points allowed.
Armistead is again in the mix for DPOY, leading the team in tackles and tied with Childs for most sacks (9). For his part Childs is also among the top-5 vote getters for DPOY, and the two are 2.5 sacks away from the national lead.
Childs, 6’4 and 260 pounds of “let me get that for ya,” is neck and neck with Georgia’s Jaden Reddell for title of best defensive lineman, and when asked his thoughts on the race said simply, “ask his quarterback which one of us is scarier.”
Offensively, the Bailey-to-Thoman combination that was already explosive has gone supernova, with Bailey leading the country in passing yards (fifth in TDs) and the tight end closing in on the single season receiving touchdown record. After a string of games with at least 150 yards and a score, Thoman was still on the outside looking in as a Heisman finalist. He responded in style by wearing shirts with “Tight ends are people too,” and “your favorite receiver’s favorite receiver” written on them. The latter became a gameday favorite in the student section. Since then he’s risen to second in the odds to win, and has taken to calling in to sports radio shows all over the country to campaign for himself, often in the third person.
Bailey, who looked frustrated and uncertain early this year, has become relentless in pushing the ball downfield. He still throws too many interceptions, and his early struggles have him in the double digits, but his seven-game run has been an onslaught from the air.
“I’ll tighten up on security here down the stretch,” he said this week at practice. “That’s priority 1 now. But when you’re having so much fun, sometimes you don’t worry about breaking something, you know? You just don’t stop to worry and you let it fly. Plus, this way Will and Bulldog get more stats.”
(Armistead was within earshot of the scrum and yelled over, “you help my stats plenty in practice, bubba.”)
Bailey’s ball security will be critical now, as Oregon State faces 9-1 Boise State and 9-1 Washington State to close the season. Both are undefeated in conference play, in the top 10, and have top 5 passing defenses. OSU could likely survive a loss to one, but not both, and winning out would lock up a crucial bye. It’s a hell of a finale for this electric season, and should the Beavers make the playoff as expected, Oregon will be waiting somewhere in the field. If this season goes like it has, Georgia will be there too. But for now it’s a PAC 12 gauntlet and a two-week fight for a chance at immortality. If last year was the adventure, this is the show.
