CORVALLIS - During a three-game stretch in which defensive miscommunication has become an all-too-common theme, a glaring mistake cemented a stunning low point of the Oregon State season.

On the night OSU debuted its "11 strong" alternate uniforms during a nationally televised matchup, Minnesota quarterback Demry Croft faked a handoff and darted to the right as 11 OSU defenders focused on the line of scrimmage.

An untouched Croft sprinted 64 yards down the sideline and pushed the Golden Gophers ahead 48-14 with under three minutes remaining.

"We're supposed to have a player step-shuffle there," inside linebacker Jonathan Willis said, "and it was non-existent."

Soon, 11 Minnesota special teams players were dancing to the music blaring over the Reser Stadium public address system, bobbing and weaving before kicking off to the Beavers one final time.

As the game wound down minutes later, there was near silence on the field as Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck sprinted from his sideline to briefly shake OSU coach Gary Andersen's hand. Fleck and his team were soon greeted by the roar of the visiting fans who stayed near the south end zone throughout entire the 34-point blowout.

One Oregon State fan remained loud as the Beavers departed for their locker room, chastising Andersen for not properly motivating his team.

Once again, the defense was unable to deliver.

Minnesota had bludgeoned the OSU front with 58 runs for 253 yards. Starting quarterback Conor Rhoda only made eight throws but completed seven for 158 yards and a touchdown to finish with a 294.7 quarterback rating.

The Golden Gophers converted 9 of 13 third downs to help hold the ball for 38 minutes and 16 seconds. After three games, the Oregon State defense has been on the field for nearly 40 more minutes than its offense.

"It definitely is tiring," freshman safety David Morris said. "But that's why we condition."

Morris was a single bright spot for an OSU defense still searching for its first sack after setting the goal of 30 during fall camp. The freshman from Sherwood had 17 tackles (10 solo) after replacing senior Brandon Arnold in the first quarter for the second week in a row.

Arnold was beaten down the middle of the field by wide receiver Tyler Johnson on Minnesota's second drive, outrun for a 67-yard score that put the Beavers on course for a 17-0 hole.

Morris included, the secondary personnel had completely changed by the end of the night.

Junior nickelback Dwayne Williams went down in the Minnesota end zone with a left knee injury late in first half and did not return. Sophomore cornerback Xavier Crawford did not play in the second half due to a left shoulder injury.

And in the third quarter, sophomore safety Jalen Moore was ejected for targeting to eliminate the entire starting secondary from the game. It marked Moore's third ejection for targeting in two seasons and meant he will be suspended for the first half next week.

"Three or four times were out of drives in a scenario and situation that for different things, we find a way to give them a first down; whether it's a pass interference, whether it's a targeting call, whether it's a personal foul," Andersen said.

The defense gave up 411 yards, pushing the three-game total to 1,451 total yards allowed.

"I could say it's embarrassing," Morris said. "But the first half we showed some good life and I think that we're going to take that into next week."

Willis came to a different conclusion.

"I wouldn't say it was embarrassing, but we just need to make sure everybody is on point, wrapping up, not breaking down towards the second half," he said after recording 12 tackles (five solo) in his first game since moving from outside linebacker back to inside.

Initially on Saturday night, a lone measure of good news appeared to come from more than 400 miles northeast on the Palouse. OSU will open Pac-12 play next Saturday at Washington State, whose potent Air Raid offense deflated against Boise State as quarterback Luke Falk was benched.

But the Cougars recovered and overcame a 21-point deficit and won 47-44 in triple overtime.

If Falk returns to the lineup, the Beavers will need to stop a player who has thrown for nearly 1,300 yards and 16 touchdowns in three games against them.

"We're at a crucial moment, a crucial time, and we have to be able to come back and battle," Andersen said. "They were hurt, like they're always hurt. We need to come back and continually work to try to help them get better. That's the most important thing and that's basically what I told them."

-- Danny Moran