This time, it was as ugly as the statistics suggested.

Oregon State outgained San Diego State 651-147 in total offense, including 409 passing yards by quarterback Braden Atkinson. The Beavers had a 2-to-1 advantage in plays run and time of possession. They had five touchdowns before SDSU had five first downs. They scored on 10 of their first 11 possessions, a missed 51-yard field goal attempt the only blemish.

Oregon State’s offense was explosive, as advertised, and SDSU’s offense was absent, as feared, on a rainy Saturday afternoon in which the Aztecs suffered one of the most lopsided losses in program history, falling 66-14 before an announced crowd of 37,361 at Oregon State’s Reser Stadium.

“It was embarrassing,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said in a postgame interview with San Diego Sports 760. “I apologize to our fan base, and I take full responsibility for it. Obviously, the performances that we put out there, the way that we execute, are my responsibility, and that was not it.

“There’s a huge, important week coming up next week (at home against rival Fresno State), and this was a missed opportunity by the way that we went about our business today. Everything’s going to be on the table as we go forward, so that we can get the right guys on the field. They’re going to care to execute and care to prepare and do it at a much higher level than what we did today.”

It was the fourth loss in five games for SDSU (2-4, 1-1 Pac-12), which allowed the third-most points in a game in the program’s 104-year history. It was the fourth straight victory for the Beavers (4-2, 2-0).

SDSU somehow managed a two-point win over Texas State last week, despite being outgained by 326 yards, running half as many plays as the Bobcats and possessing the ball for 20 of the game’s 60 minutes. The Aztecs’ defense and special teams were responsible for the victory.

Defense and special teams couldn’t save SDSU against a Beavers team that showed why it came into the game leading the nation in passing yards and total offense while assuming a 38-7 halftime lead.

The second half was more of the same. SDSU received the second-half kickoff — and went 3-and-out. Oregon State needed one play to score, with the Beavers’ dynamic duo of Atkinson (29-for-38, 409 yards, 5 TDs) and wide receiver Jesse Legree (10 catches, 191 yards, 3 TDs) connecting for a 71-yard touchdown and a 45-7 lead 1 1/2 minutes into the third quarter. The pair hooked up for a 31-yard TD two minutes and 20 seconds later.

Lewis was asked this week what a reasonable expectation is for an SDSU offense that came into the game ranked 96th in the nation in scoring (24.6 ppg), 127th in total offense (303.8 ypg) and 137th in time of possession (25:29).

“You want to be efficient, you want to move the ball and you want to score,” he said. “There’s far too many inefficient plays. There’s far too many three-and-outs. There’s far too much stress that we’re putting on the program because the offense isn’t carrying their bucket of water.”

A bucket full of holes doesn’t hold water. Of SDSU’s 12 offensive drives, seven concluded with punts, twice the ball was turned over on downs and once on an interception.

SDSU quarterback Jayden Denegal’s struggles with accuracy continued. A couple of drops only made things worse. Denegal was 5-for-19 passing for 78 yards and one touchdown before being replaced by redshirt freshman Draiden Trudeau with 11 minutes remaining in the third quarter and the Aztecs trailing 52-7. Trudeau was intercepted on the fifth play of the drive.

Could a quarterback change be coming? Backup quarterback Stone Saunders, a redshirt freshman transfer from Kentucky, returned to practice this week from a broken collarbone suffered in the season opener. Saunders could be cleared to return as soon as next week.

“We’ve got to assess every single position,” Lewis said, “and, obviously, the way that there’s been significant inconsistency at that really important spot, we’ll assess it. We’ll evaluate everything and make the best decisions that we can to put our team in the best position to be successful, including the quarterback spot.”

Oregon State moved methodically downfield on the opening possession of the game, covering 75 yards in 11 plays before scoring on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Atkinson passed to Maalik Murphy in the end zone, just beyond the reach of SDSU cornerback Mike Lindsay, and the Beavers had a 7-0 lead 5 1/2 minutes into the game.

After Oregon State forced an SDSU punt on its first possession, the Beavers made it 14-0 when running back AJ Newberry ran 27 yards untouched for a touchdown. The Beavers made it 21-0 on the first play of the second quarter when Atkinson found Legree wide open in the left flat. The nation’s leader in receiving yardage walked in for an 11-yard touchdown, his 10th TD catch of the season.

SDSU stalled again on its next possession, but decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 34-yard line. Oregon State stacked the line of scrimmage, and running back Josiah Lucas had no chance on an inside handoff. Lucas was hit almost as soon as he got the ball and dropped for a 2-yard loss.

Oregon State did the same thing with a short field that it did when it had to drive the length of the field, scoring a touchdown for a 28-0 lead 3 1/2 minutes into the second quarter. The Beavers made it 35-0 with six minutes remaining in the first half when Atkinson passed 12 yards to Decorion Temple for a touchdown.

And on the sixth drive, they rested, er, missed a field goal.

SDSU finally got on the scoreboard with 25 seconds remaining in the first half when Denegal hit wide receiver Jacob Bostick with a 12-yard touchdown pass that made it 35-7. It was the Aztecs’ first first-half touchdown in five games.

Notable

The Pac-12 Availability Report posted two hours before kickoff listed 14 players as game-time decisions. It included 12 players who were starters and/or key backups.

Running backs Lucky Sutton (ankle) and Javion Kinnard (knee) were among them. They watched from the sideline as Lucas, a true freshman from Texas, started for the second straight game.

Lucas visited the injury tent after SDSU’s first offensive possession, then went to the locker room. Kinnard (11 carries, 43 yards) was in the backfield when SDSU’s offense returned to the field. Lucas (8 carries, 10 yards) was back for the next series.

• SDSU’s Jaylon Hawkins scored on a kickoff return for the second straight week and third time this season. His 97-yard return with 6:26 remaining in the third quarter made it 59-14. Hawkins had a 97-yard TD return last week against Texas State and a 100-yarder in the season opener against Portland State.

• Oregon State’s 7-yard touchdown with 13:38 remaining in the game made the score 66-14. The most points SDSU has allowed in a game in program history came in a 70-7 loss at New Mexico in 2008. The second-most points allowed came in a 68-17 loss to University of Pacific in 1958. SDSU had 66-0 losses to both Fresno State in 1942 and Arizona State in 1957.

Up next

SDSU plays Fresno State on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium. The Bulldogs were 4-1 overall and 1-0 in conference coming into a late home game against No. 23 Boise State. SDSU defeated the Bulldogs 23-0 last season in Fresno.