CORVALLIS — This season has not always been easy for the Oregon State football team.

The Beavers have played poorly for a half, only to turn around and put together a strong performance. They have looked powerful in the running game, and pathetic passing the football. They hit a low point in a loss at Colorado and followed up with a big victory over California.

On Saturday, the Beavers nearly put together a two-game winning streak but wound up losing to Utah 19-14.

The Beavers took the Utes down to the final play but could not overcome an ineffective passing attack that produced just 1 yard through the first three quarters and several special teams meltdowns, including a bad snap on a punt attempt that resulted in a safety and two missed field goals.

The passing game picked up when Marcus McMaryion took the field. The third-string quarterback was 5-for-9 for 76 yards and a touchdown. The score came with 1 minute, 40 seconds to go and gave the Beavers a shot at pulling out the win.

“Marcus was out there, he came in, did a nice job and gave us a chance to win the game,” coach Gary Andersen said.

McMaryion’s performance was encouraging, particularly when considering the possibility that he might be the starter for at least the time being. He was pressed into duty Saturday after both Darell Garretson and Conor Blount went down with injuries in the fourth quarter. Several other OSU players were knocked out of the game, including running back Ryan Nall, who had one run of 32 yards before heading to the sideline.

“It hurts to see your brothers go down,” receiver Victor Bolden Jr. said. “We’re a family and the next guy has your back. He’s going to step up there and get the job done. We’re a team, tightknit and make sure that the guys are getting mental reps in practice and stuff like that when that happens, the next guy is prepared.”

Defensively, the Beavers struggled against the Utes’ run game in the first half but closed down after that. It was another example of playing at a high level for two or three quarters, but after stopping Cal’s high-flying pass offense the week before, the Beavers seem to be near a breakthrough.

“This is a different Oregon State Beaver football team,” linebacker Manase Hungalu said. “Home or away, I think we’re just getting better every game and we continue to improve and I think that they should never underestimate the Beavers.”