[20] Critical losses included left halfback Harold Moe, who would play in 1933 for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL), tackle Curly Miller, and end Keith Davis.

[20] Stepping into the void at left halfback, traditionally the primary ball-carrier of the Oregon State offense, was to be Norman "Red" Franklin, dubbed by one preseason expert as the "red-headed riot from Long Beach".

[20] Returning stars included a pair of tough tackles who would eventually play in the NFL — 205-pound senior "Tar" Schwammel and Hawaiian-born junior Harry Field, a 225-pounder called "meaner than a sick tiger".

[20] A total of 50 OSC men turned out for the football team in September 1933, with only one qualified letterman from 1932 deciding to quit the game — left guard Tom Miles.

[21] The aspirants were turned into perspirants by coach Stiner and his assistants, put through the paces of two-a-day practices in preparation for the Beavers' season openers, back-to-back games against Southern Oregon Normal School from Ashland and Willamette University of Salem.

[22] But The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men gang aft agley,[23] and following a first half during which only a safety was scored against Southern Oregon Normal,[24] Stiner found himself inserting players whom he had planned to hold for game two.

[2] The 2–0 halftime score stood until the fourth quarter, when the tandem of speedy "Red" Franklin and powerful Hal Joslin finally cracked the wilting SONS defense.

[24] In game two it was much the same, with Willamette matching OSC blow-for-blow through three scoreless quarters before coach Stiner was once more forced to put his thumb on the scale, bringing in players he had planned to sit who had already played in the opening tilt.

[25] Both games finished with identical scores of 21–0, but Oregon State's thin roster had been placed on public display, with the Beavers unable to dispatch either small school without essentially making use of its full squad.

[25] Tied 0–0 after three, coach Stiner made a wholesale substitution, with the fresh players overwhelming the tiring Bearcats and finishing a short drive with alternating runs by left half "Red" Franklin and fullback Hal Joslin, who scored.

[25] A final touchdown was added with five minutes on the clock on a broken passing play during which the speedy Franklin tucked the ball and made a scrambling dash through traffic from midfield to score standing up.

With a special "ladies free" promotion in effect, a healthy crowd estimated at 5,000 assembled — reckoned the largest early season gathering to watch OSC football in years.

[3] Soon after, Franklin nearly scored on a 70-yard punt return, but for the second time in the season the long run was called back by penalty when the Orangemen were flagged for offsides when rushing the punter.

[26] Although they last fielded a team in 1941, Gonzaga University, a small private school located in Spokane, Washington, was historically one of the oldest collegiate football programs on the Pacific coast, dating their first organized game to 1892.

[28] A dry field awaited in Portland at Multnomah Stadium for head coach Lonnie Stiner and OSC,[28] with observers regarding the Orangemen as a pre-game favorite by at least a touchdown.

[5] In the third quarter USF took the lead when then blocked a Beaver kick on the OSC 28-yard line and subsequently used multiple runs by reserve fullback Orville Condray to drive into the end zone.

Harold Pangle, quarterback, leaped into the air, snatching the ball from the outstretched arms of two opponents and when he came to earth his cleats carved their mark in scoring turf.

Ahead of the 1933 season Illustrated Football Annual, a major preseason prognostication magazine of the day, noted that USC had lost only two All-American tackles and an end from its unbeaten 1932 team and asked the question with a two-page layout: "Who'll Stop the Trojans?

A reporter for the Associate Press described the scene: Although scoreless, the game was not even, with USC racking up 16 first downs on the day to just 2 for Oregon State — the first of which came on the Beavers' first play from scrimmage when Red Franklin cut through a gap off right tackle for a 12 yard gain.

[8] Upon the conclusion of the game, delirious fans swarmed the field, mobbing the eleven exhausted Orangemen who had pulled off what Los Angeles Times staffer Braven Dyer called "as sweet a moral victory as was ever achieved on any gridiron.

[8] Harry Field, a "225-pound Hawaiian," was deemed "tougher than a cafeteria steak," while junior center Claude Devine was seen "sorting through to mess up things in generally too frequently for Troy's health.

[35] Amidst the mud, center Claude Devine managed to get to the punter from his defensive middle guard position, knocking the back into Washington State's end zone.

[35] Hal Joslin attempted to recover the ball for a touchdown, but slid over the end line before gaining possession, thereby recording the safety that would ultimately represent the only points scored in the game.

[35] Coach Stiner once again danced with the girl who brung him, playing just 12 men in the contest, with a substitute for seriously injured left guard Bill Tomsheck being the only removal of a starter.

[11] The Beavers were coming off of a bye week and were rested and ready, with tackle Tar Schwammel recovered from his injury from the Washington State game and restored to the starting lineup.

"[11] The lemon-yellow-clad Webfoots were not daunted, however, and in the second period launched a 71-yard scoring drive, marked by six first downs, culminating with a 1 yard touchdown blast by fullback "Iron Mike" Mikulak.

Momentum appeared to be shifting in Oregon State's direction in the third quarter, with alternating runs by the powerful Hal Joslin and the crafty speedster Red Franklin successfully moving the ball.

[37] After swapping possessions out of the free kick, the Cornhuskers intercepted a long Franklin pass an proceeded to drive 57 yards on just four plays, capped by a 28-yard run by George Sauer, making the lead 15-zero.

[37] Nebraska made a nearly complete substitution and then proceeded to turn on the speed with a long passing play that took the ball all the way down to the OSC 4-yard line, setting up the final score of what would be recorded as a 22–0 rout.

The speedy "red-headed riot from Long Beach," Norman "Red" Franklin, scored three touchdowns that traversed more than fifty yards — a scramble on a broken passing play from midfield against Willamette and game-opening 95-yard kickoff returns against USF and Fordham.