[15] Head coach Stiner announced a full slate of 30 spring practices, as permitted under Pacific Coast Conference rules, in preparation for the fall 1940 campaign.

[17] In addition to having to face a small number of participants,[18] Stiner expressed misgivings about having too many "green" players to justify the top ranking ventured by some preseason analysts, but hoped that with further development the team would eventually merit such consideration.

[17] A preseason pundit writing for Illustrated Football Annual touted two Beaver seniors as potential stars who were "ripe for recognition from All-America pickers.

[1] "The Vandals, using sophomores in key positions, weren't in the same class as Oregon State," one observer noted, adding that Idaho "played poor fundamental football and made repeated mistakes.

"[1] Thirty-seven year old Lon Stiner — still the youngest head coach in the Pacific Coast Conference[21] — led his outnumbered squad to the lion's den on October 5, to do battle with the USC Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

[3] As the first half was coming to a close, reserve quarterback Bob Olson flipped a pass to Gene Gray for an apparent touchdown — only to have the play nullified by an offensive off-sides call.

[3] Fourth-string USC quarterback Ray Woods marched the Trojans into position for a game-winning 27-yard chip-shot field goal with seven seconds on the clock — but the kick sailed wide, leaving another 0–0 tie in the books.

[4] The home team scored their first points just 2:35 into the first quarter on a fumble recovery,[4] adding a second touchdown before halftime on a 25-yard run by reserve halfback Joe Day.

The Beavers arrived hoping to continue a three game winning streak against their opponents from Seattle, highlighted by their 1939 performance, when a squad of just 19 players managed to tame the Huskies, 13–7.

The "Statue of Liberty" play — already regarded as a hoary relic in 1940 — was dusted off and used with great effect, with halfback Ernie Steele picking up a 23-yard chunk to take the ball to the OSC 17.

[23] Three plays later Steele broke an 11-yard run to paydirt through the middle of the OSC line, and the Beavers' scoreless defensive streak was at an end.

[23] A mishandled punt snap by Jim Kisselburgh accentuated by a personal foul set up Washington at the one-yard line for an easy touchdown plunge by halfback Dean McAdams.

[23] With the season record sitting at 2–1–1, Oregon State again made the long trip to Southern California to face the UCLA Bruins at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.

[8] Four runs and a lateral brought the ball to the 6, with left halfback Bob Dethman capping the drive with a touchdown pass to right half Gene Gray.

[8] Cal answered with a touchdown drive from their own 33 to tie the score later in the first period, narrowly missing a chance to take the lead when a 40-yard field goal attempt went wide.

[8] Near the start of the fourth quarter, OSC began its game-winning seven-play drive, crowned by a 24-yard touchdown pass from left halfback Dethman to right half Don Durdan.

The weather was crisp and clear as 8,000 fans packed the stands to watch the land-grant colleges of Washington and Oregon slug out a scoreless first quarter.

[9] Then, with just over six minutes remaining before half, Stiner's "second deck" reserve squad started a 73-yard drive that broke the stalemate, highlighted by a one-yard plunge by halfback Bob Dethman.

[9] OSC was riding high with a 5–1–1 record and cracking the national Top 20 rankings as they traveled to Palo Alto, California to take on their toughest challenge of the season — the undefeated No.

The Indians had the initial incentive of being in position to clinch a Rose Bowl berth as Pacific Coast Conference champions with a victory over OSC.

[10] The Beavers came back to tie the game late in the first quarter, with lefty passing halfback Don Durdan hitting quarterback George Peters on a 30-yard touchdown bomb.

"[10] The crafty Lon Stiner "put only four men on the line of scrimmage" and "deployed three others two yards behind them"[10] — that is to say, a modern, double safety 4–3–4 defense in an era when the overwhelming norm was 6–2–2–1.

[10] OSU's four-man defensive front "might have been an effective anti-aircraft weapon" but proved a "balmy" target for Stanford's ground attack, Cohn noted.

With five wins, two losses, and one tie, only the annual battle with the Oregon Ducks remained — the final game of the season reserved as a competition for in-state bragging rights.

[11] The Webfoots wasted no time making the home crowd uncomfortable, when Oregon's Leonard Isberg returned a kick to the Beavers' 31 yard line, setting up the first of the team's three touchdowns.

[11] The 1940 Oregon State Beavers were regarded as a well-coached and well-disciplined team, judged by the American Football Statistical Bureau as one of the "cleanest" in the country — along with Princeton and BYU — for averaging fewer than 18 yards per game in penalties.