A War to Remember
Image courtesy of Oregon State Athletics
Have we caught our breath yet, Beaver Nation? Saturday is a day not many of us who were there (and probably those who watched on TV) will forget any time soon. That game had just about everything you could have asked for (aside from a downfield pass by the Beavs). In terms of improbability of victory, I doubt you can beat this.
Oregon outgained the Beavs by almost 150 yards. OSU lost the turnover battle 3-0. After taking a 10-7 lead and racking up 119 yards on our first two drives, we gained a grand total of 71 yards the next SEVEN possessions. Those seven “drives” included two punts, two picks, a fumble, a turnover on downs, and a kneel down at the half (not in that order). They encompassed a little more than seven minutes of clock time as the Ducks ripped off 28 consecutive points. And yet we steadied the ship, gave the Ducks just enough rope to hang themselves from their weird long necks, and pulled our way back into the game. I’m sure you’ll hear from the Ducks in your life (we all have some, it’s ok) that they gave the game away and “had Nix been healthy…..” and a litany of other excuses. Allow me to provide you with a list of retorts:
Our starting QB wasn’t healthy either. In fact, we haven’t seen him in months. Benny G is trying his best, but at this point I think it’s fair to call him the “interim” QB.
We were using our fifth string running back (Isaiah Newell) by the end of the game. He scored two TDs.
We also left points on the table, getting turned away inside the five yard line. Allegedly.
In all, this was a Civil War Game for the ages. But where does it rank in the history of the rivalry? Turns out, there have been plenty of games for the ages, and I’m not sure that this even makes my Mount Rushmore of Civil War Games in the last 25 years, which seems insane to say, but hear me out. When ranking games, there’s a lot of factors to take in - stakes of the game, the overall gameplay, how it ended, the impact it had on either program, etc.
I’ll limit my list to games that I’ve attended. I’ve attended every game (home and away) since 1998, with the exception of the 2008 game. Here’s my list of “best” Civil War games I’ve attended:
1998: Oregon State 44, Oregon 41 (2OT)
The Stakes: Not super high. OSU was eliminated from bowl contention the previous week when Cade McNown threw a last minute bomb for a TD that ended our upset bid over a top five UCLA. That had followed two one-point heartbreak losses to Washington (failed 2PC at the end of the game) and Cal (fumbled on final drive). For Oregon, they had a bowl already locked up and had no shot at a Rose Bowl.
The Gameplay: I think Gwen Stefani said it best…the shit was BANANAS. No team led by more than a touchdown the entire game, there were NINE lead changes. It was cold and wet and miserable and everyone LOVED it.
How it Ended: In the most memorable way possible. Fans thought the Beavs had won in the first overtime and stormed the field, only to have a penalty extend the game for the Ducks. Back in those days, there were no cute ladders to use to get onto or off of the playing surface, so fans were stuck on the sidelines while the game continued. Fans were pressed right up to the sidelines like a basketball game at Rucker Park or an early 20th century World Series game. After an Oregon field goal, Ken Simonton ran down the right sideline and into legend, the goalposts came down and the turf got ripped up.
What it meant: For the Ducks not much. For the Beavs, it meant we were done being a doormat. 1999 meant new turf, new logo, new coach, new Beavs. That game was the springboard that brought Dennis Erickson and swagger back to OSU.
2000: Oregon State 23, Oregon 13
The Stakes: About as high as they get. Both teams came in 9-1 and ranked in the top ten. For the winner, a Rose Bowl berth was in play. True story: this was the only time during my days at OSU that I was unable to get a student ticket to a game. My roommate and I ended up getting into the game after he made some sort of a promise to a girl we knew that I don’t think he ever talked about again. EVERYONE wanted to be at this game.
The Gameplay: Frankly, it was sloppy. There were 25 combined penalties for 271 yards. Oregon had six turnovers, all by Joey Harrington (one fumble and five picks). Oregon State decided against kicking a 51 yard field goal at one point and punted from the Duck 34 yard line. But the talent on the field was undeniable…so many future NFL draft picks played that day.
How it Ended: DeLawrence Grant ended any chance of a comeback by the Ducks with an interception, and after a Simonton run for a first down, the Beavs kneeled it out. As they had two years earlier, students preemptively scaled the wall and lined the sidelines prior to the final whistle. Similar to the 2022 game, Duck players were caught in a sea of Beaver fans and physical altercations occurred.
What it meant: Sadly, the Cougs couldn’t pull an upset in the Apple Cup, giving the tiebreaker for the Rose Bowl to the Huskies. Oregon State would end up in the Fiesta Bowl, crushing Notre Dame to cap the greatest season in school history. The Ducks would regroup and win the Holiday Bowl over Texas. Oregon State was on everyone’s radar after that, with Simonton gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated and many predicting the Beavs would win the national championship the next year. Turned out that replacing Grant, Jackson, Cookus, Housh, Ochocinco and a host of other players was harder than we thought.
2009: Oregon 37, Oregon State 33
The Stakes: Again, about as high as they get. Again both teams came in nationally ranked, with the Ducks 7th and the Beavs 13th. Oregon came in 7-1 in conference while the Beavs came in 6-2, meaning that the winner of this game would be guaranteed a spot in the Rose Bowl, the only time in the game’s history where that was in play for both teams with a win.
The Gameplay: This game was tight all the way. The lead changed six times on a brutally cold night at Autzen. Oregon State took a 23-21 lead into halftime on a TD catch from James Rodgers with 14 second remaining, and would extend the lead to 30-21 coming out of the half on another TD throw from Canfield to Casey Kjos (bet you haven’t heard that name in a while, if ever). However, the Ducks would outscore the Beavs 16-3 from there for the win.
How it Ended: In a word, painfully. The Beavs were unable to convert a 4th down with a little more than 6 minutes left in the game deep in Duck territory. The Ducks were then able to kill the remainder of the game. Lance Mitchell had Jeremiah Masoli dead to rights on a 4th down play that would’ve given the Beavs the ball back with one more chance to win it, but Masoli hit the truck stick and sealed the win (and the Rose Bowl) for the Ducks.
What it meant: I know this is my most controversial pick on this list, because we lost. But it was SUCH A GOOD GAME. The Ducks claimed their first Rose Bowl berth since 1995 and the Beavs laid an egg in the Las Vegas Bowl vs. BYU to finish 8-5, Mike Riley’s first bowl loss in six games.
2007: Oregon State 38, Oregon 31 (2OT)
The Stakes: Sneaky high. The Ducks came in ranked 18th, but had been as high as 2nd in the country before Dennis Dixon blew out his knee and they limped towards the finish line. The Beavs had to overcome their all-too-familiar slow start (2-3, 0-2 in the Pac-10) to rip off five wins in the six games leading up to the Civil War. A loss for either team would dash dreams of a Holiday Bowl berth.
The Gameplay: Yet another game featuring multiple lead changes. The Beavs jumped out to a 14-point lead early on (another) Derrick Doggett pick-six early in the second quarter, but by halftime the Ducks had tied it up, and would regain the lead midway through the third. A Lyle Moevao QB keeper seconds into the 4th quarter would be the final score of regulation. A last second field goal attempt by the Ducks ended regulation.
How it Ended: Shades of 1998! After the teams traded field goals in the first OT, James Rodgers took it to the house on the first play of the 2nd OT on a jet sweep, down the right sideline just as Ken Simonton had nine years earlier. Unlike 1998 though, the Beavs still had to make a defensive stop to secure victory. Jonathan Stewart, who had rumbled for 163 yards on 38 carries, was stopped for no gain on his 39th, securing a Beaver victory.
What it meant: It meant the Beavs would finish 3rd in the conference, just ahead of Oregon. They would go on to the Emerald Nuts Bowl in San Francisco and defeat Maryland. Oregon would go to the Sun Bowl, crush South Florida, and nobody would care.
2022: Oregon State 38, Oregon 34
The Stakes: For Oregon, a win would’ve put them in the Pac-12 Championship. For us, really nothing. There was a slight pipe dream that losses by Utah and Washington coupled with a USC win MAYBE could’ve gotten us into the Rose Bowl in the most backdoor scenario possible, but I don’t think that was really realistic.
The Gameplay: So you were all there. Neither team played particularly great. OSU turned the ball over three times and struggled to pass. Oregon was a circus on special teams and epically bad on 4th down (credit to the Beaver D for some of that) and couldn’t stop the run at all. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that OSU was down 21 with three minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, allowed another score by the Ducks, and still had the lead for good with over eight minutes still on the clock in the 4th.
How it Ended: After the Beavs took the lead, Oregon mounted a 12-play, 72-yard drive that took over five minutes off the clock. The Beaver D held strong on three consecutive run plays inside the five-yard-line before Bo Nix’s final pass attempt fell incomplete. Fenwick iced the game with a couple of runs, and the fans again got to storm the field.
What it meant: Again, not much, at least in the immediate future. It sounds like we were pretty much locked into the Sun Bowl regardless. Oregon can talk all it wants about a missed opportunity at a Rose Bowl, but that team wasn’t going to beat USC the way they’re playing currently. They’re probably going wherever they were slotted before the Civil War too. What it could mean recruiting wise for OSU is MASSIVE though. Recruits saw the crowd not leave when the team was down 21 midway through the 3rd. They heard the passion of the fans with every 4th down stop. They saw the West Grandstand being built and thought “if it’s this lit in here right now, imagine when they add almost 10,000 more people next year!” The game being played on ABC meant potential recruits outside our footprint may have also gotten their first exposure to Beaver Nation and may decide to swing through on visits in the months or years to come.
So there you have it. I’ll put this year’s edition at No. 5 in my rivalry game standings. Just missing the cut were the 2006 game (Siegert blocks a kick with 20 seconds remaining to seal another upset victory for the Beavs) and 2016 (Gary Andersen’s greatest moment - beating the worst Oregon Duck team in the last 30 years at home on the legs of Ryan Nall, a kid he tried his damndest to convert to a linebacker.)
Things for Beavs to Gnaw On:
I hope that the Duck player that punched a fan is appropriately punished, but that’s at least the second time this season (USC being the other one) where we’ve had fan interactions with the opposing players. Getting to go down on the field after the game is permitted so long as we let the other team exit the field first. I’d hate to see that privilege taken away from Beaver Nation due to these unfortunate incidents. Doesn’t matter whose fault it is, we’re gonna lose that if we don’t avoid it going forward.
It was a weekend to forget for Beaver basketball, as both the men and women went winless in the PK tourneys. The women are still awaiting Timea Gardiner, the No. 4 ranked recruit in the country, who is nursing an injury. The men have shown promise, but are just too inconsistent right now to put 40 minutes of basketball together. Jordan Pope is legit though, and I thought Tyler Bilodeau looked less like a baby deer taking his first steps this weekend. If this team stays together, the next few years will be a lot of fun.
