Beavers, barely! OSU blocks UO field goal on final play
to preserve 30-28 win
Alexis Serna began his career as a walk-on who cost Oregon State the biggest
upset in the school's regular-season history when he missed three straight extra
points in an overtime loss at third-ranked Louisiana State to start the 2004
season.
The junior from Fontana, Calif., dotted the exclamation point on a storybook
career after that ominous beginning Friday by kicking a 40-yard field goal –
his third of the game – with 1:12 remaining in a 30-28 victory over archrival
Oregon ... more
from Kerry Eggers of The Portland Tribune.
Moore is better for Oregon St.
Seven weeks earlier, Oregon State football fans booed quarterback Matt Moore
in the midst of the Beavers' second straight loss and woeful offensive performance.
Students held up signs pleading for promising freshman backup Sean Canfield
... more
from Don Hunt of the Mail Tribune.
Special teams power Beavers
Many fans take special teams play for granted. Kickers are supposed to put the
ball between the goalposts, and defenders are supposed to keep the ball from
getting there.
It is doubtful players and fans will forget how Oregon State did those things
in Friday's 110th Civil War game at Reser Stadium ... more
from Josh Petrie of the Herald and News.
Beavers edge Civil War win
Even on a rainy day, the sun was shining on Oregon State Friday.
The Beavers likely earned their first trip to the Sun Bowl when Alexis Serna
kicked a go-ahead field goal with 1:12 to go in the final quarter and then watched
teammate Ben Siegert block a potential game-winning kick by Oregon's Matt Evenson
with 20 seconds to go Friday, giving Oregon State a 30-28 win over the Ducks
in the Civil War at Reser Stadium ... more
from John Gunther of the Coos Bay World.
Beavers find a place in Sun
The Beavers are bound for the Sun Bowl. Unofficially.
But everything seemed pretty dang official on Friday in the wake of Oregon
State's rain-splattered 30-28 Civil War football win over Oregon at Reser Stadium.
Representatives of the Dec. 29 game at El Paso, Texas, offered the Beavers
their first Sun Bowl invitation ever and OSU's first postseason ticket in two
years ... more
from Bob Rodman of the Register Guard.
Anatomy of a win: Serna's foot, Siegert's head, Vandiver's
hands
A bunch of Beavers stepped up. Even one you hardly know.
Jason Vandiver, a senior tight end all but lost on the Oregon State football
depth chart with one reception for four yards all season, caught three passes,
including his first career touchdown amid the Beavers' 30-28 Civil War win over
Oregon on Friday at Reser Stadium ... more
from Bob Rodman of the Register Guard.
OSU ... by a helmet
Oregon State defensive tackle Ben Siegert used his head in the rivalry game
and put his name in Civil War lore.
Oregon's Matt Evensen lined up to kick a potential game-winning 44-yard field
goal with six seconds remaining, but Siegert got penetration in the middle of
the line and blocked the low kick with his helmet, sealing a dramatic 30-28
victory Friday for the Beavers before a sellout, record crowd of 44,015 at Reser
Stadium ... more
from Gary Horowitz of the Statesman Journal.
Serna comes through in the clutch
Serna wasn't nervous.
Oregon State's junior place-kicker had a sense of serenity as he lined up to
attempt a 40-yard field goal in the rain Friday, with the Beavers trailing 28-27
in the Civil War at Reser Stadium ... more
from Gary Horowitz of the Statesman Journal.
Games are won and lost on little things, like kicks
Alex Karras, the legendary Detroit Lions defensive lineman, used to hate kickers.
Why? to paraphrase, it steamed him that linemen such as himself would beat their
brains out against their opponents for 59 minutes and then some little soccer
player would come in and decide the game.
Karras would have hated the 110th Civil War game, played Friday in a steady
rain at Reser Stadium ... more
from James Day of the Statesman Journal.
Beavers seem headed to El Paso
Oregon State's Civil War victory makes the Beavers virtually a lock to make
their first appearance in the Sun Bowl.
The Dec. 29 game in El Paso, Texas, is expected to feature OSU against a team
from the Big East Conference, most likely Rutgers ... more
from Gary Horowitz of the Statesman Journal.
Beavers end game on the right foot
In the end, one of the most exciting finishes in the history of the Civil War
came down to the kicking game.
With a steady rain falling at sold-out Reser Stadium, Oregon State placekicker
Alexis Serna booted a game-winning 40-yard field goal Friday with 1:12 left
to lift the Beavers to a 30-28 victory ... more
from Gary Horowitz of the Statesman Journal.
Looks like fun in Sun for OSU
Some final loose ends remain to be tied up, but it appears a football team that
was going nowhere in early October will spend its Christmas vacation at the
73rd annual Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
Bernie Olivas, the executive director of the Sun Bowl Association, conditionally
invited the Beavers to the Dec. 29 game on Friday when their 30-28 Civil War
victory at Reser Stadium gave them undisputed possession of third place in the
Pacific-10 Conference. The invite could become official on Tuesday if second-place
California is released from consideration by the Bowl Championship Series ...
more
from Brooks Hatch of the Gazette Times.
Beavers’ block party
What makes the 110th Civil War memorable isn’t only the outcome and how
it dramatically came about, but the back stories.
The image of Matt Moore carried off by the students celebrating on the field
sticks out because it was less than two months ago they booed the Oregon State
football teams quarterback and wanted him benched ... more
from Cliff Kirkpatrick of the Gazette Times.
Siegert’s blocks save Oregon State
Senior defensive tackle Ben Siegert blasted through the ‘A’ gap
and made a grade-A play on Friday to preserve Oregon State’s 30-28 victory
over Oregon at Reser Stadium in the 110th Civil War.
Siegert rushed between Oregon center Eric Steimer and left guard Palauni Ma
Sun and blocked a 44-yard field goal attempt by Oregon backup kicker Matt Evensen
with 20 seconds remaining with the right side of his helmet. The ball bounced
wildly into the end zone, touching off a wild celebration by the Beavers and
almost everyone in the record crowd of 44,015 ... more
from Cliff Kirkpatrick of the Gazette Times | Sideline
Report | Report
Card
West (OSU) might meet Big East in El Paso
It's unofficially official: Oregon State is going to play in the Sun Bowl on
Dec. 29.
Bernie Olivas, executive director of the Sun Bowl Association of El Paso, Texas,
said as much after the Beavers' crazy 30-28 victory over Oregon in Friday's
Civil War ... more
from Norm Maves Jr. of The Oregonian.
Siegert blocks Oregon's bid to beat Beavers
Ben Siegert has been hit in the head a lot in his life, but Friday might have
been the first time it felt really, really good.
Oregon State's senior defensive tackle, making his 37th consecutive start,
blocked two Oregon kicks in the fourth quarter Friday to save OSU's 30-28 win
and a Sun Bowl bid ... more
from Norm Maves Jr. of The Oregonian.
Moore sets sights high, delivers
With 3:02 remaining in the Civil War on Friday, it was too late for Matt Moore
to change his jersey number from 8 to 7.
But the Beavers' quarterback otherwise challenged himself to make like a retired
Hall of Fame quarterback best known for his ability to bring his team from behind
late in games ... more
from Jim Beseda of The Oregonian.
Beavers bask in the Sun
The quarterback who was yelling at his own student section last month and the
kicker who needed to prove once and for all that he was clutch each found redemption
Friday at Reser Stadium.
Oregon State's Matt Moore was carried off the field by some of those same students
after OSU's thrilling 30-28 victory over Oregon in the 110th Civil War game
... more
from Paul Buker of The Oregonian.
| From an Oregon Presepctive
|
What a Thriller
The Oregon Ducks (7-5) made a gallant comeback effort, but when Matt Evensen’s
44-yard field goal attempt went thud off of the Beavers’ Ben Siegert,
Oregon’s hope of beating Oregon State (8-4) ended with a 30-28 loss.
“I said this to them a second ago, ‘I’ve never been more
proud of a team in my life, victory or defeat,” said Oregon Head Coach
Mike Bellotti. “That’s a difficult one to swallow because we came
back and gave ourselves opportunities to win. Our kicking game let us down."
... more from Steve Summers
of E-Duck.
Ducks left kicking themselves
Two missed field goals and an extra point, two turnovers leading to 14 quick
points in the first half and still you have a chance to win the game at the
end?
Unbelievable ... more
from Kris Henry of the Mail Tribune.
Kicking woes doom Oregon
The Civil War came down to kicking.
University of Oregon kickers missed all three field goal attempts and had an
extra point blocked at Reser Stadium on Friday afternoon ... more
from Kevin Hampton of the Gazette Times.
Leaf leads Ducks back
Jonathan Stewart took one look at Brady Leaf in the huddle and knew the University
of Oregon football team was in good hands for the Civil War.
Leaf didn’t seem to be bothered that it was his first start as a college
player or that it was at Oregon State ... more
from Kevin Hampton of the Gazette Times.
Leaf's late play nearly nets Ducks 'W'
His lip bloody and his team beaten, Brady Leaf still managed a smile Friday
evening.
After a week of speculation that turned out to be moot, Leaf made his first
career start Friday and led a dramatic Oregon comeback that was ultimately undone
by a late field goal, as Oregon State beat the Ducks 30-28 at Reser Stadium
... more
from Rob Moseley of the Register Guard.
A kick where it hurts
There wasn't much difference Friday.
Oregon had a late comeback to lead, but Oregon State had a later one to win.
The Ducks felt good about their performance, but the Beavers felt better about
theirs ... more
from Bob Clark of the Register Guard.
Ducks take moral victory; Beavers get the one that counts
Maybe it's a testament to the modern college athlete, or at least this modern
Oregon football team, that the Ducks gave great effort Friday, and their coach
actually sounded, well, gratified, yes, but also somewhat relieved.
As if that wasn't a given, not something to be taken for granted, not even
in the Civil War ... more
from Ron Bellamy of the Register Guard.
Leaf helps Oregon rally in close loss
It was a loss and the Oregon Ducks didn’t want to call the 30-28 Civil
War defeat Friday at Reser Stadium “a moral victory” or “satisfying,”
quarterback Brady Leaf says.
But the Ducks showed some character and fight and rallied in the fourth quarter
against Oregon State, which resonated through the team, and Leaf nearly helped
the Ducks pull off the win ... more
from Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune.
Leaf, Stewart shine despite loss
All week long, the speculation was rampant. Would Oregon coach Mike Bellotti
start slumping Dennis Dixon at quarterback or backup Brady Leaf?
And what would that decision foretell for the Ducks in Friday's Civil War game
at Reser Stadium ... more
from James Day of the Statesman Journal.
With Civil War on the line, Bellotti bailed
on his players
If it was a thrill Mike Bellotti was chasing Friday, he could have just gone
for it on fourth and six from the 27 with 20 seconds left. The Oregon coach
could have called a short, three-step drop pass, trying to get a first down
and move the ball closer. Or instructed his starting quarterback, Brady Leaf,
to heave it into the end zone, up for grabs.
If it was an adrenaline rush the Oregon coach wanted, Bellotti could have sent
in backup quarterback Dennis Dixon -- ice cold -- to try to win the game. Or
he could have called a fake field goal option play with his holder and kicker
rumbling downfield. Or Bellotti could have just bungee-jumped off the new deck
at Reser Stadium during the final timeout ... more
from John Canzano of The Oregonian.
Going with backup was smart choice for Ducks and Leaf
All week, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti kept mum on his choice of starting quarterback
for the Civil War and claimed he wouldn't make a decision until Thursday.
Bellotti revealed Friday, however, that he had decided Sunday, one day after
Oregon's 37-10 loss to Arizona, to go with backup Brady Leaf rather than starter
Dennis Dixon ... more
from The Oregonian.
1 rally minus 4 failed kicks equals -2
Simple math tells you how Oregon lost Friday's game: The Ducks missed three
field goals and an extra point (10 points wasted) and lost by two.
But this 30-28 loss to Oregon State, decided by a blocked field goal as time
ran out, was more than the usual kicker-blows-it kind of finish. The Ducks'
kicking shortcomings seemed magnified by the way those kicks were missed (and
the way the Beavers made theirs) and the effort by the rest of the team that
was wasted -- and, of course, by the glaring spotlight of the Civil War ...
more
from John Hunt of The Oregonian.