Beavs can't stop Ducks in Civil War loss

A DEFENSE THAT couldn't stop big play after big play. Successful halftime adjustments by OSU on D, so key to the Beaver success this season, didn't materialize. And the defense ultimately had few answers for the Oregon attack, Meanwhile the Duck defense made enough plays with their backs up against the wall to win big, 65-38, and deny the Beavs their third consecutive win in the Civil War.

The backbreaker came at the end of the first half, with the Ducks scoring 14 points in a matter or moments to go up by 27 points.

With Oregon up 23-10 and facing third and forever, the Beavs had used two timeouts to try and get the ball back.

But Jeremiah Johnson raced 83-yards on a simple dive play and the Ducks were up 30-10. With less than a minute to go, Oregon State stayed aggressive and went up top but Lyle Moevao threw into double coverage and the Ducks went pick-6 to build a 27 point lead and end the Beavs' Rose Bowl hopes.

Oregon State, somehow, used just 26 seconds to get into the end zone off a big kickoff return by Patrick Henderson but the Beavs still trailed by 20 going into the break.

The Beaver defense, so impressive over the year with a habit of giving up sub-300 yard totals in total offense, had surrendered 442 yards of total offense before halftime. Shockingly, they gave up nearly 700 yards of total offense in the game.

Oregon State's offense had their own obstacles to deal with -- they had problems in the red zone early and simply did not cash in enough on scoring opportunities when presented.

An inability to run the ball by Oregon State, with star RB Jacquizz Rodgers (shoulder) on the bench and unavailable, made the Beav offense one dimensional.

And the OSU o-line lost more battles to the Duck defensive front seven, better on Saturday than advertised, than they won.

Oregon State in the early moments of the second half was robbed on a blown call of a fumble return for touchdown but made things a little more interesting on their next offensive possession -- Moevao hit tight end Joe Halahuni (first career touchdown) on third down and goal in the end zone. The drive was highlighted by a long catch by Sammie Stroughter and brought the Beavs to within two scores.

But Oregon State could get no closer, trading touchdowns with the Ducks on subsequent possessions.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Beavs trailed by 13 but surrendered yet another big gainer, this one a Duck 76-yard catch and run, and thoughts of a 21-point comeback were again put out of reach with the clock continuing to wind down.

With 8:34 to go, Moevao hit Brady Camp in the end zone to close the gap to 51-38 but Oregon pounded out a few more first downs before another long touchdown pass and run and an interception return for score closed it out.

The more likely bowl scenario for the Beavs looks to be the Sun Bowl with Oregon State tied for second place in the conference with Oregon, but the Ducks holding the tiebreaker edge.