College football fans in the state of Oregon are likely accustomed to seeing the annual “Civil War” game between the University of Oregon and Oregon State University being a one-sided affair. After all, the Oregon Ducks have won 10 of the last 11 contests between the two teams, and in Oregon’s last two wins, they’ve defeated the Oregon State Beavers by an average of more than 54 points.
And while the Ducks still defeated the Beavers by a 24-10 final score this past Saturday, the events within the game itself followed a markedly different script.
For one, Oregon State wasn’t supposed to keep the game this close after it was announced that sophomore quarterback Tristan Gebbia would start in place of senior quarterback Jake Luton, the latter of whom helped get the Beavers to a stone’s throw away from bowl eligibility. Gebbia got the start in place of Luton after the latter could not play due to an injured right forearm; the former did an admirable job filling in, throwing for 243 yards in the game, and more importantly, not turning over the football.
For another, nobody would’ve expected the Beavers to cut the Ducks’ lead to only seven points early in the fourth quarter, after Gebbia, wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins, and running back Jermar Jefferson led an Oregon State drive that would end in a touchdown, cutting Oregon’s lead 17-10 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game.
Oregon State’s defense even held up their end of the bargain, holding the highly-heralded Justin Herbert to only 174 yards passing, which was easily his lowest passing output of the season. Herbert finished the game with a Quarterback Rating of only 52.3, his lowest rating in any game Oregon won this year.
Ultimately, the Beavers’ attempts at pulling off the upset victory were undone when, after forcing Oregon to punt the ball with 2:29 left in the game (and still only leading by seven points), Jefferson caught a pass from Gebbia, and proceeded to fumble the football on Oregon State’s own 27 yard line. The Ducks recovered the football, and three plays later, Oregon running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio took the ball 20 yards for the game-sealing touchdown.
The outcome of the game bore melancholy shades for both teams. Oregon State failed to reach the six-win mark that would’ve made them bowl eligible for the first time since 2013. While there was enormous progress for head coach Jonathan Smith to be encouraged about this year, failing to get that last needed win, losing in their shootout to Washington State and blowing a fourth-quarter comeback opportunity to beat Oregon, has to still sting a bit.
On the opposite side of the field, after defeating their in-state rival for the third year in a row, Oregon heads to the Pac-12 Championship game knowing that even if they defeat the University of Utah this weekend, it’s all but certain that they’ll be left out of the top four of the final College Football Playoff rankings, as a result of their shocking loss to Arizona State University the weekend prior.
Sure, a Pac-12 title would be nothing for head coach Mario Cristobal and his team to scoff about, but knowing just how close they could have been to making college football’s “Final Four” has to leave an even more bitter taste in their mouth, in addition to the fact that they lost to Arizona State.
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