A lot of interesting points made. But here’s one myth that needs to be thrown out immediately: This talk of “In 2008 NO ONE could stop the ducks any better than our D.” In the infamous “punch in the gut 65-38 rose bowl missed chance game” our D gave up 694 yards. Oregon only averaged 468 yards in all other games that year.
Well, it has been more than a decade, but yesterday was the day that I re-watched the 2008 Civil War.
Oregon had a bye the week before. Oregon State did not. There was an opportunity to move the game back and give both teams byes. The Ducks refused. Given the same opportunity the next year, Oregon State accepted and Oregon won 37-33. The result was the Ducks were well-rested, while the Beavers were playing their fifth consecutive weekend.
Keaton Kristick had a pinched nerve and had lost about 25 pounds from the start of the year. Kristick started the game off with a sack but tired quickly and played less and less of the game as the game went on. Oregon went three-and-out to start the game.
Quizz hurt his shoulder in the Arizona game and was out for the year. A not 100% Moevao started over a not 100% Canfield for reasons that still elude me. The Beavers got the ball first at the Duck 48 but went three-and-out.
On Oregon's second drive, Brandon Hughes dropped what looked like a surefire pick-six on 2nd-and-13. On 3rd-and-13, Hughes tried to check stone-handed Jaison Williams at the line but whiffed. Reserve safety Austin Hall was late to give Hughes help, which allowed Masoli the space to thread in a 35-yard pass (Williams' only catch of the night).
Stephen Paea had an MCL injury. The Civil War was his only missed start. He still played. On the next play, Paea uncharacteristically jumped, giving Oregon a free play. The Ducks ran play action and Greg Laybourn bit. Masoli threw it up for Ed Dickson, who had all of the real estate that Laybourn had vacated. Dickson ended up coming down with a foot in bounds at the back of the end zone a half step in front of a closing Al Afalava. 7-0 Oregon.
Oregon State looked like they had something going on the next drive, but James Rodgers was called for blocking in the back. It was a questionable call but Rodgers should never have tried to make the block in the first place. Sammie Stroughter was open on third down but Moevao threw behind him. There was a bad snap on the punt, which caused freshman Lance Mitchell, playing as an up-man on the punt to hold to avoid the punt being blocked. Hekker, trying to kick away from the pressure, shanked it. The punt only traveled 21 yards. The hold was enforced at the end of the punt, so it was an 11-yard net punt.
Oregon got the ball at Oregon State's 45. The Beavers' defense forced a third-and-four. Afalava was in the perfect place to stop Jeff Maehl on third down, but an uncalled illegal block on Afalava sprung Maehl. Laybourn knocked Maehl out after a 12-yard gain but the officials allowed Maehl to "tightrope" down the sideline for an additional seven yards. The Ducks ran hurry-up to avoid the review. On third-and-six, Keenan Lewis, David Pa'aluhi, and Dwight Roberson converged on Masoli for a sack. The Ducks converted the 38-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead.
The Beavers got their first first down in drive three and wound up scoring on a 20-yard screen pass to Jeremy Francis on 3rd-and-8 set up by a 24-yard pass from Moevao to Stroughter, where Moevao threw behind Stroughter and Stroughter made a great adjustment to make the catch. 10-7 Oregon.
Oregon ran a fake reverse on the next kickoff, which Casey Kjos smelled out for no gain at the Duck 12. Oregon set up with trips left and ran Jeremiah Johnson right. Almost everyone got sucked inside, except Lewis, who was blocked by the RT. Paea originally got checked by the RG but had ran all the way across the field and dove at Johnson only to just miss stopping Johnson for a 10-yard gain. Johnson ran 79 yards before Hughes was able to come all the way across the field to knock him out. The next play was almost identical with LeGarrette Blount replacing Johnson. This time, Kristick stayed put and forced the play up-field. Slade Norris came across from the other side of the field to whiff on a tackle. The missed tackle took Lewis out of the play. Blount went in for a nine-yard touchdown run. 17-7 Oregon.
Oregon State drove 68 yards down to the six. On first-and-goal, Patrick Chung smelt out a screen pass for a five-yard loss. On second-and-goal, both Rodgers and Stroughter appeared to be open in the end zone but Moevao tucked it and ran for seven. Brady Camp appeared open in the end zone but Moevao overthrew Stroughter instead. Justin Kahut missed a 21-yard chip shot field goal to preserve a 17-7 lead.
Masoli ran for 20 yards on 1st-and-15. The next play, Oregon ran trips left. This time, Masoli found Dickson only being guarded by Tim Clark. Masoli hit Dickson by a half-step for a 36-yard gain. The Beavers' defense only allowed six yards on the next three plays. Roberson almost forced a fumble, but the review showed that Johnson was just down. The Ducks converted a 22-yard field goal to go up 20-7.
Rodgers returned the kickoff 40 yards and was horse-collared to give Oregon State the ball at the Oregon 35. After a fly sweep to Rodgers for four, Moevao hit Camp for 20 and a first down at the 11. The Beavers ran Chris Johnson on a fly sweep for four and then Rodgers for no gain. Moevao overthrew Francis under pressure to bring up a fourth down. This time, Kahut connected on a 24-yard field goal to pull within 20-10.
Jamere Holland muffed the kickoff but recovered to return the ball to the 19. On 1st-and-10, Masoli fumbled but the ball bounced harmlessly out of bounds for a loss of one. Oregon ran a zone read to Johnson to the right. Afalava accurately diagnosed the play but missed the tackle. Laybourn ran Johnson out of bounds for a 14-yard gain. On 2nd-and-10, Aaron Pflugrad beat Laybourn for 26 yards. The next play, Darron Thomas lined up as a receiver. Hughes seemed not to notice. The Ducks ran a reverse pass to Thomas. The Sam linebacker almost was able to tackle Thomas but was a half-step too late. Maehl beat Lewis by a half-step as well for 35 yards. There was some question as to whether Maehl even caught the ball but Oregon ran hurry-up to avoid the review. Johnson ran for three yards. Pernnell Booth drug down Johnson for a loss of four. Oregon State rushed six. The Sam and Will Backer and Paea all almost got to Masoli but Masoli got the pass off just before they converged, overthrowing Dickson. The Ducks converted the 25-yard field goal for a 23-10 lead with 2:13 left.
Jairus Byrd appeared to interfere with Stroughter, but it was not called. Moevao threw high and, there being no call, Moevao was lucky that the ball was not intercepted. Moevao threw high to Stroughter again. Moevao then tried to throw to Shane Morales but hit a defender in the back instead, lucky again that the ball was not intercepted. The three plays only took off 20 seconds. Johnny Hekker got off a beautiful 54-yard punt and freshman gunner, Brandon Hardin, knocked Byrd down for no gain. Oregon was flagged for a personal foul to pin the Ducks at their 10.
Oregon ran twice for one yard. Oregon State called a timeout. On 3rd-and-9, Masoli threw the ball away, but the Pac-10 officiating crew thought that they saw Hughes touch a Duck receiver who was in the area on a clearly uncatchable ball to give Oregon a first down at the 26. The announcer said about the official, "I do not know what he saw." Norris sacked Masoli and the Ducks were flagged for a personal foul to pin the Ducks at their own 11. The Beavers called their second timeout. Johnson rushed for six. The Beavers called their final timeout. Oregon State expected pass and blitzed. Oregon called a zone read. Masoli handed the ball to Johnson. Paea, who was getting slower as the game went on, got sucked inside. The DE got sucked outside. Hall had a shot to drag down Johnson for 30 but whiffed on the tackle. Afalava could have tackled Johnson but went for the strip. He successfully dislodged the ball into the air but Johnson collected it back without the ball hitting the turf. Afalava was able to slow Johnson enough for Keith Pankey to come most of the way across the field to make a play on Johnson but Johnson was able to stiff-arm him away at the 30. Hughes finally ran all the way across to almost knock out Johnson at the five, but he was not able to get enough of Johnson to knock him out completely. 30-10 Oregon.
Moevao chose not to dump off the ball to a wide open Francis and instead tried to force the ball into Morales, who was double covered. Walter Thurmond III intercepted the ball and returned the interception 40 yards for a touchdown. 37-10 Oregon. At that point, Moevao was 10/22 for 129 yards, on TD, and a pick-six. the Ducks had out-gained the Beavers 444-170. 162 of Oregon's 254 rushing yards were on the two large Johnson runs, one of which never should have happened. 106 of the Ducks' 190 passing yards were on the long pass to Williams, which never should have happened; the long pass to Dickson; and the trick play to Maehl. Five plays of 30+ yards accounted for more than 60% of Oregon's offense. The other 34 plays accounted for 176 yards, 5.2 yards/play. (To quote Anatoly Dyatlov,"Not great, not terrible.")
Patrick Henderson returned the following kickoff 37 yards to Oregon's 48. Moevao hit a wide open John Reese for 20 and then hit Morales twice for the final 28 to cut the the Ducks' lead to 20 with nine seconds left in the half. 37-17 Oregon.
Kahut squibbed it. The ball was still live at the 19 in between four Oregon State players and Talmadge Jackson III, who managed to beat the four to the ball to maintain possession. The Ducks, having just dodged a bullet, ran out the clock on the first half.
In the second half, Oregon State went five-and-out with Moevao throwing a 16-yard gem to Reese mixed in with three terrible passes: the first batted down at the line, an overthrow to Rodgers, and a ball that was well behind Morales that Morales wound up getting clocked on. Hekker kicked a 44-yard gem, but Hardin clearly interfered with Byrd to give Oregon the ball at the the Duck 32.
Oregon only managed to get two yards on two plays. On third-and-eight, Butler sacked Masoli and caused a fumble, which Pa'aluhi scooped up and scored on. However, the referees had blown the play dead with Masoli still with the ball. The play was thus a 10-yard loss, and it was not reviewable.
Moevao still managed to lead an eight-play 72-yard touchdown drive to pull within 37-24.
Blount rushed for four. On 2nd-and-6, Butler got sucked inside, which opened up a lane for Blount to rumble through. Laybourn finally caught up with Blount 45 yards later. Blount rushed twice more for a first down at the 14. Oregon ran zone read again. Butler got sucked inside and Kristick was left on an island to tackle Masoli. Kristick missed the tackle, and Masoli strolled into the end zone. Oregon 44-24.
Moevao led an eight-play 86-yard touchdown drive to pull within 44-31.
The Beavers pinned the Ducks at their own nine after Hall was blocked in the back. Oregon rushed for nine yards on two plays, and Johnson converted a third-and-one. The Ducks held on the next two plays to give them a 1st-and-25 at their own five, which ended the third quarter.
Masoli ran on a zone read twice in a row to set up a 3rd-and-6. Masoli then threw a 15-yard jump ball to Terence Scott on the outside, which Scott outfought Lewis for. With Lewis on the ground, Scott ran 59 yards untouched into the end zone, a 74-yard touchdown pass. 51-31 Oregon.
Rodgers broke a tackle and returned the kickoff 22 yards. Two plays later, Moevao hit Stroughter for 12 yards and a first down. Rodgers then ran 27 yards on an end around for a first down at the Oregon 24. Byrd broke Rodgers' collarbone on the play, which ended Rodgers' season. McCants, who had so far rushed 9 times for 21 yards, broke one for 11 before Thurmond forced a fumble, which Jerome Boyd recovered for the Ducks. Norris tackled Blount after two yards. On 2nd-and-8, Afalava forced Pflugrad to fumble, but Pflugrad beat Afalava, Hughes, and Roberson to the ball for a loss of five yards. Masoli ran a QB draw on 3rd-and-13. After 10 yards, Pankey forced a fumble that Kristick whiffed on twice. Butler had a chance at it as well but could not cover it either. A Duck lineman got to the ball first for a gain of 12. Kristick was hurt on the play and did not return until El Paso. Isaiah Cook replaced him. Oregon punted. Stroughter had a 55-yard return down to the Duck 18.
Moevao threw high to Rodgers' replacement, Kyle Brown. Chris Johnson was caught for no gain on second down. The Ducks smelled out a screen pass on third down. Moevao threw a 13-yard pass to Stroughter for a first down at the five. Two plays later, Howard Croom was interfered with. Francis ran for no gain. Then, Moevao hit Camp for a two-yard touchdown.
Blount ran four times for two first downs with a Masoli run to break things up. All five plays were geared straight at Cook in the hole that Kristick's injury created. Oregon got cute and ran Blount twice straight at Pankey. The Beavers held the Ducks to three yards. On 3rd-and-7, Cook blitzed and was easily dispatched by Blount. With tons of room to run to Cook's side of the field, Masoli scrambled to his right. Bryant Cornell committed to tackling Masoli, but Masoli faked out Cornell to buy some extra time. Cornell recovered to be able to make a play on Masoli but could not wrap him up. Roberson bore down on Masoli from the far side of the field, but Masoli was able to get rid of the ball just before going out of bounds. Masoli was able to buy enough time for Dickson to get a step on Afalava, and Dickson hauled in Masoli's 17-yard pass. Afalava chose to try for the strip rather than to try and drag down Dickson. Afalava was unsuccessful accidentally helped shield Hughes from being able to make a play on Dickson, which sprung Dickson for what became a 45-yard touchdown pass. 58-38 Oregon.
Kjos was able to jump on a bad squib kick at the 50. Moevao hit Francis for 11 yards and Johnson for eight yards. Moevao was then sacked for a loss of 10. On 3rd-and-12, Moevao locked onto Stroughter and threw an interception that Spencer Paysinger returned 70 yards for a touchdown. 65-38 Oregon. Henderson returned the kickoff 45 yards to the Duck 43.
Moevao was sacked for a loss of nine, hit Stroughter for an 18-yard gain, and then hit Morales for four yards and a first down. Moevao then was sacked for a loss of 10 and fumbled. Brandon Bair recovered for Oregon and returned the fumble 17 yards. The Ducks ran out the clock to win 65-38.
Oregon State's halftime adjustments were better than Oregon's. The Beavers fought back to within 13 three times, just for a defensive miscue to bump the lead back up to 20.
Paea was obviously limping at the end of the game. He would not practice for more than four weeks, donning pads for the first time in the week before the Sun Bowl.
The drop-off in talent in the linebackers and defensive backfield was very noticeable, whenever one of the seven exited for a breather. Chip Kelly knew whenever any of the back seven exited and usually called a play to take advantage of the absence. When Oregon State was close to full strength, Oregon could not do much of anything, barring a lucky bounce or terrible call or no-call.
Each of the defensive backs had at least one bad play, which usually resulted in a long gainer or a big missed opportunity, which Oregon State could ill afford.
The officiating was very bad. The bounces went mostly Oregon's way.
Blount, Chung, Dickson, and Thurmond caused lots of match-up problems. Nick Reed and Max Unger were both All-Americans. Byrd, Chung, Dickson (second team to Rob Gronkowski), Jeremiah Johnson, Mark Lewis, Paysinger, Reed, Fenuki Tupou, and Unger were All-Pac-10. If Oregon State had been at full strength after a bye, the game may have turned out differently. Taking a beat up Beaver team, playing on fumes, against a 100% Oregon with a with Chip Kelly was always going to be a big ask.