Ducks grit out Civil War win, 24-10 as special teams shine
Oregon used stellar special teams play, field position and a stingy defense to build a 17-3 lead by halftime, then made enough timely plays to hold on for a 24-10 win in the 123rd Civil War at Autzen Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The win brings the #14 Ducks to 10-2 as winners of the North Division, their best record since 2015. They'll face Utah or USC in the PAC-12 Championship Game Friday Night in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
Utah is in if they beat Colorado this afternoon, USC if the Utes falter, on the tiebreaker.
After the teams traded field goal drives to open the game, Mykael Wright took a kickoff at the Oregon two, made a move to elude a cluster of defenders near the 20 and broke open for a 98-yard kickoff return, his second TD return of the year.
That made it 10-3 with 2:47 to play in the first quarter.
At the start of the second period Jevon Holland shook off a tackle and found a lane up the left sideline, returning an OSU punt 25 yards down to the Beaver 39.
Troy Dye squirted for 11 yards behind blocks by Penei Sewell and Shane Lemieux, then Justin Herbert found Johnny "Yamms" Johnson in the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown. JJIII made a terrific catch in tight coverage.
Herbert was erratic in the first half, 8-17 passing for 82 yards, missing high, low and wide. He appeared to be out of rhythm and unsure of his footwork. He did find Josh Delgado for a 28-yard completion behind great pass protection on the opening field goal drive.
The defense did a solid job stopping the OSU running game in the first half, forcing numerous obvious pass situations, holding the visitors to -0-6 on third downs in the first two quarters.
Blake Maimone pinned the opposing offense deep with some terrific dead leg punting, dropping punts at the two, five and 13 as the Oregon offense enjoyed a huge advantage in field position.
On their first drive of the third quarter Oregon marched 78 yards in 12 plays behind hard running by Travis Dye and CJ Verdell. Herbert picked up a key first down hitting Ryan Bay on 4th and 4 in tight coverage, a clutch catch by the reserve tight end, but the senior QB missed badly when he had Juwan Johnson wide open in the right corner of the end zone on third and goal from the six. Camden Lewis' field goal attempt hit the upright and bounced away. The drive wore the clock down to 6:11 but produced no points.
Oregon State found some momentum late in the third. The Ducks had missed too many opportunities and let them hang around. Two big plays got the ball to the UO 48 before Kayvon Thibodeaux knifed in to stuff a running play. A third down slant to Trevon Bradford gained 8, 4th and 2. The crowd got noisy, the Beavers disorganized, forced to call time out. Ball at the Oregon 40. Piped in music ramped up the crowd. OSU drew an illegal procedure penalty and set up to punt, a wobbly kick Holland downed at the 18. Threat averted.
Herbert finally got going late in the third with completions for first downs to Jaylon Redd and Bryan Addison, but a sack stalled the drive, even though Travis Dye got a chunk of yardage back with an underneath throw. Still, the three completions moved the ball out near the 40 and Maimone continued his hot kicking streak with an punt that started OSU at the 13. He continued to force them to make long drives to score, and the defense finished the job.
While the Oregon players danced to "Shout," the Beavers regrouped. They put together another drive to start the fourth quarter, Gebbia making the biggest play himself breaking out of the pocket on a 15-yard scramble down to the 38. Two plays later Jermar Jefferson bounced out of tackle and scooted 19 yards for a touchdown to make it 17-10.
The Oregon offense, slipshod and inconsistent all game long, suddenly faced a situation with the momentum lost and 11 long minutes to go in the game. An upset was staring them in the face, a second straight flat performance against a less-talented team.
After a kickoff fair caught by Hunter Kampmoyer at the 30, Herbert brought them out. His fine Oregon career, some said, lacked signature moments, times where he took over a game and made plays to win it.
A circle throw to Verdell gained just three. Herbert kept! Blasted by three tacklers at the 39, his 6-yard gain set up 3rd and 1. He rolled right and hit Ryan Bay, who held on for the first down despite close coverage.
On first down the pocket broke down and Herbert scrambled for 18 yards down to the 29. Two keepers, and two key gains. Verdell stuff on first down, then an out route to an open JJIII sailed wide. 4th and 6 from the 25, Herbert found Addison on a crossing route for 17 down to the 8.
From there they ran the motion right/Fake Jet Sweep/break left pass to Jaylon Redd who found running room down to the goal line after an easy toss from Herbert.
Always an effort player, Redd dove for the pylon. Officials signaled touchdown, but upon review ruled he lost possession of the football just before it hit the pylon. Touchback. Signature moment denied.
The Beavers took over at the 20 with 7:24 to play. Gebbia got a first down on third and 5 connecting on a slant route, then another on 3rd and 6 with an out to Isaiah Hodgins.
The drive stalled when Thomas Graham tackled Jefferson short of the sticks on 4th and 5.
Oregon took over near midfield with 3:35 to play, a chance to pick up a first down and run out the clock.
Two carries by Dye gained 7 yards, setting up 3rd and 3 at the OSU 47. 2:36 on the clock. A reverse to Felix was sniffed out and stuffed. 4th and 4 at the 48 with a touchdown lead. Maimone, who had been sharp all day, was called out to punt. He pooched one out of bounds at the 15.
Isaac Slade-Matautia batted the first down pass in the air and nearly intercepted it.
Second down, Jefferson gathered an underneath throw and broke right into the open with blockers around him. He tried to hurdle Thomas Graham and dropped the ball. Brady Breeze alertly scooped up the fumble at the OSU 28, just over two minutes to kill.
Cyrus Habibi-Likio got a huge hole over the right side and burst free for a 20-yard touchdown and a 24-10 lead. More dancing at Autzen and a 10-win season.
The Beavers ran a double reverse and faked a triple reverse on the ensuing kickoff but Brady Breeze stayed home and made the tackle at the 22. An unnecessary roughness penalty advanced the ball to the 35, then Tongai made a terrific catch over the middle for 13 yards. Gebbia connected on a out route to his versatile tight end for 9 more. B.J. Baylor ran for three. Gebbia clocked a pass into the ground, then took a sack on third down by senior Lamar Winson jr. and Kayvon Thibodeaux. A fourth down pass fell incomplete, and the Ducks sealed double digit wins for the first time since Marcus Mariota packed up for the NFL combine.
Travis Dye led all rushers with 12 carries for 91 yards. It was a gutty, gritty Civil War win, a bit like the 1994 game when Oregon pulled it out with a fourth quarter screen pass to Dino Philyaw to earn the Rose Bowl. The Ducks weren't sharp offensively but they made enough plays to win.
The defense earned their 7th game holding an opponent to 10 points or less, keeping the OSU offense in check with the aid of Maimone's punting. Gebbia and company ground out 380 yards, but a lot of it was on their own end of the field.
"In rivalry games," Mario Cristobal said after the game, "You find a way to win and keep moving forward."