[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi1l1rBVzOk]
Produced by: Will Rubin/Sreang “C” Hok
Overtime is a common event in college football nowadays, with numerous last-second finishes and SportsCenter highlights every weekend. That wasn’t always the case; contests could end in ties as recently as 1995. When the rule was introduced, fans across the country waited for their chance to see the new rules in action, and their chance came on August 31, 1996.
Under head coach Pat Hill’s leadership, the Fresno State Bulldogs were famous for their “anyone, anywhere, anytime” mentality and thus hosted the first of two games against the Ducks to kick off the 1996 season. Oregon returned quarterback Tony Graziani and receiver Patrick Johnson and was looking for a quality win to bolster their resume, but the Bulldogs wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Oregon jumped out to an early lead on an 88-yard connection from Graziani to Johnson and added another touchdown on junior Kenny Wheaton’s interception return. Fresno would eventually take a 17-14 lead in the third quarter and the teams would battle back and forth down the stretch of regulation. Late in the fourth quarter, Graziani would be called for intentional grounding – a questionable call at best – and the ensuing field goal set up the first overtime in college football history.
The Bulldogs would settle for a field goal on their opening possession of the overtime, leaving the door open for Graziani and the Ducks. He would take advantage, hitting tight end Josh Wilcox for the game winning touchdown on Oregon’s first offensive play (video of the entire overtime), and the Ducks left the field victorious by a score of 30-27.
Fresno State would make their return trip to Autzen Stadium the following year and oddly enough that game would go to overtime as well, with Oregon prevailing once again. The two teams would also put on a show in 2006 when Ducks’ kicker Paul Martinez would score on a fake field goal in the fourth quarter as Oregon won 31-24 the week before their showdown with the Oklahoma Sooners.