The Oregon football team nearly reversed a trend in recent history by almost being the first visiting team to win the Civil War since 1996, but three failed field goal attempts, including one blocked in the final seconds, sealed the Ducks’ fate in a 30-28 loss Friday.
Senior kicker Paul Martinez missed two field goal attempts in the second quarter and had an extra point attempt blocked in the fourth quarter.
That led Oregon coach Mike Bellotti to bench Martinez in favor of sophomore backup Matt Evensen with the game on the line.
Evensen’s attempt from 44 yards with 20 seconds remaining was low and blocked by Oregon State defensive lineman Ben Siegert.
“It felt like a good kick off my foot and then (I heard) that dreadful sound,” Evensen said.
“I wasn’t ready until the coach told me that I was going to be kicking. I didn’t think I’d be put in that position but it’s part of the job – you’ve always got to be ready.”
Said Bellotti: “That’s a difficult one to swallow because we came back and obviously gave ourselves opportunities to win and our kicking game let us down.”
The Ducks were fortunate to be a position to win the game, however, as they trailed 27-14 midway through the third quarter.
Oregon responded with touchdowns on consecutive possessions including a 57-yard drive that ended with a 26-yard touchdown reception by senior wide receiver Jordan Kent on a floating pass from first-time starting quarterback Brady Leaf with 3:07 remaining. Leaf’s successful two-point conversion keeper gave the Ducks a 28-27 lead.
Leaf finished a career-best 25-of-42 for 274 yards and one touchdown. He shook off an interception in the second quarter that was returned for a touchdown, giving Oregon State a 17-7 lead.
“Give Brady Leaf credit for coming in and leading us, shaking off an interception in the first half,” Bellotti said. “I’m proud of him.”
Leaf started in place of struggling quarterback Dennis Dixon who started the first 11 games but had thrown one touchdown and eight interceptions in the previous five games.
Leaf’s favorite target all afternoon was Kent, who caught four passes for 102 yards.
“You felt his confidence transpire to you,” Kent said of Leaf. “Everybody just felt like when it was their turn to make a play, they could.”
Despite starting for the first time, Leaf said the jitters didn’t affect him once he took his first snap.
“It was fun,” Leaf said. “I love playing in games like this. That’s why I came to Oregon.”
He added: “You could tell that I was first-time starter there at times, definitely. I feel like the (entire offense) had my back the whole time.”
The decision to start Leaf for the game was made last Sunday by Bellotti but the team didn’t alert any outsiders until the day of the game.
Although Bellotti was proud of Leaf’s performance, he declined to name Leaf the starter for Oregon’s bowl game, saying that the position will continue to be evaluated but that “there’s a possibility he would start” based on his performance against Oregon State.
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