Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington can only look on with despair as Oregon State and its pumped sold-out crowd count down the seconds until its 23-13 victory is complete.
CORVALLIS — On one side, there was jubilation.
On the other, tears.
Oregon’s dramatic season was tarnished by its 23-13 defeat to in-state rival Oregon State in the 104th — and most significant — edition of the Civil War.
There will be no trip to Pasadena for the 2000 Ducks.
“It’s hard now because we didn’t play our best game,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “In a championship game at the opponent’s field I don’t think you can spot them touchdowns.”
The Ducks did just that in front of a sold-out Reser Stadium crowd of 36,044, as the Beavers jumped out to an early 14-0 first quarter lead. Oregon finally cracked the scoreboard at the 7:38 mark of the second quarter on a Joey Harrington six-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 17-7, but the damage had been done.
Both teams would score once more in the second half for the final margin.
Obviously, an Oregon win would have sent the Ducks (9-2 overall, 7-1 Pacific-10 Conference) to their first Rose Bowl berth since the 1994 season. Instead, the loss has put them in bowl limbo.
The Ducks’ most likely possibility is a trip to Hawaii for either the Aloha or the O’ahu Bowls, but they still could end up in San Diego, Calif., for the Holiday Bowl or back in El Paso, Texas for the Sun Bowl.
Oregon State could have earned its first Rose Bowl berth since 1964 with the win — but only if Washington would have lost. Instead, the Huskies learned of the Civil War score, and then ran all over Washington State, 51-3, in the Apple Cup to reach the Rose Bowl.
The three Northwest schools are all Pac-10 co-champions, but Washington gets the nod because it controls the tie-breakers in the three-way tie. The first comparison is the non-conference record, with Oregon’s 2-1 mark being cause for elimination.
Then, Oregon State and Washington — who both finished 3-0 in the preseason — get matched up head-to-head, with the Huskies coming out on top due to its 33-30 victory against the Beavers Oct. 7.
The Ducks will not learn its bowl fate until Dec. 3, when the final Bowl Championship Series rankings are released and the BCS bowls selects its teams. The Beavers are still in the running for a BCS bid such as the Fiesta Bowl, which would send the Ducks to the Holiday Bowl. A USC victory over Notre Dame next weekend would help the Beavers’ cause.
“Man, I tell you what, I have nothing against El Paso or any other bowl games, but I’m not trying to go back to El Paso,” senior wide receiver Marshaun Tucker said. “Hey, Hawaii or Sun Bowl, whatever.”
Tucker admitted that even when things looked bleak for Oregon, he never stopped believing.
“We’ve been fighting from behind all year long. They could have put up 30 points and it wouldn’t have mattered to me, because I know what kind of team we got,” Tucker said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t do the type of things that we have in the past.
“But without a doubt you can say it’s a great season.”
The Ducks will have the week off to clear their heads and enjoy the Thanksgiving break before getting back together to prepare for a bowl game and a chance for the first 10-win season in Oregon football history.
