About 90 days ago, I watched all the way from Chicago as the Ducks were dismantled by Boise State on national TV to open the season.
I distinctly remember thinking that our BCS hopes were dashed. I even remarked to a friend, “Well, there goes our season.”
Shows how much I know.
The Ducks are headed to Pasadena, Calif., as Pacific-10 Conference champions after a thrilling 37-33 victory over Oregon State, and what a savory victory it was.
If the Ducks have proven one thing this season, it is that they are never out of a game. We saw it against Arizona, we saw it against Washington, and we even saw it in a loss at Stanford (albeit a bit too late).
So, when Thursday night’s game began with a personal foul, a Jeremiah Masoli interception, and a Beaver touchdown, did I start to panic?
Nope.
How about when the Beavers marched down the field to start the second half and scored to take a nine-point lead?
Not a chance.
This Oregon team has proven too many times that it is capable of striking back in the blink of an eye, and did it again last night. As usual, Masoli and freshman running back LaMichael James were the catalysts.
Having been bottled up for much of the game, James finally broke loose near the end of the third quarter for a 52-yard touchdown. As the fourth quarter began to wind down, it was the quarterback’s turn.
Faced with a fourth and three with the Ducks just out of field goal range, Masoli dropped back to pass. The play quickly broke down, but Masoli calmly took off running to his right. He was met by safety Lance Mitchell, but turned his back to absorb the hit and simply kept on chugging to finally gain the first down.
It was a play only Masoli could make, and it showed once again that he is simply at his best when it matters.
Of course, the defense should not be forgotten here either. Sure, they gave up 33 points and seemed flummoxed by Beaver quarterback Sean Canfield at times, but they too stepped up when the game was on the line.
With the Ducks clinging to a four-point lead and the Beavers threatening in Oregon territory, defensive end Kenny Rowe came up with a huge sack to set up a fourth-and-15 situation for Oregon State. The Beavers were forced to burn a timeout, and elected to go for the first down. Again, the defense dialed up the intensity and forced an incompletion.
It may not have been the defense’s best game, but they deserve applause for coming through when they really needed to. They were given an opportunity to make their mark on the game, and did so emphatically.
It was a game of opportunities, and another player who made the best of them was LeGarrette Blount. It was a long time coming for the much-maligned senior, and seeing him bowl over defenders and gallop 12 yards into the end zone in the third quarter had to be a sight for many sore Duck eyes. I know it was for me. I’ve always believed that Blount deserved another chance, and what better of a time for him to find redemption than a Civil War with the Rose Bowl on the line?
Many commentators talked about the storybook scenario this Civil War set up. If Oregon State was to win and bounce the Ducks from the Rose Bowl, it would have returned the favor to Oregon from a year ago. Yet, what happened Thursday night was a real storybook ending. Blount, written off by many after the Boise State incident, came back in the final game of the regular season and scored a touchdown.
More importantly the Ducks, who were also cast aside by many at the beginning of the year (including me), now find themselves in sole possession of the Pac-10 title and are headed for a sunny New Year’s Day in Pasadena. Personally, I couldn’t have scripted it any better.
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