Ducks Down Sooners, 34-33

Saturday, September 16

Eugene, Ore.

12:30 p.m.

University of Oregon

3-0 , 1-0

Oklahoma

2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Oklahoma

Oregon

Photo by: Rio Capper

09/16/06 | Football

Box Score

By: Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Dennis Dixon and No. 18 Oregon rallied for two touchdowns in the final 72 seconds and the Ducks blocked a field goal on the final play to seal a wild 34-33 victory over No. 15 Oklahoma on Saturday.

Dixon's 16-yard keeper with 1:12 left brought the Ducks within 33-27 and set up the onside kick attempt.

The Ducks (3-0) recovered the kick on their own 48, with 1:02 to go.

After a pass interference call on Oklahoma again had Sooners coach Bob Stoops shaking his head on the sideline, Dixon threw a 23-yard TD pass to Brian Paysinger with 46 seconds to give Oregon the lead.

Oklahoma wasn't done, though, as Reggie Smith returned a squib kick 55 yards to the Ducks' 27.

With no timeouts the Sooners ran one play, run into the line by Adrian Peterson, then spiked the ball with a second left. Garrett Hartley's 44-yard field-goal attempt wasn't high enough to clear the line and the Ducks celebrated.

Oregon had jumped to an early lead, but Peterson's 17-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter put Oklahoma ahead 27-20. Peterson finished with 211 yards on 34 carries, including 145 yards in the fourth quarter.

Dixon completed 26 of 41 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted twice. Jonathan Stewart, often compared to Peterson, had 23 carries for 144 yards.

Stewart asserted himself in the battle of the backs first, scoring on a short dash on Oregon's first series before the two sides traded field goals.

The Sooners got to the Oregon 2 late in the first half, but they were charged with a pair of false start penalties and holding. Oklahoma settled for Hartley's 20-yard field goal to narrow it to 10-6.

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A 38-yard field-goal attempt by Paul Martinez hit the crossbar and bounced good between the uprights to make it 13-6 at the half.

Paul Thompson's 1-yard keeper tied it at 13 in the third quarter. He finished 13-for-23 for 174 yards.

Despite Stewart's gains, his fumble in the third quarter led to a major momentum shift. On the series following the turnover, Thompson tossed to receiver Malcolm Kelly, who juggled with the ball before sprinting down the left sideline for what appeared to be a 73-yard touchdown.

But after an official's review, it was determined that Kelly stepped out of bounds at the Oklahoma 47-yard line.

Thompson went back to Kelly for a 31-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-13 with 3:48 left in the third quarter.

The Ducks re-tied it early in the fourth quarter with Dixon's 30-yard scoring pass to Jaison Williams.

Hartley added field goals from 20 and 22 yard in the final quarter for the Sooners before the Ducks staged their comeback.

The Sooners and the Ducks were playing for the third time in three years. Oklahoma won both, including last season's Holiday Bowl.

Oregon had never defeated the Sooners in six previous meetings dating to 1966. The Sooners, who had never been to the state of Oregon to play, were greeted by a record crowd of 59,269 at Autzen Stadium -- many of whom were disappointed if they chose to leave early.

Game Notes

Today's crowd of 59,269 is the largest ever to watch a college football game at Autzen Stadium, as well as within the State of Oregon. It also marks Oregon=s 44th consecutive sellout at Autzen Stadium.

Top 5 Autzen Stadium Crowds
1. 59,269, Oklahoma (9/16/06)
2. 59,129, USC (9/24/2005)
3. 59,023, Michigan (9/20/03)
4. 58,450, Stanford (9/2/06)
5. 58,334, UCLA (11/13/04)

Oregon is now (24-1) in non-conference home games under coach Mike Bellotti, and (32-5) overall in regular season non-conference contests.

Under Bellotti, Oregon is now 5-0 at home against Top 25 non-conference teams. The Ducks' last non-conference home loss was to Indiana in 2004.

This is the first time in seven meetings that Oregon has defeated the Sooners.

Wide receiver Jaison Williams' 67-yard reception in the first quarter is a career-long, surpassing his previous best of 66 yards vs. Oregon State (11/19/05). Williams had over 100 receiving yards for the second-consecutive week. Williams' 177 yards receiving is also a career-high, surpassing his 106 total yards last week vs. Fresno State.

Tailback Jonathan Stewart has rushed for over 100 yards in both of his starts this season. His 15th rush of today's game was an 11-yard carry that put him over 100 yards in the game. He did not start last week at Fresno State, but carried the ball one time for a three-yard touchdown.

Stewart now has 13 touchdowns in 13 career games played.

Quarterback Dennis Dixon's string of pass attempts without an interception was snapped at 161 today when Nic Harris intercepted Dixon in the fourth quarter of the game.

New Career-Bests: Dennis Dixon – Pass attempts (46), pass completions (26), passing yards (341.). Blair Phillips – Tackles (13)