Civil War Win Caps Regular Season

Saturday, November 30

Eugene, Ore.

1:00 PM

University of Oregon

10-2 , 8-1

Oregon State

5-7 , 4-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Oregon State

Oregon

Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto

11/30/19 | Football

Box Score FINAL STATS - #14 Oregon 24, Oregon State 10 Oregon Postgame Notes - Oregon State Oregon Season Stats

The Oregon football team will take a 10-2 record into the Pac-12 Championship game after Saturday's 24-10 win over OSU.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon has a 10-win season and is looking for more in next week's Pac-12 Championship game after beating Oregon State in the Civil War before 56,243 fans in Autzen Stadium on Saturday, 24-10.

On a bitterly cold afternoon, Oregon's offense only caught fire a couple of times. But that plus a kickoff return TD by Mykael Wright was enough to support a bounceback effort by the UO defense, in the last Autzen Stadium appearance for a UO senior class including the likes of Justin Herbert, Troy Dye, Shane Lemieux and Calvin Throckmorton.

The senior class became just the fourth in the era of freshman eligibility — since 1972 — to help the Ducks improve their win total in each of the final three years of their careers, from 4-8 in 2016 to seven wins in 2017, nine in 2018 and now 10 in 2019.

"Think about that for a second — 4-8 right?" UO coach Mario Cristobal said. "Now they're seniors, have a 10-win season, win the North, and now a chance to play a great team in the Pac-12 Championship. That's what your goal is when you go to a place; if a place is sustaining excellence you want to keep it there, and if a place took a hit after having so many great years, you want to be part of that group that gets it turned back around. For those guys, forever grateful in so many ways."

The Oregon Ducks take on the Oregon State Beavers at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on November 30, 2019 (Chris Poulsen/Eric Evans Photography)

The Oregon Ducks take on the Oregon State Beavers at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on November 30, 2019 (Chris Poulsen/Eric Evans Photography)

Though in control of Saturday's game throughout, the Ducks (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12) survived some harrowing moments late in the game.

Jaylon Redd lost the handle on the ball while stretching to hit the pylon, a touchback that gave Oregon State possession down 17-10 with 7:26 left in the game. After the teams traded empty possessions, Thomas Graham Jr. forced a fumble that Brady Breeze recovered, and three plays later Cyrus Habibi-Likio's 10th rushing touchdown of the year clinched it.

"Defense played outstanding; special teams were big," Cristobal said. "We didn't finish some drives (offensively); did some good things, but obviously other things were not so good. But in a rivalry, you find a way to win. Our guys are really excited we earned the opportunity to play an extra week."

After the teams traded field goals in the opening quarter, Wright returned a kickoff for a touchdown for the second time in November. Oregon went ahead 17-3 in the second quarter when Johnny Johnson III caught a touchdown pass of 29 yards from Herbert.

From there, both offenses went quiet. Oregon State struggled to move the ball much of the day, with regular starting quarterback Jake Luton out due to an injury and replace by Tristan Gebbia. The Ducks punted three times inside OSU territory in the first half, looking to minimize risk with a lead of 14 points.

Graham Jube

For a few fleeting moments of the second half, that looked like it might be costly. Oregon State pulled within 17-10 with 11:03 left in the game, and took possession with a chance to tie the score after Redd's fumble. But OSU turned it over on downs just passed midfield, and though the Ducks then went three-and-out, Graham's forced fumble set up Habibi-Likio's clinching touchdown.

Playing his final game in Autzen, Herbert was 18-of-30 passing for 174 yards, with one touchdown. Redd returned from injury to catch a team-leading five passes, for 34 yards, and Travis Dye rushed 12 times for 91 yards. Defensively, Graham, Jevon Holland and Austin Faoliu each had eight tackles, and Kayvon Thibodeaux had two tackles for loss including one sack.

Oregon State's star outside linebacker, Hamilcar Rashed Jr., who led the Pac-12 in sacks and tackles for loss, was limited to two tackles, neither behind the line of scrimmage. Receiver Isaiah Hodgins, who led the Pac-12 in touchdown receptions, was targeted just once in the first half, and finished with eight receptions for 85 yards.