Oregon Leaves It to Voters

The computer rankings and Heisman Trophy politics, all of that could wait. As the clock wound down, Joey Harrington took the final snap, took a knee and pointed toward the sky.

Moments later, the Oregon quarterback was engulfed by fans chanting his name, joyous that their team had defeated rival Oregon State, 17-14, at water-logged Autzen Stadium on Saturday to capture the Pacific 10 Conference championship and the first 10-win season in school history.

But was it enough to lift Oregon from fifth in the bowl championship series rankings all the way to the national title game at the Rose Bowl?

“We won the football game,” Harrington said. “That’s all I can do. Leave the rest to the voters.”

Truth be told--and Harrington later acknowledged as much--the Ducks had hoped for a convincing performance. Even as they assured themselves a spot in at least the Fiesta Bowl, they understood that a big win might have boosted their title chances on a Saturday afternoon when two of the teams above them lost.

Instead, they got a tenacious but slim victory in miserable conditions--the temperature dipping into the low 40s, wind swirling and gusting, rain falling in sheets. For the better part of three quarters, it was a matter of survival and little else.

Not exactly what ABC executives imagined last winter when they paid each school $600,000 to delay the game two weeks to fill an open spot in their programming schedule. At the time, the Ducks and Beavers were coming off top-10 seasons and would soon grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Oregon (10-1) held up its end of the deal, not withstanding a close loss to Stanford. Oregon State was another matter.

The Beavers lost their opener to Fresno State and it was apparent they had troubles. An inexperienced offensive line spelled frustration for tailback Ken Simonton, whose Heisman hopes quickly evaporated. Quarterback Jonathan Smith was running for cover and getting scant help from new receivers.

Still, a late charge brought Oregon State to 5-5 for the 105th edition of this intrastate rivalry called the Civil War. The offensive line showed signs of improvement and James Newson had emerged as a go-to receiver. Besides, around these parts, this game runs as hot as USC-UCLA or Michigan-Ohio State.

Hot enough to make 46,075 fans endure chilling conditions. Hot enough to make emotion take precedence over records and rankings.

So it was that Oregon State eked out a 6-3 lead over three quarters with Simonton running well, and Newson catching passes over the middle. Oregon, coming off a three-week bye, looked rusty. Tailback Maurice Morris found some room to run but Harrington was limited to short passes and his receivers dropped several balls, especially in the second half.

“We were feeling confident,” Oregon State linebacker Richard Seigler said. “We felt like we were going to win.”

A special teams play turned the momentum. A minute into the fourth quarter, Oregon’s Keenan Howry fielded a punt at his own 30-yard line, took a step to the right and saw a lane up the middle. “There’s no other feeling like that in the world,” he said.

Howry sprinted 70 yards to give the Ducks a 10-6 lead and, as if by divine recognition, the rain doubled in strength, swirling and glittering in the lights.

“Nice timing by someone upstairs,” Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti said. “I didn’t know I had that kind of pull.”

Oregon State’s offense bogged down and the Ducks got the ball back with new confidence. Harrington threw 28 yards to Howry. Morris picked his way 12 yards for another first down. The tailback had a look in his eyes--according to his teammates--and several plays later bulled through two tacklers for an eight-yard touchdown and a 17-6 lead.

“We had a chance,” Oregon State Coach Dennis Erickson said. “The turning point of the game was, of course, the punt return.”

The Beavers weren’t finished. They engineered a late drive to close the gap to 17-14, then got the ball back when Harrington fumbled on a naked bootleg. It took an interception by cornerback Rashad Bauman with less than a minute remaining to seal the game.

For Oregon State, the disappointment was manifold. The Beavers finished 5-6, one win shy of being bowl eligible. Simonton finished 29 yards short of becoming the first Pac-10 player to run for 1,000 yards in four seasons. “It’s no big deal,” he said.

Harrington, meanwhile, was adamant: No matter what the mysterious BCS computer or the Heisman voters made of his team’s performance, he was holding onto this good feeling. He spoke these words outside the locker room, still clutching a football in his arm.

“This is the one I knelt down with,” he explained. “This is the one I’m going to sleep with.”