OREGON ST 3/0/0/7 - 10
OREGON 10/7/0/7 - 24
EUGENE, OREGON - On paper, the 2019 Civil War should have been a lopsided victory in favor of the No. 14 Oregon Ducks against the unranked 5-6 Oregon State Beavers. However, with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Beavers were down by just seven points with possession of the ball. Thankfully, the Duck defense came up big by forcing the game’s only turnover, three plays later Cyrus Habibi-Likio ran into the end zone to give Oregon a 14-point lead with 1:15 in the fourth.
Oregon took the opening possession 56 yards before stalling at their rival’s 14-yard line due to a false start and a couple of incomplete passes from Justin Herbert, but freshman kicker Camden Lewis was able to salvage the drive with a 32-yard field goal. Oregon State had a lot going against them in the hellish confines of Autzen stadium. including the absence of redshirt senior quarterback Jake Luton who suffered a forearm injury against Washington State the week before, but backup Tristan Gebbia stepped in confidently; the redshirt sophomore successfully converted on fourth-and-short during a 12-play, 63-yard drive that tied the score at three apiece with Everett Hayes’ 40-yard field goal.
Then Mykael Wright took over the game by returning the proceeding kickoff 98 yards to give the Ducks a 10-3 lead; it was the freshman’s second touchdown return of the season, the first came against USC just before the half. The Duck D forced back-to-back three-and-outs to preserve their lead, then Herbert took advantage of a good return from Jevon Holland by using just two plays to score. Johnny Johnson III, fresh off of a career game in a losing effort against Arizona State, brought in the 28-yard touchdown reception.
After reaching a 17-3 Duck lead, the Civil War came to a standstill as both offenses struggled to extend their drives; the two teams combined for five consecutive punts before Oregon State eventually ended the first half by running out the clock.
Oregon State was forced to punt on their opening possession of the second half, and the Oregon run game barreled towards the red zone before an incomplete pass on third-and-goal led to another Lewis field goal attempt, and from 24 yards out the freshman missed wide left.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, but the Beavers were able to cut the lead to seven early in the fourth through a combination of positive plays from Gebbia and standout running back Jermar Jefferson, the later of which found the end zone on a 19-yard touchdown run. The Oregon offense rallied by marching down the field 70 yards in nine plays, but disaster struck when Jaylon Redd fumbled the ball out of the end zone, resulting in a turnover.
The Duck defense did their part by ending a promising Oregon State drive with a crucial stop on fourth-and-five, but once again the offense failed to pick up a fresh set of downs. Punter Blake Maimone pinned the Beavers at their own 15 and suddenly Oregon State had an opportunity to force an overtime or even win the game. Isaac Slade-Matautia broke up a pass intended for Trevon Bradford on first down, then OSU’s upset bid fell apart on the next play as Jefferson attempted to leap over Thomas Graham Jr, but caught his foot and fumbled the ball as he crashed down on the field. Brady Breeze recovered the ball, then three consecutive handoffs to Habibi-Likio finally gave the Ducks back another touchdown.
Habibi-Likio’s 20-yard touchdown run essentially iced the game for Oregon, but Avalos’ squad ended the match with an exclamation point by keeping little brother out of the end zone in garbage time to solidify their 24-10 Civil War victory. Cristobal and the coaching staff now turned their attention towards the PAC-12 Championship game against the 11-1 Utah Utes.
"Defense played outstanding; special teams were big. We didn't finish some drives; 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."
- Mario Cristobal
Oregon Offense (total: 365 - pass: 174 - rush: 191)
Oregon State Offense (total: 380 - pass: 243 - rush: 137)
Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 1 - FUM: 1)
Oregon State Defense (forced turnovers: 1 - FUM: 1)
UO (10-2, 8-1) OSU (5-7, 4-5)