Oregon football, Oregon State rivalry: Greatest wins, toughest losses of the past 40 years

The annual football game formerly known as the Civil War appears to be coming to end — maybe.

With Oregon headed to the Big Ten next season and Oregon State still working out its future, the Ducks and Beavers are not currently scheduled to play in 2024, or even beyond, for that matter.

That makes Friday's 5:30 p.m. regular-season finale at Autzen Stadium potentially the last after a run of 78 straight seasons with games between the two programs in a rivalry that began in 1894 and has been played 126 times.

It stopped being called the Civil War in 2020.

The rivalry, which Oregon leads 67-49-10, has had many entertaining and significant moments, especially in the last couple decades. Since 2000, there have been five games when both teams have been ranked. Friday will be the sixth with the Ducks No. 6 and the Beavers No. 11 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Oregon State has won two of the last three games — both via significant fourth-quarter comebacks — but the Ducks have always been better at home in the series, winning 13 of the last 14 games against the Beavers at Autzen Stadium.

Here are some of the best wins, toughest losses and one historically awful game of the past 40 years.

5 memorable wins

1994 — Ducks secure the Rose Bowl

There have been better played games and there have been more entertaining games in the century-plus history of the rivalry. But in terms of significance to Oregon football's rise to national prominence over the past 30 years, no game in the series has been more important than the 1994 Civil War.

The Ducks went to Corvallis that day knowing a win would secure their first Rose Bowl berth since 1958 and they escaped Parker Stadium with a 17-13 victory and coach Rich Brooks being carried off the field on the shoulders of his players.

The game was won when, trailing 13-10, quarterback Danny O'Neil led a 70-yard fourth-quarter drive that was capped with a screen pass to Dino Philyaw that the running back took 19 yards for the go-ahead score with 3:43 to play. The Ducks would go on to face Penn State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

“We did it,” O’Neil said. “I really can’t describe my feelings right now. I’m hyped about the game, coming from behind again means a great deal, and going to the Rose Bowl is like a dream. I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now.”

2001 — The return before the storm

In terms of singular plays, few can match the drama and importance of Keenan Howry's fourth-quarter punt return for a touchdown that led the Ducks to a 17-14 win, which secured their first out-right Pac-10 championship since 1994 and earned them a spot in the Fiesta Bowl.

Oregon trailed 6-3 when Howry sparked the Ducks with his 70-yard punt return. As the Ducks were celebrating the touchdown, the steady rain that had been falling all game turned into a full-blown down pour with 30 mile-per-hour winds.

Maurice Morris added an 8-yard scoring run with 4:36 left and Rashad Bauman had an interception with under a minute to play as the No. 4 Ducks prevailed.

"Everybody on the team knew it would take one big play," Howry said. "Luckily for me, it came on a punt return."

Quarterback — and current coach — Jonathan Smith was 20-for-38 for 252 yards in his last game as a Beaver. Ken Simonton ran for 84 yards but came 29-yards short of his bid to become the fifth player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards four times.

2008 — Ducks snuff out Beavers' Rose Bowl bid

Oregon State was a win away from going to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 1964 season.

Those dreams weren’t just dashed by Oregon, they were demolished.

The Ducks went into a sold-out and rowdy Reser Stadium and set the then Civil War record for points with a 65-38 victory.

It was Oregon’s first win against Oregon State in three years.

“To go out and ruin somebody's dreams like that, it feels real good,” Ducks receiver Jaison Williams said.

Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli completed 11-of-17 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns, running back Jeremiah Johnson ran for 219 yards and a score, and the Ducks had 694 yards of total offense.

“We as team wanted this championship so bad and the city of Corvallis has been behind us the whole way,” Oregon State defensive lineman Slade Norris said. “I feel awful we couldn't bring that in.”

2009 — The War for the Roses

For the first time in the history of the series, the path to Pasadena went through the Civil War.

The winner was headed to the Rose Bowl and the game did not disappoint, with Oregon erasing a nine-point second-half deficit to win 37-33 at Autzen Stadium on a frigid Thursday night in the first week of December.

Redshirt freshman running back LaMichael James ran for 166 yards and three touchdowns for the Ducks, who won the Pac-10 title with the victory, ending USC's seven-season reign as conference champion.

Running back LeGarrette Blount, who hadn't played since throwing a punch after Oregon's season-opening loss to Boise State, scored on a 12-yard run in the third quarter.

"I think our team was always capable of this greatness," said Masoli, who threw for 201 yards and a score and converted a pair of fourth downs on the game-sealing drive in the fourth quarter that kept Oregon State’s offense off the field.

For the second straight season, the Beavers missed their chance to secure a Rose Bowl berth with a loss in the Civil War.

2013 — Mariota leads fourth-quarter comeback

A thrilling back-and-forth game at Autzen Stadium ended when Oregon sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Josh Huff with 29 seconds to play as the Ducks won 36-35.

The second half featured six lead changes and a 27-point fourth quarter.

Mariota threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns — all to Huff, who had nine catches for a 186 yards — as the Ducks sealed their sixth straight 10-win season.

Huff also had a 12-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter on fourth-and-11 and with the Ducks trailing 29-24 with 7:56 to play.

“It is surreal,” the senior Huff said. “I didn't imagine my last game would come down like that. It is everything I dreamed of as a little kid. My dream finally came true. To leave on that note is pretty amazing."

Oregon freshman Thomas Tyner rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Quarterback Sean Mannion passed for 314 yards and two touchdowns for the Beavers, who ended the season on a five-game losing streak, their worst since dropping six straight to conclude the 1997 season.

4 memorable losses

1998 — Double-overtime mayhem in Corvallis

A prolific passing day by Oregon's Akili Smith wasn't enough to overcome a determined effort by the Beavers in their 44-41 double-overtime victory that included a premature field storming by Oregon State's frenzied fans at Parker Stadium.

Smith threw for 430 yards and four touchdowns but then-OSU walk-on quarterback Jonathan Smith led the Beavers to victory with a 303-yard performance. It was Ken Simonton, however, who scored four rushing TDs, including the 16-yard game-winner in the second overtime.

"We finally found ways to win a game where in the past we always found ways to lose them," Smith said.

The Beavers appeared to win the game in the first overtime when they stopped the Ducks on fourth-and-13. But an Oregon State penalty gave the Ducks new life, just not before fans had filled the field to celebrate, causing a 10-minute delay in the game. When Simonton ended the game for real, the fans stormed the field again, and this time they tore the uprights off of the south goal post.

The victory for the Beavers was their fifth of the season — their most since 1971 — and began a stretch where they won six of 10 in the series.

2000 — UO turnovers mar Top-10 matchup

After decades of the Civil War having little impact on the national college football landscape, here was No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 8 Oregon State in Corvallis playing for a Pac-10 championship in what was the first game between the longtime rivals when both teams were ranked.

The Ducks never made it a game, losing 23-13.

It was a disastrous day for Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington, who was intercepted five times — three by safety Jake Cookus — as he lost for just the second time in 15 career starts. The Ducks, who had been on an eight-game winning streak and were seeking a Rose Bowl berth, dropped to 9-2 and went on to play Texas in the Holiday Bowl.

"We're shocked right now," cornerback Rashad Bauman said. "We knew what was at stake. We knew as soon as the clock hit double-zero that the Rose Bowl hopes were gone."

OSU quarterback Jonathan Smith threw first-quarter TD passes of 31 and 49 yards to Robert Prescott and the Beavers improved to 10-1 for their first season with double-digit wins in program history. They went on to play Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

"When you go 10-1 at a school that has never been 10-1, and was at rock-bottom a few years ago, it doesn't get any better than that," Beavers coach Dennis Erickson said.

2020 — Ducks lost in a fog

A thick fog engulfed an empty Reser Stadium as the two rivals met during the COVID season, making it hard at times to see from sideline to sideline.

The Ducks fourth-quarter collapse wasn’t easy to watch either.

Undefeated Oregon led 31-19 going into the final frame but were outscored 22-7 down the stretch to lose 41-38.

Oregon State’s Jermar Jefferson rushed for 226 yards and two touchdowns but it was backup quarterback Chance Nolan who scored the game-winner on a 1-yard run with 33 seconds to play.

“You've got to finish a game," Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said. "We didn't finish it."

2022 — Ducks blow big lead

Too soon to rehash this one, Duck fans?

Oregon lost last season’s rivalry game in Corvallis, 38-34, after being unable to hold a third-quarter three-touchdown lead.

With a berth in the Pac-12 Championship game on the line, the Ducks led 31-10 with roughly 18 minutes left in the game when the Beavers flipped the script, scoring touchdowns on four straight possessions to rally for the victory, despite not attempting a pass in the fourth quarter.

The Ducks’ final three drives were a muffed punt at its own 13-yard line that gave the Beavers the ball at the 2, and a pair of failed fourth-down attempts — one at the Oregon 29 and another at the Beavers’ 3 with under 3 minutes to play.

"It's heartbreaking,” Oregon quarterback Bo Nix said. “Losing sucks. Losing in that way, there's no fun in it. It's miserable. But there's a bunch of ways you can learn and grow from it. It's frustrating, because we had our chances. That makes it tough. You've got to look in the mirror and own it."

1 infamous tie

1983 — The Toilet Bowl

Actually, maybe it's too soon to rehash this one.

On a wet and windy mid-November day, the 4-6 Ducks and 2-8 Beavers played to a 0-0 tie inside Autzen Stadium.

It was a game that featured 11 fumbles (six for turnovers), five interceptions, four missed field goals and 16 punts.

There were other scoreless ties in the series — five, in fact — but none in the modern era with the last coming in 1931.

The game will also forever be known as the last to end in a scoreless tie as the NCAA has since changed its overtime rules to ensure a winner.

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. 

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Top Oregon football, Oregon State rivalry games of past 40 years