College Football Old School Game of the Week: Oregon Clinches 1st Rose Bowl Berth in 37 Years With Win over Oregon State

Oregon fans celebrate on the goalposts of Oregon State's Parker Stadiums following the Ducks win over the Beavers in 1994.

As the first month of the 1994 college football season progressed, things looked bleak for the Oregon Ducks.

Back-to-back losses to Hawaii and Utah had many Oregon fans calling for the dismissal of head coach  Rich Brooks, who was in his 18th year as the Ducks' head coach, who had complied only six winning seasons and three bowl appearances during his tenure in Eugene.

But after the 1-2 start, the Ducks began to turn things around thanks to in large part to their "Gang Green" defense as wins over Iowa, a ranked USC team and California pushed Oregon to over the .500 mark as their record improved to 4-3 when they hosted #9 Washington.

That is when the Ducks shocked the Huskies 31-20 as quarterback Danny O'Neil led the Ducks on a 11-play, 98-yard touchdown to give Oregon the lead late in the fourth quarter that was preserved when Kenny Wharton ran a Washington interception back 97 yards for a touchdown that would become known in Oregon lore as "The Pick".(To read all about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/college-football-old-school-game-of_10.html)

The following week, the Ducks knocked off the #11 ranked Arizona Wildcats 10-9 which gave Oregon its first appearance in the AP poll at #21 as wins over Arizona State and Stanford pushed the Ducks to the brink of a Rose Bowl bid for the first time since 1957 as they needed to beat their intrastate rivals, the Oregon State Beavers, to earn a spot in the "Grandaddy of Them All."

Even though the Beavers came into the game with a 4-6 record, they were still a dangerous foe for the Ducks as they had defeated Oregon three of the previous six years and featured a wishbone offense that averaged nearly 221 yards per game, which was third best in the country.

Add in the fact that the game was played at Oregon State's home field in Parker Stadium and that the conditions were horrible as gametime temperature was 37 with winds of over 20 miles per hour and the Ducks had their work cut out for them if they were going to secure a trip to Pasadena.

After stopping the Beavers on a 4th down, the Ducks got the ball at their 35-yard-line as six straight running plays gained 42 yards until O' Neil attempted a pass on 3rd & 9 at the Oregon State 23-yard-line which fell incomplete.

However, Beavers linebacker Cory Huot jumped offsides on the play, giving the Ducks five free yards but more importantly, another chance to get a 1st down with a 3rd & 4.

That is when O' Neil found a wide open Dino Philyaw for an 18-yard touchdown to give Oregon a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

The score was still 7-0 early in the second quarter when Beavers defensive back Larry Bumpus blocked an Oregon punt that was recovered in the end zone by backup wide receiver Chris Cross to put Oregon State on the scoreboard.

But Randy Lund's extra point attempt would bounce off the left upright to keep the score at 7-6 in favor of the Ducks with 12:29 remaining in the second quarter.

Oregon quarterback Danny O'Neil would complete only 11 of 25 passes for 173 yards, but two of those passes would go for touchdowns.

Later in the second quarter, the Ducks got the ball back at their 47-yard-line following an Oregon State punt and were able to the Beavers' 16-yard-line, thanks in large part to a 17-yard pass from O'Neil to Cristin McLemore and a pass interference penalty on Beavers cornerback Reggie Tongue.

However, the Ducks could go no further as two incomplete passes and a Philyaw run that lost a yard would force Oregon to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Matt Beldin which increased their lead to 10-6 with 1:10 remaining in the first half.

Oregon seemed poised to extend their lead early in the 3rd quarter as they drove to the Oregon State 34-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 2 when Brooks decided to go for the 1st down, only to have O'Neil fumble the football which he recovered but not before an one-yard loss and a turnover on downs.

Taking over at their 35-yard-line, the Beavers would quickly move into Oregon territory as Oregon State quarterback Don Shanklin completed a 25-yard pass to running back Cameron Reynolds to give the Beavers a 1st down at the Oregon 40-yard-line.

After an offsides penalty on the Ducks, the Beavers would run the ball seven straight times with the last run being an one-yard touchdown by Shanklin to give Oregon State a 13-10 lead with 6:01 to go in the third quarter.

As the fourth quarter began, the Beavers were faced with a 4th & 2 situation at the Oregon 14-yard-line when Oregon State head coach Jerry Pettibone decided to go for the 1st down instead of attempting a field goal into the stiff wind.

The gamble would backfire as Shanklin tripped over the right foot of his guard Darrin Borter and was tackled for a six-yard-loss to end the drive and keep the score at 13-10 in favor of Oregon State.

Oregon would have a chance to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter as Belden would attempt a 35-yard field goal but he missed it to keep it at 13-10 as the "Gang Green" defense would force a Beaver punt to give their offense the ball back at their 30-yard-line with 4:42 left in the game.

Things seemed hopeless for the Ducks as their offense had been stymied by the Oregon State defense as O'Neil had completed only seven of 20 passes for 98 yards up to this point.

They were also hurting as O'Neil was a little woozy after he tried to hurdle a defender on the Ducks' previous possession and their top receiver, McLemore, had been in the locker room to get a x-ray on his left hand.

But with a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line, O'Neil and McLemore would get it out and help make history with the Ducks' next offensive possession.

The drive would begin with O'Neil hitting McLemore on a crossing route for 31 yards to give Oregon a 1st down at the Oregon State 39-yard-line.

O'Neil would go back to McLemore for four yards on 1st down, then threw an incomplete pass on 2nd down to set up 3rd & 6 when O'Neil found McLemore again on another crossing route this time for 21 yards and a 1st down at the Beavers' 14-yard-line.

After a false start penalty on tight end Justin Wilcox, O'Neil would complete a screen pass to Philyaw, who then ran it in for a 19-yard touchdown to complete the five-play, 70-yard drive and give Oregon a 17-13 lead with 3:43 to go in the game.

Dino Philyaw would score the game-winning touchdown in the 1994 edition of the "Civil War".

The Beavers would start their ensuing possession at their 15-yard-line with one last chance to pull off the upset as the offense picked up a few yards before Shanklin completed a 31-yard pass to Jason Berry gave Oregon State a 1st down at the Oregon 49-yard-line.

Three running plays for nine yards would set up a do-or-die 4th & 1 at the Ducks' 40-yard-line when the most controversial play of the game happened.

Shanklin took the snap and tried to sneak for the 1st down only to fumble the ball and have it recovered by the Oregon defense.

However, officials ruled that not only was there no fumble, but Shanklin had made the 1st down before the ball loose, giving the Beavers a fresh set of downs at the Ducks' 39-yard-line with a little over two minutes remaining.

A seven-yard pass to Joe Douglass followed by a seven-yard run by J.D. Stewart gave the Beavers a 1st down at the Oregon 25-yard-line as Shanklin would run for four yards, then spiked the ball to stop the clock with less than a minute to go as Oregon State prepare to face a 3rd & 6.

Shanklin would try to throw for the 1st down but his pass intended for a diving Reynolds was just out of his reach to bring up 4th & 6 when Shanklin underthrew a pass for Douglass which fell incomplete to give the ball over on downs to Oregon with 34 seconds to go.

O'Neil would take a knee to run out the clock as Oregon fans would storm onto the Oregon State field as their beloved Ducks were victorious over their arch rivals 17-13 but more importantly were the Pac-10 champions and were going to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 37 years.

The heartbreaking loss to the Ducks would end the Beavers' season with a 4-7 record as Oregon State would win only three games over the next two seasons leading to Pettibone's dismissal as head coach.

As for the Ducks, the clock would strike midnight at the Rose Bowl as they were beaten by Penn State 38-20 despite a 465-yard performance by O'Neil as Oregon finished the 1994 season ranked #11 in both the AP and coaches polls.

One month later, Brooks would resign as Oregon head coach as he would move on to the NFL and become the head coach of the St Louis Rams as offensive coordinator Mike Belotti would take over as Ducks head coach.