It was arguably the game of the year in college football. It was certainly further evidence that the Pac-10 is back as a national conference.After two overtimes and a touchdown with six seconds left in regulation, the Oregon Ducks outlasted Arizona 44-41 to take control of the Pac-10.
For a while, the stars seemed to align for Arizona. California upset Stanford during the the third quarter of the Wildcats' game, bumping one Pac-10 peer from Rose Bowl contention. Meanwhile, Arizona shrugged off a 14-0 deficit to take a 24-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.
However, Oregon then rallied with 17 points in the final frame, including a highlight-worthy touchdown pass from Jeremiah Masoli to Ed Dickson with six seconds left that deflated the home crowd and dispersed the students, who had emerged nearby to storm the field.
Perhaps still stunned by their defensive collapse, Arizona saw Oregon score a quick touchdown to open overtime. The Wildcats answered with a touchdown of their own but failed to move the ball in the second overtime and settled for a field goal.
The lack of offensive punch was costly as Oregon went 22 yards to the Arizona three on its first play and Masoli ran into the end zone for the winner three plays later.
With that, Arizona's magical night turn to nightmare as the only Pac-10 program never to have played in a Rose Bowl likely saw its Rose Bowl hopes dashed.
Of special intrigue, the Twitterverse was aflame with folks angry they were unable to witness the end of the game. Apparently ABC/ESPN switched to local programming in some parts rather than carry the game of the year to its conclusion. This only adds fuel to Pac-10 fans' fire when it comes to conspiracies about so-called East Coast Bias.
The Ducks now have two weeks to prepare for hosting "Civil War" rival Oregon State. With a win, they clinch the Pac-10 crown and a trip to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1994. They deserve tremendous credit for overcoming a charged Arizona crowd and rallied late but their celebrated offense disappeared for a significant stretch of the game.
The highlight of the night was definitely receiver Jeff Maehl's circus catch in the back of the end zone in the first overtime Masoli dropped a pass into the back of the end zone, well contested by Arizona's best defensive back. However, Maehl muscled his way to the ball first and corralled it safely before hitting the turf. That play changed the game, not only sending it into a second overtime but demonstrating what team actually wanted this game more on a 50-50 play like that.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
when it comes to espn and thier reporters they are east coast bias.all you need to do is watch one sportscenter to see it, so don't call it so-called east coast bias. bet your from the east coast Grummell.