A Win for the Ages

Week 3

In my 40+ years of watching Oregon State Football. I have had the great luck to witness in person many of the greatest games in school history and all three wins vs USC over the last 40 years. I was 9 years old the first time I saw USC in Corvallis. My brother was attending OSU and I spent many weekends on campus having a great time pretending to be a college student. It was those days that made me want to become a Beaver Believer myself, attending every home game from then till graduation in 1981. And although other opportunities in life have kept me attending games right after graduation. Since coming back to Oregon in the late 80's, I have not missed many games.

When Mike Riley came to Corvallis in 97 I could tell right away that something special was about to happen to the program. Mike got it started and Dennis Erickson brought it home. Since 97 I have not missed a home game and have the luck of attending two of the 5 bowl games.

Since 97 the Beavers have been to 5 bowl games in 8 years and never had fewer then 5 wins in a season. The bar has been raised as to the fans expectations on the field and it should be. The program is growing, new facilities, more exposure nationally and more revenue for the University. When I hear all the bad talk going on about how poor the program is or how bad a player or coach is I wonder? Where were these people prior to 1997? Don't they remember just how bad it was? 28 straight losing seasons. They only sold 6 to 7 thousand season tickets each year. Attendence averaged in the mid 20's for a home game. The big excitment each week was to see if the Beavers could hang onto the #1 ranking in the bottom ten.

Over the last nine seasons we have enjoyed watching our team climb to a #4 national ranking in the top 10. We have beaten twice each, two of the most respected and storied programs in college football history. Notre Dame and USC. We have won a PAC-10 championship, won 3 bowl games and seen the construction of a beautiful new football practice facility and stadium.

The future of football at Oregon State is bright. It is our job as fans and supporters of the program to continue to cheer on these young men, support the program through ticket purchases and travel to away games.

The administration at OSU is committed to continuing the success on the field and off the field. Will we continue to be successful? Yes and no, all programs go through droughts. Florida State is having one, Nebraska has had them and so has USC. We as fans just need to keep the faith and scream as load as we can at every game.

So hear are my greatest games of the past years in no particular order.

1. OSU 3 #1 USC 0 - 1967 - By the way the Beavers were 3-2 entering that game and had lost to Washington and been blown out by BYU.

2. OSU 20 Duke 16 - 1942 - Rose Bowl win at Duke because of WW2

3. OSU 21 Washington 20 - 1985 - Beavers had been losing for 14 years and had not been to a bowl game since 1965 Rose Bowl. They had only 21 wins in 14 seasons. Huskies were 38 point favorites to win and OSU set an NCAA record for upset margin.

4. OSU 17 Cal 7 - 1999 - guaranteed a winning season for first time in 28 years.

5. OSU 44 Oregon 41 - 1998 - Double Overtime, fans rush field thinking game is over but its not. Fans line field as Ken Simonton scores winning TD. What a game.

6. OSU 31 - USC 21 - 2000 - First win over USC since 1967 Giant Killers Upset of #1 ranked USC 3-0.

7. OSU 23 - Oregon 13 - 2000 - Both Schools come into game ranked in the top 10 nationally. An OSU win means a share of pac-10 title and possible trip to a major bowl game.

8. OSU 41 - Notre Dame 9 - 2001 Fiesta Bowl - First ever meeting between two schools. Notre Dame is the school with the storied past and OSU is a team with a great story. The Phoenix paper reads the next moring. "Tradition takes a beating Oregon State 41- Notre Dame 9"

9. OSU 38 - Notre Dame 21 - 2004 Insight Bowl - Notre Dame fans were talking trash before game that 2001 Fiesta Bowl was a fluke. That they would beat the beavers easily. "Tradition takes a beating - Part 2"

10. OSU 33 USC 31 - 2006 - Beavers had been stinking it up and had been blown out by the previous ranked teams they had played. Beavers dominate trojans for 2.5 quarters and hold on in one of the most exciting games I have seen to win the game on the last play of the game.

GO BEAVERS!