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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2000)
DAYS LEFT TO THE CIVIL WAR “They’ve been talking about our fans, been talking about our program or whatever... We’re going to let our pads do the talking Saturday.” OSU linebacker Richard Seigler “30-17.” (predicting by how much the Ducks win Saturday) UO linebacker Michael Callier Thursday Best Bet NBA: Los Angeles vs. Sacramento 5 p.m., TNT SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aoi.com Why wait any longer to find out who wins? The Oregon defense was sweating. It had to protect its slim three-point lead. The Oregon State offense was driving. Beavers quarterback Jonathan Smith had just completed ^ a 17-yard pass to wide receiver Shawn Kintner and only needed to go 40 more yards to reach the end zone. The score was 13-10, Ducks, with just 1:14 to play in the r game. Reser Stadium was in a frenzy. ABC play-by-play-man Keith Jackson’s excitement was clearly noticeable during his telecast. “That’s the kind of defensive coverage that will make the defensive coordinators search the ‘want ads’ come Sunday morning,” Jackson said of the Ducks’ “D.” Smith accepted the shotgun snap and rolled left on a second-and-six. He saw a receiver wide open down the left side of the field and gunslinged it. It appeared as though the pass would be complete, but of nowhere came Oregon linebacker Garrett Sabol. Sabol reached up and snagged the pass near the 10-yard line for the interception — his second of the game. The turnover clinched Oregon’s dramatic, come-from-behind 13-10 victory against the Beavers in the Civil War. The Ducks celebrated on the field as the Beavers shook their hands and walked off with their heads down. The 2001 Rose Bowl berth was Oregon’s to treasure. Think I’m making this up? It really happened — on a videogame. As part of rivalry week, Sony PlayStation and 989 Sports have distributed free copies of Sony PlayStation’s newest game, “NCAA GameBreaker 2001to college sports editors at schools that are involved in heated con tests this weekend. In exchange for the free game, I was to simulate the ac tion ahead of time and share the results. Well, because I’ve lost all confidence in my video-game skills since Ninten do and Sega became “un-cool,” I decided to leave it up to the computer to dictate the fate of the 104th Civil War. So it was with half-hearted seriousness that my room mate and I actually sat and watched Oregon battle Oregon State in Corvallis — albeit in a video game. The Ducks sure didn’t start out well, as quarterback Joey Harrington threw two interceptions of his own on Oregon’s first two possessions. The first turnover didn’t hurt Oregon, but the second one did, as Beaver tailback Ken Simonton made the Ducks pay when he scampered in for a 34-yard touchdown run. The Ducks would convert a Josh Frankel field goal at the end of the first half to cut the lead to 7-3 at halftime. Things didn’t start out so well for Oregon in the third quarter, either, as Smith completed a 64-yard pass to T.J. Housh mandzadeh. But the defense stepped it up when it counted and forced a three-and-out, setting up a 26-yard field goal bv Ryan Cesca. With the score now 10-3, Oregon State, I thought about just turning the game off and playing it myself, but my room mate insisted that I let this one game decide everything. Things looked bleak for the Ducks until the 2:53 mark of the fourth quarter, when Harrington found tight end LaCorey Collins in the end zone for an 18-yard score to tie the game. Then, on the Beavers’ next drive, Sabol intercepted Smith’s first pass, leading to a Frankel field goal for the final 13-10 margin. Of course, Oregon State had one last chance, but Sabol’s aforementioned second pick did the trick. Advantage, Oregon. And yes, I would have written this even if the Beavers had won. So there you go. Now that we know the outcome, whad dya say we go see what’s playing in the movie theaters Sat urday, or better yet, let’s just sleep through the whole thing... HAKUNA MATATA Nah! Jeff Smith is the sports editor of the Emerald. He can be reached at Smittside@aol.com. Scott Pesznecker Emerald Downtown Corvallis is a hotbed of Beaver belief as Saturday’s 104th Civil War draws closer and closer. Tne busy beavers _ u ■ Oregon State fans show their spirit by decorating their campus and city By Scott Pesznecker Oregon Daily Emerald CORVALLIS — Reser Stadi um stands mightily behind a line of trees on the south side of the Oregon State University campus as the setting sun turns the sky from blue to pink, and finally, to orange. The Beavers’ home venue, not at all large by Division I-A standards, looks like an over sized high-school stadium. One wouldn’t guess that its field will hold the state’s most meaning ful football game in history Sat urday. But it will, and Corvallis is in a frenzy because of it. Walking across town — which can be accomplished in minutes — it’s impossible not to notice the Beavermania which has gripped the community. “We haven’t been 9-1 in a long time,” said Bret Hopkins, an Oregon State graduate and employee at the downtown Headline Cafe. “It’s getting big ger and bigger and bigger, and all the closet Beaver fans are coming out.” Barber shops, jewelry shops, bookstores; name it, and there’s probably orange on it. Some stores paste their windows with several small orange ‘Go Beavers’ signs, while others hang flags embroidered with the school mascot — that grinning, two-toothed Benny Beaver. Then there are community members who express their Oregon State loyalty in less con ventional wavs. One downtown candy shop decorated its exteri or with a scarecrow-turned Beaver-fan, complete with a straw hat and an orange-and black T-shirt. Kitty-corner to that shop, a massive “Go Beavs!” is painted in cursive letters across the windows of another building. Orange is everywhere - at every turn, down every street. “This year is the first time that we decorated because we’re partly surprised that the Beavers are doing so good here,” said Pearl Hadder, an em ployee at Leading Floral Co. downtown. “We said, ‘Hey, lets root them on.’” “I have a blast at the football games, and I’m really glad to see that everyone’s getting so much into this,” said Jeanne Walters, an Oregon State senior and Hadder’s co-worker. “I’m really glad to see the Beavers are do ing well. I think [Dennis] Erick son has been great for the team. He’s really doing a good job, and so is [athletic director] Mitch Barnhart.” The floral shop where Hadder Turn to Corvallis, page 8A it The Ducks could be playing the Soviet national team, and riI root for the Soviets. Bret Hopkins osu graduate : , - -■ ' -■ W € fi# %SfJi'W Ducks expect better as season starts ■ Coach Jody Runge is uncertain about the status of starting guard Jamie Craighead, who ‘tweaked’ her knee in a 76-43 exhibition win By Adam Jude Oregon Daily Emerald No. 23 is back. No, not Michael Jordan again, but rather, Lind sey Dion. On Wednesday, the Oregon senior guard played in her first game since the end of the Pa cific-10 Conference season last year. Dion has been hampered by several injuries in the past 12 months, most recently with torn cartilage in her right knee. She played 10 minutes in Oregon’s fi nal exhibition game, a 76-43 stomping of National Women's Basketball League Elite at McArthur Court. “It was nice to get up and down the court and have the chance to play again,” Dion said. “My knee feels perfectly fine, but I’m sure it will be a little sore tonight.” Oregon shot 51 percent from the floor and bet ter than 45 percent from behind the arc — but senior forward Angelina Wolvert expects more. “I’m a little disappointed,” said Wolvert, who tallied 11 points and eight rebounds. “The team we played didn’t offer us problems; we offered ourselves the problems.” At times, the Ducks were slowed by the inex perience of their guards, who are still trying to Turn to Basketball, page 8A ii We offered ourselves the prob lems. Angelina WolVert Oregon forward
