Beavers grind out 26-24 win over Boise State

By Brooks Hatch
Staff writer

CORVALLIS — It was the defining moment for an offense still searching for consistency and a sense of identity.

Clinging to a 26-24 lead against upset-minded Boise State, Oregon State's embattled offense ground out four first downs and ran off the final 7:32 of the fourth quarter on Saturday to preserve a well-earned victory before the customary sellout at Reser Stadium.

The Beavers converted three third downs and a critical fourth-down opportunity in the drive, which had reached the Bronco 16-yard line when time expired.

Junior quarterback Derek Anderson's leap over the pile on a fourth-and-inches from the Boise State 20 resulted in the clinching first down with about 1:45 remaining.

Anderson fumbled at the tail end of the play, but the officials had already ruled that his progress had been stopped and the chains should be moved.

"I thought I was falling backwards when I dropped it,'' Anderson said. "I hope so. As far as going for it right there, we had the ball forever toward the end, (and we thought) let's just finish it off.''

Three plays later the Beavers had their 17th — and closest — consecutive non-conference home victory.

"There's no doubt that there was a lot of football played under pressure,'' OSU coach Mike Riley said afterward, his eyes made bleary by the back-and-forth nature of an entertaining, nearly turnover-free encounter.

"You have to be able to make plays, get stops, make a kick, protect, run ... all those things under pressure become different. That was a hard game, but it was good game.

"There is a reason (Boise State) has won 13 games in a row. I don't care about the competition. They're a good team and we beat them and it was hard."

Anderson continued his post-Fresno State renaissance by completing 19 of 37 passes for a personal-best 408 yards, the third-best effort in Beaver history. He threw for one score, had another potential TD pass dropped, and did not have an interception for the first time this fall.

"I just had faith in the guys,'' said Anderson, who hooked up nine times with split end James Newson for more than half (208) of his yardage. "Not that I didn't have it before, but just going out there and letting guys make plays for me and not forcing things was a big thing for me.

"It's a relief. Everything kind of clicked this week. We practiced well and it really showed.''

Added Newson, who set a school record for career receptions (156): "He was back there just relaxing, being the Derek Anderson I know. I thought he did a great job back there."

Junior tailback Steven Jackson — his status in doubt earlier this week because of a strained knee suffered in the previous game — powered for 122 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. He said he wasn't 100 percent, but on this day the Beavers needed everything he had to snap the Broncos' 13-game winning streak, the country's second-longest.

Jackson had six carries on OSU's final drive before hobbling to the sidelines. Backup Dwight Wright had a key 6-yard run to the Boise State 22 that set up Anderson's decisive over-the-top hop.

"(My knee) wasn't 100 percent but it's fine as you can see,'' Jackson said. "Coach Riley said having me in the Pac-10 is more important than this game, but he said if I felt I could go at top speed I'd have a chance to play.

"They were a good defense, they swarmed to the ball well. But I knew if we kept chipping away, chipping away, we'd wear them down and that's how I run traditionally anyway.''

The Beavers piled up 562 yards of total offense and held the explosive Broncos to 381. Boise State had only 47 net yards on 40 rushes; senior tailback David Mikell, who had 235 in a win over Idaho in his previous game, was restricted to 45 on 16 carries.

The Beavers led 13-0 early before two big plays powered the Broncos into the lead. Quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie hit T.J. Acree on a 67-yard TD pass and Tyler Jones drilled a 44-yard field goal to trim the spread to 13-10 with 11:03 left in the first half. After the third of Kirk Yliniemi's four field goals put OSU on top 16-10, BSU's Tim Gilligan shocked the Beavers with a 62-yard punt return to send the Broncos on top 17-16 at the half.

OSU used a Yliniemi field goal and Jackson's 11-yard run with 14:45 remaining to move back ahead 27-17. However, Mikell scored with 11:56 left to make it 26-24 and BSU missed taking the lead when Jones' 35-yard field goal attempt with 7:32 left slid wide right by a foot or two.

"I told my guys that there's no such thing as ‘Whew, that was a close on,'" Boise State coach Dan Hawkins said. "It doesn't add up to wins and losses.''

Dinwiddie was 19-of-36 for 334 yards for the Broncos, who fell to 0-3 vs. OSU, 0-9 vs. the Pacific-10 Conference and 1-13 against Bowl Championship Series programs.

If the Broncos were looking for respect, they got it from the Beavers.

"They are a great team,'' said OSU linebacker Richard Seigler, who had a sack and two other tackles for loss. "What a fight it was tonight. We have to give them all the respect.

"All in all it's a compliment to our defense and the team how we held our composure, gathered ourselves at halftime and came out with the victory.

"Our focus was their winning streak. We just really wanted to break that. They were coming into our house.

"We knew that they were coming in with a lot of momentum. We just wanted to get on them early, hop on them early. Then our offense slowed down a bit and they got back in the game."