OREGON WINS, NO ROSE BOWL FOR OREGON STATE

A Rose Bowl bid was on the line for Oregon State in the Civil War against Oregon, but the Ducks made big plays all day long to keep the Beavers out of Pasadena.Oregon was absolutely phenomenal in gaining 693 yards on offense, and the Ducks scored two defensive touchdowns as well. They were simply the faster, more athletic team, and the final score of 65-38 pretty well tells the story. The win was great for Oregon but was costly for the Pac-10, which will now get just one BCS berth (USC) instead of two.In any event, Oregon State deserves a great deal of credit for the way it turned its season around after getting off to an ugly 0-2 start. The Beavers’ win over USC in September was one of the most impressive showings of this college football season, and Oregon State built on the momentum from that win to finish the season a respectable 8-4.It’s actually still possible for Oregon State to go to the Rose Bowl, because Oregon State would win a three-way tie with Oregon and USC. But the Beavers would need USC to lose to UCLA, and that’s not going to happen.Instead, Oregon State will probably finish the season on New Year’s Eve in the Sun Bowl. That’s not Pasadena, but in August, any Oregon State fan would have taken it.