Oregon and Fresno State have had quite a history over the last few decades.
In the early 1980s when Oregon was sub-par, the Bulldogs took advantage and managed to win those first two contests in 1981 and 1982. That last game must have been really exciting for the few Autzen faithful as the Ducks could only muster up two safeties in the 10-4 final that looks like a baseball score.
Then reality set in and Oregon has won the last seven meetings with Fresno State. But not without some drama along the way.
After that 1982 snore-fest, the two teams didn’t meet up until 1996 where Oregon was able to pull out the first overtime win in NCAA history.
After the Bulldogs kicked a field goal to make it 27-24, quarterback Tony Graziani found tight end Josh Wilcox in the end zone on the first play of the Ducks’ possession and Oregon came away with the 30-27 win.
The next year provided more fireworks as the Ducks blew a 37-20 fourth-quarter lead only to once again, win in overtime 43-40. As in the first overtime game, Fresno State kicked a field goal to go up 40-37, but after a first down catch at the one-yard line by tight end Blake Spence, quarterback Jason Maas leaped over the goal line for the touchdown and the win.
Oregon won by a field goal again in 2005 in the Ducks 37-34 upset win over the No. 23 Bulldogs. They had to overcome Paul Pinegar performance where he threw for a career-high 418 yards while completing 33 for 43 attempts with three touchdown passes.
The last time Fresno State came to Autzen was in 2012 where the Bulldogs were led by now Oregon defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter. The No. 4 Ducks exploded for a 35-6 halftime lead and then held on to win 42-25.
Quarterback Derek Carr was held to just 232 yards in the air, one of his very few poor games as a Bulldog. He went on to throw for over 4,000 yards and is now the quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders.
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