On the first drive of the game Oregon linebacker Jeffrey Bassa wrested a bobbled ball away from Buckeye tight end Will Kacmarek at the Oregon 21. Bassa’s athletic play would have ended the OSU threat, and replays showed Kacmarek never caught the ball. It was bouncing free on his chest when Bassa snatched it away, but the play was never reviewed, the visitors awarded a first down and a 32-yard gain.
In that moment it felt like this might be another night of advancing dread, lost opportunities, unfairness, regrettable decisions, another of the same old heartbreaks that plagued Duck fans in two dozen other big games, games of coming so close, games of might-have-beens and lost momentum.
This one didn’t turn out that way. Instead, the Ducks answered every challenge and took back the lead five times, the last on a 74-yard field goal drive late in the fourth quarter, the third time this year that Dillon Gabriel and the offense have won a game with a poised drive on the last full possession of the game.