Missed kicks spoil OSU's strong upset bid

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Staff writer

BATON ROUGE, La. — Being so close made the loss even more painful.

Unranked and 18-point underdogs, Oregon State came into Death Valley and nearly shocked the nation Saturday night.

After a 47-minute weather delay, the Beavers outplayed fourth-ranked Louisiana State before a more-than-capacity crowd of 91,828 at Tiger Stadium.

But the game came down to extra points.

Redshirt freshman Alexis Serna missed the game-tying kick in overtime, and OSU lost 22-21. It was his third misfire of the game.

Serna fell to the ground afterward, upset with his performance. Right guard Roy Schuening encouraged the kicker and helped him off the field.

"I don't think you can tell him anything," OSU coach Mike Riley said. "He feels bad. He worked hard like the rest of us, and we chose him to be our kicker. It didn't work out, but he'll come back."

After trailing the entire game, the Tigers (1-0) tied it with 1:05 left in regulation when quarterback JaMarcus Russell connected on a 38-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe. Russell then scrambled and scored a two-point conversion.

LSU scored on its first possession of overtime. Russell left the game with a leg cramp, but Marcus Randall scrambled into the end zone on a 5-yard run.

Randall had started the game, but was taken out after the first half due to ineffectiveness.

The Beavers (0-1) responded by scoring a TD on a fourth-and-four play. Derek Anderson hit tight end Joe Newton over the middle from 19 yards out.

Serna set up for the extra point, but missed wide right. His two previous misses bounced off the right upright.

"It hurts a little, but I'm proud of my guys," Anderson said. "We did a lot of good things. We just came up short. And now we are going to have a good rest of the season."

While Serna needed consoling by his teammates, they stepped out of the locker room to show support for their friend.

"It's not one guy," linebacker Jonathan Pollard said. "He had a tough day, but there are other things we could have done, so it shouldn't have come down to that."

Defensive end Bill Swancutt called it just one loss in the standings.

"It would have felt better if we won," Swancutt said. "There's no one to blame. We should have won that game. We were better than them tonight. They just made a couple of big plays."

While LSU was a heavy favorite, the Beavers were never intimidated. They started the game quick, forcing a fumble on the opening kickoff. Chaz Scott knocked the ball out of the hands of standout kick returner Skyler Green.

Keith Ellison fell on the ball and set up a 25-yard touchdown drive on the first offensive possession. Anderson found receiver George Gillett in the end zone on a 6-yard pass.

That first drive nearly fell apart, with 25 yards of penalties that pushed the ball back to midfield.

However, Anderson completed his first four passes, and five of six, on the scoring drive.

The Beavers stayed in the game in the first half due to a series of LSU mistakes. There were two missed field goals, a shanked punt and a would-be passing touchdown called back with an illegal motion penalty.

LSU struggled offensively in the first half, managing just 93 yards and four first downs. New starting quarterback Randall, a fifth-year senior, had trouble with limited time to pass.

Swancutt planted him into the turf on numerous occasions. The pressure led to a Sabby Piscitelli interception in the first quarter.

LSU's running game didn't help Randall. Running back Justin Vincent had only one long run of 31 yards. LSU ended up with 302 yards of total offense, while OSU tallied 315 yards.

The Tigers changed their game plan in the second half by inserting redshirt freshman Russell into the game, who rallied the team.

"I love how our guys came down here to play," Riley said. "They didn't let anything get to them. They kept their focus. They stood toe-to-toe.

"I just wanted them to have this experience, and play. There are a lot of things we can build off of from this game."

The young offense came together quickly, while the defense maintained its reputation as one of the toughest in the nation.

Anderson was 26-for-47 passing. He threw for 231 yards and three TDs with only one interception. He was knocked down and sacked, but he kept getting up and pushed the offense forward.

Tight end Joe Newton showed he's a reliable receiver, with seven receptions for 71 yards and a score.

"It was all the hard work we all put in," Pollard said. "We played like men, like warriors, tonight. We just learned how to lose, and we don't want to do it again. We have to take this and then get ready for next week."