Hey everyone and welcome back to the Heart Stoppers and Hail Marys 3.0 Project. If you missed the introduction post you can read it here. As always, here is the link for the book that sparked the inspiration for this offseason project. Today, we’re diving into one of the more controversial games of the 2006 season. We are diving into the controversial 2006 game between Oregon and Oklahoma.

The Background

Oklahoma and Oregon knew each other fairly well. After the 2005 season, the two teams were selected to play in the Holiday Bowl. Oklahoma came out of that low scoring affair 17-14. The big names coming out of that game were Oregon QB Brady Leaf, Oklahoma QB Rhett Bomar, and Oklahoma RB Adrian Peterson. Peterson would be the only name of note in their “rematch” nine months later.

However, the RB who made plays early was Oregon Sophomore Jonathan Stewart. Stewart put an exclamation point on the first drive, scoring from three yards out. That would turn out to be the only touchdown of the first half, with the two teams exchanging field goals; Oregon leading 13-6 at the break,

The third quarter saw the OU offense come out to play. Senior QB Paul Thompson, who took over after Bomar was kicked off the team during fall camp, made his mark. Thompson, despite not having a remarkable statistical day, added two TDs in the quarter; one on the ground and a 31 yard pass to Malcolm Kelly. OU had the lead for the first time in the game with less than 4 minutes left in the third.

Oregon responded at the beginning of the fourth quarter, as new QB Dennis Dixon got on the stat sheet. Dixon hit Jaison Williams for his own 30 yard touchdown to tie the game at 20. Oklahoma turned around and leaned on Peterson, who had been relatively quiet up until that point. Peterson rushed for 43 yards on the ensuing drive, including a 4th and inches conversion the junior took for a score.

Dixon struggled on the ensuing drives, trying to bring the Ducks back into it. On the first play, Dixon threw an interception to Nic Harris, putting the Sooners inside the Oregon 35. Oklahoma continued to lean on Adrian Peterson to get inside the Oregon 10. However, with seven minutes left, the Sooners were happy to make it a two score game with a Garrett Hartley field goal. 

Dixon continued his struggles throwing the ball. On the ensuing possession, he threw another interception to Harris. Oklahoma burned two minutes off the clock and kicked another Hartley field goal to make it a 13 point game.

The Oregon offense, with the urgency ramped up, moved down the field. Dixon leaned on his connection with Williams to get down the field and took care of the rest himself. The Oregon QB scrambled from 16 yards out to cut the Oregon deficit to six. 

The ensuing onside kick has been talked about plenty of times since the game ended, so I will give the cliff notes version. Oregon attempted an onside kick, appeared to touch it prior to the required ten yards and recovered it. 2006 had a more archaic replay system and somehow the Ducks maintained possession. A Dixon pass to Stewart and a defensive pass interference call got the ball to the Oklahoma 24. Dixon, on the next play, hit Brian Paysinger for a 24 yard TD and Oregon’s first lead since early in the third quarter. 

However, OU still had some cards to play with 45 seconds to play. They put Peterson back for the kick. In response, Oregon squibbed the kickoff. Reggie Smith picked it up and found his blockers. He got over midfield. Smith made a cut to the outside. He got over the Oregon 30. Finally, Smith was forced out of bounds with :35 left at the Oregon 27 yard line. Peterson tried to make it a closer field goal for Hartley but failed to do so. With 2 seconds left, Hartley had a chance to make the disastrous last 70 seconds moot.

The Play

Oregon called a timeout after Hartley looked to attempt the 44 yard attempt. The kick would equal his season long, which he hit against Washington at home the week before. Now they were playing against their rivals in their building. Announcer Dan Fouts made a note that it was deafening in Autzen, which had to enter Hartley’s mind as he pondered what was happening next. This was the biggest crowd, up until that point, to assemble in Eugene for a football game at 59,269.

The ball was slightly towards the right hashmark, making the kick a slight hook for the junior. However, he would never see the trajectory of the ball. After a perfect snap and hold, Hartley hit the ball into the teeth of the Oregon defensive line. The Ducks, both on the field and off, immediately celebrated as the ball landed well short of the goalposts, giving Oregon their first ever victory over Oklahoma in their seventh try.

The Aftermath

Oregon marched into Pac-10 conference play with a top fifteen ranking and a crucial non-conference victory. However, the Cinderella ride for the 2006 Ducks would end soon after. After a win at Arizona State the following week, the Ducks would lose their other three games away from Autzen Stadium. Losses to Cal, Washington State, and USC dropped Oregon out of the Top 25 for the season. They would add two more losses in Corvallis and then a 38-8 loss to BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl to finish the season 7-6.

Oklahoma, on the other hand, bounced back better to their loss to the Ducks, albeit after another setback. After a 59-0 drubbing of Middle Tennessee, the Sooners fell short of knocking off Texas for the second straight year. From there, however, Oklahoma would go on a run to salvage its season. OU won seven in a row to end the regular season. The Sooners also got help from Kansas State and Texas A&M. Those two teams beat Texas in the final two weeks, giving OU a trip back to the Big 12 Championship. They easily handed Nebraska 21-7, clinching a spot in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl vs Boise State. That game, however, is an entirely different conversation.