Oregon beats Penn State in thrilling football game (thanks to my granddaughter)

This evening the sixth-ranked University of Oregon defeated third-ranked Penn State 30-24 in two overtimes. Oregon football coach Dan Lanning said ““I think that’s the best game I’ve ever been a part of. Regardless of who won.” No argument there. It was one of the best games I’ve ever seen, for sure.

When Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman intercepted a pass by Penn State quarterback Drew Allar in the second overtime, the game was over and Thieneman celebrated by running down the field with the ball tucked under his right arm. I felt almost as happy as Thieneman did.

The game was a nail-biter. It was a defensive struggle into the third quarter, with the score a measly 3-3. That didn’t stop the 112,000 crazed Penn State fans who attended the special “white out” game (everyone is supposed to wear white) from cheering madly for their team.

The only time it grew semi-quiet was after Oregon took a 17-3 lead in the third quarter. That also was the only time I felt confident enough in a Ducks victory to relax a bit. Which didn’t last long, since Penn State scored twice in the fourth quarter and Oregon was held scoreless.

At that point I was consoling myself with the thought that even if Oregon loses, which seemed likely given how well Penn State was playing, losing a close game to the #3 team in the country on their home turf wasn’t so bad.

Speaking of turf, an Oregonian story, “How some blades of grass helped turn the Oregon Ducks’ fortunes at Penn State,” points to how damn close this game was.

Oregon was battling White Out conditions in a place much more fearsome than it sounds — Beaver Stadium in Happy Valley — and the points were hard to come by. In the closing minutes of the third quarter, the game was tied at 3-3.

Dante Moore had led the Ducks into the red zone. On first and goal from the 9-yard line, the handoff went to Noah Whittington, who was bottled up but then tried to shake off the tackle for a second effort.

But then the ball popped out.

Penn State’s Zakee Wheatley scooped it up and started running down the sideline. Moore was the only thing separating Wheatley from the end zone, and the quarterback had an angle. He forced Wheatley out of bounds at midfield.

The Nittany Lions seemingly had grabbed all the momentum, and with a roaring crowd all around them.

But wait.

Had Whittington been down when he was first stalled on the play? Upon further review, yes. Whittington’s knee had touched the tops of the blades of grass along the 8-yard line. Video replay showed his knee just grazing the turf.

The call on the field was reversed. Oregon retained possession.

On the next play, Dierre Hill Jr. burst up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown run, and the Ducks led 10-3.

So the Penn State grass deserves some credit for Oregon’s win. But so does my granddaughter, even though I readily admit that my reason for saying this is caused by a bit of grandfather’ly magical thinking (okay, let’s make that a lot, not a bit).

Last Thursday my granddaughter moved in to her dorm room at the University of Oregon, where she’ll be a freshman, starting classes on Monday. Obviously the reason the Ducks won tonight was that my granddaughter was watching her first game as a U of O student along with her parents, who stayed around Eugene for a few days before returning to southern California.

Since Phil Knight is a major donor to Oregon sports and reportedly is desperate for the Ducks football team to win a national championship, I’d like to suggest to Phil that he show his appreciation to my granddaughter for obviously being why Oregon defeated Penn State by paying for her tuition the next four years. That will  not only make my granddaughter happy, but her parents will be ecstatic — given how much out-of-state tuition costs at the U of O.

Hey, I can dream. Along with engaging in magical thinking.