Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller
Oregon State fans will surely be looking at all the ways their Beavers blew this one and left the Pac-10 at 1-6 vs. the Mountain West Conference.
Oregon State failed on a pair of 2-point conversions. They had a first down on Utah's 15-yard line but didn't score a point. They had a first down on Utah's 37 and didn't score a point. They missed an extra point and a field goal.
And yet, despite the miscues, things appeared in hand. The Beavers dominated the second half and took a 28-20 lead with 2:18 remaining.
Utah, at that point, had 83 total yards on its previous five possessions -- 38 of which came on one running play -- and was scoreless in the second half. The Utes needed a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to tie.
In other words, if the Beavers played soundly, they should win.
A conservative, pop-up kickoff gave the Utah the ball at its 40-yard line.
Four plays later -- ping, ping, ping, ping -- the Utes scored a TD. And then, after an entirely reasonable pass inference penalty gave them a second chance on a 2-point conversion, they tied the game at 28-28.
The Beavers get the ball back on their 20-yard line with 1:29 left in regulation with three timeouts, plenty of time to drive for a game-winning field goal.
But they, instead, went three-and-out -- including a second-down running play -- and then wilted with a 32-yard punt.
Utah took over at its 45. Six plays later, it celebrated a game-winning 37-yard field goal.
A week after fighting off then-top-ranked USC's comeback attempt, Oregon State had no answers for Utah in the waning moments.
Good for Utah, which came back after a short week of preparation.
The Utes surely are starting to anticipate a potentially monumental showdown with rival BYU Nov. 22, a game that could match a pair of top-10, Mountain West teams battling for a BCS bowl berth.
Heck, even a berth in the national title game.
But for the Pac-10, it was another dreary night of what ifs for a dreary season.
Ted Miller has been covering college football since 1997, starting with Auburn and then heading West to Washington and the Pac-10. His columns for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer won first place in 2007 APSE Best Writing contest. The Atlanta native and University of Richmond graduate presently lives with his wife in Scottsdale, Ariz.
