Pettibone, Oregon State Get Needed Victory

Oregon State coach Jerry Pettibone did not expect to be booed for winning.

Pettibone, whose job is on the line in yet another losing season, ordered freshman quarterback Raheem Muhammad to run out the clock while the Beavers were just five yards away from scoring one last time in a 67-28 non-conference victory Saturday over his old school, Northern Illinois at Corvallis, Ore.

A sparse crowd of 17,215 that had already begun to drift away started to boo Pettibone’s decision not to add just one more touchdown in what was already the highest-scoring game for Oregon State since the Beavers defeated Willamette, 76-0, in 1933.

“I talked to the team at the beginning of the week about what we could still accomplish,” Pettibone said. “They have a lot of motivation to finish the season on a positive note. We took care of step one today.”

The victory, only the second of the season for Oregon State, was in doubt during the first quarter against the underdog Huskies, a team Pettibone had led to seven NCAA records during his tenure there from 1985-90.

The first quarter ended, 14-14, with the Huskies the first to score after quarterback Randall Foster capped a quick five-play drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass to fullback Anthony Griffin.

But Oregon State broke the game open in the second quarter, shutting down the Huskies while the Beavers scored 30 unanswered points to make it 44-14 at halftime.