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THE COMEBACK KIDS.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Bob Rodman The Register-Guard

CORVALLIS - It all began with those agonizing images of three missed extra points, of placekicker Alexis Serna - dropping to his knees on the LSU sod - and of that one-point loss to the defending national champion Tigers.

But Serna, a walk-on redshirt freshman and national media punching bag for a week or so, then kicked 29 straight extra points and 17-of-20 field goals, including a school-record five against Washington.

Serna came back. So did Oregon State.

"Alexis' year was a kind of microcosm of our year," said OSU football coach Mike Riley, whose team began the 2004 season with one win in its first five games and completed the trip with six wins in the last seven.

"Alexis came back and so did our team. I am so proud of our staff and team for staying with it. Everybody had high expectations going into the year and when it started like it did, it became fairly evident fast that we were not going to realize some of those expectations."

A frustrating battle at Baton Rouge, La., led to 53-34 battering at Boise State just six days later. That was followed by a somewhat nondescript win over New Mexico.

Then came what Riley said was "a really disappointing game" at Arizona State. "We gave them that game," he said, remembering the three lost fumbles that led to 17 ASU points and a 27-14 loss.

Finally, the haymaker arrived. California flogged Oregon State 49-7. "That was not the Beavers," Riley said.

A bye week followed. The marching orders were obvious....

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