CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Oregon State Beavers have their revenge. The Boise State Broncos have their work to do.
Alexis Serna kicked a 29-yard field goal with 1:03 to go and Oregon State came from behind to beat Boise State 30-27 under stormy skies on Saturday.
The Broncos (0-2) had a 24-14 lead early in the second half, but the Beavers (2-0) evened it at 27-all early in the fourth quarter when Mike Hass caught a 22-yard scoring pass from Matt Moore.
Serna's third field goal of the day proved to be the winner when the Broncos could not get anything going in the final minute. Boise State, which was ranked in preseason polls, lost its opener to Georgia.
"They had us on our heels big-time, but the big plays going their way started going our way," coach Mike Riley said. "It really was a great lesson in perseverance."
There were periodic downpours and a first-half hail storm that was so heavy it sent cheerleaders scurrying for cover. For a time, the field even appeared to have a dusting of snow, but it was pea-sized hail.
"We had everything today," Riley said. "It changed the game there for a while. The wind, the rain, the hail -- and people were having a hard time with the ball."
Moore completed 27 of 38 passes for 279 yards. Hass had 11 catches for 178 yards.
In their opener last Saturday, the then-No. 18 Broncos fell behind 38-0 and went on to an embarrassing 48-13 loss to Georgia. Quarterback Jared Zabransky, an Oregon native, threw four interceptions and fumbled twice before being benched in the second quarter.
The Broncos had only three losses in their previous 42 games and were ranked coming into a season for the first time since moving up to Division I-A in 1996. They fell out after the loss.
"We've taken a couple of knocks in the in the head, and I fully expect us to rally," Boise State coach Dan Hawkins said.
Against the Beavers, Jared Zabransky completed 19 of 36 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns. The Broncos, who also lost to Louisville in their final game last season, had not lost three in a row since 1997.
"I wanted to come out and really show what I was made of," Jared Zabransky said. "Good players have a tendency of coming back."
The Beavers lost 53-24 on the blue turf at Bronco Stadium last season. That was Boise State's first victory over a Pacific-10 Conference team.
"It's one of those things when you play three years in a row. Close games, getting whacked last year," Hass said. "It kind of makes it a nice rivalry."
At first it appeared that Boise State and especially Jared Zabransky -- who had been mentioned as a Heisman candidate in the preseason -- had shaken away any lingering doubts from Georgia.
The junior hit Drisan James with a 34-yard scoring pass just 1:50 into the game. Then he found Jerard Rabb with a 6-yard TD pass to give the Broncos an early 14-0 lead.
The Beavers narrowed it with Yvenson Bernard's wide-open 51-yard scoring run. After Anthony Montgomery's 33-yard field goal for Boise State, Bernard added a 5-yard scoring run to cut the Broncos' lead to 17-14 at halftime.
Rabb added a 16-yard touchdown reception early in the third quarter.
Serna kicked field goals of 40 and 32 yards to get the Beavers to within 24-20, before Montgomery hit on a 36-yarder for Boise State.
Serna gained national attention last season when he missed three extra points against nationally ranked LSU and the Beavers lost 22-21 to the Tigers in overtime.
Riley stuck with him, and Serna rebounded. He said the pressure to make the 29-yrder against Boise State never got to him.
"I love it," he said. "It's an adrenaline rush."
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