Oregon technically entered the NCAA Championship this past week at The Honors Course as the No. 1 seed, but it's difficult to consider any team a favorite when college golf superpower Oklahoma State is the opponent.
"Oklahoma State ... let's face it, they're probably the best team here," Oregon's Andrew Vijarro said Saturday afternoon.
The Cowboys certainly looked like the tournament favorites after holding off the Ducks in a 3-1-1 win.
Oklahoma State's Trent Whitekiller won the first seven holes against Isaiah Telles, collecting seven birdies and an eagle during his 5 and 4 win.
"Tiger (Woods) wouldn't have beaten (Whitekiller) today," Ducks coach Casey Martin said.
Oregon's Jack Dukeminier capped a stellar week and temporarily leveled the match with a 4 and 3 win over Sean Einhaus, but the Cowboys won two more matches after the two-hour rain delay and advanced into today's championship match against Augusta State.
"Nobody ever gives you anything," OSU coach Mike McGraw said. "Just because you're from a school that's had a tradition, that doesn't give you anything. You're not 1 up on the first tee. You've got to go earn it. But that's the beauty of our game. It doesn't matter how good you are, last week is last week.
"This is it right now. And they're not going to hand it to you."
Oregon didn't hand anything to the Cowboys on Saturday, but the Ducks didn't play their best -- especially at the top of the lineup. And they needed their best, especially from the top of the lineup.
Morgan Hoffman's two-putt par on No. 16 clinched a 3 and 2 win over Eugene Wong -- and the match.
"It was a magical year for the Ducks ... but today wasn't our best day," Martin said. "On this stage for the week, we did fantastic, but today was a tough day. Oklahoma State had a great start, chipping in three times in the first two holes -- and some miraculous chips at that. They just got off to a great start, and we never really made enough happen.
"We made a lot of pars today but didn't make many birdies, so we were defeated."