Gipson leaves Autzen home on high note with two picks.

Byline: Rob Moseley The Register-Guard

For Nick Aliotti, it was a familiar sight - a senior cornerback, capping his career with an interception at Autzen Stadium to help beat the Beavers.

Four years ago, Aliotti watched Rashad Bauman pick off a pass that sealed Oregon's trip to the Fiesta Bowl. He was reminded of that play, he said, after watching Aaron Gipson intercept two passes and return one for a touchdown during the Ducks' 56-14 win over OSU on Saturday at Autzen Stadium.

"What a great way to finish," said Aliotti, Oregon's defensive coordinator.

Gipson got Oregon on the scoreboard first in the Civil War, returning an interception 60 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-0 less than three minutes into the game. In the second quarter, he grabbed another errant pass, giving Gipson seven interceptions this season, tied for sixth all-time on the UO single-season list.

He now has 13 for his career, tied for fifth all-time at Oregon. That would have been hard to predict three years ago, when Gipson started 11 games in 2002 for a UO pass defense that was among the worst in the country. It was a rough start, making Saturday's strong finish all the more gratifying.

"A corner has to have a short-term memory and a lot of courage," Aliotti said. "It's a credit to Aaron that he was able to bounce back from that and really make himself into a great player."

He did it Saturday, as he has throughout his career, with tireless preparation. On the first-quarter interception, Gipson's recognition of the route being run by OSU receiver Josh Hawkins was almost instantaneous.

"He tried to run an inside curl," Gipson said. "I'd been seeing it all week in practice, and I'd been seeing it on film. When I saw it, I just took the opportunity and took it to the house."

In the second quarter, Gipson ran with OSU star Mike Hass on a deep post and made the interception. Hass finished with 10 catches for 107 yards, but much of that came with the game out of hand, and his longest reception was 15 yards. Last year, Hass had 154 yards and two scores against the Ducks.

"I think I had more touchdowns than him today," Gipson said. "That was a good thing."

Last season, Gipson said, he had an ankle injury for the Civil War that led the Ducks to try more zone coverage and double teams against Hass. After that game, Aliotti said, the players urged him to rely on man-to-man this season.

Using mostly man coverage, Gipson and Justin Phinisee kept Hass from hurting the Ducks too much. Gipson gave some credit to scout-team receiver Matt Bramow, a South Eugene High School graduate who played the role of Hass in practice this past week.

"Matt Bramow is kind of like him," Gipson said. "Not a fast guy, but he'll give you a lot of head fakes and change speed on you, just like Hass."

Phinisee said he wasn't surprised by Gipson's performance Saturday.

"I knew he would have at least two picks this game," Phinisee said. "I actually thought it would be three. He did a lot of film watching. That's how he got those picks, watching film and knowing the routes and knowing the receivers."

All that preparation is what helped Gipson go from a vilified true freshman in 2002 to a lockdown corner as a senior.

"Those down times," he said, "made these up times that much more special."

CAPTION(S):

Oregon senior Aaron Gipson returns an interception 60 yards for a touchdown in the opening minutes of the Ducks' 56-14 victory over Oregon State at Autzen Stadium on Saturday. Gipson added a second interception in the second period.