Oregon State's quarterback, Erik Wilhelm, the Pac-10 leader in passing yards in 1987, returned for his senior season.
The Wildcats took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on quarterback, Ron Veal's six-yard run after an Oregon State fumble.
Oregon State took the lead when Erik Wilhelm hit Jason Kent for a 44-yard touchdown pass on third-and eight.
He led Arizona to a game-tying score with a 31-yard field goal with 6:02 left in the first half, thanks in part to a roughing the passer penalty.
Oregon State drove inside the Wildcat red zone early in the fourth quarter, but Bussanich missed a 38-yard field goal a few inches to the left.
On the Beavers' next drive, they drove to the Arizona 49, but tailback Trey Nicholson and fullback Brian Swanson were stopped short on third-and-one and fourth-and-one, respectively.
Felix' backup, Paul Steffen failed to block Brad Hinke, who made the tackle on Swanson on fourth down.
The Beavers ended their seven-game losing streak and won their first road game since a 10-7 win over Brigham Young in Provo in 1986.
The Beavers' Andre Harris recovered a first-quarter fumble at the Oregon State 35 and drove 63 yards in almost six minutes before settling for Bussanich's 23-yard field goal.
With seven-and-a-half minutes left, Wilhelm threw his first interception of the year to the Bears' John Hardy at the California one.
Dewey Tucker, a backup nose guard, managed to block the kick at the Oregon State 31 with 4:17 left to preserve a 10-point deficit.
The fans began streaming towards the exits but Bruce Sanders forced a fumble on the next play, which Tom Vettrus recovered at the Bear 25 with 2:37 left.
Oregon State drove to the three, and Wilhelm hit Brian Taylor for a three-yard touchdown pass with less than two minutes left that California cornerback Doug Parrish narrowly missed.
Bussanich, aided by the timeout, responded by kicking a 23-yard field goal with 16 seconds left to win the game.
The Beavers responded with a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, capped off by Wilhelm's 48-yard pass to Jason Kent, to knot the score at seven.
Just before halftime, Oregon State seemed poised to cut into the Buffalo lead, but Bussanich's 36-yard field goal sailed wide right.
Aunese capped off Colorado's subsequent drive, rushing for an 11-yard touchdown with no time left, giving the Buffaloes a 28-21 win.
On an ensuing drive, Pellom McDaniels forced an Aikman fumble, which Oregon State's Ray Giacomelli recovers.
Three plays later, Wilhelm threw his second touchdown pass, a 52-yard strike to Robb Thomas, with 2:19 left in the first half.
UCLA wound up beating #8 Arkansas, the Southwest Conference champion, 17-3 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas.
The Beavers built a 14-0 first half lead on a four-yard Brian Taylor touchdown scamper and a three-yard pass from Wilhelm to Bryant Hill.
On fourth down, with nine seconds left, Oregon State opted for a 26-yard field goal attempt, which Bussanich converted.
Southern California's Quin Rodriguez kicked a 42-yard field goal, but Wilhelm found Robb Thomas on a seven-yard touchdown pass to cut the Trojan lead to 10 just before halftime.
Moments later, Lloyd Bailey made a diving catch for a three-yard touchdown to cut Southern California's lead to 20-14.
Four plays later, the Trojans' Leroy Holt broke four tackles on a 28-yard touchdown carry to put Southern California on top 26-14 with 13:41 left.
In the second quarter, the Devils' starting quarterback, Paul Justin was knocked out of the game by Oregon State's Ray Giacomelli and was replaced by Daniel Ford.
In their first drive of the second half, Oregon State's Troy Bussanich kicked a 44-yard field goal to take a 24-7 lead with 9:44 left in the third quarter.
The Beavers responded by driving to the Arizona State 35, but, with 1:04 left, Wilhelm was intercepted to effectively end the game.
Despite that fact, Dennis Erickson and Washington State entered one game away from all-but wrapping up an Aloha Bowl bid.
Later in the fourth quarter, the Beavers' intercepted Bob Brothers' pass and returned it to the Duck 32 yard line to set up Chaffey's second touchdown to seal the win.