2008 Civil War Oregon at Oregon State, Part IV: The Game & Prediction

Author's Note: This is Part IV of IV. Part I looked at the 112-year running history of the Civil War between the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. While not intended as the definitive authority on the history, it is intended to provide greater details and an overview of this great rivalry between two of the State of Oregon's oldest public institutions of higher ed. 

Part II recounted the greatest Civil War game played by Oregon to date. Part III focused on the greatest Civil War win by the Beavers.

In Part IV, we break down Saturday's game and offer a winning prediction.

The Civil War is upon us. There is no neutral ground. Duck or Beaver—those are the only choices available.

By 9 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Saturday, Nov. 29, the 112th Civil War will be history and will settle into the record books as set numbers for passing, rushing, field goals, quarterback efficiencies, and scoring drives. One team will emerge on top. No matter how tough and great the effort, the team coming in second will forever be remembered as the one that lost this Civil War.

This year, the Pac-10 can be divided into two halves: the Top Five—USC, Oregon, Oregon State, California, and Arizona—as the powerhouse teams with winning records, solid coaching and an abundant supply of raw talent. (Arizona is at the dividing line, currently with a 4-4 season.)

The bottom half, politely stated, are the teams that are still beginning their work in progress: Washington, Washington State, Stanford, UCLA, and Arizona State.

Overall, Oregon leads the all-time Civil War series 55-46-10, but has lost two straight to the Beavers for the first time since 1973-74.

Now we have Saturday's Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State. Oregon goes into the game at 8-3 and ranked 19th nationally. The Beavers are ranked 17th, but are also 8-3. With a win Oregon State will go to the Rose Bowl because of their head-to-head win over USC. This scenario provides the Beavers a rematch against Penn State.

The Ducks, however, because of their loss to the Trojans, are playing for another appearance in the Holiday Bowl. While the Holiday Bowl is an excellent bowl and provides a nice ending to a good season, what will be motivating Oregon is pure revenge.

Last year, the Beavers played the spoiler and put an end to Oregon's BCS hopes with a defeat on Oregon's home field. The Ducks haven't forgotten. More than a few of the Oregon faithful have recently uttered the phrase, "Turnabout's fair play."

Against this backdrop, here is the breakdown of the two teams, based on what we know as of Wednesday, Nov. 26.

2008 Schedules

Oregon Ducks                         Oregon State Beavers

Date Opponent Result             Date    Opponent   Result

8/30 Washington 44-10W          8/28   Stanford    28-36L

9/6 Utah State 66-24W             9/6   Penn State   14-45L

9/13 Purdue 32-26 OT W           9/13 Hawaii 45-7W

9/20 Boise State 32-37 L            9/20 BYE

9/27 Wash State 63-14W          9/25 USC 27-21W

10/4 USC 10-44L                    10/2 Utah 28-31L

10/11 UCLA 31-21W                10/11 Wash State 66-13W

10/18 BYE                             10/18 Washington 34-13W

10/25 Arizona State 54-20W     10/25 BYE

11/1 California 16-26L             11/1 Arizona State 27-25W

11/8 Stanford 35-28W             11/8 UCLA 34-6W

11/15 Arizona 55-45W            11/15 California 34-21W

11/22 BYE                            11/22 Arizona 19-17W

Coaching

University of Oregon Head Coach Mike Bellotti is considered the Dean of Pac-10 Head Coaches and is in his 14th year as HC at Oregon. Coach Bellotti is 7-6 in Civil War games.

Oregon State University Mike Riley is a Corvallis native and grew up watching the Beavers play. This is Riley's second stint (1997-98, 2003-Present) as the Beavers' HC. Riley is 4-3 in the Civil War and has won the last two (2007 38-31 OT, 2006 30-28).

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