112th Civil War Wrap-Up: Oregon State Beavers Cling to a Slim Margin of Hope

As the game clock wound down on Nov. 29 in Corvallis, Ore., many fans couldn't help but experience a feeling of deja vu. The allusion takes all of us back to the 2000 Civil War.

Oregon was ranked No. 6 in the nation, Oregon State No. 8. The Ducks were on track to become the Pac-10 Champions and head to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1994. Oregon needed to win one more game, which happened to be the Civil War.

We all know how that game went down, as Oregon State upset the Ducks 23-13, sparking a three-way tie in the Pac-10 between themselves, Oregon, and Washington.

Oregon had beaten Washington, Oregon State had beaten Oregon, and Washington had beaten Oregon State.

The Huskies went on to the Rose Bowl, defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 34-24. Oregon State advanced to the Fiesta Bowl, crushing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 41-9. Oregon wound up in the Holiday Bowl, squeaking past the Texas Longhorns 35-30.

You may wonder where I am going with this. Well, on Saturday it was not the Ducks, but the Oregon State Beavers who needed a win to secure their own Rose Bowl aspirations. This however would not be the case, as the No. 19 Oregon Ducks crushed the No. 17 Oregon State Beavers 65-38.

Many Beaver fans will ride the excuses train, and swear on a bible that if Jacquizz Rodgers had played, Oregon would not have won. While Rodgers is a terrific running back, putting 27 points of pressure on a freshman running back does not seem like a great way to pull out a win.

This excuse could be deemed acceptable had the Civil War seen the end results of the past two Civil Wars, where the Beavers have won by a combined nine points. In that close of a game, blaming injuries can pass as an acceptable excuse.

However, when a defense lets a single running back rush for over 200 yards in the first half, the injury card will not fly.

Some Beaver fans will tell you that Phil Knight, or the Big Ten Conference paid off the refs, so that the Big Ten could get two BCS bowls. These remarks amount to nothing, and should not be payed attention to.

The fact of the matter is, Oregon won this football game, fair and square. The Ducks never trailed, and when Oregon State looked like they were on the verge of a comeback, Oregon calmly fired back with a score of their own.

For those who said that Oregon's defense could never come close to how great Oregon State's was, here are some game statistics for you.

Oregon put up 694 yards of total offense on the Beavers, while Oregon State put up 463 on the Ducks.

Oregon's run defense held the Beavers to 89 yards, while Oregon put up 385 on the Beavers.

Oregon defended the fly sweep to near perfection, only giving up one instance of the sweep for more than two yards.

Oregon State was better in two areas than the Ducks. Passing wise, the Beavers outthrew the Ducks by 65 yards. The Beavers were also 1-1 on fourth down conversions, while the Ducks did not attempt one.

Now let's look into how this historic defeat reshapes the BCS picture. For Oregon State to advance to the Rose Bowl, they need a terrible UCLA team to upset the USC Trojans next week.

This is not likely, so let's look at what the BCS would look like if there were no more upsets the rest of the season.

BCS Title Game:

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