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:

Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Oklahoma Sooners

Rose Bowl:

USC Trojans vs. Penn State Nittany Lions

Fiesta Bowl:

Texas Longhorns vs. Boise State Broncos

Sugar Bowl:

Florida Gators vs. Utah Utes

Note: Sugar and Fiesta Bowl could be interchangeable with regards to Utah and Boise State

Orange Bowl:

Boston College Eagles vs. Cincinnati Bearcats

Of course, many of you are probably wondering where Texas Tech would fall into the picture. If no upsets happen, it is impossible for the Red Raiders to secure a BCS bid, because a BCS rule prohibits three teams from the same conference playing in BCS bowls.

Let's see what would most likely happen if every possible upset happens next week.

BCS Title Game:

No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Texas

(Flordia beats Alabama in SEC title game, Oklahoma loses to Missouri in Big 12 title game)

Rose Bowl

Oregon State Beavers vs Penn State Nittany Lions

(UCLA upsets USC in Battle for L.A.)

Fiesta Bowl

Missouri Tigers vs. Utah Utes

(Missouri beats Oklahoma in Big 12 title game)

Sugar Bowl:

Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Boise State Broncos

(Bama loses to Florida in SEC Title Game, again BSU and Utah can be interchangeable, all based on who the bowls want)

Orange Bowl:

Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Virginia Tech Hokies

(VT upsets BC in ACC Title Game)

With either situation, it is impossible for Texas Tech and Ohio State to secure a BCS at-large bid, because two bowls are solely based on the conference champions of the Pac-10, Big 10, ACC and Big East, and it is clear that neither of these teams will be making the national championship.

Based on these two possible situations (although there are many other combinations), here are my projections for the BCS Bowls this season.

National Championship: Florida vs. Oklahoma

Rose Bowl: USC vs. Penn State

Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. Utah

Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Boise State

Orange Bowl: Boston College vs. Cincinnati Bearcats

This would give the Oregon Ducks a Holiday Bowl matchup with the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

To sum up, for the Oregon State Beavers, their Rose Bowl hopes are entirely in the paws of the UCLA Bruins. It is not a good feeling when you have to depend on another team to get you to a Bowl game. It's much nicer to earn it yourselves.

So my last remark to Beaver fans is that I hope you enjoy barren desert wastelands, because unless a miracle occurs next Saturday, the Beavers will be headed to El Paso for the Brut Sun Bowl.