Oregon is looking to break the Beavers’ Civil War winning streak

By Jesse Sowa
Albany Democrat-Herald

EUGENE — To those on their respective sides, the Civil War brings much more than two teams playing a football game.

When major bowls are up for grabs, it only adds to the flavor of the rivalry.

Oregon and Oregon State enter today’s 112th meeting with huge postseason implications.

Oregon State (8-3, 7-1 Pacific-10 Conference) has the Rose Bowl in its sights, and Oregon (8-3, 6-2) will try to spoil that. For the Ducks, a Rose Bowl berth is out of reach. But Oregon still has plenty to play for.

“I don’t think it’s that we want to keep them out of the Rose Bowl,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said of his team’s motivation. “It’s that we want to be in the best bowl game possible. We want to win in Corvallis, and we want to win the Civil War for the value of the Civil War, first and foremost.”

Oregon players don’t have to be reminded they’ve lost the last two rivalry games. Or that the Beavers became the first road team to win the Civil War since 1996 when they won 38-31 last year in Eugene.

“They beat us two years in a row and they have bragging rights, so it’s time to take those back,” Oregon senior defensive end Nick Reed said. “What jumps out is they won the last two years. It’s a big rivalry game, it’s in-state, the right to live here, all that stuff.”

Oregon has won two straight since a loss to California, giving the Ducks a chance to reach the Holiday Bowl in San Diego with a win. The Holiday Bowl would likely be left to choose from Oregon, Oregon State and California (7-4, 5-3).

An Oregon loss could still put the Ducks in San Diego if Holiday Bowl officials select Oregon over California. That’s assuming USC defeats Notre Dame today and UCLA on Dec. 6 and ends up in a BCS game.

Should Oregon lose the Civil War, California would also have a 6-3 Pac-10 record with a home win against Washington on Dec. 6.

Bellotti looks beyond the bowl implications to what is up for grabs when it comes to the Civil War. The Ducks will try to gain some ground back on the Beavers and win at Reser Stadium for the first time since 1996.

“The thing to me that’s important is, there is as much at stake in this game for us, and we have to perceive it that way,” Bellotti said. “They can’t be any hungrier or want it any more than we do.”