Nov 22, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Oregon State Beavers running back Damien Haskins (23) carries the ball against the Washington Huskies during the second half at Husky Stadium. Washington defeated Oregon State 37-13. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
A week after dropping a potentially bowl-killing seventh game against Washington last weekend, Oregon State looks to play a role they know well, spoiler, in this year’s Civil War at Reser Stadium. Kickoff is slated for a 5 p.m. start.
The Beavers knocked off week 12’s ‘flavor of the week’ Arizona State at home earlier in the month. It will take a similarly complete effort from Oregon State on all fronts if they hope to keep pace with a rising Duck team that has a legitimate shot to rise to #1 after Saturday’s gauntlet of rivialry games around the nation.
Oregon needs a win Saturday and a win in The Pac-12 Championship game to solidify its place in the first College Football Playoff. Combined with the elite tier of tradition and Oregon-pageantry that is the Civil War rivalry, it’s foolish to think that The Ducks would overlook this match up.
Saturday will be the final page in the Mariota-Mannion chapter of the rivalry. While Mannion’s status as a senior is solidified, Marcus Mariota has yet to declare his intentions regarding the NFL draft. The Duck quarterback and Heisman frontrunner is undefeated in Civil War play; merely a segment of a greater recent domination exhibited by Oregon having now won seven of the last ten and six straight since 2008.
The Oregon State defense will face its toughest test of the year. Mariota is one of the most efficient quarterbacks in college football history with an endless highlight reel of dynamic plays on the ground and through the air. The Beaver pass rush will need to control the line of scrimmage and bottle up the Duck’s backfield trickery. Defensively, Oregon State’s only chance is to make Oregon one-dimensional and uncomfortable. Forcing the Ducks off their game plan is critical to slowing the pace of the nation’s most dangerous offense.
Score Prediction: 38-24 Oregon. As per recent history, Beavers make it closer than expected.
Positional Prediction: Though the Beavs lose a tough one, Damien Haskins gives Beaver fans a glimmer of hope for next year, rushing for over 100 yards and two scores in his first Civil War action.