OREGON DUCKS DESTROY BEAVERS!!

DUCKS WIN!!! 65-38!!

UPDATE: Our beloved OREGON DUCKS not only beat the Oregon State Beavers... they completely DESTROYED them!! Final score from Corvallis: 65-38! The Ducks led the whole way, surging to nearly 700 total offensive yards!! This all but guarantees them second place in the Pac-10 Conference and a berth in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 30.

I am so happy, I cannot even begin to explain my incredible satisfaction. To see all those disappointed Beaver fans just warmed my heart to no end. What a joy for Duck fans to have their team beat all three NW teams this year -- the Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars and Oregon State Beavers -- by sizable margins.

ORIGINAL POST

Today is the day! In just a couple hours (4 p.m. PST), the OREGON DUCKS and the Oregon State Beavers face off in the 112th annual CIVIL WAR.

As devoted Duck fans, Emily and I will be watching the game at home. Why not at the game? Simple: It's in Corvallis at "Frozen Burrito" Stadium. I hate that place. I've watched exactly three games there in person: the 1998 Civil War and the 2002 Civil War as a member of the Oregon Marching Band, and the 2005 matchup between Oregon State and Washington State, as the Sports Editor of the Cottage Grove Sentinel newspaper.

Reser Stadium, in my Duck opinion, is a horrible place. Each time I went as a member of the OMB, the fans there were so filled with rage and anger toward Duck fans that they had no problem hurling expletives, bottles, etc., at the band. Seriously.

There are many Oregonians who don't understand why the Civil War is such a big deal. I understand that. Unless you grew up around it or have a undying devotion to either team, it probably seems a bit silly. Some people have told me that they root for both teams, until they play for each other. I can't subscribe to this theory... I'm completely incapable of rooting for the Beavers... ever. When they won back-to-back NCAA baseball championships, many Oregonians exclaimed that it was a great accomplishment for the states and both Ducks and Beavers fans should rejoice.

Not me. No way. The only thing those championships did for me was make me jealous that Oregon's baseball team had been discontinued in 1982, thanks to Title IX (thankfully, the team has been restarted and will start competitive play next year!).

The CIVIL WAR is always a big game, as the winner gets bragging rights for the rest of the year. Oregon State has won the last two games, but neither of those were as important as today's game.

You see, Oregon and Oregon State enter today's 112th CIVIL WAR with identical overall records (8-3). The difference is that, while the Ducks are 6-2 in the Pac-10 conference, the Beavers are 7-1, having beaten the only other 7-1 team in the Pac-10: the University of Southern California Trojans. USC has won (or shared) the Pac-10 title in each of the last SIX seasons and their ONLY loss this season is to Oregon State.

What does this mean? Basically, if Oregon State beats Oregon today in the CIVIL WAR, the Beavers go to the Rose Bowl and would (likely) tie with USC for the Pac-10 Championship. For Duck fans, that event would be akin to the beginning of the Apocalypse. The Beavers have not been to the Rose Bowl since 1965 (the Ducks last went in 1995, though they won the Pac-10 championship in 2001).

My hopes for the game? A win by the Ducks. A HUGE win. If they do, they'll likely go to the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30 in San Diego. If not, they'll probably end up at the Las Vegas Bowl (where they could potentially play BYU) or at the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.

It's almost time!! GO DUCKS!!