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 Friday, December 13, 2002
There's nothing civil about it
By Todd Harris
Special to BCSfootball.com
Having grown up in Oregon, there are a few things I know to be true simply because I have seen them with my own eyes. Oregon always gets its fair share of rain. Summer weather comes a little later than June, and you rarely need to water your lawn.
|  | | Dennis Erickson is 16-6 at Oregon State, but is 0-1 against Oregon. |
And without a doubt, Beavers and Ducks don't like each other.
Folks, it's called the Civil War for a reason. This Saturday, No. 6 Oregon and No. 8 Oregon State meet for the 104th time (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET), and this game has more on the line than perhaps any of the other 103. Not one, but two Top 10 teams will battle for more than just Oregon bragging rights -- the Pac-10 title and a bid to the Rose Bowl is at stake. Not a bad payoff.
In the green corner, the Oregon Ducks have been on a slow burn ever since they appeared in the Rose Bowl back in 1995 -- they have been to a bowl game every year since. The football surge in Eugene has been precise and steady since Mike Bellotti came to town in '95. The Ducks are in control of their own destiny and would love nothing more than to celebrate a Rose Bowl berth on the field at Oregon State.
In the orange corner, the Oregon State Beavers. The Beavers used to be the perennial doormat of the Pac-10, but then came Dennis Erickson, who has turned Oregon State into an upper echelon team capable of spanking just about anyone in the country in just two seasons. They came up just three points short to No. 5 Washington at Husky Stadium for their only blemish on the season. And despite the fact that they are rated lower than the Ducks, the Beavers are three-point favorites this week against Oregon.
The comparisons are so even that we may have to line up the cheerleaders to see who has the better looking squad. Oregon's Joey Harrington and Oregon State's Jonathan Smith are superb quarterbacks. Both teams also boast a great running back with Maurice Morris running for UO and the Beavers handing off to Ken Simonton, who is the first Pac-10 running back to ever rush for 1,000 yards as a freshman, sophomore and junior. Bellotti and Erickson are both Coach of the Year candidates.
|  | | Maurice Morris rushed for 175 of Oregon's 289 yards on Saturday against Utah State. |
Even the mascots are equally formidable: What's worse, an angry Duck or an irate Beaver?
In the past, this game has been debate fodder for Oregonians alone, but this year the nation will get a taste of the Civil War, as this game has serious BCS implications. The bottom line is that three teams are in the hunt for one ticket to Pasadena. If Oregon wins, the Ducks are in the Rose Bowl. If Oregon State wins, the Beavers need Washington to lose in the Apple Cup to Washington State, otherwise, the Huskies are looking rosey.
Come this Saturday, the center of the Western football world will be Reser Stadium in Corvallis.
Todd Harris is a sideline reporter for ABC Sports and is a regular contributor to BCSfootball.com.
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Maurice Morris takes the shovel-pass from Joey Harrington and rumbles into the end zone.