Sometimes football games have a lot riding on them, sometimes they don't, and sometimes they have a mixed bag riding on them. This is the circumstance when we talk about the 2014 edition of the Civil War. Oregon State versus Oregon.
Oregon comes into the game rolling. They are by far the class of the Pac-12 based on their record and the way they go about winning their games. To me, Oregon can beat anyone of the three other teams in the college football playoff final four. The Ducks have one of the best, if not the best player in all of college football in Marcus Mariota. Mariota should win the Heisman Trophy this year and he is not an athlete that takes much maintenance in terms of worry about what they may do to end up on the news. I won't mention a certain ACC quarterback who just can't get out of his own way most of the time. Oregon has a backfield led by speed freak Thomas Tyner. Tyner is one of those guys that Oregon recruits to be a total game changer with his unique speed, however, for the Civil War game he currently listed as questionable because of shoulder and ankle injuries.
Should the Ducks worry? Not at all. Last week Marcus Mariota just turned around and handed the ball off to freshman running back Royce Freeman. Freeman, making the most of his opportunity ran for 105 yards on 17 carries. That's an average of over six yards a carry. The way the Ducks run their "basketball on grass" offense Freeman can have the same effect this week against the Beavers.
The Beavers come into this game needing a win to become bowl eligible. That is tall task to accomplish against the Ducks. This has been a season of injury for the Beavers. They have been injured on both the defensive and offensive line for a good portion of the year. When a coach has to patch up the line almost on a week to week basis there is no continuity for the offense to gain. It's made life for their quarterback, Sean Mannion very difficult. The loss of Brandin Cooks to the NFL didn't help either because he was a guy that defenses keyed on and still couldn't really stop, plus it opened up other receiving opportunities for the other Beaver receivers.
The defense has not been up to par either. As I stated, their defensive line has been banged up all year and thus has not got any pressure on opposing quarterbacks. They have allowed a ton of points and that puts pressure on the offense to score as well and when the offense isn't clicking, that doesn't always produce the wins the fans or coaches want.
The game on Saturday will be one of attrition for the Beavers. They have to figure out a way to score on the Ducks, who have been playing better and better as the season has progressed. They can't afford any more injuries during the week or during the game. They don't have the depth to compete with the Ducks. They just don't.
In the end, I see the Ducks winning this game fairly easily. It's been a great year so far for Oregon and a season of frustration for Oregon State. We shall see what happens. It is a rivalry game, so anything can happen, and if something crazy happens it will send shock waves through college football. However, I don't see it happening, but it is Corvallis and we know what happened a few weeks ago when a high ranked team came into town.
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