Good Luck Ducks, Week 13: War Were Declared

 

Ducks and Beavers clash in the 126th edition of what we're not supposed to call the Civil War anymore. 

 

It's always much more fun when it comes down to this. Both Oregon and Oregon State are good teams this year. This is exciting! At stake is a spot in the Pac-12 championship game next week, at least for Oregon. The Ducks will face USC next week if they win, and they could still back into the game if Washington falls in the Apple Cup. The Beavers, on the other hand, have been pretty good this year but will have to settle for one of the pool of Pac-12 affiliated bowl games outside of the Rose Bowl regardless of the outcome.

Oregon's nail-biting win over Utah late last Saturday night showed that they were able to grit out a big win even with a diminished version of their star quarterback. The key to today's game will be Bo Nix's health. Reports are saying that Bo College, as I like to call him, is feeling and doing quite a bit better than last week. Nix led the Ducks to the narrow victory last week while being a stationary quarterback only until the very last play when he scrambled to a touchdown. If he's back to the mobile dual threat that he was for the rest of the season, the Beavers could have their hands full. If not, it could be Beaver Fever for Jonathan Smith's squad in Corvallis today.

Notes and other things: 

• The only thing better, of course, would be if the Rose Bowl berth was on the line for both teams. I think OSU is good, but they might still be a year away from that level.
• Reser Stadium's capacity is down to just around 26,000 currently as there's been a bunch of construction happening with their stadium. I'm guessing that Ducks fans will feel the squeeze the most.
• In previous seasons where the Beavers have been good and also had the opportunity to play spoiler, the Ducks have generally been firing on all cylinders. It's that today's outcome will be fully dependent on whether Bo Nix is the would-be Heisman candidate instead of the cautious pocket passer.
• This is the final regular game on the schedule, and it looks like that bad weather game is not coming! It looks to be crisp but dry in Corvallis today.

Game time is 12:30 PM PST on ABC in Corvallis. Go Ducks!