Good Luck Ducks, Week 4: No Joy

Ducks and Beavers and point spreads, oh my!

I take no joy in the demise of the Oregon State football program, and while the Big Ten has looked like a good fit for the Ducks, it's kind of ridiculous that this latest round of conference switch-a-roos was all kicked off by the LA schools of the (old) Pac-12. UCLA finds themselves in a similar situation as the Beavers, sputtering and leaking everywhere, while USC is competent but hasn't really been a contender in 20 years. As the saying goes, you can't really put the toothpaste back in the tube here. I always keep an eye on Oregon State games, at least when my team isn't playing, and the rivalry isn't much of a rivalry when the two programs aren't really even competing at the same level. The series, now relegated to the September nonconference window, will take a pause next season for the first time in my lifetime, but there are plans to resume in 2027 for at least six more years.

Oregon was without their starting running back (Noah Whittington) against Northwestern but still dominated the game before a messy final quarter played mostly by the deep bench. Dante Moore threw some more really impressive balls as the excitement continues to grow for the young QB. It was a weird game all in all, played in front of a capacity crowd only about a fifth the size of their home stadium (and a mere drop in the bucket compared to what they'll face next week.) The Ducks committed zero penalties, the first time that has occurred in one of their games in decades -- no one can seem to even agree in exactly how long ago it last happened. The goal today in what should be their final "tune-up" game is to respect their opponent and not look past them to a lingering Penn State brawl just seven days away.

Oregon State has their work cut out for them, of course, but they've already been facing calls for the head coach's... well... head. Transfer QB Maalik Murphy has struggled along with nearly every other cog in the Beaver machine. And without the (horrible) chainsaw sounds buzzing through the PA in Corvallis that always seem to get under Oregon's skin (or at least mine) when they meet on Beaver turf, it could be a challenge just to stay within striking distance at halftime. On the other hand, well, goofy things sometimes happen in college football.

Notes and miscellany: 

• People are talking about the Platypus Trophy again, which is awarded to the winner of the Civil War (though we're not supposed to call it that anymore.) While it's supposed to resemble the places in animal kingdom(?) where Beaver and Duck, uh, meet, it kind of looks like one of those horrors people discover in the deep sea rather than an actual duck-billed platypus.
• Opponent fun fact: OSU was at one time known as Oregon Agricultural College (and later Oregon State Agricultural College to be technical), when the Aggies would commonly clash with those pesky Webfoots in games year after year that no one could watch unless they actually attended them. Is a duck a natural enemy to someone, I don't know... plowing the fields? Want another fun fact? Autzen Stadium is host to Rich Brooks Field, named as such in 1995 when the former Oregon head coach made the jump to the NFL. Brooks is famously a Beaver alum, though. Awkward...
• Opponent history: Oregon holds a decisive 69-49-10 lead in the all-time series and has won the last two meetings.
• Game time is 12:00 PM PDT on the B1G Network in Eugene. Go Ducks!