With an emphatic 30-7 defeat of Stanford last weekend, Oregon State (7-4 overall, 5-3 Pacific-10 Conference) became bowl eligible and are now third place in the Pac-10 standings.
The Beavers are slightly ahead of fourth-placed Oregon at the moment, and are hoping to maintain that lead by winning the 110th Annual Civil War this weekend at Reser Stadium.
Since 1996, when the Ducks beat the Beavers 49-13 in Corvallis, the home team has won every time.
Oregon won 56-14 in Eugene last year, and the Beavers claimed bragging rights with a 50-21 victory over the Ducks at Reser Stadium the year before.
Keep on truckin’
Oregon State has momentum in its favor going into this weekend’s showdown. The Beavers have won five of their last six conference games, and are still fueled by their big mid-season win over USC on Oct. 28.
On the other hand, despite a strong 4-0 start to their season, the Ducks are experiencing late season woes. Oregon goes into this weekend after two consecutive poor outings against USC and Arizona. Oregon lost 37-10 to the Wildcats last weekend, and lost 35-10 the week before that to the same USC team that the Beavers scalped two weeks earlier.
In their seven wins this year, the Beavers have outscored their opponents 245-92, gained a total of 2,822 yards and committed only 10 turnovers, in comparison to the opposition’s 21.
The Beavers are also averaging 357.5 yards per game. And much of their productivity this season can be linked to the maturation of quarterback Matt Moore.
More poise, more production
Senior quarterback Matt Moore started his collegiate career at UCLA, but transferred to Oregon State in the winter of 2005. He participated in spring practice and emerged as the starter. Moore played most of last season until he injured his right knee in the second quarter of the Beavers’ final home game against Stanford.
Moore, a 6-foot-4-inch, 193-pound California native, finished last season with 2,711 passing yards, but with 19 interceptions to only 11 touchdowns.
In comparison, Moore appears to be more comfortable in the pocket this year after battling early season criticism. Moore has thrown 117 passes without an interception and has 10 touchdowns to six interceptions,, including a 133.9 quarterback efficiency rating, good for third in the league.
Rushing around
Moore has also had help on the ground. Junior running back Yvenson Bernard has 1,034 rushing yards on the season, and will most likely add to that total this weekend against the Ducks’ leaky rush defense.
Bernard has rushed for 10 touchdowns in 10 games, and is second in the conference in rushing.
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