**Editor’s Note: Each week during football season, we feature an essay from the opponent’s student newspaper on why Oregon will lose. This week’s edition is from Josh Worden, a staff writer at The Barometer.**

Why will Oregon State beat Oregon?

They won’t.

Right?

Except… the Beavers beat the No. 6 team in the nation two weeks ago. So they can beat anyone by that standard. But then Oregon State played Washington seven days later and clearly did not play like the type of squad that would beat Oregon the following week.

Except… the Beavers were on a four game losing streak before the ASU upset with their most recent defeats coming against California and Washington State. And the oh-so-close 36-35 loss last year to the Ducks came on the heels of a 69-27 drubbing at the hands of the Washington Huskies. The same Huskies that again stymied OSU seven days before the Civil War. So, maybe the Beavers will have a much better game after a loss to Washington like they did last year.

Except… last year’s 42-point implosion was on senior night at Reser Stadium. The entire junior class — Sean Mannion, for example — saw that loss firsthand. They don’t want to play their last game in a home uniform with the same result. How much worse would a senior night loss be if it was to the Ducks? But winning a game takes more than witnessing a loss and wanting to change it. That will not push the Beavers to victory.

Except… the most recent memory of Reser Stadium lingers. Everything went right for OSU and the turf at Reser was overrun by crazed and surprised Beaver fans.

There are logistical ways to beat the Ducks. The Beavers nearly pulled it off last year, in part due to the 231 rushing yards completely atypical of an OSU squad. The Beavers have surpassed 200 rushing yards only once this season; yes, it was in the ASU upset. And of course, the 11 Pac-12 teams that don’t don the Nike-emblazoned green-and-yellow uniforms whisper behind the Ducks’ backs: “You know how to beat Oregon? Run the ball.”

How will the Beavers beat the Ducks? Well, how did Arizona do it? The Wildcats didn’t give up any points off turnovers, only one of two times that has happened to the Ducks this season. They forced two turnovers, one of only two multiple-turnover games Oregon has had this year. Oh, and there was a guy named Scooby Wright III. Can he transfer to OSU for one week under NCAA rules?

Sure, there is a way to beat the Ducks. There is a way to beat any team. It’s not what you do — read option, pro-style, blitz, cover-3, quarterback spy or whatever else — it’s how you do it. And of course, a little luck helps. Maybe throw in a missed field goal and an overtime fly sweep touchdown and we’ve got ourselves a game. At least, that’s what worked in 2007. Speaking of Luck, Sean Mannion has now tossed 82 career passing touchdowns, the exact number Andrew Luck threw at Stanford. And, Luck and the Cardinal beat Oregon back in 2009. So, without a doubt the Beavers will win, right?

But in all seriousness, the Beavers will win by running the ball, succeeding on third downs (OSU converted on a 3rd-and-25 against Washington, so really this season can’t be predicted) and forcing turnovers.

It’s been seven years since the last civil war victory for OSU. Next year, though, the Beavers will travel to Autzen Stadium on a one-game civil war win streak. It just takes a little Luck.