Four weeks ago, the 111th Civil War was a matchup of the number two team in the nation against a football team struggling to find its feet offensively and scraping for bowl eligibility. Now, the week of the game, the game is for position in the final Pacific-10 Conference standings and quite possibly which bowl each team will play in this winter.
Though the Oregon State Beavers (7-4, 5-3 Pac-10) come into Saturday’s game with as busy an injured list as Oregon, unlike the Ducks they aren’t down to the fourth-string at quarterback and sophomore Lyle Moevao has found his ground. Moevao has started two consecutive games in replacement of fellow sophomore Sean Canfield.
“He stayed engaged, very active, and ready for his opportunity that we were able to continue to function as well as we could,” Oregon State head coach Mike Riley said on OSUBeavers.com. “I think that he has played very well in the two games he has started.”
For his own part, the sophomore from Torrance, Calif. is looking forward to the challenge provided by starting the Civil War Saturday.
“It’s going to be fun,” Moevao said. “I’ve got some friends on other teams and they told me it’s probably the loudest place in the Pac-10, louder than USC too.”
Though Oregon is missing a more high-profile player, Oregon State hasn’t survived the season without making adjustments either. Moevao starts in place of Canfield, who injured his shoulder, and key running back Yvenson Bernard is very questionable for Saturday. Senior wide receiver Sammie Stroughter – along with five other players not including Canfield – is out for the season, and another half-dozen are hobbled with injuries of one form or another. This simply means the walking wounded will be present in force on both sides of the ball.
What Oregon State brings into the game that should raise eyebrows, however, is the top rush defense in the Pac-10 and the nation. Though they’ve given up 11 touchdowns on the ground this season – middle of the pack in the conference – the defense has been otherwise stifling, giving up just 704 total rushing yards on 1.9 yards per-carry and 64 yards per game. The Beavers trail just USC in total defensive ranking in the conference.
“We’re going to have to come out and play some good ball to beat them, especially at their place,” junior defensive end Slade Norris said. “They are a tough team. Although they don’t have [Dennis] Dixon, and they possibly don’t have any other quarterbacks, it’s still going to be a great game.”
Riley agreed with the challenge facing Oregon State this weekend.
“There are a lot of obstacles to overcome playing in Autzen,” Riley said. “This team has gotten better, and I’m proud that they have forged a different identity offensively and not like we have played in the past. The guys have stuck through it, perseverance-wise.”
Fifth-year senior offensive lineman Roy Schuening is looking forward to finally getting a win at Autzen. “It would be great,” Schuening said. “It would be the perfect culmination to this season and how we turned things around.
“That’s the great thing about this rivalry; the level of competition that comes out in that game, how guys compete on both sides of the ball and just the nature of the Civil War.”
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