The following was written in my Notes app the night of the Oregon Ducks’ Week 7 heartbreaking 36-33 loss to the Washington Huskies in Seattle:

“Rivalries are built on history, but they’re fueled by the present. Bonfires can’t burn forever without someone to tend to them — the keepers of the flame, per se. It’s moments like tonight’s that crown those stewards of the rivalry on both sides of the gridiron. Whether or not you think that the Huskies’ victory was Michael Penix Jr.’s moment, it’s undeniable that it was his turn to step into the spotlight — as was it Bo Nix’s. Both stepped up to the moment, topping 300 yards passing and combining for six touchdowns and just one interception. 

“Because that’s what rivalries do: test the mettle of players who claim that they’re unshakeable. They’re everything that sports are meant to be, multiplied by the force of the tens of thousands there to witness history. It’s memory being dragged into the present in a way that boils over all too often, and that’s why we watch.”

It was written after an exhausting, emotional day, but it rings true. What sparked between the Ducks and Huskies on that afternoon — and the battle for Pac-12 control that has happened since — is more than just competition. It’s a rivalry. In making a pact to pick a new division as a pair, Washington and Oregon have tied themselves together in a way that could be the genesis of something that they’ll both lose in the move to the Big Ten. If that Saturday in October was the jumping-off point for what promises to be a fierce battle between the Big Ten’s West Coast contingent, it’s hard to beat. If there’s a rematch in Las Vegas, regardless of the outcome, the flame will be burning bright as the two head east next year.

With that exciting development comes the requisite concerns about what’s lost in the fallout of conference realignment. Games between Oregon and Oregon State have everything that makes a rivalry special, with the added bonus of the schools’ proximity to each other — as do Apple Cup faceoffs between the Huskies and their rivals to the east.

On Friday, the final chapter, at least for now, will be written in that story. The hallmarks of rivalry there are evident: Almost every time, form doesn’t matter so much as how much each side is willing to push themselves. The game means more than any other on the regular season schedule, and losing it will hurt fans and players alike.

The death of a rivalry is difficult to swallow, but it’s fitting that each of the two sides enters this farewell game at its absolute peak of recent seasons. It’s not a one-off moment of remembrance. Each team has the chance to absolutely ruin the moment for the other — and that’s the way they like it. It will be electric, and an absolute firecracker of a Friday night show.

All of that energy, though, must be directed somewhere for the next decade-plus. It can’t sit and stew, and that’s what makes Oregon’s relationship with the Huskies so compelling to look at. Suddenly, the two are isolated on the West Coast, and closer together than they are to any other team. It’s never been a happy dynamic, but with a potential Pac-12 Championship rematch edging closer, the relationship is starting to bubble.

Like a phoenix, that sense of rivalry is rising from the ashes, returning to Autzen Stadium to instill passion into every Duck — those who walk through the gates and up the stairs every weekend, those who cheer on from a tailgate and those who send passive-aggressive texts to their Beaver friends.

If a rivalry is to be reborn, there’s no better moment. In a game that couldn’t mean any more, two teams will go head to head for possibly the final time, in the process turning back the clock to intense memories that evoke emotion unlike any other. In a rivalry that dates back to 1894, the teams will fight not only to win the game, but to beat the other. It’s a death in the way that a supernova is — with explosive energy, it collapses into something incredible, leaving in its wake an indelible mark on the world it departs.

So, for this moment, put the Huskies aside. Their time will come, but for now, it’s all about writing history. Enjoy the moment, bathe in memory and let yourself fall into the ocean of rivalry that will consume Autzen Stadium on Friday night.