You can’t fight tradition in college football, though you try really hard to with your uniforms.
Beaver fans know tradition; we are students of history (let’s face it, there’s not much to do in Corvallis). We have a Heisman Trophy winner (no Times Square billboard needed), you don’t. We have a Rose Bowl win within the past 60 years, you don’t. And do you know what past precedence dictates about the 2006 Civil War?
Yep. Sorry, Ducks, your hopes of winning in Corvallis for the first time in nearly a decade has just run afowl.
My roommate maintains that joke is pretty bad, but even he admits not as bad as your football team right now.
We’ve got more than just history on our side. Sure we tried to boo Mike Riley and Matt Moore out of Reser Stadium some weeks ago. This was about the same time you were undefeated and looking to challenge USC for the Pac-10 crown.
My, how times have changed.
The Beavers have won five of their last six games, including a streak-upsetting, BCS-shattering win over No. 3 USC. You have been blown out by Cal, embarrassed by Washington State and Arizona and handled by Southern Cal. If you have been keeping score at home, that adds up to the Ducks dropping four of their last seven games by an average of 21 points.
Yes, 21 points amounts to three touchdowns.
I can understand if that idea is a little abstract to your team; the Ducks haven’t seen the end zone that many times in the past two weeks … combined.
Is the balance of power headed north on I-5? It’s really hard to tell through the continual haze that blankets Eugene metro. I’m not sure, but I bet USC and Arizona would argue yes.
You might have been able to thump us when you were good, and I’m not counting last season when you beat up on teams like Houston, Montana and Fresno State, only to embarrass the conference in your Holiday Bowl loss against Oklahoma. (What, you couldn’t get any phantom instant replay calls in THAT Oklahoma game?)
No, I am talking about when you were good in 2001 with Joey Harrington running the offense that then-coordinator Jeff Tedford created for you. Or maybe it’s because Mike Bellotti still had his mustache? At any rate, all three good luck charms are gone, leaving you up the Willamette without a paddle.
The Beavers are third in the country in sacks per game – will Dennis Dixon be able to run away from their defensive front? Doubtful, since Dixon hasn’t been running from anything lately – neither have your running backs, for that matter – the West Coast’s “Michael Vick” had just 34 yards on the ground against Arizona last week. He felt so bad that he completed 17 of his 22 pass attempts that game. And only three of those were to the other team!
On top of your quarterback’s miserable passer rating, your defense made Arizona running back Chris Henry look like a Heisman contender; they gave up almost 200 yards to the Wildcat junior who came into the game averaging fewer than 45.
I bet Yvenson Bernard is drooling over the thought of taking it to the Duck’s secondary. He averages more than 100 yards a game. If you extrapolate the 350 percent bonus you give to opposing running backs, Bernard should look to have 472 (and a half) yards against your defense.
Listen, I am looking forward to the game. The Civil War is one of the most exciting, yet underrated rivalries in all of college football. I’ll even admit that I will root for Oregon to win its bowl game because it looks good for the Pac-10.
And as much as I trash talk you right now, I do admire how much you’ve built your program up through hard work, dedication and a tricked-out $3 million locker room. Your team is probably less concerned about Saturday’s game than they are with upgrading their lockers to Playstation 3.
But don’t come up here quacking about conference championships, Rose Bowls or even national titles. We know you are just seeking acceptance – will a win against OSU take Bellotti off the hot seat and make your late-season tank job acceptable?
Beaver fans are pleased that you are willing to measure the success of your season on a single game in Corvallis. But when people are looking for the best team in the state of Oregon, they need only look at Oregon State.
Kellen Hade is a sports columnist at the Daily Barometer.