Civil what?
Civil who? Civil why?
Here I was, writing a basketball story, when someone came up and told me there was a football game between Oregon and Oregon State this weekend.
Crazy, huh?
Apparently, this game could decide who goes to the Rose Bowl. You’d never know it from reading this week’s Oregon newspapers, though. Or flipping on the television, or listening to the radio. The state media is keeping this game in a lock box.
At least the players are keeping quiet about the game.
“It’s going to be World War III,” Ducks cornerback Rashad Bauman said.
“This is going to be the biggest game that anybody here has ever played in,” Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington said.
Oh, come on, Joey, you should be used to this stuff by now. When was the last time Oregon didn’t play for the Rose Bowl? That No. 5 ranking in the AP Poll — the Ducks shouldn’t be satisfied with that.
And Oregon State, ranked eighth? What’s so odd about that? This is a perennial football powerhouse we’re talking about here. The Corvallis dynasty isn’t just getting started, it’s been around for years.
You see, the students at Oregon now really are used to this. The Ducks have been slowly gaining national attention since their Rose Bowl appearance in 1994, and their success in 2000 seems to be retribution for falling one yard short of beating UCLA and possibly a Rose Bowl berth last year.
Corvallis is going nuts because the Beavers have never been this good. Ever. Dennis Erickson is a Corvallis god. Ken Simonton is one of the best running backs in the nation, and the Oregon State faithful are just about to jump off their three-story buildings over him.
Even Portland is getting in on the act. It’s state-wide. Just pick up an Oregonian, Portland’s newspaper. Every day it gets more and more fraught with Civil War hype, and the state just eats it up.
You may have noticed, if you turned to page 9 of this very Game Day, that I picked Oregon State to win Saturday’s game. This is because Oregon State is the better football team. Sorry, but it’s true. Right now, Oregon’s defense is not together, and the offense still hasn’t put together a complete game. Oregon State, on the other hand, has put together a string of complete games and has blown out team after team.
Maybe Saturday’s game will be the first game where we see the real Oregon offense. Maybe Oregon will put all the pieces together and blow out the Beavers.
But hey, what do I know?
Sorry, I won’t be watching Oregon-Oregon State this Saturday. I’m going to make pancakes and watch Ohio State-Michigan. Go Buckeyes!