Oregon head football coach Chip Kelly has preached all year long to his team that they are going to take things on a day-to-day basis and not get overexcited or look too far into the future, but with the final regular season game falling on a Thursday night against the in-state rival Oregon State Beavers, the future is undeniably here.
 
And while Kelly and the Ducks continue to say that the annual Civil War matchup is just another game, it’s hard to believe given the gravity of the circumstances that they are approaching the contest lightly.
 
“There’s really a lot on the line,” said redshirt running back LaMichael James. “It’s the Pac-10 championship, it’s a chance to go to the Rose Bowl. You’ve got to treat it like any other game, but it’s really not like any other game.”
 
James will be a determining factor in the No. 7 Ducks’ rushing attack against the Pacific-10 Conference’s strongest run defense that allows just over 98 yards on the ground per game. Last year when Oregon traveled to Corvallis, then-senior Jeremiah Johnson rushed for 219 yards and a touchdown, while LeGarrette Blount tacked on an additional 112 yards and
another score.
 
James has had no trouble carrying the load for the Ducks all season long as he’s tallied 1,310 yards on 190 carries and reached the end zone 11 times.
 
Junior quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who has tallied 26 touchdowns during his 10 games in 2009, had a field day against the Oregon State secondary last season completed 11-of-17 passes for 274 yards and three TDs. Wide receiver Jeff Maehl and tight end Ed Dickson each contributed more than 70 yards receiving and a score in 2008 and have continued with that pace so far this year.
 
Maehl leads the Ducks with 46 receptions for 548 yards and five touchdowns, while Dickson has pulled down 42 receptions for 551 yards and six scores. As a whole, the OSU defense allows more than 242 yards per game through the air, which will be an interesting matchup with the conference’s ninth-ranked passing offense that accounts for just 187.5 yards per game.
 
“You can’t not get excited when you’re playing in this atmosphere,” Kelly said.
 
But with the biggest game in the 113-year Civil War history coming to Autzen Stadium, there’s no denying that the Oregon faithful will play a key role as the 12th man.
 
“Oh my goodness, we have the greatest fans, I’ll put it like that,” senior Andre Crenshaw said. “We have the best fans you could ask for. They’re always going to be on our side and they’re always going to be there for us.”
 
The Ducks have compiled a 6-0 record at home this season and have yet to score less than 30 points in each of those wins. And over the past five outings Oregon is averaging 44 points per game with big days against two of the conferences toughest
defensive units — USC and ASU. In those two games seven different Oregon players — James, Masoli, Crenshaw, Maehl, Dickson, Kenjon Barner and Jamere Holland — were able to find the end zone at least once.
 
But come Thursday night, both teams will have to take a step back and appreciate the fact that they are going to be in the Civil War history books for a long time to come.
 
“I’d say it’s just overall amazing,” junior Spencer Paysinger said. “(The fact) that we have this opportunity to play our rivals in the Civil War for the Rose Bowl.”
 
Senior cornerback Walter Thurmond III, who has been sidelined with a season-ending knee injury since the Ducks 42-3 win over then-No. 6 California, reiterated that same message with no lack of confidence whatsoever.
 
“I’m completely confident in the guys,” Thurmond said. “We’ve been playing great all year and it’s another game and guys are excited for the Civil War and I think it means a lot
to everybody.”
 
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