Oregon’s 14 seniors will look to stay undefeated in their four career matchups with in-state rival Oregon State when the Ducks host the Beavers in Autzen Stadium at 12:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
The Ducks (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12) are fresh off a heartbreaking loss at home to USC last week and still fighting for the opportunity to host the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game on Dec. 2.
Oregon State (3-8, 3-5) will see a tough 2011 season come to an end regardless of Saturday’s outcome, having suffered through a laundry list of injuries to key positions for much of the season.
The 115th Civil War matchup is the seventh-most contested rivalry in the country. And for the fourth-straight week in November, the Ducks have had plenty of work cut out for them in practice.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205337772@@
“The last few weeks have been like that for us,” senior tight end David Paulson said. “Every week we’ve had to come back and get prepared for another big game, and this is just gonna be another one that we have to be prepared this week and have some good practices so we’re ready to go Saturday.”
For No. 9 Oregon, which is no longer in the BCS title contention after its second loss of the season, the Civil War stakes are somewhat different in 2011, though not unfamiliar.
Last year, LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner torched the Beavers defense for a combined 267 rushing yards and three touchdowns to send then-No. 1 Oregon sailing into the BCS National Championship Game.@@http://www.goducks.com/downloads2/394020.htm?ATCLID=205042653&SPSID=3383&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
In 2009, with both teams ranked in the top-15 nationally, that same duo combined for 374 all-purpose yards and another three scores en route to a 37-33 victory. The win sent Oregon to its first Rose Bowl since the 1994 season and handed Chip Kelly his first conference championship.
But a return trip to Rose Bowl is still a few weeks away for the Ducks, which means nothing beyond Oregon State matters in practice during the holiday week.
“For us, it’s the same every week — prepare against a faceless opponent — and practice is like Groundhog Day here,” senior offensive tackle Mark Asper said. “But I do enjoy the energy that there is around town and on campus.”
Oregon State has lost three of its last four contests leading up to Saturday, but a 38-21 win over Washington on Senior Day last weekend provided some hope for a competitive contest. Similar to years past, the Beavers bring in a talented receiving corps that averages 285.6 yards per game through the air, and a rushing offense that musters less than 94 yards per game on the ground.@@http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html@@
Freshman quarterback Sean Mannion ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in passing yards per game and has the second-most completions (278) behind only Arizona’s Nick Foles (354).@@CE@@
Among Mannion’s favorite targets is junior wide receiver Markus Wheaton with 71 receptions for 947 yards and one touchdown this season. He’s also carried the ball 22 times for 179 yards.
When Oregon went to Corvallis last year, Wheaton caught 10 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown in one of the best performances against the Ducks’ secondary all season.
Paulson expects to see nothing less than the Beavers’ best come Saturday.
“They’re going to be up for this game,” he said. “It’s the Civil War and they’re going to bring us their best stuff, and we have to be prepared for it.”
Defensively, Kelly thinks highly of freshmen defensive ends Scott Crichton and Dylan Wynn. Crichton (6-foot-3, 258 pounds) and Wynn (6-foot-2, 240) will cause problems for Oregon’s bigger offensive tackles on the perimeter much the way they have throughout the regular season.
Crichton leads the Pac-12 with five forced fumbles, is second in tackles for loss (13.5) and fourth in sacks (six), while Wynn leads the league with five fumbles recovered.
“They’re always very active and very athletic,” Kelly said. “So a lot of those guys we played against last year in a real good game up there (are back), so we expect the same thing.”