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Slaughter: The Civil War just means more

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Oregon State's James Rodgers (8) scores the winning touchdown in double overtime of the Civil War football game as Oregon's Patrick Chun (15) chases in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007.
Oregon State's James Rodgers (8) scores the winning touchdown in double overtime of the Civil War football game as Oregon's Patrick Chun (15) chases in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007. (civil war)
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From the moment that you choose to live in the state of Oregon, as a sports fan, you’re forced to choose between the Oregon State Beavers and the Oregon Ducks.

People may try and tell you that you can be a fan of both teams, or you can root for the other team when they’re not playing each other, but throughout the 121 meetings between the two teams, one thing’s certain.

You’re either a Duck or a Beaver.

Being an OSU grad and (let’s just say) growing up around a lot of Beaver gear, the Civil War has always been something special to me.

As most Beaver fans will agree, there’s not a more important game in the season than the Civil War. It’s not only bragging rights for 365 days, it’s the right to proudly boast your gear and colors around town.

While there have been plenty of memorable Civil Wars over the years, several will forever stick with me as some of the best Beaver football I’ve witnessed.

Whether it was watching Matt Moore and Alexis Serna lift the Beavers to victory en-route to a 10 win season in 2006, hearing Bill Swancutt’s name chanted in Reser Stadium in 2004’s victory, or seeing college football be revolutionized with James Rodgers’ fly-sweep against the Ducks in 2007, the Civil War will has always brought unparalleled passion.

The last time the Beavers hosted the Ducks in Reser Stadium, OSU managed to snap an eight-year losing streak with a 34-24 victory. It happens to be one of my favorite games in the history of the two schools.

As an original member of the BeaversEdge.com staff, I covered OSU football during very turbulent times in the Gary Andersen era. The 2016 season had been a seesaw affair up until that point with mostly narrow victories and several puzzling blowout losses.

Yet, somehow it didn’t matter. Even with Andersen at the helm, the Beavers managed to defy the odds, play together with emotion and passion, and beat a better team. While there are many memorable games in the series, there was just something special the way that Ryan Nall and the offensive line took over the game in the pouring down rain that will be ingrained in my memory for years to come.

The heartaches have been there too. I’m not sure many OSU fans would argue against the fact that losses to Oregon in 2008 and 2009 might have have been the one thing that kept the Beavers from reaching upper-echelon status in the then Pac-10 under Mike Riley.

For two straight seasons, the Beavers positioned themselves to be the conferences representative in the Rose Bowl game. However, twice, the Oregon Ducks dashed the hopes of a orange-clad Rose Bowl. Whether it was by a blowout margin in 2008, or a last-second loss in 2009, the Beavers couldn’t quite get over the hump that would have sent them to their first BCS game under Riley.

While it’s impossible to say what would have happened if the Beavers had won just one of those games, it was certainly a tough pill to swallow to see the Ducks ride their 2009 Rose Bowl, their first since 1995. As we all know, the Ducks parlayed that first Rose Bowl in ‘09 to unparalleled success in college football for the next five seasons. The Beavers’ losses in ‘08 and ‘09 turned out to be a bit of a turning point for the program as OSU has had just just two winning seasons since.

While I’m not saying that the Beavers would have become a national power like Oregon did by winning one of those games, I am saying that reaching just one BCS bowl can completely flip the fortunes of a program in terms of donations, recruits, and an uptick in national spotlight.

While neither team is has a BCS berth on the line this year, it’s important to remember just how much has rode on this game in the past, and how even though the stakes are less in 2018, it’s going to have just as much intensity.

Despite the Beavers being underdogs in this year’s contest against Mario Cristobal’s group, all records go out the window in the Civil War.

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There’s the great example of 1998… Very few gave the Beavers a chance to beat the 15th ranked Ducks’ in Parker Stadium, but a freshman duo of Jonathan Smith and Ken Simonton led the Beavers to a double-overtime victory that will never be forgotten and is a personal favorite of Smith.

I also think back to 2013… Oregon State was headed to Autzen Stadium sporting a 6-5 record following a 69-27 spanking at the hands of Washington.

The Beavers were overmatched and weren’t expected to put up much of a fight against a very good Ducks’ team that featured the likes of Marcus Mariota, De’Anthony Thomas, DeForest Buckner, and others.

Despite the odds stacked against them, OSU came into the game rejuvenated with the energy of the Civil War and lost 36-35 in what was one of the most exciting back and forth battles the series has ever seen.

The game has a way of bringing about an energy and willingness to lay it all on the line that just isn’t there for the other 11 games on the schedule.

While Jonathan Smith and Co. won’t speak a word about it this week, the Beavers will have plenty of motivation this Friday as there’s one score that is on the mind of every single OSU player that was on the team last season.

69-10.

In what was perhaps an all-time low for the Oregon State football program outside of the dreadful Joe Avezzano years, Willie Taggart and Co. embarrassed Cory Hall’s group in Autzen Stadium en-route to the biggest margin of defeat in the series to date.

The Beavers won’t say it, but they’ll most certainly have a little extra motivation to get last year’s taste out of their mouths. The Civil War brings out some of the most intense and high-energy football seen all season and for a OSU’s senior class, it’s a chance to go out with their second win over the Ducks in their college career.

A lot of things will have to go right in order for the Beavers to pull off a victory on Friday. They’ll need a great crowd in Reser Stadium. They’ll need the offensive line to give Jake Luton time to throw and open up holes for Jermar Jefferson. The defense needs to win the line of scrimmage and slow down the Ducks’ dynamic ground game. The secondary and linebackers will need to make plays in space and stay fundamentally sound to not allow such glaring gaps in coverage. They’ll have to get pressure on Justin Herbert and force him to make throws under duress.

If they manage to do all that, and get the mojo and swagger on their side a la 2016, the Beavers will win their second straight Civil War at Reser Stadium. If they don’t, it could be a long, cold, and rainy day in Corvallis.

That’s the heart-wrenching beauty of the Civil… You never know what can happen.

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