Ladies and Gentleman, today is the 2014 edition of the Civil War. This college football rivalry has been recorded as the seventh most played college football rivalry game. Heading into this game, Oregon State stands at an overall record of 5-6, while the speedy Ducks are 10-1. Today is another big game Oregon needs to win if they want to continue their hope of chasing the national championship. However, certain questions have been looming throughout this week which have caused quite a stir in the media. Without further ado, here are the top three questions Oregon faces going into today’s match-up.
1. Tyner’s out? Who’s in?
One big question that faces Oregon is that they’re not sure whether RB Thomas Tyner will play today. Tyner has sustained some serious injuries to his foot and shoulder in previous games and is therefore questionable going into Saturday’s game. However, Duck fans shouldn’t worry that Oregon is in trouble since they always have a “Plan B” to make up for Tyner’s absence. Additionally, if he doesn’t play, it’s expected that Coach Helfrich will utilize RB Royce Freeman, RB Kenny Bassett and dual-threat RB/WR Byron Marshall.
2. Another week without All-American Center Hroniss Grasu
A couple of weeks ago, Grasu suffered a gruesome leg injury in a brilliant win against the Utes. Last week, he was replaced by back-up centers Doug Brenner and Hamani Stevens, who both performed pretty well. This evening, however, is a whole different scenario unlike last week’s match-up against the Buffaloes. The Beavers have a powerful defense with DE Dylan Wynn leading the pack with 27 solo tackles. With that in mind, both Stevens and Brenner will need to be on their “A game” in order to bring the Ducks to a great victory over the Beavers.
It’s a plane! It’s a monster! No, it’s SuperMariota!
3. Goodbye SuperMariota?
This is the No.1 question almost everyone in the college football world has been wondering about since the beginning of this season. Will this be Marcus Mariota’s last season wearing a Duck uniform? In almost every 2015 mock draft, Mariota is predicted to be a top pick in the first round. However, to be honest, this is still up in the air as Mariota has mentioned that he won’t announce his decision until the end of the season after he talks with his family.
Well folks, this is going to be quite a game. Don’t be surprised if players start getting chippy as both teams will be playing with a lot of emotion.
http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2014/11/no_3_oregon_vs_oregon_state_5.html
Top Photos by Craig Strobeck
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Hey! My name is Austin Willhoft and I’m currently a freshman at the University of Oregon studying Journalism. I lived my whole life down in sunny and beautiful Laguna Beach, CA where I completed all of my prior education. I always have been into sports writing/reporting mostly due to the fact that I love watching, analyzing, and playing all kinds of sports. However, if I were to narrow it down between two sports, it would be basketball and football, both of which I played heavily in high school. I’m thrilled to be working for FishDuck.com and most importantly being a third generation to attend the UO. Sko Ducks!