After Saturday’s manhandling of Colorado the Ducks are preparing for their final regular season game against the hated Beavers. Senior cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu is looking forward to his fourth and final appearance in the Civil War.
Caleb Couturie of FishDuck.com was at the Hatfield Dowlin Complex to talk to the All-American senior about the rivalry and how he is getting ready for Saturday.
For Duck fans, this Saturday’s game against Oregon State is the most anticipated game of the year. Forget Stanford, Michigan State or UCLA; we want to watch the Ducks run all over those pesky Beavers. The players though are heading into the Civil War just as they have prepared for every game all season. Ekpre-Olomu told us that he’s excited to face the Beavers but they need to “treat every game like it’s another game, and you have to prepare for it the same way.”
Since this will mark Ekpre-Olomu’s fourth and final time to play against Oregon State, he will be looking to do his part to make sure he leaves college with a perfect record against the Ducks’ biggest rival. The last time the Beavers were able to come out on top was in 2007; none of the current players has ever tasted defeat at the hands of their rivals. So does this diminish the intensity of the game? Not at all, “We’ve never lost so we want to keep that going,” Ekpre-Olomu said “We don’t want to be the team that loses, it makes you want to work harder.”
Troy Hill will play in his last Civil War this Saturday
Oregon State is by no means the scariest match-up the Ducks have faced this season but they will not be underestimated. Sean Mannion is an experienced quarterback that Ekpre-Olomu respects: “He finds the holes and he has a great arm so he can throw any type of pass.” Without the star wide receivers that they have had in previous years, the Beavers will be forced to spread the ball around. This is good news for both Ekpre-Olomu and redshirt senior Troy Hill, both of whom will surely be looking to make senior statements in their last Civil War game.
Undaunted in their hunt for a national championship. the Ducks are approaching the task ahead one game at a time. Senior day at Autzen gave fans something to cheer about and now the Ducks will look to head to Corvallis to rain on the Beaver’s parade.
Top Photo by Kevin Cline
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My name is Max Thornberry, and I am a sophomore at the University of Oregon studying journalism. I am from Ventura, CA but fell in love with Oregon when I visited last year and came to the Oregon vs. Cal game. I love sports and my hobbies mainly include fantasy baseball and football as well as playing sports video games. Growing up watching sports center and espn news I always wondered what I had to do in order to get a job where I got to talk sports every day, so when I saw an opportunity to intern for a sports news website (FishDuck.com) I couldn’t wait to get involved.