A rivalry is a special thing in any sport. They are a mixture of love and hate: love for one’s team and loathing for the opponent. They take years to develop and true rivalries form when both teams win and lose in close to equal measure.
For much of their history, Oregon and USC didn’t have a rivalry — or at least not one of consequence, as the Trojans frequently defeated the Ducks. However, everything changed in the late 2000s when Chip Kelly became Oregon’s offensive coordinator and then head coach, which coincided with heavy sanctions on USC from the Pete Carroll era. This started an incredible rivalry, as the Trojans have recently found themselves on the losing end of this match-up on the field and on the recruiting trail.
Both fan bases despise each other, and this will continue to be a fun and exciting match-up in future years.
But the in-state rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State has lost some of its luster. Sure, the Beavers still hate the Ducks with a burning passion, but the Ducks don’t seem to hate the Beavers. Pity them maybe, but it is more important for the Ducks to win not to embarrass the Beavers, but to ensure we ourselves are not embarrassed. This doesn’t feel like a true rivalry.
The Ducks and Beavers met last Saturday for the 128th Civil War, and the two programs feel like they are headed in two wildly different directions.
The Civil War has become incredibly one-sided. Since 2000, the Ducks have won 17 while the Beavers have only won eight. In the 2000s, the Civil War was quite competitive as the Beavers delivered some demoralizing defeats to the Ducks. However, by the 2010s the Ducks were in clear control, winning eight in a row. This isn’t the longest Oregon win streak in the series; there were some equally long streaks throughout the history of the series (held Oregon State as well). That’s the nature of rivalry.
But the difference now is the gap in the wins being greater than ever before, and the Ducks being ranked in the Top 25 is a constant, where either team being ranked used to be the anomaly. The Ducks are hardly recognizable from their roots. They are a national power and recruit top talent from all over the country, whereas the Beavers are much the same program they’ve always been with a focus on regional recruiting, and recruiting lesser talent then optimizing that talent through coaching.
Oregon’s Defense in the second half was too much for Oregon State.
(Photo by: Eric Becker)
The Beavers are by no means a bad team. Their fan base should be happy in hiring Trent Bray to replace Jonathan Smith, as he will win a lot of games for them. The Beaver team we saw on the field last Saturday was disciplined and well coached.
The Beavers were competitive for a half, but they didn’t have anything left in the tank for the second half of the game. Oregon was simply too big and athletic for the Beavers. In Bray’s post-game comments he did his team a disservice by saying they didn’t execute well. His team executed well; they were just physically out-matched.
They played a good half and were too tired to go a second half. They didn’t commit many penalties and didn’t shoot themselves in the foot. They just didn’t have the players.
That’s the difference in where these two teams are today. The Beavers are a good Group of Six team, where the Ducks should be one of the top teams in the country.
The Ducks are the better team on the field and it’s not even close. The Beavers can only hope and pray they get the Ducks in a bad year with key injuries to stand a chance, because that is how they have won their last four Civil War games.
This rivalry has been won on the field by the Ducks. In 2025 we will welcome the Beavers back to Autzen and they will leave with a loss. These two teams aren’t equal anymore.
This is what winning a rivalry looks like, and it feels kinda sad.
David Marsh
Portland, Oregon
Top Photo By Steven Chan
Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in technology in SLC, Utah.
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David Marsh is a high school social studies teacher in Portland, Oregon. As a teacher he is known for telling puns to his students who sometimes laugh out of sympathy, and being both eccentric about history and the Ducks.
David graduated from the University of Oregon in 2012 with Majors in: Medieval Studies, Religious Studies, and Geography. David began following Ducks Football after being in a car accident in 2012; finding football something new and exciting to learn about during this difficult time in his life. Now, he cannot see life without Oregon football.