Off the top of my head, recalling Civil War games I attended from my youth, I remember that the 1983, 0-0 “Toilet Bowl” had a torrential downpour. The 1985 game was frigidly cold. The 1993 game had fog. With this year’s game in September, and most years moving forward, the third competitor in the Civil War — weather — has been removed. Weather often played a part in the Civil War showdown every year in late November. But, with the overhaul occurring in college football, not so much anymore.
The forecast for Saturday’s game calls for partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the 70s. This is not really Civil War football weather as we have known it to be, as times are changing. It is better to embrace watching the game in shorts and sunglasses than to dwell on past “glories.” I pulled Mr. FishDuck away from his fun at King Johnnie casino to reminisce about his memories of this annual epic game.
Bo Nix: Captain America
It is not just his play, but his leadership that’s missed. Holding guys accountable, making sure they stay on assignment, and bringing up that intensity. This is not to throw shade at Dillon Gabriel, but Nix always came across as excelling in this department. Not to mention is escapability that helped to make the offensive line look even better than it was at times.
The offensive line needs some work. (Photo by Steven Chan)
The Game Itself
The Beavers come into the game 2-0 after an impressive 21-0 shutout against San Diego State. Granted, SDSU is not a good team, as they are expected to finish toward the bottom of the Mountain West, but a shutout is a shutout. In fact, it was the Beavers’ first road shutout since that infamous 0-0 Toilet Bowl.
If the Ducks can manage to get by the Beavers — which they should, but we know how that has gone this year — they go into a bye week sitting at 3-0 with the poor UCLA Bruins on September 28th for Oregon’s first Pac-12 flavored B1G game.
The point is, for a team that is a work in progress, the schedule has been a blessing. Imagine if they had played Boise State in Week 1 and then a quality Power-4 opponent in Week 2. The odds are the Ducks would be a solid 0-2.
And, we would all be screaming, “Oh No!”
Darren Perkins
Spokane, WA
Top photo credit: Craig Strobeck
Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in technology in SLC, Utah
Darren Perkins is a sales professional and 1997 Oregon graduate. After finishing school, he escaped the rain and moved to sunny Southern California where he studied screenwriting for two years at UCLA. Darren grew up in Eugene and in 1980, at the tender age of five, he attended his first Oregon football game. His lasting memory from that experience was an enthusiastic Don Essig announcing to the crowd: “Reggie Ogburn, completes a pass to… Reggie Ogburn.” Captivated by such a thrilling play, Darren’s been hooked on Oregon football ever since. Currently living in Spokane, Darren enjoys flaunting his yellow and green superiority complex over friends and family in Cougar country.