In final preparations for the Civil War, we'll take a look at Oregon's offense vs. Oregon State's defense, and vice versa.

We'll start with the aforementioned match-up, Oregon's O vs. OSU's D.<>

To the average fan, this match-up is the one that Oregon State should take most advantage of. Oregon's offense isn't as strong as it was just a few weeks ago, and Oregon State has one of the best defenses in the country. That is true, but the fact is that Oregon still has weapons on offense.

Tight End Ed Dickson is a force, a guy who is comparable to Fred Davis at USC. He's big, strong, and picks up a lot of yards. He was a common target for Dennis Dixon, but with Kempt and Roper at quarterback, will the Ducks be able to use Dickson to his potential?

Also, with Jonothan Stewart a bit hobbled and their quarterbacks dwindling, Oregon might turn to Andre Crenshaw to take some direct snaps. Arkansas has been doing this with McFadden, and it works great for an option team. The Ducks virtually had their own McFadden in Dixon, but now that he's injured, the Ducks don't have a quarterback who is a threat to run.

Another threat is Jaison Williams. He's tall and can leap, but will he catch it? That's the big question. Jaison is fast and explosive, but he has a knack for dropping passes. Plus, the weather forecast is not looking good. If rain becomes a factor and the ball is wet, the Duck QB's might have a hard time completing passes in the air.

Obviously we've been talking about Oregon State's defense all season. It needs to be noted that the Beavers rotate in a lot of players especially in the front line, so just because one guy is listed at a position doesn't mean he's going to play there the whole game.

The Beavers need to get pressure on these young quarterbacks early, and avoid giving up big plays. This game could easily be decided by turnovers, so the defense also needs to carry over the karma from the Washington State game.

As always, your comments are welcome below.

GO BEAVERS!

--JB--