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The Civil War is back in Corvallis! No matter how the season is going for either team the Civil War is usually a very competitive game. Just last season the Beavers rallied back to cut the Ducks lead to 5 in the 4th quarter after trailing 31-7 at halftime. A lot of people think that how the Beavers played in the second half of that game was a glimpse into the future and if that is the case then the Ducks better be ready for a very competitive game.
Oregon looks to have somewhat of a down year according to their standards of recent years. They have started out at #24 in the rankings. Their out-of-conference schedule is not extremely difficult and they may move up in the standings to start out, but it is hard to see them staying at the top of the PAC-12 with the conference having so much competition this year. Having said all of that, they still have a very talented roster. For the second straight year they will be starting a graduate transfer quarterback in Dakota Prokup, a Montana State transfer. They will also return 1,838-yard rusher Royce Freeman in the backfield. The offense will still be a force but their defense will continue to be suspect as it was last season. Oregon will have to rely on outscoring opponents rather than shutting them down.
This could be beneficial for an improved Oregon State offense, but the defense is going to have to step up big time if the Beavers want to win their first Civil War since 2007. Everyone knows that the Beavers have the potential to put up points against a sub-par Oregon defense because they showed that potential last season when they scored 35 second half points against them, but the defense is going to need to be lockdown. The Beavers probably aren’t going to win a shoot out with the Ducks if it comes to that. The Ducks just have too many weapons on offense
Prediction:
The Beavers have a huge advantage having the Civil War on their home turf this season. Corvallis is going to be crazy for this game in hopes that they win this matchup for the first time in 9 seasons. The Beavers offense picked apart the Ducks’ defense last season and there is no reason they shouldn’t be able to do so this year as well. However the defense is still not quite improved enough to stop the offensive firepower of the Ducks. It will be a close game but I believe the Ducks will pull out the close 42-37 victory. It will be sad for the Corvallis faithful, but this will be one of the better Civil Wars in recent years.