No. 6 Oregon Ducks Face No. 16 Oregon State Beavers in Regular Season Finale
The No. 6 Oregon Ducks (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12) can clinch a spot in the Pac-12 title with a win over the No. 16 Oregon State Beavers (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12) on Friday.
This will be the 127th meeting in the historic rivalry and will be the last played as an in-conference Pac-12 matchup.
Oregon leads the series all-time with a record of 67-49-10, but the Beavers are 2-1 in the last three matchups, winning last year’s game 38-34 in a late comeback. Oregon held a 31-17 at the end of the third quarter and Oregon State scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to shock the Ducks.
“I think it resonates with every single one of us and certainly not far from our mind,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said. “They're a good team. We have to go play really well to compete against them and you got to play an entire game.”
The Ducks are coming off an impressive win, routing Arizona State 49-13 in an offensive onslaught by Bo Nix and Troy Franklin. Nix tied the single-game passing touchdowns record (6) in just the first half, while Franklin set Oregon's single-season receiving yards and receiving touchdowns records, now up to 1,221 yards and 13 touchdowns through eleven games.
Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix throws a pass against the Oregon State Beavers in 2022.
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“Obviously a fun game on the road for our team. Was good to see them play a good game for four quarters and really come out fast,” Lanning said. “I'm certainly excited about what this week has in front of us getting to play a great team in Oregon State.”
In Oregon State's fourth-quarter comeback, the Beavers ran the ball 19 straight times. This has been a big point of emphasis on the Oregon defense the whole week.
“That took a toll on us right after that game,” linebacker Jeffrey Bassa said. “We went and looked at the film and, you know, we just weren't gap assigned and little things like that. And yeah, that's something that we focused on this off-season was specifically stopping that run.”
Oregon Ducks linebacker Jeffrey Bassa runs agains the Oregon State Beavers in 2022.
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According to Bassa, Oregon’s coaching staff set up all the TVs in the locker room and practice facilities with last year's Oregon State game playing on repeat.
“You're walking in the locker room,” Brandon Dorlus said. "That's the only thing they show is the fourth quarter of that game last year. It's annoying because we're trying to play music before practice. So we can't change the TV, maybe they locked it with that game so everybody can remember what happened.”
Oregon Ducks defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus on the sideline with Noah Sewell and Taki Taimani.
Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest
Oregon’s run defense is the tenth-best in the country, with teams averaging 96.2 rushing yards per game. The Ducks have allowed only two players to rush for more than 100 yards Texas Tech quarterback Tyler Shough (101 yards), and Washington’s Dillon Johnson (100 yards).
Oregon State’s star running back Damien Martinez averages 104.2 yards per game and is coming off a two-touchdown, 123-yard performance against No. 4 Washington in a 22-20 loss.
During last year’s loss, Martinez had 103 rushing yards before an injury took him out of the game in the third quarter.
Since Oregon will be moving to the Big Ten conference next year this might be the last matchup of this in-state rivalry, but with some possible non-conference game changes in the years to come, the rivalry could still go on.
“I think games like this are really important,” Lanning said. “It would be great if that's something we could make happen and continue to make happen. I know everybody on our end would love to see that continue.”
