Man of the moment
Brian Johnson has
been a pleasant
secondary find.
PAGE12B
Oregon Ducks vs Oregon State Beavers
Game Day
3:30 p.m.
Saturday
at Autzen Stadium
Scott Barnett Emerald
Senior rover Michael Fletcher, one of Oregon’s vocal leaders, is not shy in sharing on-the-fieid emotions.
With stakes high,
Civil War simmers
■ For the first time since 1964,
both teams are already guaranteed
winning records
By Mirjam Swanson
Oregon Daily Emerald
Man, oh man, this is gonna be fun.
ABC and the BCS might not recognize
it — but they’re alone in that regard.
Because everyone else gets it.
The 1999 Civil War is huge. Momen
tous. One for the ages.
You students understand. All 6,000 of
you who skipped class and waited and
waited and waited in a seemingly infi
nite line to get your precious Civil War
tickets.
Oregon’s loyal non-student following
realizes the significance too. The school’s
record-setting demand for season tickets
caused the athletic department to stop
selling single-game seats for the Civil
War before the season even began.
But most importantly, the Ducks (7-3
overall, 5-2 Pacific-10 Conference) know
how important this is. As do the Beavers,
after upsetting Oregon last season with a
44-41 double-overtime win.
“OSU...” senior cornerback Justin
Wilcox said. “Whew... I’m excited just
thinking about it. Ever since last week
end, man, since after the Cal game, OSU
has been all I’ve been thinking about.”
Since last Saturday’s California game
— in which Oregon managed yet anoth
er dramatic win on the last play — all
any football fan in this state has been
thinking about is the Civil War.
Of all the rivalry games happening in
the Pac-10 this weekend, the one at
Autzen Stadium is the only one includ
ing two teams with winning records.
With a win, the Ducks could end up
anywhere from the Rose Bowl to the Sun
Bowl, depending on the results of Stan
ford and Washington’s games.
With a loss, they could finish this sea
son where they finished last season — in
Hawaii in one of the bowl games held for
the Pac-lO’s fourth- and fifth-place
teams.
Then again, if the Beavers (7-3, 4-3)
can find a way to end Oregon’s school
record 13-game home winning streak,
they might find themselves in second
place and heading to the Holiday Bowl.
If that seems weird, it’s because Ore
gon State hasn’t been bowl-eligible since
1964. In contrast, the Ducks had 12 win
ning seasons during that span. And since
i i OSU... I'm excited just think
ing about it. Ever since last week
end, man, since after the Cal game,
OSU has been all I’ve been thinking
about.
Justin Wilcox
Senior cornerback %l
1975, Oregon has won 19 of the past 24
Civil War meetings.
Finally, the Beavers are winning again,
perhaps to the surprise of everyone, be
sides themselves and the most ardent of
Beaver believers.
“We know we’re gonna win this sea
son, we just know it,” senior strong safe
ty Terrence Carroll said before the season
began. “It just feels different this year.
You can tell from the atmosphere.”
So while the rest of the Pac-10 chuck
led and shook their heads at such prog
nostications, head coach Dennis Erick
son spread out his offense and got the
ball moving, becoming the only Beavers’
head coach to record a winning record
during his first season with the program.
Thanks largely to the efforts of tailback
Ken Simonton, the Beavers are third in
Turn to Oregon, Page 19B
OSU strives to top surprising season with War win
The Beavers are
assured of their
first winning
season since
1970 but want a
Civil War win to
make it that
much sweeter
By Scott Pesznecker
Oregon Daily Emerald
Call it luck, call it skill, call it des
tiny.
By whatever means, Oregon State
— which has been the butt of nearly
every Pacific-10 Conference joke for
the past three decades — could top
its first winning season since 1970
with a victory against Oregon at
Autzen Stadium on Saturday.
And unlike the last 30 years, some
thing is at stake for the winner of the
Civil War. An Oregon State victory
would leave the Ducks and Beavers
tied for second place in the confer
ence, and the hoopla surrounding
Oregon State’s turnaround could
send it to the Holiday Bowl in San
Diego and oust Oregon to a bowl in
Hawaii.
“Rivalry games like this, that’s
what it’s all about,” Beavers head
coach Dennis Erick
son said. “We all
kind of wait for
games like this, par
ticularly in the situ
ation it’s in. We
both had decent sea
sons, we’re both
playing to go to different bowl games.
But more than that, it’s just a matter
of the pride of the State of Oregon,
the Civil War.”
Oregon State has played like two
different teams this season.
The Beavers were routed by Wash
ington 47-21 at Reeser Stadium on
Oct. 9, after the Huskies rolled to a
45-0 halftime lead. Then, just two
weeks later, the Beavers decimated
UCLA 55-7.
The victory against California on
Nov. 6 — the win that clinched the
winning season — was like any other
Oregon State game of the season. Dif
ferent players took turns stepping up
to make big plays, such as linebacker
Tevita Moala’s picking up of a Gold
en Bear fumbled snap and running
24 yards for a touchdown.
Moala was a player so unknown
that immediately following the game
clinching touchdown, television
sportscasters were identifying him as
“No. 2.”
Oregon State, however, is not with
out star quality.
Sophomore running back Ken Si
monton is second in tlje Pac-10 in
rushing with 127 yards per outing,
and he leads in scoring with more
than nine points per game. He keys a
Beaver running attack that carries
159 yards per game.
Quarterback Jonathan Smith an
chors the Beavers’ passing game,
which is ranked No. 2 in the Pac-10.
Smith has thrown for 2,536 yards and
Turn toOSU, Page 8B
j Sizzling Stats
! Scoring Scoring
; Offense Defense
: OSU 31.4 OSU 22.9
: Oregon 36.1 Oregon 25.0
Quotable
“We've had great practices...
This is the best feeling I've had
going into this game since I’ve
coached here."
—MlkeBellotti,
Oregon head coach
"This is the best season they’ve
had in awhile. They've still gotta
come into Autzen, which is our
house. And they’ve gotta beat us
here. I don't think that’s gonna
happen."
—Tony Hartley,
Oregon flanker
Key Player
Reuben Droughns
The Ducks’ need a
standout performance
from their senior tailback
in his first taste of the
bitter Givi! War,