Tom Patterson Emerald
Oregon lost the Civil War in Corvallis last year despite the efforts of Maurice Morris (9).
UO, OSU find wins
with home crowds
■ The home team has won
the past four Wars, and Oregon
knows the Autzen advantage
will help on Saturday
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
Four years. Four Civil Wars.
Four victories for the home team.
The story has been the same for
the past four Civil War games, and
the Oregon players can only hope
it stays the same this year. The
games are hard-fought. They are
emotional.
The home team wins.
“Lately, the home field advantage
has been significant, and certainly
we hope that stays in place,” Ore
gon head coach Mike Bellotti said.
“We’re happy to be playing here.”
The trend started in 1997 with a
48-30 Duck win in Eugene. The
year 1998 marked the double-over
time thriller in Corvallis, and the
year the Beavers upset a powerful
Duck squad.
In 1999, Oregon toppled Oregon
State to earn a berth in the Sun
Bowl. Last season, the Beavers
shattered Oregon’s dreams for an
outright Pacific-10 Conference ti
tle and a trip to the Rose Bowl.
Oregon State won the game 23-13
in Corvallis.
For obvious reasons, the Oregon
players are happy the game is in
Eugene this season.
“It’s tough to play in Corvallis,”
senior tight end Justin Peelle said.
“So it’s nice for our seniors to go out
playing OSU at home.”
Those Oregon seniors — 13 in
all — will take the field for the last
time Saturday. They include stars
Joey Harrington, Peelle and
Rashad Bauman. On the other side
of the ball, Oregon State standouts
Ken Simonton and Jonathan Smith
will also play their final regular
season games.
“It’s nice for a lot of us seniors
to play our last game here at
Autzen,” senior defensive tackle
Zach Freiter said.
Bauman said he looks forward to
playing the Civil War at home, but
said he knows that in the end, ei
ther team could win.
“It’s always good to play at
home,” Bauman said. “I want to
play at home because it’s my last
game here. But all that’s backseat
stuff. The best team on that day is
going to win the game.”
Part of the reason the teams
switch wins could be the revenge
factor. This season, especially, the
Ducks will be looking to avenge
last season’s embarrassing loss in
Corvallis.
“After last year, we’ve got to
come out and finish the job,”
Peelle said.
In the Civil War, it seems, the
bounce of the ball can surely affect
the game’s outcome.
“It’s gone both ways in the past
few years, and we’re just going to go
out there and do the best we can to
win it this year,” Freiter said.
In 1998, the ball bounced the
Beavers’ way. Smith led a last
minute scoring drive to tie the
game and send it to overtime. In
the overtime period, Oregon State
fans thought they had won the
game when Akili Smith failed to
convert a fourth-down play. But
pass interference was called, and
the Ducks sent the game to a sec
ond overtime. When Simonton
rushed for the winning touchdown
in that second extra period, Beaver
fans rushed the field.
“There is a certain intensity and
energy about this game every year
regardless of what’s at stake,” Bel
lotti said. “The te»m that channels
that energy and focuses on their
play will win.”
This season there is much at
stake. The Ducks need a win to
keep their hopes — slim as they
are — alive for the Rose Bowl. The
Beavers need a win to become
bowl-eligible and earn a trip to the
postseason for the third straight
year.
The stakes are high. Oregon can
only hope that history repeats itself.
“It’s always good to have some
thing to feed off of,” Peelle said. “In
a rivalry game it’s always good to
have every advantage you can get.”
Emerald sports reporter Peter Hockaday
can be reached at
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
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