Predictions: No. 16 Oregon State Beavers At No. 6 Oregon Ducks
By 750 THE GAME STAFF
Each week our staff at 750 The Game and fellow Pac-12 experts predict the score of every Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers game. This week the two take on each other in the Civil War rivalry game. The game will be played at Autzen Stadium in Eugene where the Ducks are -13 1/2.
John Canzano:
Oregon State has played everyone tough this season. The Beavers three losses came by a total of eight points. OSU stunned Oregon in the 2022 Civil War, erasing a 17-point fourth quarter comeback and knocked the Ducks out of the title game. I think Oregon avenges that loss, but it’s closer than Las Vegas thinks it will be.
Oregon 31, Oregon State 23
Jon Wilner:
A difficult assignment for the Beavers under any circumstances — they haven’t won in Autzen Stadium since 2007 — has an added challenge this week: the preparation. While OSU was grinding through a physically and emotionally taxing duel with Washington last weekend, the Ducks were in cruise control at Arizona State. The home team should be faster, fresher and highly motivated to lock up a spot in the conference championship. The short week only adds to Oregon’s edge.
Pick: Oregon -13 1/2
Spencer McLaughlin:
Bo Nix has been kept upright by this year’s new-look offensive line, and the Beavs have been good getting after the quarterback this year. They’ve generated 36 sacks, led by Andrew Chatfield Jr. who has 9.0 sacks himself this season.
Oregon State’s defense struggled on the road early in the season, but gave up 27 points at Arizona and 19 points at Colorado in their last 2 contests away from Corvallis. This Oregon offense is better than either of those units, but don’t sleep on the Wildcats in that comparison.
As long as this year’s edition of the game formerly known as the Civil War doesn’t come down to the Ducks needing a field goal, Oregon can get a statement win here. Avoid penalties, and they may even surpass my expectations.
Oregon 35, Oregon State 24
T.J. Mathewson:
I don’t like the Beavers’ chances. I see advantages for Oregon across the board in this game, though if it comes down to field goal kicking, Atticus Sappington has my vote. I think the better team and better quarterback get off to a hot start, and keep Oregon State chasing from behind for much of the contest, and that’s not how this team is built to win. For the first time all season, I’ll pick against the Beavers.
Oregon 35, Oregon State 21
Steven Vaughan:
If this game was at Reser Stadium I may feel different. But instead I think Oregon is different. The Ducks are a legitimate CFP contender this season. Oregon State’s defense has been much worse on the road this season. 373 yards a game on the road compared to 290 at home given up per game. The Ducks offense is going to be great. I don’t trust DJ Uiagalelei in a big game still and he proved that against Washington last week. I think Oregon handles the Beavers easy and wins this game by 20+ points and the Ducks are rolling into Vegas to get the rematch against Washington.
Oregon 45, Oregon State 21
Judah Newby:
Jonathan Smith’s comments to John Canzano this week and Scott Barnes’ subsequent statement could not come at a worse time for the Beavers on the field, in my opinion. Going into the season, this felt on paper to be the best chance for Oregon State to win in Eugene since their 2007 double-overtime thriller. Smith says nothing has distracted his team from the task at hand, and while that may be true up to this point, the public conversation around Smith’s future and the pending finality to a regular season that was not quite as satisfying as Beaver Nation hoped brings them to the doorstep of an Oregon team that is looking to dominate a rival, avenge last year’s embarrassing collapse, and send a loud message to Washington ahead of next week’s Pac-12 title game.
I want this to be a close, classic game. The rivalry deserves that in this final edition of Pac-12 Civil War football and the 127th overall meeting. Sadly, I don’t see it being that way.
Oregon 41, Oregon State 16
