Heading into this year's Civil War between the Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers, No. 10 Oregon was the heavy favorite. By the fourth quarter, the only question remaining was how large the margin of victory would be for the Ducks en route to their clinching of the Pac-12 North.
In all past meetings between the two teams, the largest margin of victory has been 44 points. At the outset of the final quarter of play on Saturday, the Ducks were on top by a score of 42-7 and looking to score again. The Beavers managed to stop Oregon on that drive, however, and later picked up another touchdown of their own to close the gap just a bit. On the kickoff following that touchdown, Oregon State's kicker Trevor Romaine was able to come up with a big tackle and force a fumble, giving the Beavers the ball right back at midfield with over six minutes left to play. On the first play of that drive, however, quarterback Sean Mannion was sacked and fumbled the ball right back to Oregon, as once again the Beavers saw their hopes dwindling. Oregon would score on an Ayele Forde rushing touchdown and run the score back up to 49-14.
Oregon State managed to pick up another touchdown with under three minutes left in the game, as Mannion completed a 23 yard pass to Brandin Cooks. Unfortunately for the Beavers, their fourth quarter scoring was too little, too late. They managed to avoid a historical blowout, however, and finished with a respectable final score against a top-ten division rival. The Ducks ultimately prevailed by a final score of 49-21.
The potent Oregon offense was able to let some key players shine in the game. Receiver David Paulson had a career day on his Senior Day, finishing with 105 yards on eight catches and a touchdown. Running back LaMichael James managed 141 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown before leaving the game with an injury. Quarterback Darron Thomas also had a solid game, finishing 25-for-38 with 294 passing yards and four touchdowns. Thomas was pulled in the fourth quarter in order for backup Bryan Bennett to get some snaps. Bennett finished with 10 rushing yards.
Sean Mannion put together a solid game of his own on the Beavers side of the ball, finishing 27-for-44 with 289 yards and three touchdowns, but also throwing two interceptions.
For all news and information related to the Oregon Ducks, please visit Addicted to Quack. For Oregon State football information, head over to Building the Dam.