The week is just about over and the game is close at hand. Both teams are making their final preparations for the game that both sides look forward to all year. The game that can make even the worst of seasons a great year. The game that causes tempers to flare and families to temporarily be divided.

It's time for "The Civil War".

Surprisingly it has been a very quiet week. I have not received the usual amount of taunting email from my friends of the feathered fowl. I have not received the usual amount of email from my fellow Beaver Believers of what they have sent forth to other Ducks they know. All in all the sides seem to be rather quiet.

Could this be that neither side is very confident in their teams' ability to win the game? I know I have spread my far share of Duck Hate mail this week. I know that I am confident in my teams' ability to crush the foul stench that is Duckdom on Saturday. But where is everyone else?

With both teams having the exact same record in both conference play and for the season had some affect on the confidence of fans on both sides. How can this be? Are the Ducks rolling over and admitting that they cannot win the game? (We all know they can't anyway, but I thought I would ask.)

OK, I like to pour gas on the fire. THE DUCKS STINK! There, I said it. Anyone disagree?

The Beavers and Ducks come into Saturdays came with the same records 3-4, 7-4. Both teams need a win to be assured of a bowl game. Both teams need a win to not have a losing record in conference.

The Ducks are currently on the down turn having lost 4 of their last 5 games and getting soundly thumped by a rebounding Husky team. Even their early season win over Mississippi State does not look as good as MSU is in last place in the SEC west. The only real team they have beaten this season was UCLA at UCLA and they should have lost that one.

The Beavers are currently on the up swing having won 3 of their last 4 games. Their last game showed a team with some heart as they came back from being down 21-3 to Stanford on the road and winning 31-21.

Oregon will be missing the services of outstanding tailback Onterrio Smith on Saturday. Smith was leading the conference in rushing prior to going down last week with a knee injury.

Both teams are keeping this one pretty close to the vest this week. There is little or no talk on either the Beavers website or the Ducks website about the upcoming game. No talk of what they will be doing, no talk of injury reports, nothing. This is more then a little unusual for this to be happening. Just goes to show you just how important this game is for both teams.

The Ducks were a high powered offense early in the season, much like the Beavers were. Both teams have backed off their early season fireworks and come down to earth. The Ducks hold a slight advantage in scoring with a 34.2 average per game. The Beavers are close behind at 32.4. The Ducks rank first in Red Zone Offense at 92.7%.

The big statistical difference between the two teams is in the defense. The Beavers are #1 Scoring, Passing, Rushing and Total defense in the conference and are top 10 in rushing defense and total defense in the nation. The Beavers are also first in Red Zone Defense at 66.7%.

The kicking game is statistically in favor of Oregon, however the Beavers Kirk Yliniemi is 12 of 13 this season and has made 12 in a row.

Overall the Beavers are first in 6 statistical categories, 5 in defense, one in offense. The Ducks rank 3rd in Scoring, Rushing Offense and Turnover Ratio. They are ranked first in Field Goal Percentage, Red Zone Offense.

WHO TO WATCH

Steven Jackson is leading the conference in rushing with a 136.6 yard per game average and is 56 yards from setting a school record for single season rushing yards.

Derek Anderson of the Beavers and Jason Fife of Oregon are 8th and 9th in the conference in passing yards per game. Jason Fife is 4th in conference in passing efficiency. Derek Anderson is 9th.

James Newson of the Beavers is 5th in the conference in receiving. Keenan Howry and Sammy Parker are the receivers to watch for the Ducks.

THE CIVIL WAR SERIES

Oregon State and Oregon have played a total of 105 games with the Ducks leading 53-42-10 in the series. The Ducks hold a one-game series lead as a result of winning 17-14 in Eugene last year. Oregon State has a two-game winning streak in Corvallis as a result of winning 44-41 in double overtime in 1998 and 23-13 in 2000. All told, the Beavers have a 15-26-5 record against Oregon in games played in Corvallis.

THE BOTTOM LINE

This will be a great game. Both teams are well matched. It will come down to which team shows up on Saturday to play their best game. If both teams play like they have been playing the last 4 weeks, the Beavers should walk away with the victory. I believe that the Beavers defense can hold the Ducks offense down for most of the game. The Beavers offense, especially in the rushing game has been going at full speed the last 4 weeks and I expect it to continue. The Ducks secondary is full of wholes and they cannot afford to stack the line of scrimmage all day to stop the run. Although the Ducks have 2 DB's with 5 interceptions each this season. This could be a problem for Derek Anderson who has not been throwing the ball well this season. But as the Stanford game and many others over the course of the season show. It only takes one pass to break the back of a defense.

So look for the Beavers to grind it out on the ground and go for the big play by the air. The Ducks will try to run the ball with their backup backs but the Beavers rushing defense has been solid all season and the pass defense has been playing better of late. The Ducks will have to go to the air to score on the Beavers, but the Beavers are back at full strength on defense and should slow down the passing game of the Ducks.

I expect the Beavers to win but for the Ducks to keep it close.

FINAL SCORE

BEAVERS 27

DUCKS 16

IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE A BEAVER

GO BEAVERS!