This weekend, the Oregon Ducks will leave Eugene to travel up the road to scenic Corvallis for their annual clash with their nearly next-door neighbors.
With nicknames like the “Civil War”, “the Oregon Classic”, and the “State Championship Game”, the rivalry goes back to 1894 and has been played 127 times with Oregon leading the all-time series 68-49-10. And despite what you may have heard, this game is not the end-all-be-all it’s talked up to be. It’s just a sporting event, not greater than the World Cup, World Series, and World War II combined.
If you haven’t been a part of the rivalry yet or are only vaguely aware it has taken place, have no fear; there will be plenty of folks who probably know too much about it or at least one side of it.
It’s also possible that many of your friends are more than a little aware that this game goes on. What it means, but chances are you live with, let’s call them, short roommates who aren’t quite getting the hang of this bed-wetting thing and may not be fully aware of what the Oregon-Oregon State game is all about. Maybe they are 2, perhaps they are 21, maybe they are 12. Either way, it’s ok to be patient with people and help them understand and appreciate what many consider the biggest football game in Oregon.
Some kids have grown up in a house full of fandom for one team and must be considered long in the tooth when it comes to this rivalry, but some might be very green and need some coaching on what is going on. Those green kids don’t need to be told who to like and who not to; they just need to be shown what is at stake and decide for themselves which team they want to follow.
The game is often referred to as the Civil War, and that’s something we all might want to take to heart. This game is being played by many kids and watched by many kids, so let’s be nice and mindful of our manners – the same thing we tell our kids to do daily. It doesn’t matter why you might like your team or dislike the other team. It’s just a game; let’s make it a fun experience for everyone. If you know your side of this contest has not been the most friendly to the other side, it’s time to do your part and turn the corner. And if you have felt like the other half of the rivalry was unfriendly to you, it’s time to be kind even if your counterparts are not doing their part to keep it civil.
The two teams have agreed to keep the game going for at least this season and next, but it could be a while before you see them play regularly again. They are not in the same conference, so it will be up to their athletic directors to work overtime and schedule home and away games in the future as they do with all non-conference opponents. The fans will want this to continue, but the business people who run the athletic programs don’t always see it that way. This is a fun amateur sport, but more often than not, dollars from the real world impact their decisions, and they won’t always be able to find room for each other.
Enjoy it while you have it, and hope for the best.
It’s the first time they will play each other in September. Not just the first in a long time – in over a hundred years of November and October autumn battles, they have never played each other in September or summer. So, if you think this is the earliest the game has ever been played, you are correct. It will be a whole month earlier than the next earliest entry, back when most of your great-grandparents were in their early teens – October 13th, 1945.
The team colors might be confusing for some people. You’ve probably been told that Oregon is green and yellow and Oregon State is black and orange. Well, that’s not wrong, but Oregon takes some artistic liberties. Oregon claims their team colors are green and yellow, but they don’t always wear those colors, and there doesn’t seem to be an end to what colors they can wear and still be considered “their” colors. In many ways, they are like a three-year-old grabbing all the crayons and shouting, “MINE!” We all have a kid or a sibling like that.
Oregon State proudly wears black and orange; they don’t shift away from that duo very much. Occasionally, there is some gray or white, but those are rarely the main colors unless they are the away team.
It’s a football game, and game is the critical word here. It’s a game played between a bunch of school students for fun on a Saturday. These programs know each other well, and while there is a lot of good-natured trash-talking between the two teams, at the end of the day, they have great respect for each other and what they bring to the table. Don’t let the brash statements from any player or coach fool you, they may be overtrained super athletes, but at the end of the day they just want to beat their friends at NCAA 25 just like the rest of us.
The game kicks off this Saturday at 12:30 PM and will be broadcast by FOX.
Fun facts to put on the back of your cereal box –
The home team has won the game since 2020, with both teams winning twice. Oregon State won in 2020 and 2022, and Oregon won in 2021 and 2023. Can Oregon buck the trend, or will Oregon State defend its home turf?
Going back to 1894, the game has been played in Portland, Albany, Eugene, and Corvallis.
No game was played in 1900, 1901, and 1911.
They played twice in 1896, the only season they faced each other a second time in the same year.
This is the first time the two teams will play as members of separate conferences since 1897, when Oregon was an independent and Oregon State was in the Oregon Intercollege Football Association. There were times throughout the decades when both teams were independent, but that technically counts as part of the same “unofficial” conference. This is the first time neither team has been listed as independent and is not in the same conference together.
Both teams have one Heisman Trophy winner in their history, and neither team claims a national championship.
Oregon’s original mascot was the Webfoots, but they did not start using a Duck image for their logo until the 1940s.
While whispers of “Coyotes” and “Bulldogs” are used as their mascot in the early part of their program, Oregon State’s mascot has been the Beavers since 1908.
Both team’s mascots were inspired by characters drawn by Walt Disney artists.
Benny The Beaver became the official mascot of Oregon State in 1945.
From 1947 to 2010, Oregon’s mascot was known as Donald The Duck after an agreement with the Walt Disney Company to use their character’s likeness. After 2010, the mascot became known simply as The Oregon Duck, but fans often refer to it as Puddles.
The winner of the game is awarded the “Platypus Trophy.”
If this game took place in the Marvel Multiverse, Western and Eastern Oregon would have Geese and Nutria as their team mascots. The teams would compete for the “Short-Beaked Echidna trophy.”
Casey Mabbott is a husband and parent first, and also an experienced and dedicated writer and researcher. Born and raised in the Portland area, when Casey is not spending time with his family gallivanting around Portland and the surrounding areas, he genuinely enjoys helping people (especially families) find the “hidden gems” in the Pacific Northwest. In today’s world of lightning fast information at our fingertips, it’s truly a wonder to stumble across a place, an experience, or an activity you’ve never heard of.