What Rivalry Means The Most To Oregon?

Many factors contribute to a rivalry, like geography, culture, and the product of competition in the series.  

So when it comes to Oregon, who really matters most to you?  If I had to ask you, who you wanted to beat the most this year, who would it be?  Oregon state?  Washington?  USC?  Lets take a look at each of them, and maybe your answer will change at the end?

First lets start with probably our most natural rivalry, Oregon state.  They fit the first two factors (geographically and culturally) but they fail to meet the third factor (series competitiveness) for many reasons, that I see keep the program always at a distance from Oregon.

The beavers will never be our equal.  There was a time when both programs were down, but Oregon state was really down, and even then the series wasn't competitive enough to be a real intense rivalry.  

The Ducks lead the series 59-46-10.  But they are 28-11 since 1972, and have currently won 4 straight in the series.  

The steady climb of Oregon's program to the top has generated a lot of support from fans (thank you Phil Knight), incredible facilities (again, thank you PK), and national relevance.  All of those factors will keep Oregon an elite program, and ahead of Oregon state.  The beavers don't have the money or fan support to ever compete on the level with Oregon.  They're already too far behind.  

And most Duck fans you talk to always say they root for Oregon state whenever they're not playing Oregon (I want them to lose every game).  Even at Autzen stadium, when they announce the beaver score, if the beavers are winning the fans will cheer (I don't).

So is that a real rivalry then?  Don't you need hate for the other side, like with Washington?

Then there is our rivalry with the Huskies.  Duck fans HATE Washington.  You could read more about it here, but the hate comes from both sides, unlike with Oregon state, where a lot of it comes mostly from them (jealousy and envy).  

Duck fans for years resented how obnoxious and arrogant UW fans were.  Believe it or not, they were always contending with SC and UCLA, so they were a bigger target for Oregon to climb over.

The huskies used to be the big bullies on the block, and Oregon was little brother.  But Oregon got tired of being picked on, they grew up and got bigger, and fought back!  They have firmly replaced UW as the top program in the region, and it's been that way for quite some time now.  Husky fans (who once were too proud to admit they had a rivalry with Oregon) now resent Oregon for sending them back to the bus.

But it hasn't been that competitive either.  Since Kenny Wheaton picked off Damon Huard's pass at the 3 yard line, and housed it 97 yards later in '94, Oregon is 15-4 against Washington, including an 8 game winning streak.  

Oregon has turned their attention elsewhere, to an even bigger bully with a much bigger target on its back...USC.

Duck fans have always taken pleasure in being a thorn in the trojans side.  It's probably because of their arrogance, their southern Californian life style (a lot of animosity towards SoCal in Oregon), and all the hype they get from playing in the nations second largest television market.  

But Oregon has largely been off USC's radar, until recently.  After dominating the conference for most of the 2000's, Oregon elevated their program to even greater heights soon after the hiring of Chip Kelly in 2007, putting them in direct competition with the trojans.

The series has been the most competitive out of the three (OSU, UW being the other two) recently, with Oregon going 3-2 vs. the trojans since 2007. When these two teams meet, there's usually a lot at stake.  Both are ranked, probably in the top 10, and conference as well national positioning is at stake.

You can read more about the growing rivalry here. 

USC fans, as you could imagine, resent Oregon's success, and have developed some hatred for them.  It's a big deal to the players too.  Trojan quarterback Matt Barkley said this about Oregon: 

"Oregon is our biggest competitor in the conference.  Beating Oregon last year was special.  It let us know that if we can compete with Oregon, and beat Oregon, that we can compete with anyone in the country."

Plus it has to mean a lot to so many of the Duck players come from Southern California.  

With everything taken into consideration, in terms of most significance, USC has to rank #1 because there's so much at stake.  A win puts Oregon in the drivers seat for a conference championship at the very least.  The competitiveness in the series has made it more intense as well, and given it a big time feel.

But there's still something about keeping little bro (Oregon state) in check, and never seeing them succeed.  And it's always important to remember why Duck fans hate husky fans so much in the first place.  

I think most Duck fans will always have a special place in their heart for hating on UW and OSU, while the rivalry with USC could fizzle.  And that's why I think Washington and Oregon state will always matter most to Oregon fans. 

Tuesday Rants: Weekend Recap, plus Links

The Oregon offense is the type of offense that causes defensive coordinators to lose sleep at night.  

And maybe it was in the head of Matt Barkley and his fellow trojans as they stumbled their toe once again against Stanford.  Perhaps they were looking ahead to that showdown with mighty Oregon?  It's a shame they lost and didn't hold up their end of the deal, because now, that game will take a back seat to Alabama/LSU.  

But Oregon took care of business last Saturday by crushing Tennessee Tech 63-14.  I'm a little late in getting to this, and have already moved on to Arizona, so I won't spend much time here, but here are some of the things I took away from that game.

Oregon's offense is good!  Really good!  Oregon has weapons everywhere, and scored at will, amassing a total of 652 yards.  And I know the critics will say Tennessee State, but Oregon did what good teams do to inferior opponents...they dominated them.

De'Anthony Thomas (6)

De'Anthony Thomas is a threat to score the ball every time he touches the ball.  He's on a whole 'nother level and is a game changer.  He's worth at least 7 points a game, if not more.

The only negative I took away from the game is the Ducks need to clean up the penalties.  Eliminate those "self inflicted wounds" as Chip Kelly would say.

With the win, Oregon improves their record to 4-0, and moves up to #3 in the polls.  They appear ready to make another run at a fourth consecutive conference championship.  It won't be easy, as the rest of the Pac appears to be better than previously thought (minus Colorado).  Their first test is coming up this Saturday, as they host #22 Arizona under the lights at Autzen stadium.

Now the links:

From espn's Pac 12 blog, everything regarding the conference. 

De'Anthony Thomas rising in the Heisman race (bout time)

Aaron Fentress takes a look at the defenses of both Arizona and Oregon

Marcus Mariota discussing Arizona

Rob Moseley on Oregon's penalties

A look at UA/Oregon from Oregon Duck Football News

Oregon recruit RB Thomas Tyner is killing the competition!  Watch all 18 of his touchdowns here.
 

Thoughts on Barkley coming back, Kellen Moore.

   USC quarterback Matt Barkley surprised many in the college football world by announcing he will come back for his senior season, and predictably Trojan honk is feeling pretty good about their chances next year.  And why not?  The nucleus of that team is coming back, and will be a year better.  You might as well hand over the Heisman now, because he will be putting up ridiculous numbers with probably the best one-two tandem at receiver in the country in Woods and Lee.

   SC will probably be the odds on favorite to win the Pac 12 next year, which is fine with me.  Let the Ducks fly under the radar (no pun intended) for once.  Its been a while since they have.  I think it's better that they will no longer be the hunted, it'll make them more hungry for a fourth straight conference title.

   One thing I know, is that this will make the conference race much better next year, and it will get the national recognition it deserves.  We'll finally see the championship match up the conference deserves...the type of match up we should've seen this year if it weren't for the sanctions against SC.  A match up between the top two programs of the conference over the past decade.  SC and Oregon is becoming sort of a rivalry.

   With that said, I still can't stand Barkley...he's a douche.  Wasn't it great that he held a press conference on national tv to announce he was coming back for one more year?  Complete with a band, cheerleaders, and a pretty little Christmas tree lit up in the background.  Only thing missing was him wearing one of those ugly Christmas sweaters.  I can just see him wearing one of those.

   Lastly, Kellen Moore and Boise State CRUSHED Arizona State last night in the Las Vegas Bowl, giving Moore his 50th career win.  Impressive...kind of.  Again, when you play the type of schedule Boise State does, and consider the fact that teams these days play more games a year, than 20-30 years ago, the feat becomes less impressive.