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Five things to watch in the 2014 edition of the Civil War.   1. How both teams can manage their emotions and this week. There’s always a lot of emotion going into this game. Add to that the importance of what both teams are playing for -- continuing the quest for a berth in the College Football Playoff for Oregon, bowl eligibility for Oregon State. Add in Thanksgiving week, which always throws the schedule off just a little bit and, suffice it to say, this is no normal game despite the fact that everyone involved is going to try and play the “we’re treating this like every other game” card. The truth of the matter is that this isn’t like every other game. Can Oregon finish? Can Oregon State dig deep and reach the postseason? We’ll see.
2. Who’s in at running back? Both teams have a few question marks at running back. Oregon doesn’t know whether sophomore Thomas Tyner will be playing or not. If he doesn’t play then the Ducks will look to a combination of Royce Freeman, Kenny Bassett and Byron Marshall. If Tyner doesn't play, Mark Helfrich would have Marshall tote the ball a bit more, with Bassett picking up any leftover carries from Marshall and Freeman. For the Beavers, it’s still uncertain whether or not Storm Woods will be playing. Terron Ward and Chris Brown are both out for the season so if Woods (who was in a non-contact uniform at practices this week) is out, then the Beavers will be looking at a fourth-string running back. Not exactly what Mike Riley would want against a Ducks rushing defense that has given up just 4.2 yards per rush this season. 3. Can Oregon stay healthy? Win or lose, Oregon will be playing in the Pac-12 championship game next weekend. And if the Ducks beat the Beavers and win the championship, Oregon’s argument for a spot in the College Football Playoff would basically be unbeatable. But in order to beat Oregon State and the Pac-12 South champion, Oregon needs to be healthy. If there are any more injuries along the offensive line or to any of Oregon’s key stars, there might be a bit more space for a TCU, Ohio State or Baylor to sneak into the top four. 4. Big plays. One of the main ways that Oregon State was able to upset Arizona State a few weeks ago were with explosive plays. All four of the Beavers' touchdowns on their scoring drives were on plays of 20 or more yards, including touchdowns of 78, 66 and 67 yards, respectively. The Ducks defense has given up its fair share of big plays this season -- 49 plays of 20 or more yards and 179 plays of 10 or more yards -- so the Ducks need to keep Oregon State in front of them. But the Beavers are in the exact same boat. Like the Ducks, Oregon State has given up 49 plays of 20 or more yards, but it has only given up 157 plays of 10 or more yards. 5. Be thankful for these quarterbacks. Hey, the game is just two days after Thanksgiving so let’s still be thankful. But really, how many rivalries across the country have been able to have this kind of QB play and these type of players start in their programs for several consecutive years? The Ducks and Beavers fanbases should be grateful that Sean Mannion and Marcus Mariota have been the leaders of these teams the last few seasons, and there’s no reason why both fanbases can’t share in a bit of gratitude for these two players on Saturday. There are definitely other players on both sides of the rivalry who deserve credit and recognition, but few players have handled the attention and pressure of their programs with the grace that these two have.
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