It’s neither war, nor civil…

By Phil Hecken, with Michael Princip

Unless you’ve been living in a cave or don’t care about college football, you’re probably aware that the Oregon Ducks are good. Very good. In fact, they’re the Number 1 ranked team in every poll conducted by humans. So, the traditional end-of-season matchup between the University of Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State University Beavers, colloquially known as the Civil War takes on even greater import than ever today. A win by Oregon means they will be punching their ticket to Glendale.

It’s one of the oldest rivalries in college football, dating back to 1894, and having been contested 113 times prior to today. There have been many notable games over the years, and the rivalry has been so intense that there was actually rioting during the 1910 game. So heated has the rivalry been that the game was nicknamed the “Civil War” in 1929.

In past (recent) years, especially since Nike began outfitting both teams, the game was probably better known for the garish clash of uniforms than for its importance on the national stage. Viewers are usually left guessing as to what the matchup will look like (that wonderful poster was created by reader Drew Orlick), but this time around, we’re pretty sure what the teams will be wearing. Depending upon your perspective, the uni matchup may be very good.

The Beavers, one of the “10 select schools” chosen by Nike this year, will be sporting their special “Pro Combat” costume (although, I rather like that one), and Mike Princip, who’ll have his own section momentarily, believes he has inside information on what the Ducks will wear. He’ll reveal that in his portion of the post.

So today, we’ll look back at the Civil War vis-a-vis the uniforms, especially those of recent vintage, when they were, shall we say, rather retina-searing. Prior to his sleuthing revealed what he believes the boys from Eugene will wear, Mike had prepared what he thought would be some great uniforms for the Ducks to wear in today’s matchup, from an historical perspective. So, without further ado, here’s everyone’s favorite Duck Tracker:

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So, the Ducks face the Oregon State “Giant Killers”, a.k.a. Beavers, and I’m sure they studied the Cal game very intensely, nearest Duck defeat, yet do they have the talent to execute as well as Cal did? Um, I would say so, since they did end up beating that same 2010 Cal team quite handidly 35-7 at home. So, suffice to say the Beavers play well at home, and have the added incentive to knock off the, potential BCS Championship bound, state rival Ducks.

Oi! Which Ducks team will show up, the Win The Day Finish etc.. Or, the sputtering out of sync mistake prone Ducks we saw at Cal? I’m hoping the former of course, and I’m hoping they do it in throwback style. Actually, the 1967 Ducks uniforms were pretty slick, and if they came out in a similar outfit today, as a throwback for this game, might not be a bad idea? Sort of like matching the same year as what the Beavers will be outfitted in, yet as an attempt to avenge their loss, at the hands of the ‘Giant Killers’ that season, 14-10. Would be a bold move on their part no doubt, not unlike Chip Kelly gambling with a 4th and 6 on the 45 yard line, and in some ways it would reflect the personality of the team. Coach Kelly did say that his favorite uniform is the throwback style.

Now, for some possible Duck ‘Civil War’ throwback stylistics, based off of Seth Prince’s Oregonian article; “Civil War: 5 Moments that fanned the flames of the rivalry.”

1910’s Blue and Yellow Webfoots (Past & Present): Following a 12-0 Oregon victory in Corvallis, fans of both teams began a verbal argument that escalated into exceedingly rowdy behavior as Ducks fans returned to the train station to leave. The UO’s public relations department spread stories of (then) Oregon Agricultural College hooliganism to the statewide press, offending students of OAC and causing the rivalry to be suspended for 1911.

1937 (Past & Present): Oregon students found taunting Beavers on campus and began pelting them with tomatoes and water balloons. Some Oregon State students were dragged off the street and thrown into the millrace that flows near campus. Others were forcefully taken to Skinner’s Butte, stripped and forced to repaint the ‘O’ yellow and then forced to slide down the painted surface. By 1 p.m., most Oregon State students had fled the riot, some with torn clothes and black eyes and missing shoes.

1954 (Past & Present): Captive Oregon students had their heads shaved, were painted orange and black and some were forced to do housework at fraternities. One was led through campus bearing a sign that read: “I’m a dumb Duck.” Oregon won that year 33-14.

1960 (Past & Present): Oregon State student body president Dick Seideman received a ransom note demanding he ride a child’s scooter to 13th and University Street in Eugene and make a public appeal for recently abducted OSU’s homecoming queen and her safe return.

1972 (Past & Present): Ducks fans made a rush at the south goal post at then-Parker Stadium in the closing moments of a 30-3 victory. When the fans turned to go after the north goal post, Oregon State fans attempted to defend it and both sides engaged in a brawl.

Ok, that’s me geekin’ out with some throwbacks, however the rumor is the Ducks will be sporting the carbon helmets, white jersey, matte gray pants, and silver shoes today. I dig! Go Ducks!

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Thanks, Mike. Great job on that. Now then, the past decade and a half have produced some great games, and some bad uni matchups. Some really bad matchups. So much so, they’d almost be the guaranteed “1” in the Sunday “5 & 1.” But they weren’t all bad. Let’s take a trip down memory lane:

1994: Prior to last year’s appearance in Pasadena, the Ducks hadn’t been to the Rose Bowl since 1995. So the Civil War was very important. The Beav’s hosted and the Ducks prevailed, 17-13, wearing a beautiful yellow-white-yellow combination against the all-black OSU team. The Ducks had their classic “interlocking” UO helmet, and the Beavers sported a white lid with their own classic “Beavers” script.

1995: The 1995 game, hosted by the Ducks, featured the Ducks in monochrome kelly green with their yellow helmets against the all-white Beavers. Still outfitted by Russell, the Ducks reigned supreme 12-10.

1996: Back on the Beavers home turf, the Ducks destroyed the OSU team, 49-13, clad in yellow-white-kelly, while the Beavers went mono-black again. This was the first game in which Nike manufactured UO’s uniforms.

1997: UO went monochrome green again in 1997, and once again, emerged victorious, with a 48-30 pasting of the Beavs. While the Nike-clad Ducks kept their yellow dome, the Beavers in white over black had UCLA loops and new fonts, plus a very Giant-esque front helmet number.

1998: On a rainy night, OSU prevails in double overtime, 44-41. It was an upset for the Beavers, and featured a delay of game during the first overtime when Beaver fans rushed the field, thinking their boys had won the game (however, a pass interference penalty gave the Ducks another chance). While the celebration was premature, the Beavers still emerged victorious, winning by a field goal in the second OT. Uniforms remained virtually unchanged, stylistically, from the perious year.

1999: This would mark a major sea change for the Ducks, uniform-wise, as Nike began to give UO their identity. The introduction of the gorgeous mallard-inspired helmet, as well as the dark green (almost black) uniforms, and “lightning yellow” would occur in 1999. The Beavers would also introduce new unis this year (now firmly in the Nike stable as well), and for the Civil War, sported white jerseys with black block numbers and orange dropshadow. The homefield was enough for the Ducks, as they reigned supreme, 25-14.

2000: In what would be one of the more attractive games for some time to come, 2000 also had the Ducks ranked #5 and the Beavers ranked #8 (the only time both teams were ranked in the top 10 simultaneously), so the game carried major bowl implications for both teams. A ticket to Pasadena awaited the white-clad Ducks, while a win and some help would get the Beavers to the Rose Bowl. The mono-black Beavers emerged victorious, 23-13, but neither team went to the Rose, as UW also won and got the bid. However, the Beavs did get invited to the Fiesta Bowl.

2001: This year would be better for the dark green-clad Ducks, as they simply needed a win to clinch the PAC-10 title and go to the Fiesta Bowl. They succeeded, taking out the Beavers in a driving rainstorm, 17-14. In what may have been an ominous omen, we saw the victor flash the victory “O” triangle. Well, it could have been an “O”.

2002: Back on friendly turf for 2002, OSU rolled over UO, 45-24. This would mark the end of this generation of unis for the Ducks.

2003: As the Ducks broke out the highlighter yellow unis (one of my all time favorite UO unis), which featured the Oregon wordmark on the shoulders and non-linear pants striping, the home field would be all they would need. Eugene’s finest would flash the lightning and crack the thunder, defeating the Beavers by a score of 34-20.

2004: The trip back to Corvallis would be all the home cooking the Beavers would need, as they would break out their own new uni sets (almost rivaling UO for overall garishness), destroying the Ducks, 50-21, under the bright lights of Reser.

2005: A dense fog would envelop Autzen as the Ducks sported yet another iteration of uni style, this one with the now (in)famous diamondplate pattern and Belotti bold font. They would also extract payback, coming away with a 56-14 beatdown of the Beavers.

2006: Another rainy day in Corvallis would feature a color vs. color matchup. Once again, the home team would emerge victorious, with the Beavers winning a closely fought game, 30-28.

2007: In a change from the past several years, the road team, Oregon State would win 38”“31 in double overtime at Autzen (the first road team to win the game in 10 attempts). Two uni-notables, here, with UO wearing highlighter (and unlucky) yellow helmets, and the Beavers ditching the dropshadow for a new font and the ill-conceived sports bra look The game featured a blocked Oregon State field goal with 1:01 remaining, followed by a missed Oregon field goal as regulation expired.

2008: Uni sanity would return by 2008, as the Ducks went all white and the Beavers sported a pleasing orange jersey. Oregon State had a lot on the line in this Civil War, needing a victory to advance to the Rose Bowl, but Oregon gladly played the role of spoiler, taking down the Beavers in ugly fashion, 65-38.

2009: The last Civil War again came in a season when Oregon changed up their uni style. That particular uniform was actually a hybrid, combining the helmet and jersey from an earlier throwback (although the helmet was altered for the Civil war) with the pants from the regular season. (See Mike’s wonderful 2009 Duck Tracker for the full story.) Much like the Beavers in 2008, the Ducks needed a victory in 2009 to advance to their first Rose Bowl since 1995 (1994 season). Unlike the Beavers in 2008, the Ducks pulled this one out, ekeing out a 37-33 victory in a back-and-forth game.

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Finally, we have a big Beaver supporter, Phil Amaya, with one last treat for today:

Since the Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State is this weekend, thought you might be interested in this link to Oregon State’s football website. On the right side of the page, under “Beaver Nation Online” there is a video on the preparations of the equipment manager. The video was produced prior to the Cal game but it is a nice tribute the the guys who are “under the radar” and whose concerns are not only to make the team look good but to function well.

Go Beavs!
Phil Amaya
Portland, Oregon

Well, there you have it. Probably more than you ever wanted to know about the Civil War. And I didn’t once poke fun at the pro combat uni or the “war” reference in the game’s nickname.

Big thanks to Mike Princip for all those mocks (too bad the Ducks won’t break out a throwback today, but hey, when you’re undefeated, let’s not jinx things, right?).

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Uni Tweaks

Lots and lots of tweaks keep pouring in, so obviously this is a popular feature. A bunch new to get to today. If you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.

Remember, if possible, try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per tweak. You guys have been great a keeping to that, and it’s much appreciated!

Now, on to today’s tweaks:

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Starting off the show is Peter Macaluso, who has a interesting take on Big Blue:

Every time I watch the Giants play, it angers me that they basically have an Auburn stripe that could so easily be fixed to look correct.

Either have three red stripes that are the same size…or change a
color. I went a step further and basically gave them Auburn’s beautiful jersey treatment.

Peter Mac

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In the two-spot is Christian Andrick, who wants to tweak the Chiefs a bit:

Going with the white helmet idea and a little bit of a change to the logo and stripes.

Christian Andrick

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With the college hoops season now underway, Julio Colomenares has some thoughts about THE Ohio State University b-ballers:

Here’s my shot:

Being a Buckeye basketball fan, and not happy with the SOD, I decided to throw out some ideas:

For the home jersey. I switched to Syracuse stripes using a vertically arched Buckeyes.

For the road, I used a separated/ arched Ohio State and Syracuse Stripes.

For an alt, I used the same lettering and kept the football stripes.

Thanks,

Julio Colmenares

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That’s all for today. Check back tomorrow for more.

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That’s almost it for today (the colorization stuff will have to wait until tomorrow), but I do have a PSA from =Brinke=:

“Can anyone make a 1440×900 size wallpaper of this logo? The Giants haven’t made a new wallpaper since 09, and a bunch they do offer are of players that are gone.

“These background textures are cool:

This, this, and this.”

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OK, everyone, that is all. Enjoy the games today (yes, besides the Civil War, there are a couple of other big ‘uns). Cheers.

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“I know you can’t revile too much, but are the Royals using the full Royals script or the KC on the new BP’s?” — Freudian slip provided by “Royals Chris”