Oregon State @ Oregon preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 23, 2018 ) Oregon 55, Oregon State 15

Oregon has won 10 of the past 11 Civil War meetings with Oregon State heading into Saturday afternoon's showdown in Eugene. With their hopes of making the College Football Playoff dashed by last Saturday's 31-28 upset loss at Arizona State, the Ducks, who have already clinched the Pac-12 North Division title, can focus on trying to keep their in-state rivals from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2013.

Oregon State has quietly bounced back from a 1-3 start, which included a 31-28 loss at Hawaii, to enter Saturday's contest with five wins and a 4-4 record in the North which puts them a game ahead of Washington, Washington State and Cal in second place. The Beavers, who went a combined 1-17 in Pac-12 play over the previous two seasons, nearly got to six wins last week before losing a wild 54-53 contest at Washington State when Max Borghi scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with two seconds remaining. Oregon, which will face either No. 6 Utah or No. 22 USC in next week's Pac-12 Championship Game in Santa Clara, Calif., for a potential spot in the Rose Bowl, still has plenty to play for despite dropping to No. 14 in this week's CFP rankings. "It means a lot to this community; it means a lot to this program," senior offensive lineman Shane Lemieux said of the Civil War matchup with the Beavers. "We feel that."

TV: 4 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network LINE: Oregon -19

ABOUT OREGON STATE (5-6, 4-4 Pac-12): Senior quarterback Jake Luton completed 22-of-40 passes for a career-best 408 yards and tied his career high with five TD passes in the loss to the Cougars and ranks fifth in the Pac-12 with an average of 246.7 passing yards per game while having thrown 28 TDs and just three interceptions. Junior wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins, a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist, ranks second in the Pac-12 in receptions per game (7.1) and has caught 78 passes for 1,086 yards and 13 TDs while tight end Noah Togiai had five receptions for 67 yards and a score at Washington State while becoming the sixth tight end in OSU history to reach 1,000 career receiving yards. Junior outside linebacker Hamilcar Rashed Jr. leads the defense with 22.5 tackles for loss, which leads the nation, and 14 sacks, which ranks No. 2 nationally.

ABOUT OREGON (9-2, 7-1): Strong-armed senior quarterback Justin Herbert, in the conversation for being the No. 1 pick in next spring's NFL Draft, became just the second quarterback in school history to pass for more than 10,000 yards in his career, joining 2014 Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, and has completed 240-of-352 passes for 2,966 yards, 30 touchdowns and just five interceptions this season. Junior wide receiver Johnny Johnson III had career highs with 10 receptions, 207 yards and two TDs in the loss at Arizona State while sophomore running back CJ Verdell needs 87 yards rushing to become the fifth running back in school history to have back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, joining Maurice Morris, Onterrio Smith, LaMichael James and Royce Freeman. Senior linebacker Troy Dye leads the defense with 63 tackles, including 8.5 tackles for loss, while freshman defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux has 5.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Oregon leads the nation with 17 interceptions.

2. Oregon State is first in the nation with only five turnovers lost this season.

3. Herbert has thrown a program-record 53 TD passes in 22 career games at Autzen Stadium.

PREDICTION: Oregon 45, Oregon State 24