The Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers will meet on the football field for the 128th time on Saturday, renewing an intense rivalry that dates to 1894.
Oregon holds a 68-49-10 edge all-time, and the Ducks have won 13 of the past 16 matchups. But this season the game is in Corvallis, where the Beavers won in both 2020 and 2022.
2024 marks a new era for the rivalry as the teams meet as nonconference opponents after last year’s collapse of the Pac-12 Conference. The Ducks have moved to the Big Ten Conference, while the Beavers are competing as an independent while they work with Washington State to rebuild the Pac-12.
The Ducks and Beavers are facing off in September for the first time, and both enter the matchup undefeated for the first time since 1910.
No. 9 Oregon (2-0) at Oregon State (2-0)
Before No. 9 Oregon meets Oregon State at 12:30 p.m. PT Saturday, The Oregonian/OregonLive is revisiting the history of the series.
Below, we take a look back at the past 24 meetings — every matchup since 2000. And for a complete look at the Ducks vs. Beavers series, check out our game-by-game history of all 127 meetings.
2023: UO 31, OSU 7. The game is played in the shadow of conference realignment, just months after the collapse of the Pac-12. Bo Nix passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns, plus runs for a third TD, to lead No. 6 Oregon to a dominant home victory over 16th-ranked Oregon State. It is the final game at Oregon State for coach Jonathan Smith, who leaves to become head coach at Michigan State. The Ducks move on to the Pac-12 championship game, but they suffer another narrow loss to Washington there. Nix goes on to finish third in the Heisman Trophy race.
2022: OSU 38, UO 34. The ninth-ranked Ducks build a 31-10 lead, but the No. 21 Beavers rally for four touchdowns during an 11-minute stretch to win in Corvallis. Oregon State closes the game with 16 consecutive running plays, followed by three kneel-downs, piling up 268 rushing yards. The Ducks turn it over on downs on their final three drives and finish 0 for 5 on fourth down. The Beavers’ victory denies Oregon a fourth consecutive trip to the Pac-12 title game.
2021: UO 38, OSU 29. The Ducks score on each of their four possessions in the first half and race to a 24-3 lead. Oregon State rallies in the second half, getting as close as 31-21 before Travis Dye’s 1-yard touchdown run with 3:14 to go ices it for Oregon. Anthony Brown Jr. accounts for 358 yards and three touchdowns, while Dye scores two rushing TDs. The win clinches the Pac-12 North title for the Ducks, who then fall 38-10 to Utah in the conference championship game.
2020: OSU 41, UO 38. The 124th game in the rivalry is played amid the COVID-19 pandemic and without fans. Oregon State rallies late to pull off the upset in Corvallis. After quarterback Tristan Gebbia leads the Beavers on three second-half scoring drives and has them headed for a fourth, he limps off with a leg injury. Chance Nolan, on his first career snap for OSU, scores the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard quarterback sneak on fourth and goal with 33 seconds left to lift the Beavers over the 15th-ranked Ducks. OSU’s Jermar Jefferson scores on an 82-yard touchdown on his first carry of the game and finishes with a rivalry-record 226 yards rushing on 29 carries.
2019: UO 24, OSU 10. No. 14 Oregon goes up 10-3 on Mykael Wright’s 98-yard kickoff return and extends the lead on Justin Herbert’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Johnson III. Early in the fourth quarter, Oregon State’s Jermar Jefferson goes untouched on a 19-yard touchdown run to cut the Ducks’ lead to 17-10. But the Beavers get no closer. Jefferson fumbles with about 2 minutes left after a hit by Thomas Graham Jr., and Oregon’s Brady Breeze recovers. Cyrus Habibi-Likio then seals it with a 20-yard TD run. Oregon improves to 10-2 and goes on to win the Pac-12 championship and the Rose Bowl.
2018: UO 55, OSU 15. In a matchup of first-year head coaches Mario Cristobal and Jonathan Smith, it’s all Oregon. The Ducks pile up 392 rushing yards and CJ Verdell accounts for five touchdowns in a 55-15 rout in Corvallis. Verdell catches a 21-yard TD pass from Justin Herbert four minutes into the game, and he goes on to score four rushing touchdowns to finish with 187 yards on 23 carries. Backfield mate Travis Dye carries 33 times for 199 yards and two touchdowns. Oregon holds Beavers running back Jermar Jefferson to 64 rushing yards, and the Ducks force four OSU turnovers, including a pick-six by Thomas Graham Jr.
2017: UO 69, OSU 10. The Ducks build a 52-7 halftime lead and go on to win 69-10 in the most lopsided result in the 121-game history of the rivalry. Royce Freeman runs for 122 yards and two touchdowns and becomes the Pac-12′s career rushing touchdown leader with 60. Afterward, Oregon players wear raincoats as a dig at interim OSU coach Cory Hall, who earlier in the week implied the Ducks weren’t tough enough during their 2016 rivalry loss because they broke out “fancy Nike raincoats.” “It was raining touchdowns,” UO coach Willie Taggart said, “so we put on our raincoats.”
2016: OSU 34, UO 24. Amid heavy rain at Reser Stadium, the Beavers use a power running game to seal the victory and snap an eight-game losing streak to the Ducks. OSU runs the ball 21 times in a row, and Oregon simply can’t stop Ryan Nall, Marcus McMaryion and Artavis Pierce. Nall’s seven-yard run with 9:40 to go puts OSU in front at 28-24, and then he scores again from one yard out to ice the game. Nall finishes with 31 carries for 155 yards and four touchdowns. Oregon’s Royce Freeman carries 19 times for 106 yards, but the Beavers score the game’s final 20 points to get the win.
2015: UO 52, OSU 42. Red-hot after a decisive win six days prior against USC, the Ducks score 31 points in a row to close the first half with a 375-96 advantage in total yards. But the visiting Beavers respond, scoring on all but one of their second-half drives and pulling within three points two times. Oregon State’s rally includes highlight plays by Seth Collins, Victor Bolden and Ryan Nall, but it ultimately falls short as the Ducks win 52-42. “At halftime, we relaxed,” Ducks coach Mark Helfrich says. “Could have ended the game a lot earlier in every phase.” Bralon Addison scores four touchdowns for Oregon, and Royce Freeman adds two more. Vernon Adams Jr. passes for 366 yards and three scores in his lone rivalry game.
2014: UO 47, OSU 19. The Ducks score on their first five drives, lead 30-0 at halftime and cruise to their seventh consecutive win against the Beavers, 47-19 at Reser Stadium. Marcus Mariota passes for 367 yards and four touchdowns, and runs for two more TDs. His leap over Justin Strong becomes the iconic image of the rout. Two weeks later, Mariota wins the Heisman Trophy. The Ducks make the inaugural, four-team College Football Playoff, beating Florida State in a semifinal at the Rose Bowl before losing to Ohio State in the national championship game. The Beavers finish the season 5-7.
2013: UO 36, OSU 35. Despite having lost four in a row coming into the game, Oregon State gives the 12th-ranked Ducks all they can handle in Eugene. The Beavers recover from a 14-0 deficit to take the lead three different times, including 35-30 with 1:38 to play. But Josh Huff catches his third touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota with 29 seconds left, and Oregon wins 36-35. Huff finishes with nine catches for 186 yards. Thomas Tyner runs for 140 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. The Ducks go on to beat Texas in the Alamo Bowl.
2012: UO 48, OSU 24. De’Anthony Thomas puts together his most complete game of the season in the Ducks’ 48-24 victory, rushing for a season-high 122 yards as Oregon dominates the No. 16 Beavers on the ground at Reser Stadium. Coming off a 17-14 loss at Stanford the week before that derailed Oregon’s national title hopes, the win reaffirms the Ducks as a dominant force and puts them in the Fiesta Bowl, where they beat Kansas State.
2011: UO 49, OSU 21. The No. 9 Ducks tighten their stranglehold on the rivalry by blowing out Oregon State 49-21 at Autzen Stadium. With the victory, Oregon ties Stanford for the Pac-12 North division title and, by virtue of the Ducks’ victory over the Cardinal, clinches a berth in the conference title game against UCLA. The Ducks go on to beat Russell Wilson and Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
2010: UO 37, OSU 20. Oregon players hug, high-five, dance, pose for pictures with fans and mug for television cameras after the Ducks sew up a berth in the BCS national championship game. LaMichael James rushes for 134 yards, Kenjon Barner runs for another 133 and Oregon twice comes up big defensively inside its own 5-yard line as the Ducks win the 114th rivalry game 37-20 before a Reser Stadium record crowd of 45,469 and an ABC television audience.
2009: UO 37, OSU 33. The Ducks finally wrestle away control of the slugfest in the fourth quarter, and with the 37-33 win at Autzen Stadium claim a Rose Bowl date with Ohio State. LaMichael James scores three touchdowns to lead the Ducks, including a go-ahead 52-yard scamper down the left sideline that puts UO on top 34-33. The momentum shifts from there, and Oregon never relinquishes the lead.
2008: UO 65, OSU 38. The Ducks bury Oregon State’s Rose Bowl hopes under an unprecedented pile of points and yards in a 65-38 win that accomplishes so many things for an Oregon team that punches the Beavers and their Pasadena plans out of the spotlight. “It is the culmination of a couple years of frustration in one great football game that they played,’’ said Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, whose team had lost two in a row to the Beavers and who had not won in Corvallis since 1996.
2007: OSU 38, UO 31. The Beavers break the home-field advantage streak with a double-overtime victory in front of 59,050 fans at Autzen Stadium. It’s not over until Dorian Smith and Derrick Doggett stop Jonathan Stewart on a fourth-and-one play in the second overtime. In regulation, Alexis Serna’s potential game-winning field goal with 1:01 left is blocked by Oregon’s Walter Thurmond. Then, Oregon gets into position to kick its own game-winner, but Matt Evensen’s 41-yard attempt is rushed and falls short. Pinch-hitting running back Matt Sieverson of Bend runs for 142 yards for the Beavers, a career best. The winning touchdown comes on a fly sweep to James Rodgers, who runs around the Oregon defense and scores to make it 38-31.
2006: OSU 30, UO 28. Students carry Oregon State quarterback Matt Moore off the field by students after leading the Beavers to a 30-28 victory in one of the most dramatic finishes in rivalry history. Oregon takes a 28-27 lead with 3:07 left on Brady Leaf’s 26-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Kent. Moore then takes the Beavers 58 yards on six plays to set up Alexis Serna for a successful 40-yard field goal with 1:12 left. Then, Oregon’s Jonathan Stewart rambles 48 yards to set up Oregon for field goal attempt of its own. Matt Evensen’s 44-yard attempt is low and grazes the helmet of Beavers defender Ben Siegert, sparking a celebration for the fans in orange. OSU’s flair for the dramatic will continue at the Sun Bowl. Oregon’s season will end with a thud in Las Vegas.
2005: UO 56, OSU 14. Payback for 10th-ranked Oregon is swift and decisive at Autzen Stadium, where the Ducks win 56-14 in front of a record crowd of 58,525. Oregon’s 10th win puts it in the running for a BCS berth. Quarterback Dennis Dixon, in relief of injured Kellen Clemens, completes 12 of 17 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns. The Beavers, meanwhile, commit five turnovers and fall to 5-6 to end their season.
2004: OSU 50, UO 21. Oregon State rolls up a series record for points in a 50-21 blowout at Reser Stadium in a game that catapults the Beavers into a bowl and leaves Oregon home for the holidays. It’s a big day for OSU quarterback Derek Anderson, who plays his final home game and passes for 351 yards and four touchdowns. Receiver Mike Hass catches nine passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Defensive end Bill Swancutt has three sacks, a forced fumble, an interception and a 17-yard reception on a fake field goal. Alexis Serna kicks five field goals. The Beavers reclaim their season after a 1-4 start, while the Ducks suffer the first losing season of coach Mike Bellotti’s tenure.
2003: UO 34, OSU 20. The Ducks gain 218 yards on the ground and win 34-20 in new-look Autzen Stadium in front of a rivalry-record crowd of 58,102. The Oregon defense holds Steven Jackson to 68 yards and intercepts Derek Anderson three times. Burns’ Kellen Clemens runs for 64 yards and a touchdown and passes for 125 yards and three more touchdowns. Both teams finish with 8-4 records and head to bowl games.
2002: OSU 45, UO 24. Sophomore quarterback Derek Anderson, shaky through much of the season, turns it on with four touchdown passes and 370 yards as Oregon State wins 45-24 at Reser Stadium. Tailback Steven Jackson contributes 153 yards and two touchdowns to the Beavers’ cause. Besides an 82-yard touchdown pass to Keenan Howry, the Ducks don’t string together enough offense to stay close. Both teams earn bowl bids.
2001: UO 17, OSU 14. Oregon’s best season ever reaches 10 wins with a hard-fought 17-14 victory over the Beavers at Autzen Stadium. The game turns on Keenan Howry’s 70-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and the Ducks defense steps up from there to preserve the lead. Oregon State outgains Oregon 359 to 209 in total yards but can’t get points often enough to keep Oregon down. Howry’s punt return serves to uncork the tension, and celebration, in rainy Eugene. The Ducks are headed to the Fiesta Bowl. The Beavers have slipped back to Earth at 5-6.
2000: OSU 23, UO 13. Ten, 20, 30 years before, this setup seems impossible: It’s No. 5 Oregon at No. 8 Oregon State with the Pac-10 title and BCS bowl considerations on the line for both teams. The War for the Roses captures the nation’s attention and the Beavers seize the opportunity, with Jonathan Smith hooking up with Robert Prescott on touchdown passes of 31 and 49 yards in the first quarter. Jake Cookus, a reserve safety, intercepts Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington three times. In all, Harrington throws five interceptions. The Beavers win 23-13 and move to 10-1 on the season, sharing the title with Oregon and Washington. The quality of the win lifts Oregon State into the Fiesta Bowl and a matchup with Notre Dame. Oregon (9-2) goes to the Holiday Bowl.
— Doug Binder, The Oregonian, and The Oregonian/OregonLive archives
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