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2012
Oregon
vs.
Oregon
State
What:
The 116th football
game between Oregon and
Oregon State
When:
Saturday, Nov. 24
Where:
Reser Stadium,
Corvallis
Kickoff:
Noon
Tickets, attendance:
The
game is sold out. A crowd of
46,000-plus is expected.
TV, radio:
Pac-12 Networks
(420), KXTG (750 AM), KEX
(1190 AM, 102.3 FM)
History:
Oregon leads the
series 59-46-10 and has won
the last four meetings. The
Ducks are 27-9-1 against the
Beavers since 1975.
The rivalry dates to 1894. It
is the seventh most-contested
match-up in the nation, and
the longest running rivalry west
of the Rocky Mountains.
Odds:
Oregon began the
week as a 10-point favorite.
Team records:
Oregon 10-1
overall, 7-1 Pac-12; Oregon
State 8-2, 6-2
Last year:
Oregon, coming
off a 38-35 loss to USC, beat
the Beavers 49-21 at Autzen
Stadium. The Ducks led in rush-
ing, with 366 yards to Oregon
State’s 16. For injury-plagued
OSU, Sean Mannion passed for
299 yards and three touch-
downs (going 27 of 42).
Senior starters
Oregon
— Kenjon Barner,
RB; Kyle Long, OG; Nick Cody/
Ryan Clanton, OG; Dion Jordan,
DE; Isaac Remington, DT;
Michael Clay, LB; Kiko Alonso,
LB; Jackson Rice, P
Oregon State
— Markus
Wheaton,WR; Colin Kelly, OT;
Colby Prince, TE; Dastro
Masaniai
and Andrew
Seumalo,
DTs; Feti
Taumoepeau,
MLB; Jordan
Poyer, CB
Quote
“They’re
having a
great year.
Wow.We’re
in-state rivals,
we have
great respect.
Bob
DeCarolis is
a great guy,
coach (Mike)
Riley does a
fantastic job.
It’s great for
the state, great for the region,
great for the Pac-12, great for
West Coast football.We want as
many strong teams in this
league as we can get.”
—
Rob Mullens
,
UO athletic director
Stats
Points scored/allowed per
game
— Oregon 51.1/21.8;
Oregon State 25.9/19.1
Turnover margin
— Oregon
plus-13, Oregon State plus-9
Red-zone ef ciency
— Oregon, 53 TDs, 5 eld goals
in 64 trips; Oregon State, 18
TDs, 9 eld goals in 32 trips
Average yards per play
— Oregon 6.7, Oregon State
5.7
Quarterbacks
— Marcus
Mariota, UO: 201 for 288
(69.8 percent), 2,371 yards
(215.5 per game), 29 touch-
downs, 6 interceptions, 168.0
ef ciency rating, plus 90 rush-
es for 605 yards, 3 TDs; Sean
Mannion, OSU, 125 of 204
(61.3 percent), 1,579 yards
(263.2 per game), 8 touch-
downs, 8 picks, 131.4 ef cien-
cy, plus 15 carries (including
sacks) for minus-65 yards.
Top running backs
— Kenjon Barner, UO, 220 car-
ries for 1,426 yards (6.5 aver-
age), 19 TDs, plus 19 recep-
tions for 232 yards, 1 TD;
StormWoods, OSU, 132 carries
for 634 yards (4.8 average)
and 6 TDs, plus 25 receptions
for 191 yards.
Top receivers
— De’Anthony
Thomas, Oregon, 40 receptions
for 381 yards and 4 touch-
downs; Markus Wheaton, OSU,
62 catches for 887 yards and
9 TDs.
Notes
■
Oregon State has had the
edge in place-kicking this sea-
son. Trevor Romaine is 13 of
15 for the Beavers, and has
made his last nine attempts.
Oregon’s Rob Beard was 4 of
8, and Alejandro Maldonado is
now 1 of 3 (after two misses
vs. Stanford).
■
Oregon has held OSU to
189 yards rushing on 75 car-
ries in the past three Civil War
games.
■
OSU has outscored the
opposition 133-88 in the sec-
ond half. Oregon has a 207-
143 edge in the second half
and overtime.
■
In last year’s Civil War, the
Ducks did a lot of things well
— but they were 0 for 4 on
fourth- down conversion
attempts.
EUGENE —
I
t started as the most intriguing
subplot of the 2012 Oregon Ducks.
Who would be the starting quar-
terback? Who was better?
Eleven games later, the questions
seem kind of ridiculous. Redshirt fresh-
man Marcus Mariota has reached star
status, guiding the Ducks into the Civil
War with hype and hoopla following
him, despite the Ducks’ inexplicable of-
fensive setback and loss against Stan-
ford.
It’s hard not to think that Mariota
had been the pick of UO coach Chip
Kelly and offensive coordinator Mark
Helfrich all along, although they claim
the competition between Mariota and
Bryan Bennett, essentially starting in
the summer of 2011, had always been
close, that Mariota proved himself in
training camp to earn the job.
Wow, just think
how Bennett must
feel these days as
backup to arguably
the best young
quarterback in the
country.
A humble and laid-back fromHawaii,
likable and team-oriented, Mariota
tried to comfort Bennett after coaches
tabbed him the starter. Disenchanted
and facing three years as Mariota’s
backup, Bennett considered transfer-
ring immediately.
“I told him, ‘We would really love to
have you here, you can make a differ-
ence, you’re just one play away from
playing,’ ” Mariota
says. “I’m glad he
stayed. He’s the
kind of guy, he’s a
difference-maker
as well. He’s a big
and effective weapon. When he’s asked
to do (something), he does a good job at
it.”
But, it hasn’t been easy. The Oregon
quarterbacks are a close-knit bunch,
Mariota says, but Bennett couldn’t help
but be frustrated. He had played in 2011,
as Darron Thomas’ injury replacement,
and done well. But Mariota had also im-
pressed coaches in practice, and then
shined in the UO spring game. It was a
fair fight, they both claimed, but, still ...
frustration for the sophomore kid from
Encino, Calif.
“I’m past that point, really. When you
work hard for something and want
something, and don’t get it, it’s hard,”
says Bennett, who has made an impact
in various ways in his reserve role.
“That goes along with life. You get a
setback, but it’s how you come back
STORY BY
JASON VONDERSMITH
■
Hawaii’s Aloha spirit just one factor
as young QB leads football’s hot offense
Mariota’s cool
demeanor key
to Ducks’ shaka
See MARIOTA / Page 8
By KERRY EGGERS
The Tribune
CORVALLIS — Name a
Pac-12 football coach who
isn’t a workaholic and you’ll
likely have a coach who is
out of a job.
But family life has to take
some priority, too, if the mar-
ried man wants to stay that
way.
Mike Riley has both work
ethic and the right perspective.
For 32 years come Dec. 22, the
Oregon State coach and his
wife, Dee, have made their mar-
riage sing despite the rigors of
the football coaching profes-
sion.
“Early in Mike’s coaching ca-
reer, we figured out our ‘nor-
mal’ doesn’t have to be like ev-
erybody else’s ‘normal,’ ” says
Dee Riley, like her husband an
Alabama grad. “It can’t, and it
never will. We figured out what
worked best for us.”
“It’s an interesting di-
lemma,” Mike Riley
says. “I try to teach
our players about
balance in life. And
we as coaches have
to live it, too. We
have jobs and we
have families.
“I always kid the
players and say, ‘I have
to take the garbage
o u t
T u e s d a y
nights.’ You have
to figure out what’s
important and do
it. Your job is im-
portant; your family is impor-
tant. You have to find that mix-
ture.”
For the past decade, that has
happened for the Rileys in Cor-
vallis. Before, there were stops
Beavers’ coach stays
grounded even as
season gets crazy
Mike Riley likes not being ‘normal’
TRIBUNE PHOTO: JAIME VALDEZ
Oregon State coach Mike Riley (right) gets congratulations from
athletic director Bob De Carolis after the season-opening victory over
Wisconsin.
Dee Riley, wife of Oregon
State coach Mike Riley,
says they “figured
out what worked
best for us.”
TRIBUNE PHOTO:
CHRISTOPHER
ONSTOTT
BARNER
POYER
TRIBUNE PHOTOS: JAIME VALDEZ / CHRISTOPHER ONSTOTT
Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (top) sprints through the
USC defense in the 62-51 victory Nov. 3. Coach Chip Kelly (above)
picked Mariota over Bryan Bennett to be the starter.
See RILEY / Page 6
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2012
PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP