Week 12 Preview - It's Beaver Time
It's time for Oregon State to send the Pac-12 off properly
I have made it no secret that we here at Fading Tuesday have a strong affinity for the Oregon State Beavers. There are a few reasons for this:
I have taken several vacations to central Oregon, with one of those vacations involving a quick stop in Corvallis, Oregon
Oregon State has been a quite profitable wager under head coach Jonathan Smith the past few years
Their colors are Halloween colors and their mascot is a Beaver this is the type of school that makes college football great
It is not a surprise to me that Oregon State is now a highly ranked team - they have been trending in the right direction for years and now have an experienced talented team that can beat most teams in the country. But that’s not why we are talking about them today.
We are talking about them today because they have a chance to do the funniest thing imaginable the next two weeks.
Tomorrow evening, Oregon State hosts undefeated #5 Washington. Next week, they travel to #6 Oregon. The assumption is that Washington and Oregon will win these two games, play each other in the Pac-12 championship, and the winner likely makes the College Football Playoff.
These are the same Washington and Oregon teams who are bolting for the Big 10 next year, which disintegrated the Pac-12 leaving Oregon State and Washington State high and dry without a conference home. A long long story short, the Pac-12 crumbling has been largely caused by the Big 10, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. While most other Pac-12 teams were able to land in another conference, Oregon State and Washington State have been completely screwed over by their fellow in-state schools.
Now with two weeks left in the season, the Pac-12 has two schools in Washington and Oregon with legitimate hopes at making the Playoff. In their final season as a conference, the Pac-12 has a chance to go out with a bang. A 12-0 Washington playing an 11-1 Oregon in what would be the most anticipated Pac-12 Championship Game in a long time (if ever).
But before we can get there, these two teams have to play a really good pissed off Oregon State team that has been all but left-for-dead by these two schools. An Oregon State team who, by winning these games, probably makes a New Year’s Six Bowl game. An Oregon State team who has all of the motivation in the world to wreck Washington and Oregon’s dreams.
They can do it. It starts with tomorrow nights game against Washington. It’s the game that College Gameday should have gone to, but considering ESPN is largely responsible for the conference realignment mess Oregon State finds themselves in, has chosen to not face the music (and the booing fans that would greet them in Corvallis) and is going to Appalachian State/James Madison instead.
All of the big power players in College Football want Washington to win tomorrow night. Root for the little guy. Root for Oregon State to bring dash their conference’s hopes and dreams. Choose Oregon State.
I don’t have picks this week. Just one of those weeks. If I gave you picks, I can’t say that I really believe in them or did my research on them, so I am not going to lie to you guys with some random picks and hope they are right.
Well…I actually do have one pick.
THE PICK - WEEK 12 (Last Week: 5-6 2023: 55-56-5). Pick below is in bold
Oregon State -1 vs. Washington - Wreck them, Beavs. Do the thing. We believe in you here at Fading Tuesday. We believe. Also you’re the favorite so not that crazy of us to believe.
My YouTube account just suggested this video to me thinking I would be interested in it, if you’re wondering how in the bag I am for Oregon State at this point. YouTube was correct I watched the whole video. The field rush at 3:08 is an iconic field rush.
Go Beavs.