If you're enrolled at Washington, or have a degree from the school, or have a relative on the team — then go ahead and root for the Huskies on Saturday. If you have a wager riding on the Dawgs, or are on the school's payroll, or have purple-and-gold wallpaper, carpet and floorboards, then UW is your team this weekend, too.
But for everybody else — considering what has been taken from Oregon State, considering the ultimate stick-it-to-them opportunity that school in Corvallis has — how do you not pull for the Beavs?
This isn't an actual David and Goliath matchup between No. 5 Washington (10-0, 7-0 Pac-12) and No. 10 OSU (8-2, 5-2). Not when you consider that the home-team Beavers — fresh off a 45-point drubbing of Stanford — are the (slight) betting favorites. But in terms of the future, this game does represent a disparate power dynamic. Villain vs. victim in some folks' minds, but at the very least — survivor vs. castaway.
Most of you know the gist of the situation. Earlier this year, Washington and Oregon announced they would join fellow Pac-12 schools USC and UCLA in leaving for the Big Ten next year. This left the Pac-12 in a state of untenable disarray, particularly with schools such as Oregon State and Washington State, who may never be part of what's considered a "power" conference again.
It's tough to energize the community and alumni when it's a near certainty that the greatest thing you can achieve in the regular season is a mid-major title. It's difficult to lure recruits with media-rights contracts bringing in a fraction of the super conferences' capital. But that's looking more and more representative of what's to come for the Beavs.
The Huskies, on the other hand, are in an exponentially more auspicious position. They have latched on to the Big Ten for the foreseeable future and will reap the Big Ten benefits. Travel will be an issue, yes. Trying to outclass schools such as Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State in addition to the likes of Oregon and USC will be, too.
But those are good problems — the types of problems reserved for those in position to compete for national titles. Oregon State doesn't have those problems.
But here's what the Beavers do have.
1) A chance to not only end Washington's perfect season, but thwart its 17-game winning streak in front of their home fans. Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith said on KJR-FM (93.3) that he's expecting a standing-room-only crowd and joked (I think) that he was talking to the fire department on going over the fire code.
"We're counting on it being very emotional," Smith said.
2) A chance to win the Pac-12 title in its final year as we know it. This is a difficult task, to be sure. The Beavers would have to knock off an unbeaten UW squad Saturday and then beat No. 6 Oregon — who most seem to feel is the best team in the conference — in Eugene.
Oregon State has not won a conference title since 2000, when it split it with Washington and Oregon. It has not won the title outright since 1956. Before the season began, Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel essentially wrote that the Beavers were America's team. I don't know if poetic would be the word to describe the Beavs winning the league before being left behind — but it would certainly delight anyone not invested in the Huskies or Ducks.
Sure, there have been some moments Oregon State players and coaches would like to have back this year. The three-point road loss to No. 19 Arizona? Forgivable, even if the Beavers did lead by four at one point in the second half. But the three-point road loss to Washington State, losers of its past six? That will haunt them if they end up winning the conference championship and fall short of the College Football Playoff.
Or not.
This feels like the start of what could be the most intense three-game stretch in OSU program history. What distinguishes the Washington game from the others (and the third one in Las Vegas is hypothetical), is how cathartic it would be for fans attending at Reser Stadium. Then again, my guess is that OSU's fans extend beyond the Pacific Northwest.
The Huskies have the undefeated record, one of the Heisman favorites in Michael Penix Jr. and one of the most potent offenses college football has seen in years.
The Beavs, however, have the storyline and the support of everyone who likes the little guy — even if that little guy is favored.
