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Oregon State's season is far from over, despite the loss to Oregon in the Civil War.
For the past two seasons, the Beavers have been all done after the annual rivalry game. This year, they're not only going to a bowl game, they've got another regular season game next Saturday.
Oregon State (8-3, 6-3) will host Nicholls State in a matchup that was supposed to open the season but was put off when Hurricane Isaac bore down on the Colonels' Thibodaux, La., campus.
''We are down to the last couple of chapters and we need to talk to the team about putting an exclamation point on who they want to be remembered as,'' Beavers coach Mike Riley said. ''One of the first ways a team is remembered is their record, so we want to make that record as good as we can.''
While the Beavers' 48-24 loss to the No. 5 Ducks stung, it didn't diminish an amazing turnaround from a 3-9 finish last season.
''Mike's a great football coach and there are some players out there that are the top players in our conference,'' Oregon coach Chip Kelly said. ''You see them live and in person and they are as good as ever.''
But the Beavers simply weren't quite as good as the Ducks on Saturday.
Kenjon Barner ran for 198 yards and two touchdowns for the Ducks (11-1, 8-1) despite leaving the game for a time with an injury. De'Anthony Thomas helped picked up the slack while Barner was on the sidelines, running for 122 yards and three scores. Redshirt freshman Marcus Mariota threw for 140 yards and a score, and also ran for 85 yards and a touchdown.
It was Oregon's fifth straight victory in the 116-game rivalry series with the Beavers.
Beavers quarterback Sean Mannion threw for 311 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted four times. Storm Woods rushed for 70 yards and two scores.
Mannion started the first four games of the season, throwing seven touchdowns and averaging 339 yards, but injured his left knee and required surgery. Vaz, who hadn't started since high school, took over and helped the Beavers to win in the next two games, and later became the team's starter.
But Vaz sprained his left ankle in the final moments of a loss to Stanford two weeks ago, and sat out last Saturday during Oregon State's 64-14 victory at home over California. Mannion got the nod for the Civil War.
''This (the Nicholls State game) will be a great opportunity for the team to bounce back and have a game where we come out and really put the pressure on ourselves,'' Mannion said.
Fans at the game numbered 47,249, setting Reser Stadium record.
Oregon put the Stanford loss behind them by striking quickly on their first possession with Mariota's 42-yard keeper. The touchdown drive took just 1:46, but the Ducks' 2-point try to cap it off failed.
The Beavers took a 7-6 lead on Woods' 7-yard touchdown run, but the Ducks answered on the next series with Thomas' 2-yard TD dash. Barner added a 1-yard scoring run before he was hurt.
Stanford held Barner to 66 yards the week before, but he had 141 yards before halftime against the Beavers. With his first 15 yards rushing Saturday, he moved past Derek Loville (1986-89) for second on Oregon's career rushing list.
Trevor Romaine kicked a 36-yard field goal to narrow it to 20-10 at halftime and the Beavers pulled closer with Woods' 2-yard scoring run on their first series of the second half.
It was all Ducks the rest of the way. Thomas scored on a 6-yard run to extend Oregon's lead to 27-17, before the Ducks capitalized on a Beaver fumble that led to Thomas' 29-yard touchdown run. Barner returned with his 1-yard run and Mariota found B.J. Kelley with a 2-yeard scoring pass.
Mannion hit Micah Hatfield with a 6-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds left for the final margin.
The Ducks hold a 60-46-10 advantage in the Civil War which dates back to 1894 and is the seventh-most contested rivalry in the nation.
It was the fourth time that both teams were ranked for the Civil War. The last was in 2009, when Oregon was No. 7 and Oregon State was No. 13. That game was dubbed the ''War of the Roses'' because the winner was guaranteed a Rose Bowl berth. Oregon won 37-33.
