Less than fifty miles of the Willamette Valley separate Eugene from Corvallis. For 132 years, that short stretch of Oregon has carried one of the oldest and most-played rivalries in American college football — a series that began in 1894, predates the forward pass, and has survived riots, realignment, a name change, and now a multi-year hiatus.
Oregon leads the all-time series 69–51–10. The Ducks have won three straight. And in 2028, after the longest break between meetings since World War II, the two programs will line up against each other again. Fans can follow Oregon football and Oregon State football on RallyFuel.
How It Started
The first game was played on a fall day in 1894 — Oregon Agricultural College, the school that would become Oregon State, beat the University of Oregon 16–0 in Corvallis. It was the beginning of what would become the fifth-most-played rivalry in the Football Bowl Subdivision and the most-played rivalry in the Western United States.
The series has been contested 129 times. It has been renewed all but twice since 1912 and played every year since 1945, with two games staged in both 1896 and 1945. Seven editions were held at neutral sites in Portland, and after riots followed the 1910 game — leading to the cancellation of the 1911 meeting — the 1912 and 1913 games were moved to Albany to keep the peace.
For most of its history the game carried a name the schools no longer use. The first reference to the “Civil War” appeared in 1929, and the term came into common use through the late 1930s. Before that, the game was simply the “Oregon Classic” or the “State Championship Game.” In 2020, amid a broader wave of name changes, Oregon and Oregon State officially retired the “Civil War” name. Many fans still use it informally, but the schools do not.
The Platypus Trophy
The rivalry’s trophy has one of the strangest backstories in college sports. The Platypus Trophy — a carved piece designed to evoke the duck-and-beaver hybrid that gives it its name — was awarded to the winner from 1959 to 1961. Then it vanished.
For more than forty years it was simply lost, its whereabouts unknown, until it was rediscovered in 2005. Beginning with the 2007 game, it returned to the rivalry, presented to the winning school’s alumni association. A separate, different trophy was awarded once before, after the 1980 game, but the Platypus is the one the rivalry claims as its own.
The Toilet Bowl: 1983
Not every memorable game is memorable for good football. The 1983 meeting in Eugene was played in a torrential rainstorm between two struggling teams, and it ended in a 0–0 tie — eleven fumbles, five interceptions, four missed field goals, and no points across sixty minutes. Fans named it the “Toilet Bowl.”
It holds a quiet place in history: it was the last Division I football game to end in a scoreless tie. The NCAA introduced overtime in 1996, ensuring nothing like it could happen again. It was also the tenth and final tie in the series.
The Night It All Worked: 2007
For ten straight years, from 1997 through 2006, the home team won this game. Oregon State snapped that streak in dramatic fashion in 2007, going into Autzen Stadium and beating the Ducks 38–31 in double overtime — the first road team to win in a decade. The finish was pure rivalry chaos: a blocked Oregon State field goal with just over a minute left in regulation, followed by a missed Oregon field goal as the clock expired, then two overtimes.
The Ducks returned the favor the next year. In 2008, Oregon went to Corvallis and won 65–38, with Oregon State needing the game to reach the Rose Bowl. The 65 points and the 103 combined points both set series records that still stand.
War for the Roses: 2009 and 2010
The rivalry kept finding the spotlight. The 2009 game was billed as the “War for the Roses” — the first time a single win would guarantee a Rose Bowl berth. Oregon won 37–33 in a back-and-forth night in Eugene and went to Pasadena for the first time since 1995.
A year later the stakes were even higher. Oregon entered the 2010 game ranked No. 1 and needing a win to reach the BCS National Championship Game. With ESPN’s College GameDay in Corvallis for the first time, the Ducks won 37–20 and booked their spot against Auburn for the national title.
The Most Lopsided Night: 2017
Both teams limped into the 2017 game — Oregon at 6–5, Oregon State at 1–10 and riding a nine-game losing streak. What followed was the most one-sided result in the rivalry’s history: Oregon 69, Oregon State 10, setting series records for both points scored and margin of victory.
The night belonged to Ducks running back Royce Freeman, who scored his 60th career rushing touchdown to break a Pac-12 record that had stood for sixteen years. It was Oregon’s ninth win in ten meetings.
The Fog Game: 2020
The 2020 game, played in the COVID-shortened season, may be the most atmospheric in the series. No. 15 Oregon came to Corvallis 3–0; Oregon State was 1–2. They played on a foggy November night in an empty stadium, no crowd, the lights diffusing into the mist.
Oregon State running back Jermar Jefferson ran for 226 yards — the most rushing yards by any player in the history of the rivalry. Down twelve entering the fourth quarter, the Beavers stormed back to win 41–38, knocking the Ducks out of playoff contention and notching Oregon State’s first win over a ranked opponent since 2014.
A Rivalry of Riots and Pranks
For a series this old, the off-field history is its own folklore. The 1910 riots got the 1911 game cancelled outright. In 1937, roughly 2,000 Oregon State students caravanned to Eugene for a celebration that escalated into tomatoes, water balloons, and students thrown into the campus millrace. In 1954, around 50 Oregon students slipped into Corvallis and lit Oregon State’s homecoming bonfire early — only for Oregon State students to capture 25 of them.
In 1960, an Oregon student “abducted” Oregon State’s Homecoming queen as a prank, complete with a ransom note inviting the Beavers to the game; she good-naturedly went along with it and was home in time for dinner. The rivalry has always run hot — sometimes a little too hot.
Realignment and the Hiatus
In 2023, Oregon announced it would leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten beginning in 2024, turning a century-plus conference rivalry into a non-conference game and throwing the series’ future into doubt. The teams played in Oregon’s first two Big Ten seasons — a 49–14 Ducks win in Corvallis in 2024 and a 41–7 Ducks win in Eugene in 2025 — but then the schedule ran out of room.
For the first time since 1944, there will be no Oregon–Oregon State football game in 2026. There won’t be one in 2027 either. Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes said the gap came down to scheduling conflicts on the Beavers’ side.
But the rivalry is not over. On May 26, 2026, both schools announced a four-game agreement: the series resumes in Corvallis on September 16, 2028, returns to Eugene on September 15, 2029, skips 2030, comes back to Eugene on August 30, 2031, and concludes the agreement in Corvallis on September 11, 2032.
The Rivalry Beyond Football
Football is the headline, but Oregon and Oregon State compete — and keep score — in nearly every sport they both sponsor. A few of those series are among the most contested in the country.
Men’s basketball is one of the longest-running and most-played series in the entire country, contested for well over a century. In recent years it has belonged firmly to the Ducks: Oregon has won nine straight, most recently an 87–75 victory in Eugene on November 17, 2025. Back your favorite teams on RallyFuel — Oregon and Oregon State.
Baseball runs the other way. Oregon State, a three-time College World Series champion (2006, 2007, 2018), has held the edge since Oregon revived its program in 2009 — the Beavers lead that span 48–31 through the 2026 season. The rivalry here has its own twist of history: Oregon cut its baseball program in 1981 and didn’t bring it back for 28 years. Back your favorite teams on RallyFuel — Oregon and Oregon State.
Women’s basketball belongs to the Ducks, who lead 67–47 — a series that has featured two Final Four runs between the programs, Oregon State in 2016 and Oregon in 2019. Back your favorite teams on RallyFuel — Oregon and Oregon State.
Softball is another Oregon stronghold: the Ducks lead the series 43–23 over the span tracked since 2000, and have controlled the recent stretch, including a 7–3 edge over the last ten meetings. Back Oregon softball on RallyFuel.
Volleyball rounds it out, and it belongs to the Ducks: Oregon leads the series 35–11 over the span tracked since 2002 and has won eleven straight, most recently a 3–1 win in Corvallis in September 2025. Back your favorite teams on RallyFuel — Oregon and Oregon State.
Women’s soccer is the one corner of the rivalry that has leaned Oregon State’s way: through their last meeting in 2023, the Beavers held an 11–8 edge, with six draws between them. Back Oregon State women’s soccer on RallyFuel.
Whatever the sport, the through-line is the same: two schools fifty miles apart, keeping score against each other in everything.
Two Schools, One Valley
Oregon, founded in 1876 in Eugene, has become one of the most visible brands in college football — a program with a Heisman winner, multiple national-title-game appearances, and, since 2024, a seat in the Big Ten. Its all-time record sits among the better marks in the FBS.
Oregon State, founded as a land-grant college in Corvallis, carries a longer-underdog history in the series but its own deep tradition — bowl runs, NFL talent, and signature upsets that have repeatedly bent the rivalry’s arc. The Beavers remain in a reshaping Pac-12.
The campuses are close enough that recruiting overlaps constantly. Oregon’s Willamette Valley is shared turf, and every in-state prospect is a player both staffs know well.
NIL: How Fans Fit Into the Rivalry Now
College sports have changed. With name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals now part of the landscape, fans finally have a way to be part of the story — not just watching from the stands, but helping support the athletes they cheer for.
That’s the idea behind RallyFuel. It’s a platform that connects fans with athletes, schools, and collectives. Here’s how it works: a fan picks an athlete and adds “Fuel.” If the conditions for the deal are met and the athlete chooses to take part, that Fuel turns into a real NIL agreement. If it doesn’t come together, the fan’s money is refunded — simple as that. RallyFuel built its compliance framework with experienced NIL legal guidance, and it works with verified athletes across every NCAA division, conference, and sport, including women’s and Olympic programs.
For a rivalry sitting out a two-year pause, that gives Ducks and Beavers fans alike a way to stay in the game between meetings. (The full details on how Fuel, conditions, and refunds work live in RallyFuel’s Terms of Service.)
When It Comes Back
The Platypus Trophy currently sits in Eugene. Oregon has won three straight and leads the series 69–51–10. Oregon State has the fog game. Oregon has the 69–10. There’s a scoreless tie in the record book and a homecoming queen in the folklore.
Two years without it will be the longest the state of Oregon has gone without this game since 1944. Then, in September 2028, it comes back.
The series is on pause. The rivalry is not.
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