ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt reacted to the report that the Civil War between the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers will continue in 2024.
On Wednesday morning, John Canzano reported that the Civil War rivalry series between the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers will continue in 2024, even with the two teams no longer in the same conference.
While some Oregon fans are frustrated at the prospect of giving up a 2024 home game against Texas Tech for a road game against the Beavers instead, many across the great state are just relieved that this storied rivalry that dates back to 1894 will continue, keeping alive the lifeblood of college football in the area.
On Wednesday night, ESPN’s leading anchor Scott Van Pelt reacted to the report from Canzano in his “One Big Thing” segment on ESPN, applauding the efforts made by both Oregon and Oregon State in preserving this rivalry game that represents so much of what makes college football great.
“The Civil War, like the Apple Cup, is a game that college football simply has to have,” Van Pelt said. “For all that is abandoned in the name of progress and profit, rivalries — true generations-old battles — must be maintained, or the lifeblood of what makes this sport spectacular evaporates.”
The game between the two will occur in Week 3 of the 2024 season, on September 14th. On that date, Oregon was originally scheduled to play Boise State at home, which was preluded by a home game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on September 7th.
Thanks to some scheduling help from those two teams, Texas Tech will now play Washington State on September 7th, while the Ducks move their game vs. Boise State to that week.
“As Canzano wrote, ‘It took work.’ And to that, I would say that the things in life worth having and keeping mostly do,” Van Pelt continued. “So the Civil War continues, and those who did the work behind the scenes to ensure it will, I salute you. From all the way on the other side of the country, a guy who has never seen that game in person and almost certainly never will, it makes me smile to know that the people to whom this game matters more than it should will get to continue to enjoy it. It’s worth the work required to preserve it for generations to come.”
As someone who grew up an Oregon Ducks fan and someone who has experienced the ups and downs of the Civil War since I was a child, I am thrilled that the game is continuing into the future. While the scheduling may be tough, and fans upset about losing a home game are justified, the end result of continuing one of the most historic rivalries in the nation makes it all worth it.
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