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Oregon looks to stop slide against Oregon State

Dec 1, 2007 - 11:30 AM Oregon State (7-4) at No. 18 Oregon (8-3) 4:30 pm EST

EUGENE, Oregon (Ticker) -- In a span of two weeks, Oregon lost two quarterbacks and saw its national championship and Pac-10 Conference hopes end.

Now, the 18th-ranked Ducks hope to end the regular season on a positive note with a victory over arch-rival Oregon State in the annual "Civil War" game on Saturday.

But the Ducks (8-3, 5-3 Pac-10), who were in prime position to make a run at the national championship before getting upset at Arizona two weeks ago, may have to do it with an untested redshirt freshman.

In Oregon's 34-24 loss to the Wildcats, Heisman Trophy candidate Dennis Dixon suffered a season-ending torn knee ligament.

The disastrous stretch continued for the Ducks in last week's 16-0 loss to UCLA as senior backup Brady Leaf went down with a sprained right ankle. Leaf started despite a sprain in the left ankle, then injured his other ankle in the first quarter.

That left Oregon's offense in the hands of Cody Kempt and Justin Roper, who were fourth and fifth, respectively, on the team's depth chart at the beginning of the season.

The result was the Ducks' first shutout since a 63-0 loss to Nebraska on September 28, 1985.

Kempt completed just 6-of-23 passes with two interceptions against UCLA, while Roper was 1-of-5 for eight yards.

Oregon State (7-4, 5-3 Pac-10) has its own problems as the Beavers also will go with a backup quarterback in Lyle Moevao. Starter Sean Canfield is sidelined with a shoulder injury.

The Beavers also could be without tailback Yvenson Benson, the fourth-leading rusher in the Pac-10, who sat out the second half of last week's 52-17 win over Washington State with shoulder and knee injuries.

The winner of Saturday's game will clinch no worse than a share of third place in the Pac-10.