Jacobson: Duck fans generally enter Civil War games nowadays expecting to win. This week has got them worried obviously as the team has not met any of its preseason expectations, entering the game with a 4-7 record, 2-6 in the Pac-12. But still the mood is improving among the loyalists after their upset win at Utah last week, coupled with the advancing play of their freshman signal caller. Overall Oregon fans expect a very tough battle in Corvallis but that ultimately the Ducks will win.

Singer: For BeaversEdge.com subscribers, it's a win. Plain and simple. With Oregon having a down year in the win-loss column, it gives OSU fans more confidence than ever that they can break Oregon's winning streak in the Civil War. While Oregon and Oregon State come into the Civil War with a combined seven wins, they are both playing good football right now. The Beavers are coming off of their most complete performance of the season against Arizona, and the Ducks pulled off a big upset last week at Utah. The time for Oregon State to win is now as they are playing well on both sides of the football and will be playing in front of a sell out crowd.

Helfrich: Given all the chatter about the “hot seat” that head coach Mark Helfrich is sitting on, this game could have huge implications for the future of Oregon football. If the Ducks lose they are sitting there at 4-8, 2-7 with losses to everybody in the northwest. Win and they can be viewed as on an upswing, winning their last two Pac-12 games as guys started coming back from injury and the numerous freshmen that have played gain experience. So it that sense it is possible this game will decide whether there is a shakeup in the staff for 2017.

Singer: It means everything. The Oregon State players spoke to BeaversEdge.com during the week of practice about their disgust of Oregon, but they still have respect for the Ducks' program, as they should. Cornerback Treston Decoud, a senior leader of the defense that might end up playing on Sundays, tweeted out an email from Oregon that said they would not offer him a scholarship but only a walk on spot a couple of years ago when he was being recruited as a junior college recruit. That is one instance of the OSU players not liking UO, and it goes on and on. Beating Oregon would end the Beavs' 2016 season on such a high note and would give them sky high confidence going into year three of the Gary Andersen era.

Jacobson: Certainly on offense all eyes will be on freshman QB Justin Herbert, junior RB Royce Freeman, junior WR Darren Carrington plus a deep TE group. Other players such as WR Jalen Brown and RB Tony Brooks-James could play prominent roles as will.

Defensively freshman LB Troy Dye, sophomore DE Justin Hollins, freshman safety Brenden Schooler and senior LB Johnny Ragin will be some of the names announcers will mention plenty of times on Saturday.

Singer: Offensively, Oregon State goes as their running back Ryan Nall goes. He had a big game in Eugene last year with 181 rushing yards and 54 receiving yards, and the Beavers will look for Nall to have similar success on Saturday. Marcus McMaryion is coming off of a stunning performance last week against Arizona with a five touchdown performance. McMaryion was not the starting quarterback last season and was buried in the depth chart earlier this year. However, he started last year's Civil War game, and he will be back under center on Saturday.

Defensively, I really like the Beavers' secondary with Decoud and Xavier Crawford at cornerback. They are both opportunistic and are very good tacklers. Safety Devin Chappell has come down and played nickel when he was needed to this season, but he is back full-time at his safety spot, and he is an impact player.

Jacobson: For the Ducks to win they will need to limit the Beaver rushing attack on early downs to try to put the Beavers into throwing position and look for some takeaways against an OSU offense which has not taken care of the ball well on occasion. On offense, the Ducks need to do what they do best: open up spaces vertically and horizontally, be balanced run/pass, and get the ball to their playmakers in space.

If the Beavers can establish a running game, particularly on first and second downs, they could keep the injury-plagued Oregon defense on the field for extended stretches and wear them down as the game goes on. If the Ducks can jump to an early lead and then lean on their running game, that could spell a long afternoon for OSU.

Singer: Oregon State can't get into a shootout like they did last season, in my opinion. The key will be limiting their opponent's possessions, which the Beavers have been pretty good at this season. A key to be able to do that is running the ball effectively to chew up the clock. The Beavers cannot give up the big play and have to keep Justin Herbert in check. Even in a down year for the Ducks, they still have talented athletes that can give any defense fits, so the Beavs have to control them.

Jacobson: Even though Ducks do not disclose injuries, Oregon has lost a few starters such as WR Devon Allen, OT Tyrell Crosby and WR Dwayne Stanford to season-ending injuries. We also know that numerous players in the defensive front seven are walking wounded in various states of availability for Saturday. Oregon will be thin at WR and DL and relatively youthful on the offensive line this week because of injuries.

Singer: Oregon State has been really banged up this season, but they are getting healthy at the right time. Cornerback Dwayne Williams returned to the starting lineup last week after being out for a while as did outside linebacker Titus Failauga. OSU is thin at outside linebacker, so it would help if Adam Soesman is available to play. He was listed as questionable in the injury report that OSU sent out this week.

Jacobson: Oregon is favored to win by three points by Las Vegas and that sounds about right to me. If the Ducks can play anywhere close to how they did in Salt Lake City last week they could easily beat the spread by a bit. On the other hand, if they revert to midseason form, they could lose by three touchdowns. But for the sake of analysis in a game that could go either way: Oregon 45, Oregon State 42.

Singer: Throw out the records and the stats when it comes to the Civil War. It will be a fight and a very closely contested game. In front of a packed Reser Stadium crowd, I like the Beavs to come out on top with huge games by Ryan Nall and wide receiver Jordan Villamin. Give me Oregon 20, Oregon State 24