Battle of the land-grants

As the Beavers prepare to host the Washington State Cougars this weekend (1 p.m. kickoff, radio only) in what will be the 90th football meeting between the two schools, let's return to yesteryear and look at the history of the rivalry between the Pacific Northwest's two land-grant universities.

In summary, Oregon State has won 40 of the contests, WSU 46. Three have ended in a tie. At home, OSU is 20-18-0, while up there, the Beavs are on the short end of a 15-23-2 stick. Not all of the games have been played in Corvallis or Pullman. Portland's Multnomah Stadium (now PGE Park) has hosted 10 of the meetings (OSU is 4-5-1), and the 1905 game was played in Pendleton, where the boys from Corvallis reeled off a 29-0 victory. In 1970, the two schools met in Spokane, with OSU finishing on top, 28-16.

It's also interesting to note that tomorrow's game will be the third earliest point in a football season the two programs have met, and the earliest ever for Corvallis. In 1989, OSU traveled to Pullman on Sept. 16 to suffer through the agony of a 41-3 blowout loss. In 1993, a Sept. 17 Beaver sojourn to the Palouse also ended in disaster for the Orange. Final score, 51-6.

For the past 50 years, the series for both schools has been feast or famine. From 1955-1975, OSU lost but five times to the Cougs. In 1976, the bottom fell out. That year, OSU dropped a 29-24 away-game decision to WSU and the Crimson and Gray didn't come up for air for the next 16 years, losing to the Beavers only once (1978), with the 1982 game ending in a 14-all tie.

Since 1994, when OSU stunned the No. 24-ranked Cougars 21-3 before 26,438 delirious Parker Stadium fans, the series has been evenly contested, with each winning, then losing back-to-back games.

The '94 game also marked the last visit to campus by legendary OSU Head Coach Tommy Prothro (1955-64), who at the time was dying of cancer. The day before, he addressed the team after practice in the north end zone of the stadium. Many feel his stirring speech, delivered as he supported himself with a walking cane, helped spur coach Jerry Pettibone's Beavers to the upset victory.