The defense is going to have to back up the words of the senior defensive tackle.

“[Oregon State’s offensive line] is a tight unit and seem to know where they are at,” Duncan said. “But the thing I see when I watched them is that I don’t think they have faced a defensive line like us. I mean, the last defensive line they played like us was Penn State and the results speak for themselves.

“Like [Southern California], for instance, they had some big [defensive linemen] guys, but they weren’t as quick as us. They might have been as strong us, but they are not as quick as us. Like I said, I don’t think [Oregon State] has faced anyone like us and that will be our plan, to surprise them [with athleticism].

“If not, if they want to make it a fight, we’ll strap it up like we do.”

Duncan continued to say that the Beavers’ offensive line is good, but that it struggled against speed and he talked about the speed of the Panthers’ defensive ends, Jabaal Sheard and Greg Romeus, as well as the athleticism of defensive tackle Mick Williams.

He said that Penn State’s defensive line exposed some holes in Oregon State’s line and he believes the Panthers’ defensive line will be able to duplicate the Nittany Lions’ strategy because they are similar in speed and athleticism. Penn State beat Oregon State, 45-14, Sept. 6, and in that game the Nittany Lions held the Beavers to 92 yards rushing.

“Looking at the film, Penn State did some twists and had all kinds of things like that going on and [Oregon State’s] O-line couldn’t adjust to it,” Duncan said. “Their O-line is still young, besides the one tackle, who is a senior. So the mixture of Penn State being quick and with them moving around, I don’t think it was a combination that Oregon State could handle, so hopefully that’ll be our game plan going in.”

Okay. And yes, the Oregon State O-line is aware.

Some OSU response: From left guard Adam Speer … (Laughs when told what Duncan said) “That’s kind of funny. Go ask USC, UCLA, ask them what they thought of us. I hope he thinks we’re not any good, and we’ll see afterward what he really thought.”

From right guard Gregg Peat ... “I think they’re a great defense. Surely, they have a season to be proud of and a defensive line to be proud of. As far as him saying whatever he’s going to say, it’s a football game. We’ve faced great defenses. They are a great defense. We’ll look forward to the challenge. Talk it up all you want, it’s another defensive line.”

Of course that Penn State game was in the beginning of the season. You would think that Pitt players, especially would take into account a performance at the beginning of the year as not indicative of the end of the season performance.

Not that Duncan didn’t have a spark of truth in what he said.

But the Pitt nose tackle put his finger on what probably is this game’s most important matchup.

If the Beavers can’t clear running lanes for backup tailback Ryan McCants by blocking Duncan, defensive tackle Mick Williams and quick defensive ends Jabaal Sheard and Greg Romeous, Oregon State could be in for a long day.

McCants will start in place of injured Jacquizz Rodgers, the Pacific-10 Conference offensive player of the year. Rodgers, who has a cracked shoulder blade, didn’t play in the Civil War, a game in which McCants carried 10 times for 32 yards.

It was a significant drop-off. Jacquizz Rodgers gained 186 on USC, 144 against UCLA and 144 against California.

When Oregon State’s running game gets stuffed, the play-action passes stop working, the offense gets out of sync, the defense spends more time on the field, and the Beavers’ chances of winning start to unravel.

All of which means there is a lot riding in Wednesday’s Sun Bowl on the Beavers’ Big Uglies, and they have been called out.

Now we know the Oregon State O-line will be out to prove something.