PULLMAN, Wash. -- Nothing about Saturday's game between Oregon State and Washington State should have felt unusual. There is a familiarity that comes with having played 106 times over the past 120 years.
It's a rivalry game in that sense. A reliable way to mark the passage of time. But this version -- the first time the matchup featured both teams in the AP top 25 -- might have had the friendliest lead-up to a high-stakes college football game on record.
The pregame festivities were highlighted by the schools' mascots -- Benny Beaver and Butch T.