This year’s annual Oregon State football game will have less flare to it than previous games in the wake of the massive conference realignment shifts.

The last days of college football normalcy for the state of Oregon will be ending this spring, followed by a new normal that will appear in the fall.

With Oregon joining the Big Ten and Oregon State remaining in what’s left of the Pac-12, the future of the long-held in-state rivalry game is no longer stable as both sides continue to adjust to the times.

Both the University of Oregon and Oregon State University successfully preserved the future of the rivalry, however that future is only stable for the next two seasons.

The rivalry between the Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers will only continue afterwards so long as both sides can fit it into their schedules. It is no longer a guaranteed annual bout.

It wasn’t easy for them to add this game into their schedules this year after already preparing for new faces, but the date in Sept. combined with both teams settling into new conferences dulls the luster of the old Pac-12 rivalry.

Although the game on-the-field will be as intense as it has been in the past, the game off-the-field won’t be as meaningful as prior meetings. Unless it were returned to its traditional schedule.

Unlike past games between these two that would traditionally take place in “Rivalry Week,” the last week of the regular season, both will play each other this year on Sept.14. A time usually reserved for “tune-up” games against lesser talented teams.

In-state rivalry games seldom occur in the opening month of college football as they are traditionally set in the last weekend of November. Knowing you have to play your in-state rival on the last game of your season automatically adds an extra level of enthusiasm to the overall environment.

If both teams were successful, the aura of the last game of the season would be as bright and explosive as the sun with each side seeing it as the home stretch to championship glory. Were both teams to have less successful seasons, they viewed winning the game as an act of redemption.

Either way, playing your next-door rival in your last game was seen as a fitting end to college football regardless of bowl game eligibility.

This year will obviously not be that case. The excitement for this game will feel short-lived for the fans as they will have to get ready for the next game the following week rather than celebrating the win for all of December.

Regardless of how they enter their new rivalry week, both the Ducks and Beavers will still have the rest of their season to look forward to. The whole season’s success won’t be determined by this game anymore.

Undoubtedly, the Ducks’ and Beavers’ athletic programs will continue to play with the intensity as those who wore the uniforms before them. The question is how will both organizations adjust to the rivalry’s new look?

Will they continue working together to preserve the game after these next two years? If they keep it going, will it return to being scheduled in rivalry week?

Or will the rivalry fade as yet another casualty of conference realignment?

With all the uncertainty revolving around both programs, we won’t know until it happens.