At the beginning of Fall Camp this was the game everyone circled. Oregon at Stanford. The rematch of the Ducks’ only loss last season, an imperfect storm of a game where The Cardinal played well and the Ducks were uncharacteristically flat, out of synch and tight, making critical errors and taking the short end of every bounce and bobble. Stanford played a physical game and the pace, tempo and character of the game were perfect for what they try to do. They got key stops. They executed in the clutch. They schemed and tackled brilliantly and deserved to win.
All the Ducks could do was rebound, make a BCS bowl and finish second in the country. A good season, but a few inches and a handful of plays from a perfect one.
Gotta get it: Like most Duck fans, Cosmo wants another shot at The Tree.
Marcus Mariota and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu say they have a chip on their shoulder from last year’s only loss. The Ducks feel that Stanford didn’t get their best shot last season. Indeed, the last time these two teams met in Palo Alto Oregon blew Andrew Luck and The Cardinal all the way to the bay, dominant in a 53-30 victory.
Webfoot fans feel the Ducks are a better team than the group that lost last year in Autzen. This is a deeper team with more weapons, an improved passing attack, a deeper backfield, and a more experienced, more confident Marcus Mariota running the show. The defense has produced 23 turnovers, and in their last outing they clamped down on a UCLA attack that played The Cardinal fairly even in Palo Alto a month or so ago.
But Stanford would be a challenge for anyone in the country. They have a heady and resourceful quarterback, an imposing running game behind a powerful offensive line, a tremendous front seven on defense.
Stanford is the anti-Oregon. They’re old school. They line up nine linemen and pound inside. They line up in a 3-4 defense and punch you in the mouth. In plain red and white uniforms (sometimes black) they play smart, disciplined football and win with execution, strength and power.
It’s one of the biggest college football games of the season with naturally compelling storylines. Two teams with short traditions and a lot of recent success. They’ve split the series 2-2 over the last four seasons, and each has ruined great seasons for the other, none with more on the line than this one.
In an unprecedented move, College Game Day is setting up for a special Thursday afternoon broadcast from the Stanford Campus. The leaders and opinion makers and columnists from around the country will be there. The TV audience is likely to be the largest of the college football regular season.
To win, the Ducks have to move the football and dictate the pace. Bishop Sankey of Washington ran for 125 yards on 27 carries versus Shane Skov and company, and if Byron Marshall matches that output, Oregon is a long way toward making this game the type of game they want to play. Stanford wants to make it a heavyweight fight with lots of clinches. Oregon wants a track meet, or fast break basketball on grass.
Will Marcus Mariota have his full mobility? Can the Ducks get De’Anthony Thomas untracked, after five games as a non-factor? Can Nick Aliotti and his defensive unit find ways to stop Kevin Hogan, Tyler Gaffney and The Cardinal offense, limiting long, time-consuming drives, holding them to field goals, forcing some mistakes? The Ducks have amassed 23 takeaways on defense this season. Kevin Hogan has been intercepted five times, sacked just nine, slightly over once a game. Hogan has good escapability and burned the Ducks with some key scrambles last year in Autzen. He put together an 11-play, 78-yard drive in the fourth quarter to tie the game, capped by the infamous 10-yard td pass to Zach Ertz in the back of the end zone.
In 2012 the Ducks missed blocks, missed field goals and missed getting a key offsides penalty and a decent shake in the replay booth in losing that game, but they’re determined not to allow one play or a handful of plays to beat them tomorrow.
Oregon shows up and makes their best, most focused, sustained effort of the season. The Cardinal are physical and disciplined, but the Ducks have more playmakers who make bigger plays. Wogan keeps Ty Montgomery taking a knee. Oregon wins, 41-24, including a pair of field goals by Alejandro Maldonado.
Please leave your predictions below. Most accurate answers wins a $10 merchandise certificate at The Duck Stops Here Store. The tiebreaker is the accuracy of the game description and factors, decision of the judges being final.
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