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The Ducks settled the Pac-10's pecking order, led by huge days from Darron Thomas and LaMichael James.
LaMichael James took a handoff up the middle past a Stanford eight-in-the-box for what’s hopefully the final score (for my fingers’ sakes), though Oregon still has an outside shot at hitting 60.
James now has an insane 257 yards on 31 carries, plus three touchdowns, meaning Darron Thomas’ 355-yard, four-touchdown performance somehow only barely merits the game ball.
Stanford had a little bit of fight left in it, with Andrew Luck firing all the way down to the Oregon 11 on a 41-yard completion to Jamal-Rashad Patterson.
On the next snap, a fade route ended up with Cliff Harris snagging the ball, Stanford’s receiver snagging Harris, and both tumbling backwards out of bounds.
Oregon has possession at its own 20 with a little over two to go.
Even though DT is outplaying him, Luck has thrown six potential NFL touchdowns and 427 future yards.
Dan Rubenstein
Dan_Rubenstein
Even though Darron Thomas has nearly matched Andrew Luck’s passing total and supplemented it with 117 ground yards, Brent Musberger continues to treat Luck like he’s Boise State on Labor Day. I’m saying Brent is pro-Luck.
The Ducks have driven past midfield, with a little over four minutes left.
The Cardinal responded to Oregon’s latest score with a 77-yard drive that stalled inside the five after Andrew Luck bobbled the ball on a dropback on third down, then was hurried into a pass on fourth that was broken up in the end zone.
That sentence was long and confusing. Oregon has the ball inside its own ten with eight minutes to go.
Darron Thomas opened the fourth quarter with a 25-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Davis. Thomas’ play action game has been lights out, with all three of his touchdowns coming on play fakes (and both of his picks on plays with no run fakes).
He’s up to 355 total yards on the day.
The Ducks have stormed back from an early 18-point deficit, holding a two-score lead with under 14 to go.
Stanford’s Chris Owosu fumbled while running with an Andrew Luck pass, with Oregon recovering and rumbling to the Cardinal three-yard line.
LaMichael James contributed his second score, on the next play from scrimmage. He and Darron Thomas both now have 112 yards on the ground.
This is Oregon’s first lead since going up 3-0 in the opening minutes.
After an uncomfortable seven minutes of scoreless football, Darron Thomas faked a Cardinal defender out of his personality while miming a pitch on an option keeper. Thomas waltzed in for the six-yard score, completing a 68-yard drive.
We’re now all tied up, with Thomas good for 316 total yards already.
In the handful of sputtering drives to close the half, we saw both our first and second punt of the day.
Neither team elected to run out the clock, preferring to keep slinging, not that you’re surprised to learn this. Darron Thomas threw his second pick somewhere in all that, and Andrew Luck very nearly returned the favor.
This game is on pace for 1,250 yards of combined offense, with a 7.9 yard average on every offensive play. Whew.
Darron Thomas threw his second touchdown, unfurling a 41-yard toss to a streaking Josh Huff. Thomas has 193 yards with quite a bit of football ahead of us.
The Ducks have outgained Stanford by 142 yards; without those two early turnovers, they might be running away with this one.
With over five minutes to go, we’re on pace for well over 100 total points. West coast football!
Andrew Luck lobbed a 36-yard catch-and-run over the middle to a wide-open Coby Fleener, completing an 87-yard Cardinal drive.
Luck has now thrown two scores and trotted for another, and has only thrown one incompletion. Stepfan Taylor has matched LaMichael James’ 66 rushing yards, though Taylor also has 17 receiving yards.
We’ve yet to see a punt in Autzen today.
Oregon made quick work of its onside kick recovery, scoring in under two minutes. Which makes sense as they’re a PAC 10 team.
Darron Thomas is now 12-of-14 for 133 yards, and LaMichael James is up to 66 yards on nine carries.
The point-a-minute offense isn’t dead yet!
Trying to hang onto the momentum, the Ducks elected to try an onside kick, catching the Cardinal off guard. It worked, if you didn’t catch that part.
It’s not officially a turnover, but it’s just as good as one.
Darron Thomas is now leading the no-huddle at midfield.
You’ll excuse the Oregon offense for arriving late. It had an early morning.
Darron Thomas redeemed himself for throwing a pick, leading an 85-yard drive along with 18 yards from LaMichael James. Thomas threw his first score of the game to Jeff Maehl.
Checking to make sure nobody’s scored since I started typing this. OK, we’re good.
Stepfan Taylor got involved for the Cardinal, breaking a 44-yard run up the middle after Darron Thomas threw a backpedaling interception to an onrushing lineman.
The Cardinal outdid their previous scoring drive, putting six on the board in only one play. Not sure how they plan to top this one.
After Oregon put the ball on the ground, Andrew Luck rumbled for a quick ten-yard touchdown three plays later. It’s like he read my previous score update or something.
The Ducks are now in a considerable hole, opening their next drive with a holding penalty.
Stanford responded with a 70-yard drive of their own, culminating in a 18-yard scoring strike from Andrew Luck to Griff Whalen.
The red and white relied heavily on their passer as well, with Luck throwing seven times. He did not, however, run for 31 yards.
Chris Owosu leads all receivers with three catches.
Rob Beard kicked home a 22-yard field goal to give Oregon a lead after its first drive.
The Ducks drove 70 yards in eight plays, with half on the ground and half through the air.
Darron Thomas accounted for all but six of them, throwing three-for-three and running for 31.
SB Nation's Rule of Tree examines 40 years of the Oregon-Stanford rivalry:
November 21, 2009, No. 14 Stanford vs. Cal: The Cardinal had an outside shot at a Rose Bowl berth after back-to-back wins against Oregon and USC, but the Bears rendered what the the Pac-10's other title contenders did meaningless with a 34-28 win.
September 25, 2004, Stanford vs. No. 1 USC: This was easily the biggest game of the Buddy Teevens Era. The Cardinal started 2-0 in Teevens' third and final season at the helm before welcoming top-ranked USC to the Farm. Stanford was coming off a bye week and gave the Trojans all they could handle, but blew an 11-point lead and lost, 31-28.
November 3, 2001, No. 10 Stanford at No. 11 Washington: Consecutive wins over No. 5 Oregon and No. 4 UCLA vaulted the Cardinal to a No. 10 ranking in the AP poll and, more importantly, the No. 6 spot in the BCS rankings. The feel-good story came to a screeching halt in Seattle, where Stanford fell 42-28.
SB Nation's Addicted To Quack ponders the one way opponents have managed to consistently slow down Chip Kelly's offense this season: fake injuries!
This is actually a pretty clever strategy, one that gives you a chance to give your tired players a blow, get that substitution in, etc. There is nothing against it in the rulebook. The only consequence is spelled out pretty clearly in the rulebook, that the "injured" player must sit out one play. Maybe it goes against the spirit of the rules, but, in reality, there's nothing that can be done, at least this season. Nobody has tried to do what Kelly does, and this hasn't been an issue that the rules committee has had to address.
If we're stuck with it this season, then what about the future? The problem with that is then you have referees deciding who is injured or not, and that opens up a whole other can of worms.
(Sports Network) Early Pac-10 supremacy is on the line in Eugene this weekend, as top-10 foes Stanford and Oregon battle it out in Autzen Stadium.
The ninth-ranked Cardinal are one of the real surprise stories of the 2010 campaign thus far. Jim Harbaugh's squad was expected to be good this season, but a 4-0 start and a meteoric rise in the national polls was not. Stanford is seeking its first 5-0 start to a season since 1951. The team is 1-0 in conference play already with a 35-0 shutout of UCLA a couple of weeks ago and enters this game following a solid 37-14 win at Notre Dame last weekend. It marked Stanford's first win in South Bend since 1992.
Coach Harbaugh knows the value of winning tough road games.
Well, I mean, it's big. Football, it's the best sport out there. It's a tremendous game, first of all. It's a game that really tests a man's courage. To win a ballgame, I mean, that is a great thing. Then to be able to go into another stadium, into a hostile environment, I mean, nothing makes you feel quite like a man like that does, you know. So I think it will be good for our football team. But, you know, every week in college football is a new week and your season can turn on one week. Just important for us to move forward, get ready for Oregon."
If any team in the Pac-10 is playing better than Stanford right now, it is fourth-ranked Oregon. Chip Kelly's Ducks possess a lethal offense and have used that to run off four straight victories in 2010, including a 42-31 decision at Arizona State in Oregon's Pac-10 opener last week.
Kelly's success in such a short time has been rewarded by the powers that be at Oregon, which gave their second-year coach a new six-year contract extension.
"Chip Kelly's track record in a short amount of time speaks volumes for his character, integrity and ability to lead this program to a new set of standards," said Oregon Athletics Director Rob Mullens. "It became clear before my arrival at Oregon that retaining him to head the university's football program was a priority. This is an investment in the future success of Oregon athletics and an investment in retaining one of the brightest college coaches in the country."
In a series that dates back to 1900, Stanford leads Oregon by a count of 44-28-1. Oregon had a seven-game win streak in the series snapped last year, as the Cardinal posted a 51-42 shootout win at Stanford Stadium.
The Cardinal got another solid outing from All-American candidate Andrew Luck under center and five field goals from Nate Whitaker in the big win at Notre Dame.
Luck currently leads one of the more balanced offenses in the nation, with Stanford averaging 48.0 ppg, on well over 400 yards per outing. The team is averaging over 200 yards both on the ground (223.2 ypg) and through the air (234.2 ypg), making it very difficult to gameplan for.
Luck has completed 62.7 percent of his passes thus far, for 912 yards, with 11 TDs and just two INTs. Doug Baldwin (12 receptions, for 222 yards, three TDs) and Ryan Whalen (10 receptions, for 113 yards, one TD) lead the way downfield, although Whalen is questionable for this game with an elbow injury.
Luck has contributed to the effort on the ground as well, with 163 yards and one TD. Sophomore Stepfan Taylor leads the rushing attack, averaging 4.5 yards per carry and 66.2 yards per game. Fellow sophomore Tyler Gaffney (6.1 ypc) leads the team with three rushing scores.
The Stanford offense is not the only unit playing at a high level right now. The defense is yielding just 13.8 ppg, while holding foes to a mere 256.0 yards of total offense. The pass defense has been particularly good (144.2 ypg), thanks in large part to 14 sacks and four INTs. Strong safety Delano Howell and linebacker Chase Thomas lead the team with 19 tackles apiece. Thomas has been the top playmaker, with four TFLs, 3.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries thus far.
Even though the Stanford defense is playing at a high level, the Cardinal will need to elevate that play even further in Eugene, as no team in the country is getting it done offensively like the Ducks. Oregon is averaging an eye-popping 57.8 ppg, on 560.0 yards of total offense. The rushing attack is responsible for 321.8 ypg, while the passing attack adds another 238.2 to the mix.
Tailback LaMichael James sat out the season-opener, but has made up for lost time, racking up 475 yards since (158.3 ypg) on a hefty 8.2 yards per carry. Oregon has already scored 14 touchdowns on the ground, with James and Kenjon Barner sharing the team-lead with four each.
Quarterback Darron Thomas has been effective under center, despite completing a modest 54.7 percent of his passes. He has thrown for 822 yards thus far, with a solid 10-2 TD-to-INT ratio. Jeff Maehl has been the top option in the vertical game, leading the way in receptions (18), receiving yards (254) and TDs (three).
The Oregon defense has taken a backseat to the offense this year, but this is a unit that is getting it done nonetheless. With two shutouts already in the books, this fast and aggressive squad may be as good as it gets in the Pac-10. The Ducks have already recorded 18 takeaways (nine INTs and nine fumble recoveries) to go along with 11 sacks.
Sophomore safety John Boyett paces the team with 25 total tackles. Senior linebacker Casey Matthews has shown his big play ability, with 16 tackles, one sack, two INTs and three fumble recoveries. Senior defensive tackle Brandon Bair has been a disruptive force in opposing backfields, leading the team in TFLs (8.5) and sacks (three).
This is as big a game in the Pac-10 as there will be the entire season. Whoever wins this one will have the inside track to the conference crown, as neither team may lose again the rest of the way. Give the edge to Oregon in this one, as a raucous crowd at Autzen Stadium could be the difference.
Chip Kelly Reprimanded For Accusing Jim Harbaugh of Having Friends
What Oregon coach Chip Kelly said on Saturday night during a halftime interview has landed him in trouble. Did he drop a four-letter word? No. Accuse Jon Stewart and other Jews of running the media in an attempt to tear down Hispanics? No, that's Rick Sanchez, and it was on radio.
Kelly said something perhaps even more shocking about the Stanford-Oregon game.
Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott did not take too kindly to Kelly's suggestion that Stanford Coach Jim Harbaugh's "got friends" among the officials and issued a formal reprimand of the Ducks coach.
But don't say Kelly was just angry because his team was behind. The coach said he had a similar issue near the end of the Portland State game, a contest the Ducks won 69-0. (HT: Dr. Saturday)
Oct 06 8:59p by Brandon Larrabee - 0 comments