After handing national powerhouse USC its worst loss in more than a decade, the Oregon Ducks (7-1, 5-0 Pacific-10 Conference) will respond with a quiet trip down to Palo Alto, Calif., to take on the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium.
And following a long week of hype surrounding the victorious Halloween night matchup, the Ducks were able to get back to business this week and return to the mindset of taking it one game at a time.
The Ducks, who climbed to No. 8 in the Bowl Championship Series standings this week behind the nation’s seven remaining unbeaten teams, are 2-1 on the road this season and will take their current seven-game winning streak into hostile territory on Saturday.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” said Oregon junior defensive back Talmadge Jackson III. “Taking it day by day, and letting things pan out from there.”
That philosophy has helped the Ducks climb to the top of the Pac-10 standings in scoring offense, rushing offense, red zone offense, scoring defense, pass defense and red zone defense.
The powerful rushing attack, which averages 233.3 yards each outing, has helped the Ducks to score more than 35.6 points per game.
Redshirt freshman LaMichael James — named the Pac-10 offensive player of the week after rushing for 183 yards and a touchdown against USC — has put together a remarkable season thus far as Oregon’s top rusher.
“You can’t say enough about his play,” junior quarterback Jeremiah Masoli said. “His long runs definitely give us a jolt. Besides that, he just grinds it out for five yards after breaking four tackles is something that we really need on this team.”
James ranks third in the Pac-10 in rushing with 918 yards on 131 carries for seven touchdowns, and wrote his name in the Oregon record books yet again as he reached the century mark for the fifth time on the season. With one more 100-yard game, he will take sole possession for the most 100-yard games by an Oregon freshman after breaking his own single-game record again last week.
“Obviously, the more weapons you have, the better off you are,” Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said. “He certainly makes it very difficult for the defense because of how talented he is.”
The Ducks actually feature two players on the Pac-10’s top-10 rushing list for the season, with Masoli coming in ninth with 436 yards on 72 carries and eight touchdowns. But as of late, the Oregon passing attack has provided a much-needed equalizer for the Ducks.
Against Pete Carroll’s Trojan defense last week, Masoli completed 19 passes for 222 yards, which included a 17-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Jamere Holland in the back of the end zone.
“They get after it,” Masoli said of the Stanford defense. “But so do we. We’re going to look to match that intensity. We see some things we like in their defense.”
Stanford’s defense has allowed 126.4 yards rushing and 239.9 yards passing per game this season, which could prove detrimental against the conference’s top-ranked offense.
When the Cardinal visited Autzen Stadium last season, the Ducks jumped out to a 17-3 lead less than 11 minutes into the game but gave up 14 in the second quarter to take a 20-17 lead heading into halftime. The game was eventually capped by an 11-play, 74-yard drive that resulted in a three-yard touchdown run by Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount with six seconds remaining on the clock. The score was Blount’s second of the half as the Ducks squeaked by with a 35-28 win.
Kelly said in early October that if Blount meets the set-up requirements and returns to the playing field, that the Nov. 7 game at Stanford would be the earliest possible opportunity for him to do so. But with no official announcement made this week, it is still unknown if Blount will be suited up come Saturday.
Off-the-field distractions haven’t been a factor for the Oregon squad so far this season, and will doubtfully be one this weekend.
“The reason I feel we have so much success isn’t in the talent, it’s not in our speed, it’s our unity,” said junior defensive lineman Brandon Bair. “We just love playing together. We look forward to every day coming out here on the field and practicing.”
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