It’s been a few days since the Stanford Cardinal ran roughshod over the Oregon Ducks, but there are still some intriguing things that have emerged from that game. I’m just now getting to these, because for me personally, I needed to decompress after 1,100 miles on the road from Eugene to Palo Alto and back.
But as you can imagine, that left me a lot of time to think about the rest of the season in the Pac-10 and more importantly, Oregon’s chances at making it to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the Kenny Wheaton era.
Let me give you a hint: They’re not as great as everyone thinks they are.
After the Ducks shellacked USC on Halloween, they became the new media darlings of the nation for knocking off what a lot of East Coast people believe to be the only football team west of the Mississippi River. And with just less than half of the regular season remaining, talk about the Rose Bowl started to creep up in conversation and it really bothered me. Obviously I couldn’t avoid it— getting to Pasadena is a big story line for Oregon— however, there was just too much football left to be played for me to make a commitment that the Ducks wouldn’t lose another game.
That being said, I didn’t see the Cardinal as real of a threat to Oregon’s title run as I should have, looking back on it. Everyone at the Emerald, The Register-Guard and The Oregonian couldn’t help but choose Oregon, and the Ducks were the no-brainer favorite to beat the Cardinal after the USC game.
But than a funny thing happened, Stanford played better football than the Ducks and won. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, Oregon had numerous chances to get back into the game, but the Cardinal made just enough plays on defense. Yes, the Ducks had 65 yards more of offense than Stanford, but in the end it’s about opportunities converted, and the Cardinal sure converted on a lot of them.
Saturday’s game led me to believe that the Pac-10 race is sure a lot closer than many people think. Sure, all this talk could be for nothing if the Ducks win out — they would be the champions ­­­— but with three extremely tough games coming up, I’m starting to think the waters are a little bit more muddied.
Let’s start with Arizona State this weekend. The Sun Devils are just 4-5 this season, but they boast the best defense in the conference, and they held the Trojans to just 14 points. Oregon offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said that they are a very sneaky team because of their defense. He calls them a “chore” to deal with because they are always around the ball and the veteran group has played a lot of football.
That game is followed by a trip to Arizona to face the 6-2 Wildcats. Very big game, in my opinion. The Wildcats have played good football all year long and are just a freak interception off the foot of a receiver from being undefeated in the Pac-10. That being said, the team still hasn’t played Cal or USC, so a few big games are still on the schedule.
And finally, we reach the Civil War. In typical Beaver fashion, Oregon State is playing great football when it counts: the end of the season. They knocked off No. 23 Cal in Berkeley and the Rodgers brothers are performing on a whole different level right now. It’s absurd.
Basically, I’m trying to impart on Duck fans that the road is still perilous and Oregon could very well be watching from San Diego (and the Holiday Bowl) or somewhere other than Pasadena if they’re not careful. Stanford could sneak in and take it all if Oregon loses and the Cardinal beat USC this Saturday. Or Oregon State if they win out and the Ducks beat Arizona. Or Arizona if they win out. The conference title race definitely isn’t as firm as it was a week ago when the Ducks were sitting pretty with no losses in conference.
Yes, the Ducks do control their own destiny, but I’m not about ready to count out anyone this year because as previous weeks have shown, the conference is a lot more competitive than SEC lovers would care to admit, and on any given Saturday, anyone can win.
Just ask Oregon.
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