For the first time since 2002, the No. 3 Oregon football team is undefeated through the first five weeks of action. And for the first time since 2007, the Ducks are sitting in the top three in the nation, surpassing Boise State.
In front of a sell out crowd of 59,818, the then-fourth-ranked Ducks overcame a 21-3 first quarter deficit to defeat No. 9 Stanford 52-31 Saturday night at Autzen Stadium.
With the win Oregon improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in Pacific-10 Conference play heading into a road game next week at Washington State.
“I think with our tempo and our speed and how we play it’s just a matter of time before we actually just wear teams down,” second-year head coach Chip Kelly said.
The Ducks amassed 626 yards of total offense (388 rushing, 238 passing) to avenge the team’s only Pac-10 loss last season, while giving up 518 yards of offense to the Cardinal.
On the opening possession Oregon drove the ball 70 yards on nine plays but was held to just a field goal before the Cardinal rattled off 21 unanswered points by the end of the first quarter.
During that stretch, sophomore quarterback Andrew Luck completed six passes for 53 yards, including an 18-yard scoring strike to Griff Whalen. Luck also ran for another score in the opening period before Stepfan Taylor scampered 44 yards to paydirt with 1:08 remaining.
“That’s a really, really good football team,” Kelly said. “You watch them come in and you see Andrew Luck, I mean there haven’t been many guys who come into this place and don’t get rattled, and he didn’t get rattled.”
Trailing 21-10, Oregon sophomore kicker Rob Beard successfully recovered an onside kick to spark a big second quarter for the defending Pac-10 champs. The Ducks responded with a 21-point quarter of their own with sophomore quarterback Darron Thomas hitting senior Jeff Maehl and freshman Josh Huff with 29- and 41-yard scoring strikes, respectively. The two touchdown passes sandwiched sophomore running back LaMichael James’ first scoring run of the night, from five yards out.
Despite the hot start, Stanford wasn’t able to stay with the rigorous Oregon pace for much longer. Over the final three quarters, the Ducks went on a 49-10 scoring run, and Stanford couldn’t recover.
James had the best night of his Oregon tenure, running for a career-best 257 yards on a career-high 31 carries for three touchdowns. James now sits 10th on Oregon’s career rushing list with 2,258 yards to his credit.
James, a Texas native, said he wasn’t at all shaken by the Ducks’ slow start, acknowledging Kelly’s intense practice regimen as something the players can always fall back on.
“I think it’s really hard to keep up with us because we practice so fast,” James said. “We put a lot into it in practice for the game. So when it comes to the third or fourth quarter and we’re down by a touchdown or whatever, you know, we really feel confident because of our endurance and our tempo.”
James capped the scoring with his 76-yard touchdown run with 1:10 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“We know we’re going to finish,” Thomas said. “So we’ve just got to keep working, keep grinding.”
Thomas had a strong night under center, completing 20 of 29 passes for 238 yards and three scores, though he did throw two interceptions. Thomas also accounted for another 117 yards on 15 carries and another score on the ground.
“He really is a phenomenal player,” James said of Thomas. “And he really leads this team as far as tempo and making the right reads.”
Thomas’ counterpart, Luck, finished the night 29 of 46 passing for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions and was sacked once. That lone sack was the only play of the night to go for negative yardage for either team.
This week the Ducks prepare for a road trip to Washington State.
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