In the run up to tomorrow’s showdown, we had Stanford Daily writer Jack Blanchat talk about why he thinks Oregon will come away victorious. You can check out more of the Stanford Daily’s coverage here, including my own screed about why Stanford wins. Take it away, Jack:
First, let me start by saying this is the hardest thing I have ever written. Sorry, Cardinal. I wish I knew how to quit you.
The Ducks will win this game because of one thing and one thing only: BIG PLAYS. The Webfoots are going to roll up more offense that you can fathom. Future Heisman winners LaMichael James and freshman running back De’Anthony Thomas are going to burn through the Cardinal defense so hard it will leave senior safety Michael Thomas and company with hot tire tracks on their backs.
The Ducks have rolled up 46 plays of 25 yards or more this season, and everybody knows that Stanford loves to give up the big play. Observe Washington’s Chris Polk going for more than 100 yards on two touchdown runs, or USC’s Curtis McNeal sprint down the left sideline for two scores of his own, and you’ll know that the Duck run attack is gonna get theirs in this game. And by get theirs, I’m talking 400-plus yards rushing. Even Stanford fans who know that Stanford holds teams to less than 100 yards on the ground this year don’t trust the ability of their defense to hold it together against the F-1 speed of the Ducks.
What’s more, the Oregon defense is going to put Andrew Luck on his back so often, he’s gonna need a new jersey by halftime. The nasty Duck D has the nation’s sixth-most sacks, and anybody who watched the game last year remembers just how many times Luck got clobbered.
Lastly, the Ducks have this one in the bag because the only thing quieter than a Stanford library is Stanford Stadium. When Oregon got down early in the game last year, Autzen responded by making the second half hell on earth for the outmatched Trees, bearing down on Luck and company with all the vigor of 60,000 voices. There’s absolutely no way that happens this Saturday, as the wine-and-cheese crowd that shows up to Cardinal games is more likely to have a jolly good time joking about the Republican presidential candidates than making noise in support of their football team.
In the end, it means that three things will be up in flames at the end of Saturday’s slugfest: Andrew Luck’s Heisman campaign, the Cardinal’s perfect season and a big, fat victory cigar in Chip Kelly’s mouth.
Can I go home and wash the vomit out of my mouth now?
–Jack Blanchat, The Stanford Daily