On the same day a former Oregon prep standout dismantled the Ducks’ offense, a current high school star passed on Oregon’s scholarship offer and committed to a rival school.
As a whole, Saturday was a disastrous day for Oregon football as the Ducks suffered a 52-27 loss to rival Stanford that dropped their overall record to 3-7 and assured they will miss out on a bowl game for the first time since 2004.
The day was made difficult by the fact a pair of former recruits from Portland who now play for Stanford held large roles in the loss. It got worse at halftime when 4-star recruit Elijah Molden, who was thought to be leaning toward Oregon, committed to the University of Washington.
Saturday’s loss highlighted some costly recruiting misses from past years but was also an indicator that Oregon could be stuck in this spot for a while due to its inability to secure in-state recruits.
Stanford linebacker Joey Alfieri, a former 4-star prospect from Jesuit High School, intercepted Justin Herbert twice during Stanford’s blowout victory and finished the game with three tackles.
There was a certain amount of irony to Alfieri’s performance: He played arguably the best game of his college career in his home state while facing two high school teammates. He also said the pair of interceptions were his first at any level since he played against Sheldon his junior year of high school, when Justin Herbert was the backup quarterback.
“It’s weird playing against guys you used to play with,” Alfieri said. “It’s kind of a funny experience, but I definitely had a good time and I’m glad we got the win.”
Between Alfieri’s two interceptions, Molden, a 4-star cornerback from West Linn High School in Portland, announced via Twitter that he committed to Washington.

GO DAWGS! pic.twitter.com/cGkbdvucmj
— Elijah Molden (@e_molden1) November 12, 2016

Molden, one of the top prospects in one of the deepest in-state recruiting classes in recent memory, is the son of former Oregon All-American Alex Molden. It was long believed he would choose Oregon when it came time to commit.
That wasn’t the case, and Oregon has now missed out on the top three in-state recruits for the class of 2017. The Ducks are being out-recruited in their own backyard by conference foes at a time when local talent is at an all-time high. As Andrew Nemec of the Oregonian noted, Oregon coaches may have a false perception of how coveted of a destination the program is.
The Ducks’ recent recruiting struggles have been well-documented this season, and it wasn’t just Alfieri who reminded the Ducks of what could have been on Saturday. Cameron Scarlett, a speedy running back who was the No. 2 prospect in the state of Oregon for the class of 2015 at Central Catholic High School, ran for 68 yards and scored a touchdown in a backup role.
Scarlett and Alfieri both had positive things to say about Oregon afterward. Oregon defensive lineman Henry Mondeaux, who played with Alfieri at Jesuit, said the two are best friends, but he never tried to convince the linebacker to flip to Oregon.
“It was great,” Scarlett said. “It’s always great to be back in my home state, and I got an opportunity to play at Autzen, which has been a goal for my whole life and I made the most of it.
“It’s great playing with Joey; Joey was out here balling and I was just happy to be here.”
While Scarlett and Alfieri celebrated on the Autzen turf, it was Oregon’s own in-state players who were left to deal with the reality that their postseason chances for the year are over.
“We’ve just got to focus on what’s next,” Mondeaux said. “We can’t dwell on the past and we’ve just got to learn from it. We’re gonna try to do that.”
Oregon’s past came back to haunt it on Saturday, and if Molden’s decision was any indicator, Oregon may be tasked with facing the state’s best homegrown talent for a long time to come.
Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney