Through four games, the No. 9 Stanford Cardinal has proven to be far more than just quarterback Andrew Luck and a physical running attack.
“They are playing a lot better on the defensive side of the ball,” Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said.
“They’ve changed their scheme defensively, and are really playing very hard on the defensive side of the ball. (They’re) really well coached.”
Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh hired Baltimore Ravens defensive assistant Vic Fangio last offseason to help upgrade a defense that finished ninth in the Pac-10 Conference in total defense and last in third-down and red-zone defense. Fangio, a 26-year veteran of the NFL and USFL, replaced the Cardinal’s 4-3 defensive scheme with a base 3-4 defense.
“They play a lot of odd, a lot of 3-4, a lot of three big guys, ‘backers lock down, stuff like that to just try to use their defensive scheme to their advantage,” Ducks offensive tackle Mark Asper said. “You don’t know who’s coming or where pressure is coming from each play to throw off your offensive blocking scheme.”
Thus far, Stanford is 11th in the country in total defense (256 yards per game) and passing defense (144.25 yards per game) and  is tied for 12th in scoring defense (13.75 points per game). The team that tallied 21 sacks all of last season has 14 this season, tied for sixth in per-game statistics nationally.
“They’re big, they’re fast and they’re, well, Stanford. They look smart,” Asper said.
While the revamped Cardinal defense has caught opponents off guard this season, Oregon players expressed confidence in their preparation. After all, the Duck offense sees similar looks in practice.
“It’s very similar to our defense. Their scheme is very similar to our scheme,” center Jordan Holmes said. “Since we’re so familiar with it, we know what to look for. We need to make sure we know where they’re coming from blitz-wise, and how many people they bring.”
One of the familiar aspects of the Cardinal defense is the presence of Thomas Keiser. The junior from Wexford, Pa., started all 13 games at defensive end for Stanford last season, racking up a team-high 15.0 tackles for loss. Kaiser will encroach upon the line of scrimmage in the same fashion as Oregon’s “drop end,” a defensive end who often blends into coverage.
“They have their Kenny Rowe,” Holmes said. “That’s what we refer to other teams when they have a drop end.”
Stanford’s two inside linebackers, senior Owen Marecic and sophomore Shayne Skov, are dynamic players that command attention in the film room.
“Against Notre Dame, a couple of times I saw those guys time up the cadence,” Asper said of the Cardinal’s 37-14 victory over the Fighting Irish last week. “They figured out the other team’s cadence, so they were in the backfield before the offensive line was even up. They run downhill and fill really hard. And, I’ve also seen them power through some of those Notre Dame offensive linemen, so they’re strong.”
Marecic (pronounced ma-REE-sick) has plenty of power in reserve, pulling double duty as the team’s starting fullback on offense. Skov was third on the team with 62 tackles as a true freshman, and has a reputation as a fierce hitter.
“When they get a downhill run — I think that’s the strength and conditioning program at Stanford, because that’s the way Toby (Gerhart) was,” Asper said. “You got a head of steam heading downhill, it’s hard to stop them. It’s going to take a lot of oomph to stop that charge.”
Few BCS-conference teams base their defenses in a 3-4 scheme, and Cal is the only other Pac-10 school to do so. Nevertheless, the Oregon offensive line has been schooled in how to handle the multifaceted attack.
“From a tackle standpoint, you’re always looking at the defensive end because he’s usually right on top of you,” Asper said. “You can pace your decisions off of that. If he widens, he’s probably coming outside. If he tightens in, he’s probably coming inside. Also, you’re looking at the linebacker that’s stacked over him. If he widens, he’s probably coming outside. If he tightens in, he’s probably coming inside. You can play off the two of them. Somebody has to control the outside, and somebody has to control the inside. If they both go outside, somebody’s got to come back in.
“Coach Kelly always says, ‘Anticipate the hard, react to the easy.’ The hard would be the linebacker running downhill fast, so you anticipate that. If he doesn’t, then just lock onto the end.”
Stanford, of course, must stop a rushing attack that ranks fourth in the nation on its home turf. The offensive linemen don’t intend to give the Cardinal anything easy.
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