Over the past decade, the Oregon Ducks have owned their matchups with the Stanford Cardinal.
Since Chip Kelly took over as head coach three years ago, Oregon has been ranked in the top 10 when facing Stanford each November, and for the second-consecutive season both teams sit among the nation’s elite.
Oregon (8-1, 6-0 Pac-12)@@changed from 7-0, goducks, espn and http://www.pac-12.org/SPORTS/Football/Standings.aspx@@ has won eight of the last nine matchups against the Cardinal,@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3383&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205329928&DB_OEM_ID=500@@ with Stanford (9-0, 7-0)@@http://www.pac-12.org/SPORTS/Football/Standings.aspx@@ taking the 2009 contest in Palo Alto behind a career day from then-senior running back Toby Gerhart.@@http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/gerhart_toby00.html@@ And last season, the undefeated Ducks overcame a 21-3 first-quarter deficit@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204990164@@ with 28 unanswered points in the second half to win 52-31.@@see previous@@
But in 2011, it’s undefeated Stanford, ranked third in the country, that has the edge on No. 6 Oregon in the polls heading into Saturday’s 5 p.m. contest that will be televised nationally on ABC.@@espn@@
“They’re not ranked No. 3 for no reason,” Kelly said. “They’ve been very decisive in all their wins, except a great overtime game against USC. They’ve got a great quarterback, the best in the country, and then a lot of other guys to go along with him.”
Stanford junior quarterback Andrew Luck@@CE@@ is widely considered the most complete signal-caller in all of college football, and he’ll likely be the consensus No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft whenever he decides to enter.
In the two games Luck has played against Oregon, he’s combined to throw for 592 yards on 41-of-66 passing, with four touchdowns and two interceptions, and also carried the ball 13 times for 51 yards and another score.@@CE i did math on all. gag.@@ Both of Luck’s interceptions were credited to junior cornerback Cliff Harris, who remains suspended from the team and has played sparingly this season when he has been available.
“His name speaks for itself,” said senior safety Eddie Pleasant,@@CE@@ who intercepted Washington quarterback Keith Price@@CE@@ twice last week. “He’s does a lot of great things. Type of player you’ve got to be prepared and ready for, you know. Can’t have any mistakes against this dude because he’s going to capitalize on ‘em.”
Pleasant was able to capitalize on a rare Stanford miscue in last year’s contest. Luck connected with wide receiver Chris Owusu@@CE@@ for a first down on third-and-three,@@changed from third-and-five: http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204990164@@ before a Javes Lewis@@CE@@ hit forced Owusu to fumble, and Pleasant picked up the loose ball and returned it 51 yards to the Stanford three-yard line.@@see previous@@ One play later, LaMichael James trotted across the goal line to give the Ducks their first lead of the night, 38-31.@@see previous@@ (Pleasant would have scored himself if it weren’t for Luck knocking him out of bounds before he reached the end zone.)
Much like last season, this game will decide the postseason fate for both programs. With a win, Stanford would represent the Pac-12 North Division in the inaugural conference championship game and have a legitimate shot at the BCS title game. Oregon could have the same opportunity, though a Rose Bowl berth seems the most realistic even if they win out.
“I think everybody kind of knows what this game means for the Pac-12 race,” senior tight end David Paulson said. “It comes down to this game, so we’ve got to be ready to go.”
Through nine weeks of play, the Ducks appear to be the healthier of the two teams given Stanford’s laundry list of key injuries that only gets longer each week. The return of James and fellow junior Darron Thomas@@CE@@ was certainly encouraging in Oregon’s win over Washington last week, as both will be needed on Saturday.
James ran for 257 yards and three touchdowns against the Cardinal a year ago,@@see previous@@ while Thomas chipped in a career-high 117 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries.@@see previous@@
Stanford leads the Pac-12 in several categories, most notably scoring offense (48.2 points per game) and scoring defense (16.6), while giving up just 78.9 yards on the ground.@@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/Football/2011-Stats/HTML/confldrs.htm@@
“We’ve got our hands full, and it’s a big challenge,” Kelly said. “And our guys are excited about it.”