I sat near the back door, ready to make a quick exit once the interview session concluded.@@comma use?@@
It was hot and overly crowded, with more cameras than people to operate them. Unranked Stanford had just beaten No. 7 Oregon, 51-42,@@CE@@ to end the Ducks’ seven-game winning streak in early November 2009.
Being the newest member of the football beat, I had the good fortune of listening to head coach Jim Harbaugh@@CE@@, freshman quarterback Andrew Luck@@CE@@ and senior running back Toby Gerhart@@CE@@ describe their upset victory over the high-flying Oregon Ducks.
It wasn’t all bad, I suppose. But it certainly wasn’t much fun.
Traveling to Palo Alto two years ago was my first time on the road as a sports reporter, and aside from the 17 hours of driving, the night spent sleeping on a motel floor and the disheartening loss, the trip wasn’t a total failure.
Sure, Stanford’s campus and renovated football stadium were pristine, but I had made the trip to see Oregon’s magical 2009 run continue. Instead, it felt like it came to a screeching halt.
Gerhart pounded the ground for 223 yards on 38 carries@@CE 2009 stats@@ (it felt like at least 50) and crossed the goal line three times@@CE@@. Oregon had no answer for the power rushing attack, especially late, when Gerhart carried the ball 11 times@@CE@@ for 53 yards in the fourth quarter as the Cardinal held more than a seven-minute advantage in time of possession@@CE@@ during that period.
Meanwhile, some freshman who I’d never heard of before (yes, Luck) was masterful in his performance, picking apart a veteran Oregon secondary throughout the game. He finished 12-of-20 passing for 251 yards and two touchdowns@@CE all@@, in what I considered to be Luck’s arrival to the national college football landscape.
Now, let’s fast-forward two years. Luck, a redshirt junior@@roster says senior, but web says redshirt junior. roster: http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/stan-m-footbl-mtt.html@@, is widely considered the next No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, and for good reason. He’s put up proficient numbers in an offense that runs nearly 60 percent of the time, and most importantly, he wins.
Not since last year’s trip to Autzen Stadium has the Cardinal lost, and I’m sure many of you know that Stanford currently holds the longest winning streak in the country with 17 straight victories.
And at several points this season, I thought Oregon would be another tally mark in the win column as Stanford cruised to the first Pac-12 Championship game, and from there — who knows?
But now, well, I’m just not convinced.
While the Cardinal opened as a three-point favorite for Saturday’s contest, the number of key injuries on both sides of the ball should be alarming for any Stanford fan. Wide receiver Chris Owusu@@CE@@ — who went off for 308 all-purpose yards against the Ducks in ’09@@CE@@ — suffered his third concussion in 13 months against Oregon State last week@@http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7208476/chris-owusu-stanford-cardinal-not-play-vs-oregon-ducks@@. Tight end Zach Ertz@@CE@@ was sidelined from the contest with a knee injury, and his placement, Levine Toilolo,@@CE@@ was then forced out of the game with an upper-body injury in the second quarter.
The team was already without one of their top defenders in linebacker Shayne Skov@@changed from Shov: http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/skov_shayne00.html@@, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Arizona earlier this season. Couple that with the injuries to freshman cornerback Wayne Lyons@@CE@@ (foot) and kicker Jordan Williamson@@CE@@ (undisclosed injury), and you’ve got a Stanford two-deep that looks a lot different than it did in September.
Regardless, Stanford won’t be giving anything away on Saturday. This may be its only opportunity to have a national championship-caliber team as Luck sets to depart for the NFL next year. The Cardinal has been downright dominant in 2011, with its only close victory coming in triple-overtime at USC@@http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/103011aab.html@@, and you know Stanford’s hungry for that 18th victory.
With more than a handful of road trips under my belt now, I can at least approach this game much like I did the BCS title game or the Cowboys Classic:@@CE@@ with a level head and limited fanatical interest.
It won’t be easy, but I can hope we’ll have something positive to talk about on the ride home.