http://twitter.com/MikeHumesESPN Eugene getting a lot of love recently from Gameday. 95% chance Corso dawns the Duck head!!!
He probably will, and he'll probably be wrong. I don't think the Duck D is going to be able to handle the pounding they're gonna get from Stanford. Don't be surprised if UO is up a couple scores early but loses a high-scoring affair. I'm calling Stanford 48, UO 45
It's good to see the PAC-10 getting a little attention. Given what they've done in big out-of-conference games this year (Iowa, Texas, even Tennessee and Notre Dame, to a certain extent) it deserves it. As for the game itself: it should be fun to see. Stanford's offense is good, but so is Oregon's, and home field is a big deal. Ed O.
"Not so fast, my platypuss friend...." 2007 - Stanford at halftime. Oregon wins 55-31 2008 - Oregon wins at home on last second play - 35-28. 2009 - Oregon loses at Stanford 42-51 after getting pounded by the run game and by Luck's pinpoint accuracy. A few different factors this year. Oregon is bigger and deeper at DT. Our LB's are the best in the Pac. Oregon will be more effective at plugging the gaps and getting pressure on Luck. And, Oregon is at home. Huge difference. Huge. (No Garhart). Stanford is putting up 457 yards a game to Oregon's 560. Stanford D allowed Sac State (a team that lost to Montana) to put up 17 points. This one is CLOSE, but I'm going Oregon: 45-38 ---can Luck please enter the draft after this season?--
Through four games they have allowed (avg) 256 yards a game. Pass/Rush defense are fairly equal but Stanford allowed Wake Forest to rush for over 200 yards. Wake put up the same rushing yards against Duke and then lost to to Florida State 0-31. I think if Wake didn't have two turnovers in that game, it would have been closer. I think Stanford is a quality team but they haven't faced anyone like Oregon this year. The teams they have played have a combined record of 7-10. While Oregon isn't better, they beat a good team last Saturday - on the road and a worthy SEC team. I hope Oregon plays to potential because they have four four star and three three star recruits coming from as far away as Florida, Georgia and Hawaii for the game! Go Ducks!
FWIW, Paul Bessir (predictionmachine.com, also co-founder of whatifsports.com) was just on the radio saying that their software has Oregon winning this game 2/3 of the time and covering the spread 56% of the time, with an average score of 38-28 over several thousand simulations. In other words, the nerds have betrayed Stanford.
This is a good breakdown of the matchup.. Go Ducks http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/features/take2?gameId=302752483
Nice reads, guys... The analysts (George, Coward) say Stanford will push Oregon around and dominate in the trench. They say Oregon will not be able to get to Luck, or stop the Stanford running machine. They say Oregon can't run on a physical D like Stanford. They say Oregon will earn no respect until beating a physical team. Really, I'm cool with anyone saying Stanford may have the edge based on size, but saying Oregon is soft and will thus be dominated....well....
I must admit, I was pleasantly amazed by the outcome. Teams tend to take the personality of their coaches, which is why many touts believed Standford would bully the Ducks. Thankfully, it didn't work out that way. I am *almost* to the point of believing this Duck team is for real.
Well, I was happily wrong about this. Happened pretty much exactly the opposite of what I predicted. The Ducks really showed me something in this game. NC contenders? Very possible...
Grouch and pus (that's fun to say, try it!), I think we've seen the kind of team Oregon truly is. While I don't claim some secret inside status, I have two friends who have Chip's ear and who help at closed practices and scrimmages. They say this is the deepest and most focused team they can recall. I've been an Oregon fan since the 80's. I remember my first Duck's game in the early 80's and during the late 80's, had a close friend who roomed with my brother for three years, play. We made most of the games - free tickets. One season I had all access passes and hung on the sidelines for home games and I also attended UO and live in Eugene for a brief moment. All that said, what I most admire about this Duck team is how well rounded they are and how they adjust at half. It's like two different teams. Tennessee, ASU and now Stanford hung with and put up numbers on Oregon in the first half. But, to be this far into the season and to have allowed 7 points in the second half of all games and dominated like Oregon has - - it's something special. I'm not calling a NC game or anything. These kids still need to bring the A-game, every single Saturday. But, when a bigger, more physical team like Stanford resorts to faked injuries in an attempt to slow Oregon's offense, and an offensive team like Stanford can barely get a first down all second half -- there is something to be said. I'm excited. I'm optimistic. I'm also aware it's the Pac and any team can beat #1. But, what a season these Oregon boys are making of it!! Go Ducks! BTW - Saturday was a huge recruiting day for Oregon. Large group of highly rated visitors on hand. I heard we had two commits from the group already!
Did anyone else find some irony in hearing all week about how physical Standford was... and then the Cardinal players were the ones who seemed to keep getting hurt? Oregon is fast, but it doesn't mean that they're not physical, too... Ed O.
Agreed. I feel Oregon has the one of the best OL's in the nation and the possibly the best blocking WR's in the nation. It's my understanding that Chip runs fast practices. From start to finish, guys are running and everything happens fast and if not sharp, gets repeated. I think their discipline and conditioning has shown in the second half of games. Stanford was bigger and their game plan worked for half a game. The second half, Oregon made them look like a Div-II team against a top I-A team. It's great. If Oregon can avoid injuries, it could be a great year for lifelong Duck fans!!
